Whether it's criticism of your choice of preschool art party clown or something weightier, like, say, your soon-to-be-born baby being poisoned by everything in your house, the DT Friday Freakout is your one-stop headline roundup for ruining your entire weekend:
- OK, we've had enough of the art clown already, so no. Next?
- OH, MAN, EVERY SINGLE THING IN YOUR HOUSE *IS* GONNA POISON YOUR BABY, THEN GIVE HIM CANCER AND/OR EARLY ONSET MALE BREASTS. YES, WHATEVER YOU'RE THINKING OF RIGHT NOW, THAT, TOO. [nytimes, of all papers]
- But who cares, because using a mobile phone while pregnant will cause ADHD, or, if you're British, ASBO. [dailymail.co.uk, of course]
- Breastfeeding for the first six months is best, but face it, you can't/won't, so just do what you can and get some rest, hmm? [abtract at bmj via nyt/motherlode]
- This Anglo lady sure did get all worked up over piercing her niña's ears. [nyt]
- Does your Gerber Good Start formula have an "off-odor" to you and/or cause vomiting? [fda.gov]
- Eating saturated fats lowers sperm count and quality. [abstract at humrep via the atlantic]
And finally, this poster spotted, apparently, by Andy Richter's wife's friend:
I'm very interested in the continuum of what's OK to do to a baby: Cut off the tip of the penis for secular reasons? A-OK. Poke cosmetic holes in the ears? You betcha. Pierce the penis? No. Tattooing? No. Cut off the tip of the little finger? No. Pierce the nose? Apparently, yes. Piercing little boys' ears? Dunno, never tried.
All of it feels like treating a baby as a lifestyle accessory, to me.