Archive for September, 2012

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo: Are you appalled?

Thursday, September 27, 2012 by:moms@sfgate.com (Amy Graff)
Comment
Comments(2)

|
|

Have you heard of Honey Boo Boo? You might not want to admit it but chances are that you have. After all this 7-year-old beauty pageant queen whose real name is Alana Thompson has become a pop culture phenomenon. New York fashion mogul Simon Doonan called her “today’s Shirley Temple.”

Boo Boo first made a name for herself on TLC’s infamous reality show Toddlers & Tiaras. In her most famous episode she guzzles her mom’s homemade concoction of Mountain Dew and Red Bull (aka Go-Go Juice) before stepping onto the pageant stage.

This little fireball gained even more stardom by landing her own reality show and last night marked the end of the first season of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which looks at Alana’s off-stage life and her red neck family. But never fear: More episodes are on the way. TLC announced that it’s releasing three more holiday special before year’s end.

Now seems like a good time to reflect on this show that attracted some 2 to 3 million viewers per episode. Was Honey Boo Boo one of the worst or one of the most entertaining shows to ever hit prime time television?

If you never caught an episode, you need to know that the cast of characters includes stay-at-home mom June, chalk-mining dad Sugar Bear, and sisters 12-year-old Lauryn  ”Pumpkin,” 15-year-old Jessica “Chubbs,” and 17-year-old pregnant Anna “Chickadee.” The show depicts them doing their favorite things: picking up road kill, bobbing for pigs’ feet, four-wheeling through mud pits, and eating piles of junk food. In one episode, Honey Boo Boo is depressed because of a string of pageant losses. Sugar Bear cheers up his princess by bringing home a pet teacup pig who Alana names Glitzy.

This might all sound rather entertaining but the sad thing is that TLC sensationalizes the family’s red neck ways and you get this sick feeling that Boo Boo is being exploited. The show also seems like an unfair and unrealistic depiction of small-town Georgia families, and as an AP article suggests, “perpetuates offensive stereotypes.” The show basically says that red necks are fat, foul, uneducated, and poor. Many McIntyre locals are upset by this.

What do you think? Did you catch an episode of Honey Boo Boo? Were you entertained or appalled?

Honey Boo Boo caused quite a stir when she guzzled Go-Go Juice on Toddlers & Tiaras. Here’s a look at a few other controversial moments from the reality show.

Paul Ryan supporters post images of their gun-shooting kids on Twitter

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 by:moms@sfgate.com (Amy Graff)
Comment
Comments

|
|

Yesterday, while campaigning in Ohio, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan made a pit stop at Outdoor World to buy his 10-year-old daughter some camouflage clothing. We’re not talking about a trendy camo mini skirt. Ryan spent $101.14 on a hunting jacket and a pair of gloves for Liza to wear on her first deer-hunting trip.

“She’s going to get to go hunting this year for the first time,” Ryan told NBC News. “She’s 10 years old so she can hunt starting at 10.

“She’s been getting ready, she’s been practicing,” he added. “I just need to get her some clothes.”

Ryan also told NBC reporters that he already purchased his up-and-coming huntress a Remington 700 .243 junior model rifle last year.

Ryan fans went wild over his shopping spree and applauded him for exposing his daughter to the sport at a young age. Many responded by posting images on Twitter of their own young daughters shooting guns.

The flurry of tweets celebrating girls and guns seemed to start with conservative blogger and Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin. She tweeted out a message reading:

I took my 12-year-old daughter shooting this summer for her 12th birthday. Self defense is one of the best gifts you can give a girl.

Others responded to Malkin by sharing images of their girls with guns, and here’s a look at a few of those images that are circulating around the Twitter universe today.

 

 

 

 


Follow The Mommy Files on Facebook and on Twitter @bayareamoms.


[NBC News, Twitchy, Daily Mail]

The popular children’s toy that’s injuring thousands

Tuesday, September 25, 2012 by:moms@sfgate.com (Amy Graff)
Comment
Comments

|
|

Nearly 100,000 kids were injured on trampolines in 2009. The most common injuries include sprains, strains and contusions. (Shutterstock / Sonya Etchison)

In the backyards of family homes across America, kids are jumping up and down and doing flips and other fancy gymnastics moves. Trampolines are now one of the hottest toys for kids and they’re at the top of many children’s holiday and birthday wish lists.

But now the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is saying that kids shouldn’t be bouncing around on backyard trampolines and they’re asking pediatricians to help them spread the word about their dangers.

