Cross-posted at MotherTalkers.
Hello fellow moms, dads and caregivers!
I am back with your weekly parenting news update. Here are some topics we recently discussed at MotherTalkers:
I posted an update on the mom who considered firing her mother's helper for venting about her daughter on Facebook. At the end, she chose to keep the MH -- but have a conversation with her -- because her daughters like her.
Marie Claire magazine wrote a provocative piece about non-custodial mothers. Unfortunately, some vocal readers lashed out against the mothers in the article.
Our "brave" confessed to buying her 8-year-old son a cell phone. Do your children own their own cell phones? At what age did you buy them one?
We had an intense discussion about a proposed swine flu vaccine for school children in October. Will your child be receiving the swine flu shot this fall?
I called out a California doctor for admitting she would purchase glass baby bottles to avoid the plastic toxin bisphenol A after she voted against listing it as a reproductive and neurological toxin under the state's Proposition 65.
I have been working on numerous anti-toxic initiatives for the family organization MomsRising.org. Besides BPAs, I have been heavily lobbying on behalf of bill SB 772, which would rid a California de facto standard requiring flame retardants in certain baby products. These flame retardants, by the way, were banned from children's sleepwear in 1977. Here is a news story in, of all places, FOX News about it.
Here is one last environmental story to scare you: Prenatal exposure to smog has been linked to lower IQ scores in children, according to a study covered by the Associated Press. But, there is something we can do to treat childhood illnesses besides fight for the environment. We can make sure that every child in the United States has access to healthcare. We had a thread at MotherTalkers hashing out ways we can help pass President Obama's plan for healthcare reform.
The annual BlogHer conference is taking place in Chicago today. Unfortunately, I could not attend because it was not in the family budget this year. But I hope to attend next year. If you are there, please fill us in on the fun!
What's up with you?