Disney Makes Me Sad

I have a love/hate relationship with Disney, the way that a lot of parents probably do. There are movies and tv shows that I absolutely love, and I dream about taking my kids on a Disney cruise and/or to Disney World or Disneyland. Yet, I really do hate the incessant marketing and some of the messages that get sent out. In the end, though, Disney usually wins out. I can't resist the magic.

Today, though, I'm really unhappy with Disney.

When we were living in the US, my two middle kids - then my two youngest - were just toddlers. The Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney were staples in our house. Just before we moved back to Canada, we discovered The Imagination Movers.

If you haven't heard of them, the Movers are four very talented musicians from New Orleans - Scott, Smitty, Dave and Rich. They had been working as kids' musicians for several years when Disney offered them their own show. In the show, the Movers worked in The Idea Warehouse, solving problems for their "customers." There was a friend, Nina, and her Uncle Knitknots who worked next door. Warehouse Mouse was a friend who lived in the warehouse with them. The music was joyful and contagious. The shows were funny. I think I fell in love with the show even before my kids did.

But once they fell, they fell HARD. At one point we had about 20 episodes of Imagination Movers on our DVR at any given time. If the two of them were getting out of control, or just needed some quiet time, we would just run one show after another. We had cds and dvds. We wanted to take the kids to a concert in Hamilton this spring, until finances wouldn't permit it. They may not be quite so obsessed now, but our youngest still loves them - he "watched" an awful lot of episodes with his brother and sister while in his bouncy seat.

This morning I got bad news - after three seasons, Disney has decided not to renew the Imagination Movers show. The show will still be on in reruns, but no new episodes will be made.

In a way, this could be a good thing for the Movers, I suppose. They'll be able to tour more, make more music. But I'm still sad. How many episodes of That's So Raven! were made? Bleh! Disney, today you SUCK!

His Body, His Choice?

Things have been kind of boring around here lately (entirely my fault, I acknowledge... would never DREAM of blaming you!) so I thought that perhaps it's time to stir things up a bit, and how better to do that than with more circumcision talk!

Dalhousie University's Dr. Noni MacDonald published an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggesting that circumcisions should be delayed until age 12. She says that since the biggest benefit to circumcision is the reduction of transmission in STDs (and even that's debatable), and infants and young boys don't gain any benefit from this, it should be delayed until they hit puberty so that they can be involved in the decision. You can read more about it here.

Truthfully, the likelihood of this becoming the norm is pretty low (like, subterranean) but it raises a good point about consent. Thoughts?

New Schools Announced for Ontario All-Day Kindergarten

Apparently none of my three older children will be benefiting from this new program, as their school isn't on the list. Depending on the outcome of this fall's provincial election, perhaps my youngest will still have a chance at it.

In the meantime, here's a link to the school finder if you want to see if your child's school will be starting all-day Kindergarten in either 2011 or 2012.

Is the World Really All THAT Dangerous?

I think I mentioned a long time ago that I’m not one to jump on product recalls. We are, in fact, still using a drop-side crib in our house, and I have no intention of replacing it. 3 older children have survived through it, as has our youngest for the past 12 months or so that he’s been using it. When he’s done with it, off to the dump it will go, but it will make me sad, because despite being a little bit beat-up in the looks department it’s perfectly fine, and I’m sure that some young mom could make use of it. I’ll throw it out more out of fear of other people’s judgements on me (or legal issues, if the Canadian government goes through with banning them completely) than out of fear of its safety.

If it’s contaminated food, okay, I’ll pull it out of my fridge – probably. The Motrin recall last year? I grudgingly stopped using it, despite finding it an overreaction as well. But if we had any of the toys or baby products listed in the new Fisher Price recall, do you think I’d stop using them? Hell no!

This recall is the result of approximately two dozen injuries in the past TEN years. The recalled highchairs, for example, are a danger allegedly because there were 14 kids in the US who fell against pegs on the back legs, causing “lacerations” (AKA scrapes or cuts), of which SEVEN needed stitches, and one damaged a tooth.

