Dec 3 2012
By Tamar Fox at 3:02 pm
All the parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
- The Duchess of Cambridge is totally knocked up! And apparently has really bad morning sickness. We’re hoping she recovers quickly and we cannot wait to add her exploits to the Kid-Dish! (Remember how she might be Jewish?). (Washington Post).
- If we go over the fiscal cliff, guess who will be most adversely effected? Women and children living in poverty. Oy. (New York Times)
- Yahoo! CEO Marisa Mayer had her baby, didn’t take maternity leave, and is now saying her baby is “easy.” Some moms aren’t happy with that, but another asks why we can’t just accept that she’s an outlier. (Slate DoubleX)
- There’s a new prenatal test that can detect genetic issues, is way less invasive than an amnio, and can be done earlier in the pregnancy. The catch? The tests aren’t regulated by the FDA and are very expensive. (Washington Post)
Nov 26 2012
By Tamar Fox at 5:01 pm
All the Jewish parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
- Here’s a round up of some of the worst parenting advice from the last three hundred years. Our favorite is the theory that colic was caused by angry mom’s breast milk. (DoubleX)
- A religious Jew, active in her synagogue and married to a rabbi, is also an agnostic. She writes in the New York Times about answering her childrens’ questions about God. (Motherlode)
- A preschool teacher decided to get rid of all the toys in his classroom and replace it all with cardboard boxes. The new “toys” spurred more creative play, and empowered quieter kids to speak out and be creative. (Huffington Post)
- Two moms in Oregon started a non-profit to combat the staggering levels of malnutrition in orphanages all over the world. (Huffington Post)
- Now that Kevin Clash, the man who voices Elmo, has resigned from Sesame Street amid some torrid allegations, the rest of the puppeteering team has to forge on without him. (NY Times)
Nov 19 2012
By Tamar Fox at 3:58 pm
All the Jewish parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
This week we’re focusing our News Roundup on parenting stories that focus on the recent rocket attacks in Israel, and Israel’s military response:
- The New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief, Jodi Rudoren, was interviewed by the Sisterhood blog about being a reporter and a mom who has kids living in Jerusalem as she reports on the recent events in Gaza. Maybe it’s a front but this lady seems tough as nails.
- Jessica Apple, a mom in Jerusalem, writes in the New York Times about how she’s talking to her kids about what’s going on, and about her lost hope in the peace process. Sad, and riveting.
- An Israeli dad writes an open letter to a Palestinian man who lost his daughter in an Israeli missile attack. Heartbreaking.
Nov 5 2012
By Tamar Fox at 4:01 pm
All the parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
- Is it harder to raise a child with a disability, or a child genius? An article in this week’s New York Times Magazine examines the surprising similarities. (NYT)
- One mom faced a heartbreaking choice: deliver her baby early enough that it would be at risk for severe impairment, or do nothing and wait to miscarry. She wrote about her situation and her decision for Slate’s DoubleX blog. (Slate)
- A woman goes to a restaurant (with kids, presumably), orders $138 worth of food, and leaves no tip, instead writing, “Single mom, sorry” on the tip line. A photo of this receipt went viral this week, prompting lots of questions and judgements. (Washington Post)
- A professor whose study indicated that gay parents were ill-equipped to raise children now says that his research methods were flawed. His university has called an investigation, but the professor, Mark Regnerus, says he stands by his findings. (The Advocate)
- And this was a week of tragedies. The murder of the two Krim children in Manhattan, the two children swept away from their mother during Hurricane Sandy on Staten Island, and a child killed after falling into an exhibit at the Pittsburgh zoo. Our hearts go out to all of those grieving. (NYT/ABC)
- Finally, some happy news: a woman went into labor in the middle of the hurricane in New Jersey. Though she wasn’t planning a home birth she did wonderfully, and all despite the lack of power or water during the birth. Mom and baby are both doing well. (Huffington Post)
Oct 22 2012
By Kveller at 12:48 pm
All the parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
- Looking for a sperm donor, and hoping for something A-list? A new clinic in England called Fame Daddy will sell you some very expensive A-list swimmers. The catch is that you won’t know exactly which celeb donated the sperm, and your future child can’t find out until he or she is 18 (and isn’t entitled to any money). [Update: It's most likely a hoax.] (Jezebel)
- New research says that school-age kids need 10-11 hours of sleep a night. A nice idea, but how do you make that happen? (Motherlode)
- Siblings fight. It’s inevitable. But when should you step in, and when should you just let them work it out themselves? Dr. Peggy Drexler has some tips. (Huffington Post)
- In last week’s Presidential debate, Gov. Mitt Romney answered a question about assault weapons with a mini-lecture on the importance of two-parent families. Are single moms to blame for gun violence? Um, no. (Slate)
Oct 15 2012
By Kveller at 12:56 pm
All the Jewish parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
Part of the Kindergarten Canon.
