Cross-posted at MotherTalkers.
Good morning fellow moms, dads and caregivers!
I am back with your weekly parenting news update. Here are some topics we recently discussed at MotherTalkers:
We had a lot of discussion over who we would choose to care for our children in the event something tragic happened to us. (Don't forget to write your wills, people!) The discussion was sparked by this diary of a controversial Washington Post column in which the columnist, Carolyn Hax, let this woman off the hook even though she said she would not take in her niece and nephew even if it meant they would have to go to foster care. The woman actually had the audacity to write Carolyn all hurt that she was not invited to her niece's and nephew's birthday parties -- and Hax coddled her. We thought the letter writer needed to grow a thicker skin and allow her sister to mourn the relationship she thought she had. After all, she basically told her sister that in a worst case scenario -- every parent's nightmare -- she would not be there for the children. Do you have backup guardians? Why did you choose them?
In somewhat related news, a diarist here at Daily Kos, "coquiero," wrote a wonderful piece on why it bothers her when people say she is a great mom. The mother of three, including a severely autistic 9-year-old, said it is almost a copout for not helping out. I agree with her that the biggest compliment anyone can pay a mom -- or any caregiver for that matter -- is a helping hand.
Fellow MotherTalker GiGi, who has a wonderful blog of her own called One Lazy Liberal, wrote about how industry is disgustingly trying to sell the toxic chemical BPA, which is surprisingly in a host of baby and children's products. She made sure to expose the names of some of the companies involved in this deceitful and unethical campaign, including Coca-Cola and the Grocery Manufacturers Association. What creeps.
In a more light-hearted discussion, we swapped ideas on home remedies. For example, did you know that Vicks VapoRub can also get rid of unsightly toe nail fungus? Ladies' Home Journal listed this and other home remedies as well as myths you should discontinue like treating burns with butter.
As I mentioned before, I went with my husband, children and in-laws to Connecticut and Washington D.C. two weeks ago. Here are some photos to stow away in the gratuitous file.
How is everyone doing? Have a good weekend!