Moms Behaving Badly: Courts Show Pity

Mothers accused of bizarre child abuse go unscathed

By A. Scott Walton
Mamas, don't let you babies grow up to be snitches. Or plaintiffs in lawsuits, either.
Sooner or later, some woman caught up in a high profile case of alleged child abuse is going to receive stiff punishment from a judge.
But not this week.
Exhibit A: An Alaskan mother of six who videotaped herself pouring hot sauce down one of her seven-year-old sons' throat in hopes of appearing on an "Angry Moms" episode of the Dr. Phil show recently escaped any fine, loss of custody of jail time. Jessica Beagley could have been sentenced to $10,000 in restitution and a year in jail for the child-endangering stunt. But Anchorage District Court Judge David Wallace dismissed the charges, saying: "You're not a danger to the public...I think you committed a one-time act to get on a TV show."
Exhibit B: A Chicago appeals court just ruled that there was nothing "extreme or outrageous" about the lack of affection Kimberly Garrity showed her estranged children during their formative years. The lawsuit filed by her son, Steven Miner (23), and daughter, Kathryn Miner (20), sought $50,000 in compensation for 'emotional distress'. They were represented in court by their father, Garrity's ex-husband, Steven.
What's next?
Who's running the asylum: the parents, the kids, the courts or the media?

Beyonce Botches "Baby Bump" Debut at VMAs

Maternity Style Rule No. 1: Don't WEAR the red carpet!

By A. Scott Walton
The house of Lanvin let Beyonce down severely when it allowed her to waddle out onto the red carpet prior to MTV's Video Music Awards Sunday night.
Girlfriend looked much more like a lobster roll than a leading lady as she protruded her newly impregnated tummy for the cameras.
She might have blended into the VMS red carpet ceremony without attracting as much glaring attention as she surely will until the baby arrives if she handed taken such great (labor?) pains to caress her tummy for the cameras. And why wasn’t the proud father, Mr. Carter, there posing with her?
Do you think Beyonce’s pregnancy “announcement” was made in a dignified way? Or is this new baby drama just a publicity stunt?

Oh! Andrew "Dice" Clay Bets on Father-Figure Comeback

Foul-mouthed comic who ruled the '90s cleans up his act

By A. Scott Walton

"Everybody's a comedian", the old stand-up line goes.
But not everyone's a good daddy.

In this age of full revelation in the interest of gaining or re-gaining fame and fortune, it should come as no surprise that Andrew "Dice" Clay is now portraying himself as a reformed reprobate who's now fully focused on fatherhood.

Click here to read the USA Today Profile on Andrew "Dice" Clay

Don't be surprised if he winds up on some random cable channel starring in a semi-real TV series depicting his struggles as a single parent.

"WTF", some producer's probably text after reading USA Today's recent feature on Clay.

After all, a similar ploy worked rather well for the late Bernie Mac. His transformation from one of the most profane comics on the planet into a family-friendly figure was working well; right up until he died of natural causes in (year).

But the notion of Clay playing the "Ward Cleaver" role is a harder pill to swallow.

We'll know in time if his re-set button, at age 53, really works. If Clay is launching a comeback, it shouldn't be on the backs of the kids he got custody of after a messy divorce.

Original Supermodel, Evangelista, Stirs Up Baby-Mama Drama

Diva Demands $46K Child Support Monthly From Salma Hayek’s Hubby

By A. Scott Walton
How much should it cost a billionaire to make a paternity lawsuit go away?
The French fashion mogul, Francois-Henri Pinault, may soon find out.
Pinault - who is currently married to the sultry Spanish actress Salma Hayek – is being sued for more than $500,000 per year in child support by the cover girl, Linda Evangelista, who’s famously quoted as saying: ‘I don’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day’.
Evangelista, now 46, went to a Manhattan Magistrate’s court this week to request a minimum of $46,000 per month for the care and feeding of the four-year-old boy Pinault helped her to conceive. Pinault (49), the chief operator of such brands as Gucci and Yves St. Laurent, dated Hayek off and on for years before marrying and fathering a child with her two years ago.
In the latest Forbes listing of the world’s 100 richest people on the planet, Pinault came in at a respectable No. 67, with an approximate wealth of $7 billion. Considering how many yachts, automobiles, homes and private jets he must own, the sum Evangelista’s asking for should seem like chump change to him.
If you were Pinault, would you simply pay up and keep peace at home?