Now I’m sure that the parents whose children needed stitches or had a tooth injury were upset, but there are a couple of points to be made here:

1. Was it really the fault of the highchair that the child fell against it? Children fall. A LOT. Especially at the age when they’re using highchairs. A short list of things my children have fallen on or against and caused themselves injuries? Coffee tables, bed posts, floors, tv stands, dressers, jello… okay, maybe not jello, but you get what I mean. Kids hurt themselves. I honestly believe it’s a part of teaching them how to function in the world. You have to learn that if you jump from the top of the couch to the seat, you may fall off and crack your chin on the coffee table when you bounce off said seat. (Child #2) So, should all of those things on my list be banned? Maybe we should just get rid of all furniture and sit on pillows? It works in some cultures, why not here?
2. In ten years, there were FOURTEEN injuries from this particular item, only eight of which could even conceivably be considered “severe.” So, less than one child per year was “severely” injured by the product. By contrast, between 1997 and 2007 there were over 4.1 MILLION injuries in children between the ages of 5 and 19 while playing basketball. That’s over 375,000 per year, in case you didn’t want to do the math. (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2009-2497v1) If you’ve watched the new TLC show “Sister Wives,” you’ll know that wife #3 helpfully pointed out that several hundred people per year are killed worldwide by TOASTERS (she refused to use a toaster because of this, then proceeded to set bread on fire in the oven, I might add).

The thing is, these recalls are much more about risk mitigation than they are about public safety. You get one parent whose child was injured “by” one of these items starting a campaign against it and if the company doesn’t respond “appropriately” they risk class-action lawsuits or getting the reputation of not caring about kids. Social media, as much as I love it, only adds fuel to the fire since we know how quickly word of mouth can travel now. The recent Pat Burns death “misinformation” on Twitter shows that.

The media has to take some responsibility for all of this overreaction. We all know how the news loves a good headline. “Dora Trike Causes Genital Bleeding” is going to get sell a whole lot more papers, or get a bunch more “clicks” than “Toddler Sorta Hurt By Falling on Trike.” If you’re riding a bike of any kind, and fall against the top tube, it’s going to hurt. If this Dora/Barbie trike has something extra added to it (an “ignition”) then yep, if the kid falls against it, it’s going to hurt. Lesson learned, right kid?

I don’t mean to sound callous, I honestly don’t. I’m not immune to children’s pain, and I certainly feel for parents who have lost a child due to a REAL danger from a toy or piece of baby equipment. I just know that so much of what children learn is by trial and error, and a few scrapes, bumps and bruises are just part of growing up.

The other problem with all of these unnecessary recalls is that it feeds into this fear that so many parents live with. We are constantly told of the dangers “out there” and feel that our homes should be risk-free. I sometimes wonder if some children live in homes where everything is covered in bubble wrap. Then again, what if the bubble wrap came loose and somehow magnetically attached itself to the child’s face, suffocating it?

I get really tired of hearing how things have “changed”: how more strangers are lurking behind every bush, just waiting to steal your child. Overall, the world isn’t more dangerous, the media just wants us to believe it is. That way you’ll read their articles. Doesn’t that make you feel safer?

An article in today’s National Post talks more about this. I encourage you to take a look.

The Similac Recall

Those of you who have read this blog for a long time may be shocked that I haven't yet commented on the Similac recall. Truthfully, I have a lot to say, but my computer time is severely limited right now (six people, five of whom are computer addicts, with only one computer - MINE - is SO not a good thing!) so I'm having to pick and choose my topics. I have a draft article that has been sitting there for way too long, but eventually, someday, I'll get to finish it, I swear!

Anyway, the whole point is that I haven't got a lot of time to write on the Similac recall. Overall, it's a sad situation, and I feel so sorry for the parents affected (I say parents, because on the whole I think the parental guilt is probably worse than any "abdominal discomfort" that the babies MAY suffer). What I don't like is the self-righteous lactivists claiming "at least breastmilk doesn't have beetle larvae" as if that is somehow helpful. That angered me much more than the original situation, truth be told.

I'd like to direct all of you to another mom-blogger's site, Mommy Melee, and Maria's article on the situation. It truly was a well-written post, and says a lot of the things I was thinking. Be sure to take a look!

The Similac Recall is Not a Punchline

A few months ago when Children’s Tylenol, Motrin and Claritin were recalled, I ended up tossing almost everything in my medicine cabinet. It pissed me off to throw money away like that, but what bothered me more was knowing that I’d just finished up an entire bottle of Motrin and an entire bottle of Zyrtec that had been part of the recall. What had I given my allergy-ridden little dude who was just getting over a virus with a high fever...