In the past the AAP has published guidelines for safe trampoline use but yesterday the organization released revised guidelines stating that the play equipment should be entirely avoided because too many children are getting injured.

Trampoline injury rates skyrocketed in the 1990s, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s
(USCPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), and peaked in 2004. Rates have decreased ever since, yet a statement published in the Pediatrics journal cited nearly 100,000 trampoline injuries in 2009, with 3,100 of those kids going to the hospital.

Dr. Michele LaBotz, leading author of the new AAP statement and a sports medicine physician at Intermed Sports Medicine in Portland, Me., told NBC News:

I think parents see the soft springy mat and they think it’s safe, like water,” LaBotz said. “What they don’t realize is that once you get it to bouncing, especially if there are multiple users, it can be dangerous. Bigger kids and adults like to rocket propel up the little kids, getting them to bounce higher than they would otherwise and if the kid comes down wrong, it is the same as falling 9 or 10 feet onto a hard surface.

Pediatricians need to actively discourage recreational trampoline use,” said LaBotz, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics executive council on sports medicine and fitness. “This is not a toy. It’s a piece of equipment. We recommend that you not provide it for your family or your neighbors to use. But if you do use one, you need to be aware of the risks.

Most trampoline accidents occur when more than one person is jumping and smaller younger kids are at a greater risk. The most common injuries include sprains, strains and contusions, and cervical spine injuries can occur when a child attempts somersaults or flips or falls off the trampoline. Trampolines now typically come with a safety net that surrounds the trampoline to prevent falls but the AAP report indicates that these are often ineffective.

What do you think? Is the AAP overreacting?

My kids recently bounced around on a trampoline with a pack of kids at a friend’s house. The fun ended with two kids colliding and knocking heads. I also hurt myself when I was climbing down the tramp’s ladder and fell and got my leg tangled up in the rungs. My leg was black and blue with a bruise that extended from my hip to my knee for several weeks. Nobody went to the hospital but I can understand why injuries are common. But then again kids get hurt climbing trees, riding bikes, jumping on beds, and simply running around. Are trampolines any more dangerous?

Video: Star Wars theme soothes screaming baby

Tuesday, September 25, 2012 by:moms@sfgate.com (Amy Graff)
Comment
Comments

|
|

Some parents swaddle their crying babies. Others sing them sweet lullabies or stick them in a swing. And then there are the parents who used The Force (yes, as in Star Wars) to calm their fussy child. A YouTube video posted by the parents shows how the 4-month-old immediately quiets when the Star Wars theme song starts playing.

Last week, YouTube user SebastianL2012 posted the video to show the song’s magical powers:

We discovered by accident that the Star Wars Theme Song has magical abilities to calm the baby down. He was screaming and crying in the car one day, and the MP3 player started playing this song and he just stopped. Then, every time after that when he’d be crying for no reason (we knew his diaper was clean, tummy was full, etc.) and we’d play this song, he’d perk right up.

The video has since traveled throughout the Internet galaxy with nearly 300,000 pageviews and appeared in the Huffington Post and Jezebel.

There are so many things that could be done with the great finding in this video? Airlines could add a Star Wars listening channel on plane flights so parents can play the theme song for their wailing kids on flights. Put headphones on the kids and presto!  And a toy maker should create a musical Yoda stuffed animal that plays the theme song. Any other ideas?

[Huffington Post]

Should children be relegated to the back of the plane?

Monday, September 24, 2012 by:moms@sfgate.com (Amy Graff)
Comment
Comments

|
|

Asia Air is the second airline to banish families from the front of the plane. The low-cost Malaysian airline has created a Quiet Zone behind first-class that can only be used by passengers age 12 and older, according to the Economist.

Asia Air announced the new seating section on its website this month with a message saying that and the “Quiet Zone” is meant for those who want “a more peaceful journey”—and it seems like a great idea if everyone sitting in this zone is truly quiet. An adult chomping obnoxiously on potato chips can be just as annoying as a fussy baby.

Seats within the seven-row zone don’t cost more than other coach seats but travelers who want to be in the front of the plane must pay a seat-selecting charge. The new zone will be added to planes beginning in February 2013.

Earlier this year, Air Asia’s main rival, Malaysian Airlines, made national news headlines when it was the first airline to add a kid-free zone to some of its routes as a way to attract business travelers. Last year, the same airline introduced a policy not allowing kids to fly in first-class.