- Education Analyst (and father) Michael Petrilli has developed a list of 100 books he feels every English-speaking child should read. (Thomas B. Fordham Institute)
- A new study by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine shows that the development of ADHD in children may be linked to how much mercury-rich fish the child’s mother ate during her pregnancy. (Reuters)
- The Upper East Side is home to a great “breastfeeding resource,” Yummy Mummy, which caters to moms of every sort, and offers prenatal breastfeeding classes to locals. (New York Times)
- Children with autism may wander away from home more frequently than was once believed, according to a new study, which says that about half of those children with Autism Spectrum Disorder will run away from home, and of those, at least half are missing long enough to raise serious concern. (ABC News)
- A significant increase in the number of children given CT scans when brought to a hospital is raising a red flag for some who believe such tests may increase the risk of cancer later in life. (Reuters)
Sep 24 2012
By Kveller at 8:26 pm
All the Jewish parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
- In the first ever government regulation of circumcisions in the United States, New York City is now requiring some Jewish parents to sign a disclaimer that states they understand the risk of herpes contraction during an aspect of circumcision practiced in some communities called metztizah b’peh. The decision, supported by Mayor Bloomberg, comes after two children recently contracted the disease during the ritual. (New York Times)
- A new study shows that parents are not as likely to pick up prescriptions for long-term-health motivated vitamins as they are to pick up antibiotics. (ABC News)
- Does your child play with Water Balz? Doctors warn against the gel balls, which are a choking hazard for toddlers. (Reuters)
- A new study shows that kids with recurring urinary tract infections should start drinking high-concentration PAC cranberry juice, which can curtail the risk of recurrence. (Reuters)
- New York parents share some of their craziest experiences to date: five-hour bus rides to forced 9:45 a.m. lunch hours to American Apparel boycotts. (Babble)
- A compilation of the best parenting tweets this week including, “Happy 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah to all the Jews whose preschoolers r still home for the holiday- creating lots of opportunity for atonement.” (Huffington Post)
- Here’s a profile and discussion on a class based on Wendy Mogel’s book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, which teaches parents how to apply teachings from the Torah to their parenting. (New York Times)
- In need of a personal parent coach? Starting at $30 a month for online coaching and $75 a month for in-person coaching, the self-help fad is beginning to catch on. (New York Times)
Aug 27 2012
By Kveller at 3:01 pm
All the parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
-As the debate over circumcision rages on in Europe, the American Academy of Pediatrics has shifted its position and come out in favor of circumcision indicating that the health benefits outweigh the risks. (New York Times)
-Circumcision rates vary greatly across the United States. Almost 90% of the baby boys born in West Virginia were circumcised in 2009 while the procedure was performed on only 12% of baby boys in Nevada. Want to know why? (The Foward)
-What is your parenting style? Jezebel offers a round up of the all the latest parenting fads. Hypnosis parenting anyone? (Jezebel)
-We asked for help, and Kveller readers respond here with their take on Jewish v. secular preschool. (Forward)
Aug 13 2012
By Kveller at 4:56 pm
All the Jewish parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
- The New York Times Magazine asks: What’s so bad about a boy who wants to wear a dress? Gender-variant children are explored in this fascinating article, asking why it’s no big deal for girls to dress like boys, but not the other way around. (NYT)
- We loss some great, entertaining Jews this past week, including This American Life contributer David Rakoff, who died from cancer at age 47, and Marvin Hamlisch, creator of “A Chorus Line” and winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and Pulitzer Prize. (NPR/Forward)
- This week, the Times broke the news on how cool and amazing stay-at-home dads are. What if we talked about stay-at-home moms in this way? (Mommyish)
- Here’s something that will probably make you gag: an exposé on high-end fashion designers who make clothes for tots, and the mothers who buy them. (USA Today)
- A sex-ed teacher has posted her middle school students’ anonymous questions about sex online, and they are, as you can imagine, really adorable. (Buzzfeed)
Jul 30 2012
By Kveller at 5:20 pm
All the Jewish parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week.
- It seems like everyone has been debating what it means to “have it all”–but maybe what we should really be asking ourselves if we have enough. Having a severely disabled son taught this writer that it is possible to be content (and even happy) by approaching life with this attitude. (The Atlantic)
- New studies show that toddlers not only understand the nuances between “right” and wrong”–they also know that the rule applies differently to different groups of people. (Daily Mail)
- Why are Americans suddenly so determined to give their children unique names? This list of truly painful names (and the author’s commentary) is too good to miss. Hello, Sketch and Brook’lynn. (Deadspin)
- Sepsis–a serious and often un-diagnosed infection–is a leading cause of death in US hospitals. Why isn’t more being done to prevent people, such as 12-year-old Rory Staunton, from dying of this terrible (and, if properly diagnosed, treatable) infection? (The New York Times)
- A whopping 37% of births in the US today are unplanned–a major increase since the 90s. What is causing this trend, especially among unmarried women? (Slate)