Some Adults Should Be Seen and Not Heard

Ahhh... the supermodel: vessel of female perfection in all of her glory. Don't we all just LOVE them?

And don't we all just LOVE how they're back on the catwalk mere weeks after giving birth?

And most especially, don't we just LOVE how after one child, they're suddenly an expert on EVERYTHING to do with parenting?

To Gisele Bundchen: Climbing Up the Slide would like to officially tell you to SHUT YOUR TRAP!

Now, this is not normally like me. For the most part, I want us all to parent the way that we feel is best, be free to do what works for our families, and to live and let live.

In this case, I feel that I am allowed to be a little less "Kum by ya" about the whole thing.

Gisele Bundchen, famous for parading around in teeny scraps of cloth, is now an expert on labour, childbirth and breastfeeding. She had a natural home-birth. Bully for her. If that's your thing, by all means, you should do it! I have no issues here, except that she's rather smug about it. Still...

It's her opinion on breastfeeding that has me seeing red: "I think breastfeeding really helped [her to regain her stick figure]. Some people here think they don't have to breastfeed, and I think, 'Are you going to give chemical food to your child, when they are so little?'

"There should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months."

WHA-HUH???

Gisele, sweetheart, HUSH! When did women become slaves? When did we lose the right to CHOOSE how to be a mother? What exactly would be the penalty for breaking such a law? Hard labour? (Oh, I crack myself up sometimes - get it? Hard LABOUR???)

Should women breastfeed if it's possible? Yes, sure. We've ALL heard that it's best, ad nauseum, but some women just plain aren't able to, for physical or emotional reasons. I have seen many moms with PPD who stop out of frustration and depression that things aren't going along swimmingly for them. Should they be thrown in jail? Have their children taken away? Forced to live in a depressed state, hating themselves and their babies because of depression?

Maybe I shouldn't have been allowed to have kids, since I had a breast reduction and was only able to produce a fraction of the breast milk that my children needed to, you know, live and all.

Don't get me wrong: I am glad that the pendulum is swinging back towards breast is best, but sometimes as a parent, second-best isn't so bad, either. If there is any mom (or dad) out there who ALWAYS does the best thing for their child, I'd like to meet them and bow down at their self-righteous feet, because every parent that I know does the best thing as often as they can, but sometimes just has to settle for second- (or third-) best. We are people, too, and having a child doesn't change our right to do what's best for US, as well. We just have to figure out who "wins" at any given time when what's best for them, and what's best for us, is different.

So back to Gisele: I say, go back to standing around in your underwear. At least in print ads we don't have to listen to you.

Update on the "Single Ladies"

I wondered if there would be a response from the parents or the dance school, and lo and behold only a few minutes later I found this at ABC News. Sorry, but I'm not buying it. Just because it "wasn't meant to be seen by millions of people" it's okay? And the bumping and grinding was not "taken out of context" because quite frankly, eight and nine year olds don't need that in a dance competition.

What's Wrong with Just Being Seven?

There was a video floating around today of a girls' dance troupe. It showed five seven-year-old girls, dressed in red satin boy shorts and crop tops, trimmed with black lace, dancing to Beyoncé's Single Ladies. It apparently went viral, getting over 2,000,000 hits, although by tonight it's been pulled down from YouTube for copyright infringement (by the video company, apparently). I did manage to find it again here:


Vezi mai multe video din Sport

First off, there is absolutely no denying the talent of these little girls. I'm astonished that girls that age can dance that well.

That being said, as a mom, I'm outraged. That any choreographer/dance teacher would find that appropriate for little girls is beyond me. That parents would allow their young daughters to do bump and grinds like that, wearing costumes that, quite frankly, make them look like hookers, is astonishing. Someone compared it to the pageant circuit, where apparently ambition for your child's success often trumps common sense.

I saw CNN's Anderson Cooper interviewing Dr. Phil about this, and he had a good point: out of those 2,000,000 views, how many were pedophiles? Because it was ripe for that.

