Food From a Pouch: Space-age, or Scary?
Kids have been drinking out of pouches for a generation at least. It bears remembering that when many of us were in our juice-drinking days, juice boxes and pouches, as well as sippy cups, didn’t exist. Now, it’s more common in some circles for kids to drink out of so-called spillproof devices or disposable containers than to use cups. I get (and have availed myself of) the convenience factor, but there’s a point at which convenience far outweighs commonsense. And I think we may have arrived there. It occurs to me that drink pouches (and now food pouches, about which more in …Keep Reading
“I Did It For My Daughter!” I Call Bulls$#t on Rielle Hunter
As you might have gathered from this post I wrote about Octomom, or even this sort of tongue-and-cheek mention of Madonna, I’m not a celeb-worshiper. I like the actors and musicians and others entertainment types, or don’t enjoy them, based on their work, and for no other reason. (I might except some personalities from that “I don’t care so much what you think as a person” divide in some cases; for example, I do admire the work supermodel Christy Turlington does with Every Mother Counts, which aims to increase awareness of maternal and infant health and mortality globally.) Turlington hasn’t …Keep Reading
It’s Graduation Time! Oh, and By the Way: You are NOT Special!
It’s graduation time! It’s also time for the myriad end-of-year hoopla that accompanies just about every activity children do. In point of fact, I just returned, about a half-hour ago, from Daniel’s school for the fourth-grade band and orchestra concert. He’s with the band (I love saying that!). He’s no virtuoso — geez, the kid only started “playing” clarinet last October! — but he’s proud of “making” band. With my idea of this post already circulating in my head — that graduation ceremonies, from preschool on up, possibly put too much emphasis on how exceptional the graduates are — I …Keep Reading
Take a Big Gulp and Read This: Does Anyone NEED 32 Ounces of Soda?
I have never had a giant-size or super-size or Big Gulp size soda. In point of fact, I’ve had almost no regular (as in, non-diet) soda in my life, apart from a span between about age 12, when I suddenly decided I liked grape and orange soda or root beer, in cans served up out of garbage pails full of ice at family parties; and age 16-ish, which is when I switched to Tab. Lots of Tab, then Diet Coke. I don’t even drink much of that anymore, since my husband and I decided telling our kids “no soda” while …Keep Reading