Winehouse Adoption Rumors Squashed

Doomed Diva's Rep Stops Speculation; Cause of Death Unknown

By A. Scott Walton

No. No! NO!!
Just imagine if the departed pop-soul singer Amy Winehouse actually did have plans to adopt a child from some impoverished, disease-ravaged nation in the mode of Brad and Angelina.
How in the world would that drug-addled and doomed to premature death entertainer have managed to discipline an adopted child on her own?
TMZ has just squashed rampant rumors in the tabloids that the chart-topping singer – who died last week from undetermined causes – was on the verge of revamping her personal life with the addition of a child from St. Lucia into her household.
What kind of Banana Republic official with a shred of integrity, or the fraction of a clue about Winehouse’s background, would have approved her taking custody of an innocent kid?
And, for that matter, what amount of money would it take for a loving parent to even consider such a gambit?
Even if Winehouse had become an adoptive mother, each moment of the endeavor would likely have been fodder for a “Mommie Dearest” remake; in 3-D, no less.
According to TMZ, an unidentified mouthpiece for the deceased Ms. Winehouse has flatly stated, “It’s not true” that the star performer had sealed a deal with the parents of a 10-year-old girl to take guardianship of her.
“I think (Winehouse) may have met her in St. Lucia, but she was in no way about to adopt her.”
Thank goodness.
There couldn’t be a greater trauma visited upon a child than to be separated from one parental relationship, only to be rocked by the sudden unexplained death of another.
This begs a broader question: What provisions are star entertainers making for the kids they adopt in their wills?

McDonald's Caves In To Critics: Happy Now?

Fast food chain changes 'Happy Meal' Contents Under Pressure

By A. Scott Walton
Thanks to years of harsh cajoling by some of America's leading dietary experts, there will be far fewer McDonald's french fries parents can swipe from their kids'Happy Meals.
McDonald's announced Tuesday that it will quickly begin reducing the salt, sugar and fat content of its Happy Meals in response to pressure from health advocates who argue that they contribute to childhood obesity.
You go, nutritionists!
No, really: scram before you spoil any more of our fun!
Sad news for those of us who relish scavenging the remnants of those little cardboard boxes: McDonald's pledge to reduce the size of its Happy Meal french fry portions (from 2.4 ounces to 1.1) in every one of its 14,000 U.S. stores by early 2012.
In reaction to research showing that only 11 percent of parents "request" apple slices as an alternative to fries, all Happy Meals will include them henceforth. A range of other drink options and marketing ploys will be a part of the Golden Arches' new initiative.
Whoop-dee-do!
What's next? A new-and-improved McRib sandwich made (health-consciously, of course) out of tofu?

Study: Fewer Kids Injured with Grandparents Driving

RESEARCH SHOWS SENIOR CITIZENS DRIVE SAFER

BY A. SCOTT WALTON
Quick: Hide “the internet”!
Shhhh. Don’t let Grandma see.
Just when you thought it was safe to start suggesting that the significant senior(s) in your life put away the car keys, here comes some expert spouting off about the fact kids emerge from car crashes with fewer scrapes when their grandparents are driving than when they’re in wrecks with their parents.
The news is spreading like free samples of Fixodent on the web.
Note to self: Seek and destroy Paw-Paws Twitter account. ASAP.
According to a study led by Dr. Fred Henretig of Philadelphia’s Childrens’s Hospital, kids are one-third less likely to be hurt in a crash involving grandparents at the wheel, as compared to crashes where their parents were driving.
Can’t you just hear the ‘I told you so’ coming?

