Some Ads in Parenting Magazines Show Unsafe Practices

Flip through a parenting magazine while you are in line at the grocery store, or while waiting for your child to see the doctor. The photos and images your eyes skim over might actually be showing children who are doing unsafe things. These pretty photos in the advertisements may give parents the wrong idea when it comes to child safety. Parenting magazines, of course, are intended to be read by parents. These magazines offer advice on everything from nutrition and health issues, to how to cope when your child is having a public “meltdown”. One would reasonably assume that the … Continue reading

Kids of Same-Sex Parents Benefit From Supreme Court Ruling

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States revealed their decision on the same-sex marriage case that had reached their court. The case was called Obergefell v Hodges. In short, the Justices of the Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality is the law of the land. Kids of same-sex parents benefit from this decision in so many important ways. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license marriage between two people of the same sex. They also ruled the the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to recognize a same sex … Continue reading

Do NOT Reply All

Dear parents of school-age children, It’s not necessary to “reply all” to every single email sent from your child’s teacher… especially if your kid is in the same class as ours. Sincerely, Parents for the Prevention of Reply All Abuse Look, I’m all for open communication, especially when it involves parents and educators, and despite my glaring absence on Facebook, I really do appreciate the advantages associated with digital messaging.  However, when it comes to emails and the “reply all” function, I’m a real hater. I’m not a huge fan of checking emails to begin with, so when I see … Continue reading

Depression Among Single Parents

Most single parents experience some form of depression at one time or another throughout their parenting career. What may have begun as sadness may have developed into something far greater. There are times when extreme emotional trauma can throw your body into an extreme chemical imbalance. This isn’t your fault; it is your body’s response to the chaos going on around you. Depression is more than just a deep sadness at your situation. Most of us aren’t thrilled at our circumstances as a single parent, but when you are depressed you may feel consumed by that sadness. You may feel … Continue reading

Diamonds Do Not Equal Love

When I first started at the Marriage Blog I mentioned my feelings on diamond commercials and promised to expound on them. Given that we see many such ads this time of year, it seems like an appropriate time to make my promised follow-up. I’m not a big jewelry person so diamonds never appealed to me. That wouldn’t really be a big deal, except that for my entire life I’ve been inundated by ads and assumptions telling me the opposite. “So what?” you might wonder. Well, the media can have a much more powerful effect, subtle though it might be, on … Continue reading

Do Not Believe The Stereotypes

Even as common as single parenting is, there are still so many stereotypes and common myths. Our children are from “broken” homes. This may be true for my marriage, it was broken, but I fixed my home and my family by getting a divorce. My family is not broken, I am not broken, my child is not broken. The same goes for “intact” family. Merriam- Webster defines family as “a group of persons of common ancestry”. We are an intact family, we are a group of individuals of common ancestry who just so happen to love each other and want … Continue reading

And You Thought Hot Dogs Were Bad For Kids

Don’t you love it when other parents agree with you? I had to chuckle reading fellow blogger Matt Pinkston’s take on hot dogs. The dad of four kids is as repulsed by the popular kiddie menu option as I am. As he noted in a previous post: “After four years of undergraduate science, and understanding thoroughly what sodium nitrates and nitrates, corn syrup, food colorings, and parasites in hot dogs will do to people, I’m not a fan. The conflict intensifies when one child requests hamburger, which I then prepare, then insists on hot dogs, an item seldom in the … Continue reading

Do Your Pets Factor into Your Holiday Plans?

Do you make your holiday plans around your pets? That’s an assertion that the Associated Press recently made in an article: pet owners revolve their late-December events around their pets. Examples given by the AP include taking holiday-themed photos of pets, using these or other pictures with the animal for seasonal cards, buying pets gifts (the article maintains that just over half of pet owners do this), and even creating special menus for the pet so it can have a holiday meal alongside its human family. There are two sides to this: one, in which a little holiday cheer is … Continue reading

Does Your Child’s School Have A Full Time Nurse?

Is the person sitting inside the Nurse’s Office at your child’s school actually a trained nurse? Or, is this person a playground monitor who is filling in for the nurse on the days when she is not going to be in your child’s school building? The answer to that question could directly impact your child’s health, and could lead to a seriously scary medical emergency. Parents of children who have special needs are acutely aware of the medications that their child is required to take on a daily basis. Kids that have ADHD, or an autism spectrum disorder, or a … Continue reading

Don’t Use Someone Else’s Health Insurance

Health care is expensive. Right now, there are a lot of people who are not covered by any health insurance, whatsoever. This seems to be influencing people to take big risks in order to get their medical needs taken care of. A man is going to prison after using someone else’s health insurance. Right now, there are a lot of Americans who lack health insurance coverage. Some aspects of health reform have helped to alleviate that a bit. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan made it possible for people who were unable to get approved for health insurance because they had … Continue reading