Just in case the rain isn't enough to ruin your weekend, here's a special Foto edition of the Freakout:
Apparently, there is an uproar sweeping across the British Isles after an editor in some baby magazine said she didn't breastfeed because it was "creepy," and she didn't want to ruin her "fun bags." I say apparently, because the article came out in June. News travels slowly "across the pond." [bbc]
You know, at one point, some idiot message board people were hotlinking to this image so much, they crashed my server:
Right now, I really wish that my annoyance was the worst thing to come of the unholy combination of babies and duct tape. "Mom, Boyfriend Sentenced to Jail for Taping Toddler to Wall" ["gawker via dt freakout correspondent jj daddy-o]
It turns out Pulitzer Prizes do not help reduce the number of kids getting forgotten in their car seats, and dying of heat exposure in the back seat. Meanwhile, our society will continue its valiant effort to identify the optimum number of excruciating infant deaths that won't offend the fragile flowers running our auto companies and government safety agencies. [msnbc via dt reader dt]
I can only recapitulate Dadwagon's erudition, but I'd be abrogating my responsibilities as a dadblogger if I didn't pontificate on the puerile assininity of these SAT vocabulary Onesies. [dadwagon]
So it turns out not only are Bratz not dead, they're actually undead. And they're back, skinnier, and sluttier, and more $(#)%ing tweennoying than ever. Monster High?? Seriously, Mattel? 6 & up? [cnn's (*$%ing publicist-shilling hottest toys pageview mill slideshow crap corporate cluster*($% via dt reader pete]
Meanwhile, from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
- Media has some risks, but also some benefits.
- Day care is associated with increased ER visits for kids who had chronic lung deficiencies associated with prematurity.
- Australian for beer: after some "bootstrap analysis," a study in Western Australia found a connection between "heavy prenatal alcohol exposure" in the first trimester and the incidence of birth defects. For later PAE, or for light or moderate PAE, the best/worst they could come up with was "needs more study."
- A focus-group study found parents support standard prenatal screening for treatable disorders, but optional screening for others. Also, more information.
And lastly, the CPSC commissioners have voted to create an outreach and ombudsman program for the small businesses not driven into bankruptcy by the their corporate-tailored regulations. [cpsc]
On the duct tape front, there's also this little bit of cuteness from this link posted at Boingboing today.
On the breast feeding front (if that isn't redundant), the extent of the available resource apparent in the photo makes one wonder if artificial enhancers led to concern about artificial ingredients in those resources. Just saying, it's possible...
THAT POOR DUCK!