When I was seven, I was pining for a Cabbage Patch Kid (yes, I'm dating myself again). I was wanting to listen to Michael Jackson's Thriller without upsetting my mom. I made houses out of cardboard boxes for my cats. I fought to get to stay up late enough to watch The Cosby Show. I wasn't grinding my hips on stage wearing next to nothing. I may still have been wearing geeky corduroy pants made by my grandmother at that point, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Why do little girls have to get sexualized at such a young age? I don't honestly even understand why letting little girls wear "bikinis" to go swimming is so cute. Aren't we supposed to be protecting them? Teaching them some self-worth? Teaching them that they are more than just their bodies? Because if this is what they're learning at seven years old, how will they rationalize saying "no" when they're pressured as teenagers? "It's okay, it's no big deal." Wrong. It IS a big deal.

The sad thing is, that those girls are so talented that they could have had tamer costumes and done a less provocative routine to that same song and it would have been just as good. Unfortunately we won't get to see that version.

I'm very curious to see if, in the next few days, this dance school comes forward with some kind of response.

Children's Motrin, Tylenol Recalled

Several common brand name medications are being recalled in Canada, the US and 10 other countries after it was determined that some bottles may have a higher concentration of the active ingredient than indicated on the bottle. In Canada, all bottles of Children's Motrin and Infant Motrin are being recalled, as well as Children's Tylenol Cough and Runny Nose suspension liquid. In other countries, children's versions of Benedryl, Zyrtec, Tylenol and Tylenol Plus are being recalled as well.

The FDA called the chance of medical problems "remote" but advises parents to stop using the medications as a precaution. It suggested generic brands as an alternative in the meantime. If a child has recently taken the medication and is exhibiting "unexpected symptoms" parents should consult a medical professional.

Parents can check the McNeil Product Recall website for details. As a note, I'm a little frustrated that it doesn't say anywhere that I can find what to do with the recalled meds. If anyone has more information, please post it in the comment section. If I'm able to find more information (I'll check with my pharmacist-mom) I'll post an update.

The Mommy Wars Strike Again

Yesterday I posted about Sandra Bullock's new baby, and how happy I am for her. It seemed yesterday that the entire world (or those who care about such things) was happy for her.

Today, I find out that there are those who have decided that they "dislike her character very much" or "have lost a lot of respect for her". Sheesh! That's quite a change! "What did she DO?" you might wonder.

She chose to circumcise her infant son.

I make no secret of the fact that I'm anti-circumcision. However, some of the comments I read on a blog (ironically titled "Peaceful Parenting") shocked me.

"James" said:

A complete failure of the responsibility to care for and protect the baby she adopted. Poor defenseless child. Scarred for life. But at least she enjoyed the party :( 

"James L" said:

Sandra Bullock said of getting her adopted son's penis ritually cut was, "the greatest moment I have ever had in my life"!? Sorry Sandra, whatever sympathies we might have had for your personal sorrows made public, or whatever happiness we might have shared from your triumphs are gone. You have proven yourself, with this action and this quote, proven yourself to be ignorant. Willfully ignorant. Very stupid and sad. 

"Katie" said:

Ugh, and I was just happy for her over the past few hours after learning she had adopted a son. She sounds just like Christina Aguilera with the whole super-fun penis party. Gag. 

Okay, seriously, what's done is done. She made her decision with the best information that she had. We don't know her reasoning, and while I doubt I'd agree with it anyway, I have NOT lost respect for her, nor do I find her disgusting. I am disappointed that she chose to publicize her decision so much, as we all know that when a celebrity does something and tells the world there are those who will follow for no other reason than that "Sandra did it."

However, ONE parenting decision, whether you or I or anyone else agrees with it or not, does NOT make a person a bad mother! She didn't decide to switch his formula with Jack Daniels. She didn't decide to ride with him in her lap instead of a car seat while going down the freeway (hello Britney!)

I have a lot of friends who circumcised their sons. Do I wish they hadn't? Truthfully, yes. Does it change my feelings about them as people, or my level of respect for them? Absolutely not.

Give it a rest, people. After everything the woman has been through in the past few months, the last thing she needs is all of you piling on top of her for a decision that she can't do anything about now. Focus your energy on things that you CAN change.

Congrats to Sandra Bullock!

I am just a gushy mess of happiness for Sandra Bullock this morning. All of these months there's been a lot of Poor Sandra's going around, and of course she's still gone through a lot of heartbreak, but what unbelievable joy, too!

Welcome to the Slide, Sandra. Enjoy the climb!

You can read a preview of the article here.

Formula = Rat Poison... No, Really!