After crunching numbers compiled by insurers in 15 states and Washington, D.C. over a five-year period (2003-’07) researches concluded that seniors may have difficulties navigating between Points A and B and strapping car seats in properly, but they were only to blame for seven percent of the collisions that caused injury to passengers aged 16-and-under.
The number of grandparents who are living “independently” longer and/or serving as primary care-givers for their grandchildren makes the car safety survey more relevant than ever. It’s no long a laughing matter refer to the elderly as “Sunday” drivers. They’re out their merging into traffic with us 24/7 these days.
Everybody, buckle up.

Imagine A World Without Charter Schools?

WEALTHY SUBURBS PREFER PUBLIC FUNDING OVER PERSONAL INSTRUCTION

By A. Scott Walton

Antagonists against charter schools are idiots.
Why, because opposition to any form of enhanced education in America – which we all know lags in performance – is idiotic.
A recent New York Times report spells out how parents in suburban communities are resisting the creep of charter school ethos into their affluent school systems because they’re performing well enough as is.
C’mon people: these are teaching techniques, not zombie invasions. Shouldn’t you be more concerned with spending by the military industrial complex, the penal system or the “War on Drugs”?
What’s wrong, really, with targeting the main lessons kids receive according to their parents’ preferences, as long as other families are free to take advantage of mainstream public school teaching if they so choose?
Charter schools exist to provide an alternative; not to drain municipal coffers as their detractors suggest. They personalize the education process to a greater degree than mainstream do, and they put administrators, teachers, parents and students to more stringent tests.
Trust me: I’m living “the experiment”, so I’m familiar with its challenges and rewards.
Even though there’s a public elementary school a half-mile away from this household – where the kids do wear uniforms, and do receive language instruction in Spanish, and do have the benefit of those high-tech plasma screens to view – we chose the charter route.


It’s a few miles drive away threw heavy traffic. It enforces parent participation so strictly that everyone knows who’s worthy of censure for not pitching in. It enrolls students from far-flung districts and unfortunate household circumstances.
There are two other established charter elementary schools within walking distance of this blog’s headquarters. The new one we chose and lobbied strongly to gain entrance to - inconveniences and growing pains be-damned – just happens to be the only K-through-8 school we know of that happens to teach Mandarin Chinese.
That, according to the Times’ article, is a sticking point for the lead protestor against Mandarin-oriented schools seeking approval in a rich New Jersey enclave. His argument is that public school funds will be ‘siphoned’ off for a select few if the charters gain a foothold.
But in a world where specialization of all types grows increasingly crucial, what’s wrong with steering America’s kids toward skills where they can excel?

Jessica Alba 'Psyched' About Giving Birth

Exotic Pin-up/Actress Endorses Hypnosis During Labor

By A. Scott Walton
Apparently, the alluring Jessica Alba doesn't give a flip about the public's perception of her second pregnancy.
Alba and her husband, Cash Warren, are expecting the birth of a sibling for their two-year-daughter, Honor. And the screen siren has spoken openly about how her current pregnancy makes her crave "cheeseburgers, watermelon and pickles".
At some points, she's appeared irked by stalking paparazzi who've followed every phase of her gestation. At others, she's basked in the red carpet attention.
And she's had no qualms about appearing on resort beaches wearing bikinis that put her baby bump on full display.
Most recently, Alba revealed to Us Weekly that she's newly committed to the "hypnobirthing" technique; otherwise known as the Mongan Method.
According to HypnoBirthing.com, the technique dates back centuries and eases the anxiety, pain and fear associated with childbirth.
"What (birth mothers) experience is similar to the daydreaming, or focusing, that occurs when you are engrossed in a book or a movie or staring into a fire," the web site insists.
As Alba enthused to Us Weekly: "It just makes you chill."
"I was freaked out going into my first time going into labor," Alba added. "Like what if I panick? What if I just freak out and I don't know what to do?"
Alba's birth-process revelation was quickly followed in the tabloids by news that former Spice Girl-turned-fashion icon, Victoria Beckham, has already scheduled an Independence Day C-Section procedure in Los Angeles for the birth of her fourth child with soccer star, David Beckham.
This raises a question for expectant mothers worldwide: Is it better to go under the knife, under hypnosis or go au naturale when it comes to giving birth?

