Cotton-Pickin’ Days

Picture this.

Three five-year-old boys who’re part of the baaad pack at school stand in front of a TV with Snoop Dogg’s latest music video blaring. Knees bopping, fingers doing “the sign,” the boys chant the rap with eyes glued to the barely clad women on the screen gyrating. The song is about BLEEPING. And guess what? Those boys know the “song” so well that they can even sing the parts about BLEEPING. It obviously wasn’t the first time they’d seen or heard it.

And now I’ve found the music video they were watching. It’s even more awful than I thought it was! Couldn’t hear half of it while I was there and now I’ve heard too much. I think I have to go wash my eyes and ears out. I really regret not having turned that off even if I was at someone else’s house and had already turned it down once before. Sooo inappropriate!!!

Thank goodness Stephen wasn’t in the room. ARGH. Another reason I don’t feel comfortable dropping him off at birthday parties and returning later to pick him up.

Update: My sis just sent me the link to this video for purification purposes.

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Barbie lovers are taking offense to my characterization of their dolly in a review I wrote for Play Library about the Fashion Angels.

They quoted me as saying,

…they are well made and perky rather than trashy (Bratz) and not so provocative (Barbie). Their wardrobe is amazing – glitter, sequens, and leopard print trims all sturdily tailored for endless changes of ensemble.

And they continued in response,

What planet is that person living on? Laughing [emoticon] I’ll bet that woman doesn’t allow her child to watch television, and makes her eat granola and tofu! LOL! Laughing [emoticon]

Granola and tofu? YUM!!!

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Today, I was at Stephen’s school helping the kids put on their costumes for the annual Christmas show. During the chaos, I videotaped them milling about dressed as angels, snowmen, and stars and also took some photos. At first, I intended to take a picture of everyone to make sure that all were included then get the shots developed later this week. But soon, one of the teachers came over and whispered that technically, I shouldn’t be taking photos of other people’s kids because a parent in another class had specifically requested that their child not be photographed. What the @#!

I couldn’t believe that the type of parents Esther Rantzen wrote about in the Times Online in October really do exist! She is the founder of ChildLine, a toll free number in the UK which children can dial and ask for help with abuse. In the piece, she touched on the difficulty of balancing between protecting our children and overprotecting them.

The truth is that paedophiles are unscrupulous and cunning and they have taken jobs as school bus drivers, sports coaches and youth club leaders to gain access to children.

However, the letter does express a real fear. Over the past 20 years, alongside sensible advances such as the creation of commissioners for children and a minister for children, there have been examples of daft over-zealousness.

Why on earth prevent parents taking photographs of their children performing in a nativity play or pictures of their children playing football? The five-year-old who plays Joseph at Christmas time, the 10-year-old who scores a miraculous goal for his team, deserve their place in the family album.

The loss of innocent contact is a real deprivation for a child. Why shouldn?t a teacher cuddle a six-year-old who has fallen down in the playground? It would be a tragedy if fathers were inhibited from hugging their daughters. The abused children I have met desperately want and need the ?safe cuddles? that they never receive. We do all children a huge disservice by assuming that all adults are paedophiles.

I have always taken care not to post pictures of other children’s faces and am even shying away from posting pictures of Stephen. And, thankfully, since the teachers know me well, I wasn’t thrown in jail today. Even more important, Stephen is here with me, well loved and cared for.

If you’re a kid living in the UK and need someone to talk to about any problem, call ChildLine. They’ve got counsellors who can help you. 0800 1111

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After many missed performances, it’s been confirmed that Greg Page will no longer be part of The Wiggles. The Wiggles were a big part of our lives when Stephen was a toddler. It’s a sad, sad day.

More coverage at Play Library (including videos) where we’re having a Greg Page Wiggle Tribute Day.

Technorati Tags: greg page, greg wiggle, greg page wiggle, yellow wiggle, wiggles, children, kids, tv shows

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Come celebrate unofficial Elmo Day at Play Library! Today’s the global launch of TMX Elmo and you don’t want to miss the hoopla (even if you just want to ridicule the hype).

Just one of many reasons I’m psyched today. Stephen had a great first full day of school and a smooth start to the second. More to come….

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As I’m sitting here blogging away, my next door neighbor is frantically squeaking some sort of rubber toy in an attempt to get their new baby to stop crying.

Squeak squeak squeak.

Squawk squawk squawk.

Some half-hearted singing.

Baby alternately wailing and gurgling.

Squeak squeak squeak.

Squawk squawk squawk.

From the sounds of it, the little one is just a few months old.

Wish I could knock on the door and tell them to read what Kate said at Babylune – It’s Not You.

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Can you hear the sound of parents screaming?

Merck to Urge Giving Cervical Cancer Vaccine to U.S. Children

Merck will present evidence to a government committee that the vaccine works best in youngsters before they become sexually active. The drugmaker’s pitch for universal immunization as early as age nine may be a tough sell with parents worried about adding another routine childhood vaccine. Conservative groups may object that the shot isn’t necessary when children are taught to abstain from pre-marital sex.

There’s even talk about making the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine mandatory for public school attendance. I can’t imagine how this would work. STD’s are hardly transmitted in the same way as other infectious diseases like measles and mumps. The majority of children in elementary school through high school can’t possibly be sexually active. And what about boys? While they may harbor human papillomavirus and can theoretically pass it on to any sexual partner, they are in no danger of cervical cancer themselves. Should they be vaccinated too?

It’s a great idea to have the vaccine available for adults depending on the number of partners they have. Not to mention that condoms would prevent sexually transmitted diseases including HIV.* But for kids? I smell a fight coming on.

Update: I hope no one thinks I’m against vaccination in principle. I’m not. Vaccines have improved human health beyond measure. But for some vaccines, I do believe that we should give people and their families a choice. This is one of them.

*Via Planned Parenthood: “And although condoms may not eliminate the risk of transmitting HPV, the CDC recommends them for risk reduction (CDC, 2001). Since HPV may shed beyond the covered area, however, condoms do not provide as complete protection as they do for some other pathogens, such as HIV and gonorrhea (Stone, et al., 1999).”

continue reading

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The new World Health Organization (WHO) child growth chart that I mentioned earlier this week is now available online at http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/en/.

Stephen’s still a lightweight but it’s no surprise considering how thin his daddy is too!

Via Business Wire, April 28, 2006

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Finally, the height and weight of breastfed children will be the standard by which all children are measured. Luckily, we’ve never been hounded to pork up Stephen but I know plenty of other families who haven’t been so lucky. Doctors, relatives, and even strangers harangue parents and cause them to worry beyond reason.

I’ve discussed the implications of this new baby growth chart on children’s health at A Hearty Life.

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Villages in Turkey along the path of migratory birds have been affected by outbreaks of bird flu infecting children. Two siblings have already died and five more have been infected.

The outbreaks in Turkey are linked to the close interaction between humans and animals, which must be minimized, Guenael Rodier, a senior World Health Organization official for communicable diseases, said. “The front line between children and animals, particularly backyard poultry, is too large,” he said.

The problem was highlighted during efforts to destroy sick fowl, children would join in, chasing chickens, geese or ducks with their bare hands.

An 8-year-old girl hospitalized in Van apparently contracted the virus by hugging and kissing dead chickens.

I’m glad we never went to the zoo in Saigon.

Forbes.com, January 9, 2006

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