I've already told my breastfeeding story. Every mom has story, one way or the other. Some struggle for a long time, but finally come out victorious with a story of exclusive breastfeeding. Some get the hang of it with no problems. Some exclusively pump. Some just can't physically do it. Some just plain don't want to.

Another study is coming out now saying that if 90% of moms in the US breastfed exclusively for at least six months, the lives of 900 babies would be saved, and billions of dollars (I'm assuming this is in healthcare costs) would be saved, as well.

I love how all the way through the article they go on and on about how important it is to breastfeed, and all of the horrible things that happen to babies and children because of formula, but at the very end of the article there's this one little paragraph:

Dr. Larry Gray, a University of Chicago pediatrician, called the analysis compelling and said it’s reasonable to strive for 90 per cent compliance. But he also said mothers who don’t breastfeed for six months shouldn’t be blamed or made to feel guilty, because their jobs and other demands often make it impossible to do so.

I understand how important it is to breastfeed your baby. I understand how much of an uphill battle it's been to convince moms to go back to breastfeeding when in a lot of cases their own mothers didn't. I'm tired, though, of all of the guilt. I'm tired of thinking that any illness my child gets is because I didn't breastfeed enough. I'm tired of feeling that my kids would have higher IQs if I had breastfed more (and believe me, no one wants them to have higher IQs - they're scary already). I'm tired of being told I don't have a good enough bond with my kids because they didn't breastfeed enough. I'm tired of feeling guilty for having a surgery that was strictly for my own benefit, that resulted in my not being able to exclusively breastfeed. It's all so insulting.

There needs to be a better way of encouraging moms to breastfeed without insinuating that they're bad mothers if they don't. 

World Autism Awareness Day!

I have a lot of friends whose children have been touched by Autism. Amazing moms and dads who are doing everything in their power to help their children, and often also working hard to help other moms and dads who are also dealing with it, and in some cases working hard to prevent it from happening to any other child.

I make no claims to be an expert, or even well-educated, when it comes to Autism. That's why I'm still hoping that one friend in particular will write some articles for me to post here. These parents have amazing stories to tell - sometimes painful, sometimes hopeful, but always about some awesome kids who just happen to have Autism.

1 in 110 kids will now be diagnosed with Autism. 1 in 70 boys. I can't do much, but today I'll wear blue, and I'll think about those amazing parents: Wyndie, Courtney, Missy, Tammy, Judy, Aimee, and far too many more.

I encourage you to read more at www.autismspeaks.org and www.worldautismawarenessday.org

School Dispute at Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School Takes a Life

Yesterday a student at a high school here in my city was stabbed to death. It's made news all across the province, at the very least. Possibly nationally. As a general rule, it's major news when a young person is murdered in Canada, and it very rarely happens at school. I think there's only ever been one school shooting resulting in a death in Canadian history. (Don't quote me on that, though.)

I drive past this school on a fairly regular basis since it's on my way to my son's preschool. It's not in a bad area of town, in fact, it's about a block away from "The Glens" where a lot of doctors and professionals live. The school doesn't have a bad reputation, and I know several good kids who go there, or did in the past.

As I drove past, I first noticed the number of police vehicles in the parking lot. I assume this was a) for investigation of the incident and b) for security purposes. I saw two girls hugging and crying in the parking lot. The next thing I noticed was a Rogers television van. Then across the street, CityTV, CTV and CBC. On the southwest corner across from the school, there was an abnormal amount of strange men standing around on the corner. Reporters and cameramen is my best assumption, waiting for the perfect kid to interview.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the media when it comes to stories like this. On one hand, I recognize that this IS a news story. They are doing their job, and it's not like I'm above reading or watching the stories, so how can I judge? On the other hand, I see friends and family grieving - a mother who has lost her only child, who probably doesn't want to see it splashed all over the papers day after day, like grinding glass into an open wound. I can only imagine what that mother (and father) are going through, and it tears me up just to imagine it. To lose one of my children at any age would be as if a knife had gone into my own heart, but to lose them as a teenager, in a stupid school dispute? I don't know how you go on after that.

I don't believe in the death penalty: taking a life to prove that taking a life is wrong is redundant and barbaric to me. I just don't know how I would feel if it were my own child. Parents lose children every day, though: to illness, accidents, suicide, and sometimes they never know how. Sometimes they just disappear. It's hard sometimes not to be gripped with fear thinking about the possibilities. Yet I've always been the one preaching about not living in fear. I let my daughter walk home from school by herself. I let my my kids climb up the slide at the playground. You can't keep your kids in a bubble.