Tears of 'Oy!' as Collegians Come Home

Parents Brace for Loads of Laundry, Attitude and Drama

By A. Scott Walton

Attention: all parents waking up to the harsh realization that the party's over now that your collegiate offspring are returning home for the summer (or longer). You are not alone.
Just when you were accustomed to the quiet, the new hobbies or getting your sexy back, here they come. And, according to a new Washington Post report, your kids' neediness and proclivity to childish antics, messiness and outbursts may not have been cured by their months away at college.
It's an ordeal that requires a serious "reality check" according to the parenting consultant/author, Karen Levin Coburn, quoted in the piece.
There are new boundaries to set. And new priorities to establish.
The key to peaceful co-existence while the kids are home from college, Coburn suggests, is realizing how a secure sense of place is what many scholars on summer break truly seek.
“They expect their parents to be totally supportive of their changes — maybe the kid who used to only eat burgers has gone vegan, or cut off all her hair. But they really don’t want their parents to change at all,” she said. “They want things to be just as they were when they left.”
So maybe they're not ingrates invading their empty-nest space after all.
Maybe they just need a hug.

Grandparents Crossing "Digital Divide" To Stay in Touch

Social Media Make Distance in Age and Location Non-Factors

By A. Scott Walton

Did you know there’s actually a Hall of Fame for the "Best Advertising Slogans of All Time"?
Well, it’s true.
And a recent Wall Street Journal report on novel ways grandparents are using to re-connect with their off-springs’ children indicates that AT & T would be smart to revive its “Reach Out and Touch Someone” campaign from 1979.
The story – cleverly headlined, “OMG! My Grandparents R My BFF!" – spins uplifting tales of how the disconnect many grandparents have felt since their kids moved away and started their own families is increasingly being soothed by such applications as Facebook, Twitter, Skype and unlimited text-messaging services.
Retirees are sharing photos and videos of their “Golden Years” activities, and “gathering” for holidays with their grand kids in cyber-space. Teenagers are Tweeting to their grandparents about classroom concerns and growing pangs; bypassing mom and dad in the process.
Some suggest that the current fascination with high-tech devices and networks has made human interaction more fragmented and impersonal.
But what’s the harm in discovering and optimizing the most convenient and inexpensive means available to reach out and show you care?

DEAR, BOTOX MOM. JUST PUCKER UP AND BLOW!

TV viewers sound the alarm after witnessing injections

By a. Scott Walton
Here’s your reward, "Kerry Campbell", for being such a pathetic parent that you would inject a child’s lips with Botox to help her win beauty contests, and then have the gall to rationalize why you did it on national TV.
You win a quick trip to child custody court if you ever want to see your precious daughter "Britney" any time soon.
Thanks to mounting public outcry after the Campbell’s appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America”, and the mom exposed how and why she performs lip-plumping on her 8-year-old, San Francisco’s Human Services Agency reportedly stepped in to rescue the child from further potential harm.
Major questions loom before mother and child are re-united. Reportedly, the Campbells may have actually appeared on “GMA” under assumed names. And the actual location of where they live is under investigation.
Regardless of how this tabloid tale plays out, it should aptly be referred to as “Beauty and the Beast”.

ARNOLD AND MARIA: SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

Used-up action hero flops as a faithful father figure
By A. Scott Walton

1ST DEGREE: Having a baby out of wedlock.
2nd DEGREE: Having a baby out of wedlock with one of your employees.
3rd DEGREE: Having a baby out of wedlock with one of your employees, while married to someone else.
4th DEGREE: Having a baby out of wedlock with one of your employees, while married to someone else and putting your nuclear family (a wife and four kids) through the media intensity of your two terms as Governor.
5th DEGREE: Having a baby out of wedlock with one of your employees, while married to someone else and putting your nuclear family (a wife and four kids) through the media intensity of your two terms as Governor; AND keeping your “baby mama” on the payroll for ten years.
6th DEGREE: Delivering the lousiest 25th wedding anniversary present known to mankind.
No, after 25 years of marriage, Maria Shriver won’t be standing by her he-man now that’s been revealed he fathered a child by a domestic worker in 2001. She’s walked away from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and has not said, “I’ll be back.”
Who can blame her?
Once Shriver vs. Schwarzenegger goes through divorce court and the results of the settlement leak out, we’ll see who the real “Terminator” is.

