Why Caucasian Dads are Superior…REVISITED…

Noteworthy Wednesday!

This is my most read post in 2011…since “Tiger Mom” is now published in paperback and it is the one year anniversary of the commotion that it set off I am reposting this for you perusal.

Enjoy.

Why Caucasian fathers are superior.

“So it should come as no surprise that I am better at parenting than most humans (and all animals, except bison and unicorns). The reason? I’m a Caucasian male.

The Caucasian culture does not accept mediocrity. You name it, we excel at it. Whether it’s playing hockey, or watching hockey, or dancing (the polka), or finishing last in 100-metre races, or suppressing the civil rights of minorities, Caucasian males do it best. We also raise the brightest children.”

Seriously, this is such an amusing piece that responds to the “Tiger Mom”  uproar. I thought we had read just about everything but apparently not so.

Given all the commotion that Tiger Mom has generated, I think that it is time to consider some balance. Parenting is something that is too important to actually laugh about.

It seems there are as many beliefs about the right way to parent as there are parents. It is my belief that anything taken to extremes is never really a good thing. There are exceptions to almost any “rule”. To be excessively rigid in your parenting style could pass this rigidity on to your child or create the opposite stance on your child’s part. Neither of these responses is what I personally would want.

There are many aspects of attachment parenting that I like and I probably was an attached parent and am an attached grandparent although I did not “co-sleep” nor did I breast feed.

My personal parenting guidelines came from Erik Erikson’s stages of development. I tried to parent so that my children successfully completed Erikson’s  stages of development.

I also tried to model behavior for my children. They experienced how important it was for both their grandmothers to die having completed their final stage of life at age 89. They both died with integrity and dignity.

Parenting never really ends.

For me, it is about teaching your children how to have love and empathy and be able to develop their own skills to live each stage of life.

With that said please read this “caucasian father’s” editorial reaction to “Tiger Mom” and laugh if you like…it is pretty humorous!

Breastfeeding at Target…is the jury still out on this one?

If you are wondering like I was yesterday if the “Nurse-In” at Target was successful…here is the answer.

No apology from Target and that is exactly what I expected…if you apologize it is an admission of “wrong doing” isn’t it?

Large corporations are not in the habit of admitting wrong doing…ever!

I wonder if moms are satisfied with Target’s statement … was there enough media coverage on 12/28 ,,, personally, I don’t think so.

If the attitude towards breastfeeding anytime, anyplace is to change…there should be some prominent media coverage to bring this issue to the forefront. Let’s face it, most of us are not breastfeeding so this affects only a small segment of the population. In reality however, it affects the health and well-being of children…so the affects are extremely far reaching.

Should this not be of more concern to the public at large? Any opinions out there?

What needs to be done?

Did the Target nurse- in get results? | BabyCenter.

TODAY: Breastfeed at Target …

NOTEWORTHY WEDNESDAY!

Breastfeeding is a natural way to feed babies…

it is a healthy way to feed babies…

for some moms it is an easy transition after delivery and for other moms it is difficult and takes time and patience to get into a rhythm with their babies.

Whatever the case…moms should be encouraged to breast feed and be able to breast feed anywhere.

That apparently was not the experience of a Texas mom who was “harassed” by Target employees when she chose to breast feed in an aisle at a Target store. She was asked to go to a fitting room to breast feed.

Now, my personal choice would not be to sit down in an aisle at Target to breastfeed but a fitting room would not necessarily have been my choice either. Perhaps, a table in their food court would have been more my style.

Now…today, moms have organized through Facebook and are scheduled to “nurse-in” at selected Targets this morning.

What will be the outcome of such a protest?

I am sure there will be some who are “appalled” that moms would do such a thing.

It is time to support breastfeeding moms…the research is in and the American Academy of Pediatrics has made their statements.

Even if you do not support a “nurse-in” it is time to give the thumbs up to those moms who do and it is time to let Target and others like them know that customer service is more than a counter in the front of the store.

Co-sleeping good or bad… safe or dangerous….

Co-sleeping...

