What Parents Can Learn from the Gorilla Incident

It happened at the Cincinnati Zoo. A 3-year-old boy somehow fell into the gorilla exhibit’s enclosure. A 17-year-old male gorilla, named Harambe, encountered the boy. Someone from the Zoo made the decision to shoot and kill the gorilla in order to save the preschooler. What can parents learn from the Gorilla Incident? Parent Shaming Doesn’t Fix Things It didn’t take long for parents around the world to take to social media to comment about the Gorilla Incident. While some expressed sympathy for the Zoo, the majority chose to attack the mother of the 3-year-old boy and question her parenting ability. … Continue reading

Focus on the Candidates – Marco Rubio

This blog is part of the series that focuses on the candidates who are running for President of the United States in the 2016 election. This blog focuses on Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants. He started out as a City Commissioner for West Miami. In 2000, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. In 2006, he became the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Marco Rubio became a United States Senator in 2011. Health Care According to his official website Marco Rubio believes “that Obamacare cannot be fixed and must be fully … Continue reading

Focus on the Candidates – Carly Fiorina

This blog is part of the series that focuses on the candidates who are running for President of the United States in the 2016 election. This blog focuses on Carly Fiorina. According to her official website, Carly Fiorina earned a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. In 1999, she was recruited to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard (1999 – 2005). She was the first woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. In 2010, Carly Fiorina ran unsuccessfully for United States Senate in California against … Continue reading

Parents Might Underestimate Their Child’s Obesity

Your child isn’t obese, right? It’s just “baby weight” that will go away on its own. He’s big for his age, just like his dad was. She has inherited the big bones that run in the family. But, your child certainly couldn’t be obese. Are you sure? A study shows that parents can underestimate their child’s obesity. A study was published in the British Journal of General Practice in April of 2015. It was called “Child obesity cut-offs as derived from parental perceptions: cross-sectional questionnaire”. The purpose was to compare parental perception of their child’s weight with objectively derived assessment … Continue reading

Gen X Parents Raising Connected Children

The world has changed, in so many ways, between when you were a child and today. Parents who are part of Generation X are the first to raise children (and teens) in a world where the internet is so prevalent. Times have changed, in so many ways! The Washington Post has an article titled “Parenting as a Gen Xer: We’re the first generation of parents in the age of iEverything”. It was written by Allison Slater Tate and posted on September 19, 2014. In it, she comments on the difficulties faced by parent who can’t understand why their kids won’t … Continue reading

Parents Use Medical Marijuana for Son’s Autistic Rage

A family in Oregon is using a non-traditional source of medication to manage their son’s medical conditions. He is severely autistic, and has had incidents of rage. He also has Tuberous Sclerosis. The parents are using medical marijuana as a form of treatment. Alex Echols is eleven years old. He is severely autistic, and has exhibited self-destructive behavior. This behavior has been described as rage. Alex also has Tuberous Sclerosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is a complex and rare genetic disease. It causes benign (or noncancerous) lesions to grow in many parts of the body. The lesions can … Continue reading

Parents of Kids with Autism Worry About Stigma

Parents of children who have autism, or Asperger’s Syndrome, are concerned. They worry that their child will now be stigmatized because of all the talk that indicated that the shooter in Connecticut had Asperger’s Syndrome. Autism Speaks has some helpful advice. Let me briefly summarize the background of this topic, for those who are unaware. First, there was the tragedy in Connecticut that happened when Adam Lanza went into an elementary school and started shooting. Following the tragedy, there were many responses. The President made a public speech. Several bloggers (myself included) wrote about some aspect of what happened. People … Continue reading

Support Hotline for Parents of Children With Special Needs

All parents, no matter what their circumstances, can benefit from some support. Parents of children who have special needs also require support. In San Jose, California, a support hotline is being set up for parents who cannot leave home to attend a support group. In March of 2012, tragedy struck in Sunnydale, California. A mother named Elizabeth Hodgins killed her 22 year old son, George, and then killed herself. George had autism, and Elizabeth was his primary caretaker. Her husband, Lester, arrived home from work one day to find the bodies of his wife and son. He didn’t know what, … Continue reading

Do You Allow Your Kids to Watch TV News?

After reporting and anchoring local TV news for more than decade, I never considered tuning out the events of the day after giving birth. I’ve watched the evening news religiously since I was in high school and never dreamed there would come a day when I would be forced to wean myself from my 6 o’clock fix. However, that day has come. A few weeks ago, I was in the kitchen making dinner with the TV news on in the background when my 7-year-old came waltzing in. Typically, she’ll sit on a stool at the counter and try to snag … Continue reading

Autism Answered has Information for Parents

Parents of children who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder tend to have many questions. It can be difficult to find resources that can give you the answers that you are looking for. There is a new Facebook group called Autism Answered. It might have what you need. Social media, at times, can be an excellent resource. You can get on Facebook and find news articles that your friends and family have posted on their pages. Sometimes, the news they post might be helpful to you, but, there will also be times when it is not. Today, when … Continue reading