As Adoption Rates Dip, Atlanta Agency Steps in to Reduce Qualms

Organization Helps Adoptive Parents: MyFoxATLANTA.com

If you're among the relative few Americans currently considering adoption, there is help and information available to help you make the right decision.
And there is encouraging news out there about how responsible adults can transition out of foster care as well.
IF YOU HAVE HELPFUL THOUGHTS, COMMENTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS, FEEL FREE TO SHARE...

CNN's "Don't Fail Me" Special Pinpoints Problems in U.S. High Schools

By A. Scott Walton

Soledad O’Brien’s latest documentary for CNN depicts what occurs when some of America’s best and brightest high school students compete to build multi-functional robots for a national competition.
What “Don’t Fail Me: Education in America” doesn’t show explicitly is how poorly “above average” American teens would fair in a similar contest against kids their age from China, India or Scandinavia.
But statistics spell out the likely outcome: since American high school students ranked 17th in science knowledge among 34 industrialized nations, and 25th in math, the results would be crushing.
“Don’t Fail Me”, which premieres Sunday, May 15 (8 p.m. ET) spotlights the glaring deficiencies in U.S. education that Xerox Corporation CEO, Ursula Burns, describes as a cause for domestic “panic”.
U.S. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, that American kids are falling so far behind in math and science that foreigners are poised to claim millions of technology-oriented jobs in the U.S. very soon.
The special, which will re-air periodically, follows three teams of high school juniors and seniors from Tennessee, Arizona and New Jersey as they strive to prove their skills in robotics. Along the way, they must overcome isoloation and their parents’ apathy, cluelessness or expectations for over-achievement.
In each case, the featured students suffer disappointment and the itchy question, “What’s next?”.
On a positive note: CNN’s “Don’t Fail Me” special points out how dedicated and enthusiastic some U.S. teens are about making the best of all the educational opportunities available to them. But on the discouraging side, “Don’t Fail Me” spells out how few and far between such students are.

Anger Management Tips Moms and Dads Need

By A. Scott Walton
Last week, our first-grader came home from charter school with a swelling knot on his head the size of a Titleist Pro-V1.
How exactly he got pushed into a support pole on the playground's monkey bars remains a mystery. He's acted like a reluctant witness for the prosecution when asked to explain how the girl (whose name he only mumbles) ambushed him after she was "kicked out" of a group assembling cedar chip mountains. He talks fast, in evasive terms.
Perhaps I'm violating the "What happens on the playground stays on the playground" ethos by even asking.
If that's the case, what parent couldn't use timely advice to help prevent, quell, or resolve incidents of angry outbursts their kids play a part in?
A recent report by Parenting magazine reminds us that, "The way kids express anger evolves as much as they do". And the article, shared by CNN.com, offers toddler-to-tween tips about communication skills that concerned parents should practice at home and encourage for confrontations that occur at school.

The "Laughing Baby": Funny 'ha-ha', or funny 'strange'?

The details surrounding how a sourly staged video clip showing an infant giggling under manipulative stimulation became one of the world’s biggest news stories escapes.
So, frankly, does any hint of interest.
Upon viewing the clip some “monster” server spewed at me with “must-see” urgency, I clicked off; out of boredom and revulsion.
So, Dad, you’ve found a way to make your kid laugh to the brink of gagging. So much so that the convulsive impulses you elicit while tearing up rejection letters just HAD to be recorded and “shared”.
Congrats. You’re social media’s latest one-hit wonder.
Wasn’t it enough to just enjoy quality time with the kid? Shouldn’t you just reflect on the fact that most people these days aren’t even being shown the decency of having a rejection letter (Seriously? A printed letter?).
You may have a seat on the morning couch next to Matt Lauer now, but I suggest you read the new issue of GQ where Billy Ray Cyrus confesses how much his parenting experience suffered from foisting his child, Miley, into the spotlight.

