Almost all parents excel when it comes to paranoia. For the few who don’t know how to freak out competently on their own, there are syndicated parenting columnists like Debra-Lynn B. Hook to give them a nudge. In a recent piece, Hook uncovers a trend so disturbing she can’t quite process it:

Co-ed sleepovers. I repeat: [...]

» Continue reading "Outraged mom reacts—sluggishly—to a 2001 teen trend"

In an enthrallingly smart, clear-headed essay in this week’s New Yorker, Jill Lepore slams the “bad parent” movement into historical context.

Lepore’s immediate target is the current bestseller Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace by Ayelet Waldman—the book that triggered a million mommy-blog posts in the dramedy [...]

» Continue reading "The New Yorker decimates the “bad parent” stance"

Yesterday’s creepy encounter with TheCuteKid.com gave me the impression that Americans value Cuteness in their young above, well, everything—and that all kids naturally strive for it, too.
Then I saw this (circa 2007) local-news clip of Autumn Poovey, an Ohio high-school cheerleader who, as her puzzled mother says, “didn’t want to be cute anymore.” Autumn’s [...]

» Continue reading "The dark side of being “as cute as a button”"

Candid admission: Earlier tonight, I saw the horror movie Drag Me To Hell (a smartly cheesy film about a young mortgage-loan manager cursed by a bug-eyed gypsy). I’m a little jumpy, unhinged. But even if I’d been calmer when I stumbled on The 2009 Cute Kid of the Year website, I suspect it would have [...]

» Continue reading "The vast, bizarro world of “The Cute Kid” contest"

Item A: Confusing a trend with an authority figure, Babble.com’s Karen Bridson blogs about how the “bad mother” craze has cut her “a little slack” after seven years of pressure to “do everything perfectly.” She has never met a trend so thoughtful and lenient.
Item B: Just when she’s feeling pretty good about her new imperfection, [...]

» Continue reading "Obama tries desperately to get in on “bad parent” craze"