Common sense certainly does enter into the equation…but some of us are gifted with more common sense than others.

It would be nice to think that there is a clear answer to what is safest and best for baby when it comes to eating, peeing and popping and sleeping.

Formula feeding…breastfeeding ….Cloth diapers…”pampers”….diaper free (elimination communication)….cribs…co-sleeping?

So many decisions so many discussions without any clearly right or wrong answers.

What ever you choose for your child…make sure you make the choice based on “common sense” for your lifestyle and what will work best for you, your family and child.

Do your homework…it is important for your child.

Cosleeping is not the devil.  Is it dangerous?  Yes.  But so is sleeping in a crib.  Pack and plays are death traps. Do we still use them?  Of course.  The key is common sense.  Something we sorely lack in this world.

There are safety measures you have to take no matter where your baby sleeps.  To put your baby in a crib you have rules. Common sense rules like no heavy blankets, pillows, toys, bumpers, gaps in the mattress, bars of a certain width, etc.

Cosleeping has safety rules too: do not drink or smoke before bed, sleep on a firm mattress or futon, no heavy blankets or pillows, don’t sleep with the baby if you have sleep apnea or if your bed is too small, put your mattress on the floor, etc.

So is cosleeping dangerous? Yes, if done without care or thought.  So think.  Use the mind that the creator (whoever she/he is) gave you and think about what you are doing with your babies.  Don’t blindly follow trends or advice from ads plastered on bus shelters.  Do research and make informed decisions with a big dollop of common sense tailored to your own little family’s needs.

via Common Sense and Cosleeping | Tales of a Kitchen Witch.

World Breastfeeding Week — You Can Still Be A Great Mother, Even If You Can’t Breastfeed

Although World Breastfeeding Week is over this post is so worth reading. Enjoy.

After trying for many years I had my first child at age 40. I was determined to do everything right. High on that list was breastfeeding. I was prepared for it to be challenging, but it turned out that my son and I were the perfect nursing pair. He did a great job of latching on and sucking, and I did a great job of producing “liquid gold.”

When my son was eight months old I developed a breast infection. Many nursing women have them — they are painful, but no big deal. I felt a lump that seemed like a clogged milk duct. But when the infection went away, the lump stayed so I scheduled an appointment with my physician.

via Cheryl Greene: World Breastfeeding Week — You Can Still Be A Great Mother, Even If You Can’t Breastfeed.

World Breastfeeding Week…

This is “World Breastfeeding Week”…we know that breastfeeding is “Best for Babes” but not every mother feels that she can adequately breast feed and not every woman wants to breast feed. This being said there are many ways we can encourage women to breast feed and do so successfully.

The following article talks about ways that hospitals can encourage a new mother to breast feed. Many good points are made here…but ultimately the mom will be taking her newborn home after a very short stay in the hospital and the home atmosphere and home support will be the true test of success.

What we need is a “doula” of breastfeeding…a compassionate, educated, non-judgemental mom who is willing to help mother and baby get established in their breastfeeding routine together. This is not an easy task. There is no room for a fanatical breast feeding “doula” who imparts her successful breastfeeding stories and inadvertently guilt to the new breastfeeding mom. This relationship in my opinion can make or break a breastfeeding experience.

Hospitals can only do so much and since hospital experiences are so short  for the new mom in many cases, it is my belief  that for many reasons  hospitals will never provide the support that is needed  for success in breastfeeding.

A new mother’s ability to continue  breastfeeding is influenced by what she  experiences and how much support she receives during the first hours and days after birth. Breast milk is “the perfect nutrition,” says Frieden. It provides antibodies to help newborns ward off illness until the immune system can produce their own, which doesn’t happen until the infant is 6 months old.  Mom’s milk also provides important hormones that help baby regulate how much it needs to eat. Plus, studies have shown that breastfeeding reduces diarrhea, ear infections and bacterial meningitis, as well as cutting the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, diabetes and asthma, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The CDC report says breastfeeding for nine months reduces a baby’s odds of becoming overweight by more than 30%. For babies to get all of these benefits, the AAP recommends that infants should be fed only breast milk for the first six months of life and moms should continue to nurse while they start introducing solid foods until the baby is at least a year old, longer if mom and baby still want to.