Crying babies on planes cause discomfort for all parties involved. Passengers are easily irritated by their cries while parents become anxious and embarrassed when their children breaks into a loud wail. And the poor babies sense all this stress and only cry louder. Is sticking the babies in the back of the plane the solution?

Mom thrown in jail for letting kids play outside—huh?

Sunday, September 23, 2012 by:moms@sfgate.com (Amy Graff)
Comment
Comments(1)

|
|

Back in the “good-old days,” a kid came home from school, gulped down a glass of milk, changed into grubby clothes and raced outside to meet up with a pack of neighborhood kids. Together they all ran around wildly, catching frogs, climbing trees and making mud pies. All of this was done without any adult supervision, or maybe mom or dad poked a head out the front door a couple times to make sure everything was under control.

Yes, kid nirvana still exists in some neighborhoods around the country but many would agree that those days of children playing freely and safely outside are endangered. Today’s kids are either over-programmed with dance classes, math tutors, and soccer practice—or they’re glued to a screen. What’s more, parents often perceive the outdoors as being unsafe, even though crime is down overall.

And then there’s the woman in Texas who saw two kids, ages 6 and 9, playing on the front lawn next-door and decided to call the cops because she thought the kids shouldn’t be playing outside unsupervised. It turns out that the kids’ mom was actually sitting outside in a lawn chair but when the police arrived they didn’t believe her story. They threw Tammy Cooper into the police car and into a jail cell.

“Orange jump suit, in a cell, slammed the door, for 18 hours,” Cooper told KPRC-TV.

Cooper was arrested for child endangerment and she is disputing the charges. According to Yahoo News:

Cooper is suing the La Porte Police Department, the officer, and the neighbor who made the call. In a statement, the police department said it was “confident of the known actions of the officers on the scene that evening.” The neighbor had no comment.

Toys R Us releases 2012 list of hottest holiday toys

Thursday, September 20, 2012 by:moms@sfgate.com (Amy Graff)
Comment
Comments

|
|

You might not be thinking about Christmas but Toys R Us is already making its list and checking it twice.

This week the mega toy retailer released a sneak peek at the hottest toys for the 2012 holidays. Take a look above.

The jaded and cynical mom in me sees overpriced, landfill-bound junk. Everything is made from plastic. Where are the sturdy wooden toys on this list?

I’m especially irritated by the Tabeo for kids as young as 3 years. It’s basically a kiddie iPhone with Wi-Fi and apps and countless studies have shown that little minds don’t benefit from computer play. Or maybe it’s better described as a babysitter for parents who need a break. But instead of sticking a screen in a toddler’s hand, parents should hire the 13-year-old next door to read books to the kid. Oh yeah, she won’t be free because she’ll be busy playing with her new Wii, which her parents pre-ordered because this is the season’s hottest toy and is apparently already almost sold out.

That said, I know my kids would be gaily dancing around the living room on Christmas morning if they opened up a few of these things.

Take the adorable-looking Furby, for example. This has my 9-year-old daughter’s name written all over it. She was a huge fan of those silly little Zhu Zhu hamster things that scurried around the floor and made me screen. But Furby seems even cooler (and less rodent like) as it develops its own personality based on how you treat it. Give it a tickle and its personality might become silly! My 8-year-old son spends his free time building stuff with Legos and I’m sure he’d love the especially large and expensive Ninjango set.

What do you think of the Toys R Us list? Will you be buying your kids anything off this list?

Would you rather get your kids something cool and retro? Check out these toys from the 20th century.

Tearjerker alert: Three years later, boy reunites with lost lovey (video)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012 by:moms@sfgate.com (Amy Graff)
Comment
Comments

|
|

After three years apart, a boy gets to hug his favorite lovey. (YouTube)

A YouTube video about a boy’s tearful reunion with his long-lost blue monkey is making people across the country cry. The video has nearly a million page views and this week the Today Show‘s Moms blog covered the story.

The video is about a young boy who lost his favorite blue monkey named Ah-ah on a camping trip in Colo.’s Rocky Mountain National Park three years ago.

The boy was devastated. His family searched and searched for the favorite lovey but never found him.

But his persistent mom never gave up hope and recently came across the monkey. Watch the video below to find out how this family’s incredible search for a favorite lovey came to an end. Just be sure to grab some tissue before you hit play.

The video struck a chord with me because I once left my favorite teddy bear on an airplane and was absolutely crestfallen. My Mom contacted the airline who found my bear and returned him in the mail wearing a pair of wings.

Have you ever helped your child find a lost blanket or stuffed animal?

Page 1 of 3123