I wish I knew the answer to all of my random thoughts and questions this morning.

You can read more about the story here.

Ontario Daycares Get Bailout

A few days ago The Toronto Star was saying that the daycare system in Ontario (subsidized spots in accredited centres, it should be added) was near collapse. Today, it appears that the Liberal Party is riding to the rescue.

It is expected that in Thursday's budget, the government will announce that they will cover a shortfall caused by the federal Conservatives. In 2006, Paul Martin's federal Liberals gave Ontario $252 million as part of a national childcare plan worth $5 billion. A few short months later, Canadians lost their sanity and elected the Conservatives, who promptly cancelled the program in favour of handing parents $100 per month for every child under the age of 6. Because of course, daycare for a 1 year old only costs $100 per month, right? Not that I object to the extra income each month, but it is a rather ridiculous assumption that you are helping parents with such a pathetic amount.

So now, the original $252 million is gone, and the Ontario Liberals are faced with either coming up with $63.5 million per year to make up the shortfall, or else canceling subsidies or reducing the number of spots available. With a predicted $24.7 billion deficit, it's a risky move either way. You either add to the already record-deficit, or make life much more difficult for thousands of parents.

I think they've made the right choice. Despite the number of people crying about the deficit (which is not to say that this isn't a major concern) and saying that they shouldn't have to subsidize others' daycare, it is a necessary expense. Without affordable daycare many parents simply would not be able to work, and I really don't know that our economy can take another hit right now. Losing a second (or first) income can be devastating to a family's finances. The Liberals have made the right choice.

Well DUH!

Normal birth safe after Caesareans, says U.S. panel

http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/babiespregnancy/pregnancy/article/778417--normal-birth-safe-after-caesareans-says-u-s-panel

WASHINGTON—Having a normal vaginal birth after previous babies were delivered surgically is perfectly safe and women should have the option, independent experts told the National Institutes of Health Wednesday.

They said there is no good reason to force a woman who has had one caesarean section to repeat such operations if she wants to try having later babies more naturally.

The experts cited “rigorous research” showing that at least trying natural labour is successful in nearly 75 per cent of cases, and women are less likely to die if they are allowed to labour naturally for a while, even if they end up delivering surgically.

“Declining vaginal birth after caesarean rates and increasing caesarean delivery rates over the last 15 years would seem to indicate that planned repeat caesarean delivery is preferable to a trial of labour,” Dr. F. Gary Cunningham, chairman of the NIH expert panel, said in a statement.
“But the currently available evidence suggests a very different picture: a trial of labour is worth considering and may be preferable for many women,” added Cunningham, the chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

The panel cited two recent surveys of hospital administrators that showed 30 per cent of hospitals had stopped offering women the option of trying labour if they had undergone one caesarean. Some doctors fear that the incisions from the first operation could burst open during the pressure of contractions, endangering mother and baby.

But studies have shown the rate of rupture is less than 1 per cent.

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology does not recommend vaginal delivery for women who have had three or more C-sections.

Rates of caesarean sections have risen steadily in the United States, from 20.7 per cent of births in 1996 to 31.1 per cent in 2006. And nearly 40 per cent of the caesareans performed in the United States each year involve women who have had previous C-sections.

The issue has become controversial, with some lobby groups pressing hard for women to be given the option of having vaginal birth after caesarean, or VBAC.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about which women will be successful in having a VBAC, but we believe it’s essential that women’s desires and preferences be respected throughout the decision-making process,” Cunningham said.

 

Salmonella recall for snacks, soup mixes... so far

Foods are being recalled worldwide after salmonella was found in hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) produced by Basic Food Flavors Inc. in Las Vegas. HVP is a flavour-enhancing, grain-based additive used in processed foods such as soups, hot dogs, chilis, stews, dips, salad dressings, gravies, frozen dinners, and snack foods.

Health Canada says that it is "low risk" and unlikely to cause damage to anyone's health, but it's highlighted the importance of knowing where the ingredients in foods come from. HVP is "often used" in Canadian foods, and the recall seems likely to grow in the coming days.

Basic Foods, according to the FDA, continued to distribute bulk HVP even after the company was warned of salmonella found during an inspection.

The Canadian list of recalled foods can be found here.