Useful Tips For Easing Kids Through Divorce

Consider this advice to stay connected after the split

The Chicago Tribune offers these timely bits of wisdom for the growing number of parents who've decided to part ways but still want their children to know they're loved no matter what.
The gist of the story boils down to three principals: Patience, planning and participation.
Do these strategies work for you (if, unfortunately, the situation applies)?

Parents' Spats Cause Kids Long-Term Harm

Twenty-year study cites bickering for bad relationships
By A. Scott Walton
Simmer down, mom and dad.
Any disagreements between you two that boil over into raging disputes can marinate in your kids' psyches for decades.
By now you've probably heard about the University of Minnesota study suggesting that persistent conflicts between parents are the reason why children have difficulty maintaining solid relationships once they reach adulthood.
But if you haven't, give the notion some thought.
Maybe you'll earn the right to spoil grandkids some day if you learn to squash the drama now.

Disney Wants To Snuggle With Your Newborn

Global brand delivers free outfits to nation's nurseries
By A. Scott Walton
Normally, parents instinctively shudder at the thought of anything invading the guarded space around their babies.
But defense mechanisms are apparently melting now that the brand that Mickey Mouse built has begun a nationwide drive to captivate the cradle crowd.
The Disney company's latest venture, a Baby collection, is actively reaching out to new consumers by providing free sets of swaddling clothes stamped - of course - with images of its best-selling franchise films.
By summer, DisneyBay apparel will have prominent retail placement online (for reasonable prices) as well as at select (Target, Nordstrom) stores.
Given that the U.S./Canada market for baby products runs in the estimated range of $36 billion, one wonders what took Disney so long to stake a claim.
Is this gambit Goofey to you? Or just smart business?
LEAVE A COMMENT!

Child Obesity Linked To 'Force-Fed' Solid Food

Parents urged to keep baby's diet milk-based for four months

By A. Scott Walton
Rumor has it that some of Hollywood's leading ladies have found a secret to staying slim and sexy: eating a diet consisting of baby food.
But scientists are now asserting that the opposite holds true for children. Too much baby food too soon, according to new studies, increases a child's potential of being obese by age three.
A clinical study cited by ABC News, among others, says that tots are more than six times more likely to be overweight than those infants who were breast-fed for at least the first four months.
But this raises a valid and frustrating question: What are those mothers who can't breast feed left with as healthy alternatives. Any ideas?
LEAVE A COMMENT!

Trouble Conceiving? Try Yoga!

Stress relief, support may boost fertility
By A. Scott Walton
By now, the physical and spiritual benefits of practicing yoga during pregnancy are well-established?
But who knew that women struggling with infertility might have more success conceiving if they, too, struck a pose now and then?
According to a New York Times report, yoga helps ease the frustrations associated with failed attempts to get pregnant. The story suggests that specialized yoga classes for women receiving fertility treatments can alleviate some of the stress that comes with the process and decrease the sense of isolation.
While the medical community hasn't fully concluded that yoga effectively increases the chances of conception, the theory hasn't been totally been debunked either.
Relaxation techniques are no panacea. Still, a little 'downward facing dog' in your life can't hurt much, can it?

Survival Guide for Single Parents

ADVICE FOR GUARDIANS WHO NEED TO GET A LIFE...
By A. SCOTT WALTON


This item might be of interest if you're convinced it takes a village to successfully raise a child single-handedly, or with varying degrees of assistance.
Who doesn't love a list? And this ABC news affiliate report on single parenting has a good one.
Key points: Get to know who you and the kid(s) depend upon as much as possible before committing to shared responsibility; and always keep open lines ofcommunication when entering romantic relationships.