In response to this report, the American Hospital Association tells CNN: “Breastfeeding is a personal choice and hospitals will follow the wishes of the mother, be it to breastfeed or bottle feed. There are numerous reaso

ns for the results and those include that hospitals can’t always accommodate a single room for maternity care and some mothers choose to send their babies to the nursery.”

There are of course other ways to help mothers continue to breastfeed. One came earlier this week, when the Department of Health and Human Services adopted recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, which will require insurance companies to pay for breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling, without any cost to the insured (aside from her regular insurance premiums of course), starting in August 2012.

via Hospitals need to do more to help moms breastfeed – The Chart – CNN.com Blogs.

“Best for Babes” is a wonderful organization which is totally on the right track in trying to assist the breastfeeding mom and baby. We need more involvement like this in order to promote successful breastfeeding. Here is the mission of “Best for Babes” for those of you who are not familiar with this organization.

The amazing health, economic and environmental benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for six months or more are well-established.  Moms know this — they want to breastfeed. But sadly, very few of those who start or plan to start make it past the first few days — they struggle and suffer unnecessarily and give up, understandably, long before they intended to.  Too often, it’s not their fault!  They are being set up to fail by the very people and places that are supposed to help them — by the Booby Traps– the many cultural and institutional barriers that prevent them from achieving their personal feeding goals.

BFB’s mission is to help turn this situation around by bringing the power and influence of a consumer-driven, celebrity and corporate-backed, mainstream independent nonprofit –the Mother of All Causes –to bear on this issue;  to help create permanent  culture change that embraces, celebrates and supports breastfeeding and moms!  As a nonprofit foundation, we serve and complement the heroic, long-term efforts of the existing breastfeeding community and we lend added value by being able to harness and leverage the collective power of celebrities, corporations, foundations, the public sector, advertising, the medical community and the media.

Miranda Kerr… breastfeeding

CELEBRITY WORKING MOM BREASTFEEDING!

“Flynn is Miranda’s nearly 4-month-old (he was born on January 6) son with husband Orlando Bloom.

Miranda, who chose to share a photo of herself breastfeeding son Flynn just two days after his birth, has become an advocate for breastfeeding. “I intend to breastfeed for as long as I can,” she wrote on her blog in January. “My breast milk will give our little Flynn the nutrition he needs for his continued healthy development and to all mums out there I am sure you will make the right choice for you and your baby.”

As for how she has kept in top shape through pregnancy, the 28-year-old said recently, “I remember I was on the elliptical machine when I was pregnant with Flynn. I think if you really eating the right foods, putting the nutrition into your body and doing yoga and breastfeeding; those things have helped me get back into shape.”

There’s no denying motherhood looks good on her!”

via Miranda Kerr: Red heels & breastfeeding | BabyCenter.

Miranda Kerr makes a statement for breastfeeding and working. Granted all moms do not have this luxury at work but I have to give her credit for this pro-breastfeeding photo sharing!

Women’s Workplace Accommodations…

Do you know there is a United States Breastfeeding Committee ? Here is a reference to their statement concerning working moms and breastfeeding.

 

“Welcome

The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is an independent nonprofit coalition of more than 40 nationally influential professional, educational, and governmental organizations, that share a common mission to improve the Nation’s health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.

via Welcome to the United States Breastfeeding Committee.

UNITED STATES BREASTFEEDING COMMITTEE

STATEMENT ON LACTATION ACCOMMODATIONS IN THE WORKPLACE

The United Stated Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) affirms that conditions in the workplace

have a substantial effect on breastfeeding duration. Three out of four U.S. mothers initiate

breastfeeding,1 and more than half of mothers participate in the labor force before their children

turn one year old.2 A supportive workplace plays a central role in enabling women to breastfeed,3

but current breastfeeding rates indicate that the lack of support in the workplace is a significant

barrier to breastfeeding for many working mothers.4″