The US list can be found here.

More information about HVP and the recall can be found on the Healthzone.ca website.

The Unkindest Cut? Massachusetts Government to Hear Argument Against Infant Circumcision

I've been debating all day whether or not to touch this topic. I honestly can't think of another one in the parenting jungle, even breast vs bottle or SAHM vs WOHM, that causes such heated, sometimes hateful discussions. I admit, too, that it is a topic that I feel very passionate about. I usually at least try to remain a little bit unbiased when I'm talking here, and I doubt that I will be able to this time. I may know the arguments from the other side, I just don't find them persuasive at all. That's probably putting it mildly, too.

However, I'm also trying to create awareness of parenting topics, especially ones in the news, and this one is out there. So, I will attempt to tone down the rhetoric, but I make no promises of success. I'm a big opponent of the Mommy Wars, as I've stated numerous times, but it's quite likely that I'll lose a reader or two over this one.

That being said, as I write this, I've made a decision: I will write this from my point of view, and if a reader disagrees with me, and wants to write a rebuttal, I will post it. Deal?

A group in the US is taking its fight for the banning of infant male circumcision to the Massachusetts legislature. On March 2nd, the group, Bill to End Male Genital Mutilation, will appear at the State House to plead their case.

Personally, I doubt they will get very far. Circumcision is ingrained fairly deeply in US culture: nationally around 60% of baby boys have the procedure done within a few days of their births. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics says that there is no medical reason for routine infant circumcision, they have remained fairly neutral and refrained from actually coming out against the practice. There is still a lot of misinformation about the "benefits" of circumcision, plus the age old "He'll want to look like Daddy" argument. I actually heard about this issue from someone who referred to it as "ugly peen", and this was from a 41-year-old man I usually respect.

The other issue is that the leaders of the group may in fact turn people off: especially the one quoted in the article who went so far as to have a "foreskin restoration" in his 20s. Although he has valid points, he will be easy to tear down as a fringe activist.

So while I doubt that the group will get more than a token hearing, I do agree with them. There is no sound medical reason for routine circumcision. (Did I say that already? It bears repeating.) There is no other healthy body part that is routinely removed after birth. Should we remove everyone's appendix immediately because someday they may get appendicitis? Remove all baby girls' breast tissue because they may someday get breast cancer? Perhaps if the baby has mom's nose they should be given a nose job immediately because it's "ugly"?

"Personal choice" is a phrase I hear tossed around a lot. This I agree with, but the "person" involved differs in my opinion. By performing infant circumcision, you remove the choice of the person involved. The baby cannot argue with you. This is not a parent making a lifesaving medical decision for their child: this is a parent deciding on permanent cosmetic surgery, and I simply don't think that's one of our rights as a parent.

Let's Hope It's ACTUALLY an Improvement

I posted a few months ago about the proposed changes to report cards. Apparently the Toronto District School Board has gone ahead and made changes to the "comment bank" that the teachers use, attempting to put them in plain English. So, while last year a Grade 3 pupil would have "applied critical analysis to the communication of feelings, ideas and understanding in response to a variety of dance pieces and experiences," she now "shares ideas and feelings about dances that were viewed or created."

60 teachers sat down to take the 700 previous comments and change them to be more easily understood. I'm still not convinced, and since my kids aren't in the TDSB I don't know if their reports will be any different or not. I realize that the intention of the comment bank was to make sure that report cards were more uniform from school to school and class to class, but I still feel that students and parents were better informed when the teacher actually handwrote personal comments on how the child was progressing. As a parent, if my child is having difficulty in math I need to know that, and possibly which part of the math curriculum. If I need any further information about the specifics of the problem, I can contact the teacher and talk to him/her personally. I would still rather have more specifics about my child's overall progress, rather than such minutiae.

You can read more about the "progress" of the TDSB report cards here.

Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids

My sister-in-law posted this preview for a CBC documentary about "helicopter parents." I plan on setting my dvr. While I don't consider myself a "curling parent" (watch the video) I think it's an interesting, if somewhat scary phenomenon. I spend a lot of time on parenting message boards and it's one thing I don't completely understand, although it's funny how you start to feel pressure to "keep up".

Emma will be nine this weekend. There's a big part of me who feels like I'm not "doing enough" for her birthday, but the silly thing is that she's happy. She's even okay with one of mom's very "undesigner" cakes!