Scientists mapped the human genome to help the human race. Now parents can map Johnny’s genome to help him win his own race—or football and soccer games—by searching for a gene that supposedly predicts exceptional abilities in sports. Mouth swab to identify gene: $149. Identification of future sports-great while still in diapers: priceless? Read full article
Three year old Adolph Hitler Campbell’s birthday was December 14. When his parents—who gave the child his legal name—tried to order a birthday cake from a nearby ShopRite grocery store, employees there refused to write “Adolph Hitler” on the frosting. Did the employees do the right thing? Read full article
Every state in America has a so-called “safe haven” law, under which a troubled parent can safely surrender a newborn baby, usually at a hospital or fire station, no questions asked. But Nebraska’s safe haven law is different. Intended to protect only infants, it was written with the word “child” left undefined and without an age limit, opening a gaping legal loophole for an unprecedented human bailout. Read full article
Should a bad mother be prohibited from having more children? A 20-year-old Texas mother admitted that she failed to protect her 19-month-old daughter from being beaten by her father. A judge sentenced her to 10 years probation, with the unusual condition that she not conceive or bear any more children during that time. Should the government decide who can be a mother? Read full article
A new study says that the amount of time children spend on chores has dropped like the Dow to only 24 minutes a day—25% less than in 1981. Experts say the decline of chore time reflects “important behavioral and values shifts that will affect lives for years to come,” including issues like domestic bliss and the responsibility of doing volunteer work. Should children do more chores? Read full article
Worse than poison ivy, today’s camp parents are itching to control every aspect of their children’s daily lives at camp —the very place meant to teach independence and responsibility away from Mom and Dad. Should summer camps return to the days of no cameras, no cell phones, no parents? Read full article
Moms pack many things, but does a responsible mom also pack a gun? The question was recently raised on the website BabyCenter, where a mom blogger described the terrifying experience of a mother who was attacked. Many moms, from police officers to celebrities, are confessing to carrying a weapon and having the willingness to shoot and kill if necessary. Read full article
Parents are frequently encouraged to share more activities with their kids. But should drinking alcohol together be one of them? Is it time for parents to take a different approach towards kids and alcohol? Time Magazine reporter John Cloud says it’s a “good way to teach responsible drinking behavior”. Read full article
The shocking news from the small fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts spread across the country and around the world: 17 girls from one high school were pregnant, part of a supposed ‘pregnancy pact’ in which the students intentionally set out to become teen mothers, with a vow to raise their babies together. Read full article
If you electronically monitor every website your kids view, secretly read all their instant messages, filter their TV viewing, restrict their incoming and outgoing calls, and track their movements by GPS devices lurking in their backpacks and cell phones, are you parenting, or spying? Read full article
