Parental Guidance Tip: Potty Training Takes Time

What's the Rush? Why Not Nurture Baby In the Process

By A. Scott Walton Believe it or not, there are esteemed scientists whose duty is to track how and when toddlers 'go dooty' in the bathroom instead of their Huggies. Companies like Pampers and Pull-Ups rely heavily on this knowledge. And the sort of parents who lean on such literary canons as "Potty Training Your Toddler in a Weekend". The Stir does a good job of weighing the book's pros and cons in a recent (hindsight) review. But the essential question remains: is potty training a process parents rush through for their own sake, or for the enduring well-being of their kids? Here's a song in praise of letting nature take its course...

Parental Guidance: Billy Crystal Nails Neuroses

Is this comic actor still funny 'ha-ha' or funny 'strange'? Is the prospect of pairing Bette Midler with Billy Crystal as a long-married couple in a major holiday movie as preposterous as it sounds? Sound off if you're planning to see "Parental Guidance" when it debuts in theatres this Christmas. And let us know if it was worth it.

Parental Guidance Tip: Keep Gifts in Perspective

Observe the Holiday by Honoring Household Rules

Sometimes it feels good to hear, "You shouldn't have", after a gift you gave just got unwrapped. Other times, you get that death stare that says unequivocally, "You REALLY shouldn't have." Even when you mean well, some of your presents might be viewed as tactless or even tasteless by friends, family and co-workers as well. As the holiday hoopla rushes in, it's best to pause and consider the boundaries some people set up around gift-giving. Cost. Age-appropriateness. Moral standards. And known personal preferences all can and should play into your decision. This brings us around to suggestion you give a listen to the "Passport to Parenting" online radio show beaming out of Portland. Hostesses Ann DeWitt and Kim DeMarchi apply their experience as family counselors and educators to spry conversations about the pleasures and pitfalls involved with raising kids. They recently aired an episode related to wise gift-giving that worth a listen.

"Grand" Gestures and Tax Questions

Don't Let Grandparents Get Blind-Sided by College Funds

Any envelope bearing funds from grandparents to help pay your kids' freight for college is a sight for sore eyes. But there are tax consequences as well as advantages that accompany Christmas gifts intended to help fund education. The NASDAQ news service has timely tips to consider; especially when grandparents mean well by starting a college fund, but aren't fully informed. Read it, and reap.

Attachment Parenting: Enough Already?

When Is It Time to Give All That Cuddling A Rest?

Have you got that image from the controversial Time Magazine cover out of your system yet? Do you a devotee of Dr. Sears' "The Baby Book"? Or have you found better uses for all those pages touting unlimited breast-feeding, and child-toting and co-sleeping; like lining the bird cage with them. This segment from Time's web site put things in clearer perspective, even if it doesn't make a definitive judgement.

Learn the Adoption Basics, And Radically Change A Life

Just because the month of November is nearly over, that doesn't mean you've let another year pass by without following that inkling you've had about being ready to adopt. National Adoption Month can serve as anniversary as the very first step you took in an elaborate, but rewarding, process. Linking up with a reputable organization like American Adoptions can launch you toward success. They don't have to be your sole source of information or guidance, but they could certainly serve as a starting point. For more information, call: 1-800-ADOPTION

The Elmo Effect: Truth or Dare?

"Parental Guidance Suggeted" Ask yourself: What about Elmo?

If Elmo’s not even immune to a sex scandal these days, who is? Now that the creator and voice of the lovable and lucrative Sesame Street character has just resigned his post amid allegations of inappropriate contact with a same-sex partner, where can parents turn for answers? Kevin Clash has his own problems to deal with. Parents who've turned their kids into Elmo accolytes have theirs too. For many years, newborns and toddlers have been kept occupied by Elmo in his varied incarnations while the grown-ups could attend to other needs around the home. Now, somehow has to explain the bad news behind that man who made Elmo if the details and rumors reach their tender ears. As a parent, can you separate the muppet from the man? Which matters most: questions of character, or the “character” itself?

Kids Cook Too!

Quick And Easy Quesadillas

CDC Study: Open Eyes, Ears Thwart Child Suicides

Sometimes a cry for help comes in a whisper. That’s the caution to parents issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

. The CDC has a new report that equates a parent’s worst fear _ a child’s suicide _ with potential signs of a disturbed mind. But there are indications that intervention can prevent such a catastrophe. Parents just need to be on lookout for the warning signs that school or peer pressure, substance abuse, physical trauma or bullying might lead their kids to mortally injure themselves. At the risk of being invasive, parents owe it to themselves and their offspring to pick and probe every opening for positive and open communication.

Gettin' Jiggy with "Ick!"

Parents Flaunt Hip-Hop Skills

Do the French Make Better Mothers?

Kathie Lee & Hoda Probe the Parisienne Way of Parenting

Celebs Chime In To Support St. Jude's Hospital

Count your blessings. Then open your wallet for a great cause. By A. Scott Walton When was the last time a commercial made you cry? If this one, showcasing certain celebrities' unselfish sides, doesn't do it, what will? The St. Jude Children's Hospital performs daily miracles. Whether families can pay for critical care or not, St. Jude wraps cancer-stricken kids in the love and support they desperately need and sorely appreciate. Visit the St. Jude web site and make a donation if you can spare anything to foster a great cause.

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?