Gossip Rocks Forum - Parenting and Alcoholism

Baby images airbrushed by magazines to make them more perfect

Honey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:28:49 GMT

Telegraph: Babies' eye colour, skin tone - and even the fat creases on their arms - are altered before the images are put on glossy magazine front covers.

Telegraph

Politicians and industry experts described the practice as "shocking" and said it would put further pressure on parents who wanted their babies to be perfect.
Magazines have been heavily criticised in the past for airbrushing images of women to make them look thinner - a practice which eating disorder campaigners claim can help push impressionable young girls into becoming anorexic and bulimic.

But this is the first time the industry has admitted using the technique to alter images of babies.
Practical Parenting and Pregnancy, a monthly magazine, has said it has retouched photographs of babies to "put them across in the best light".
The practice came to light in a BBC documentary, My Supermodel Baby. In footage of a photo shoot for the magazine, the casting director explained how the photograph of baby model Hadley Corbett, five months, was airbrushed: "We lightened his eyes and his general skin tone, smoothed out any blotches and the creases on his arms," he said. "But we want it to look natural."
Daniella Delaney, the editor of the magazine which sells nearly 40,000 copies, told The Sunday Telegraph that photographs were airbrushed but that it was kept to a minimum.
"We'll remove things and even-up skin tone, that sort of thing. But very little is done, in fact, because obviously babies are beautiful the way they are and that is what we went to get across."

When asked whether lightening eyes, changing skin tone and removing creases of fat from photographs of babies were common practice, she said: "It is a photograph isn't it, so you have to make sure that you are putting the baby across in the best light.
"Babies are not like adults you can't stop them from dribbling, so you might remove that bit of dribble from the chin. Or if the baby has just been crying, and their eyes are red, we might lighten the eyes. Or if they have just woken up because they have had a nap on the way in and we photograph them, we might remove a little bit of sleep. It is just those kind of things, very little really."
When asked specifically about airbrushing out the creases of fat on babies, Ms Delaney said: "I can't really comment but we don't have a hit list of thing we look out for."
She later said that the creases could have been removed to avoid "coverlines" - text on the front of the magazine - being printed on a dark area.
Other companies admitted they altered pictures of babies.

Vanessa Brown, the head booker for Truly Scrumptious, a child modelling agency, said: "When we do our shoot for the website, little blotches or runny noses, you get out. We might also 'debag', to make the eyes look a bit clearer if they are looking tired. But we do very little because the client has to know what the child is like."

Wyndeham Argent, one of Britain's largest printing companies, admitted it retouched pictures used in children's catalogues.
"We retouch the clothing to fit properly. Very occasionally we might alter the flesh tone of a child if they look a bit anaemic," said Tim Moscow, the production director.
Critics expressed shock that baby images were being altered.
Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire, who has campaigned against the use of airbrushing in magazines, said: "People will be appalled that a magazine would not think images of beautiful healthy babies are alright as they are and instead have to conform to some standard. The idea that babies must look more perfect - that they can't have creases in their skin - shows the obsession with a particular ideal. Where does this end?".

Belinda Coleman, of the retouching agency The Shoemakers Elves, said: "It is terrible and shocking if it has got to the stage where babies folds of fat are being got rid of. This sounds like very dangerous territory. You will have parents thinking, my baby isn't attractive enough, how do I make my baby more attractive?"
Other parenting and baby magazines claimed they did not airbrush pictures of babies but would remove "dribble".
Miranda Levy, the editor of Mother and Baby, said: "We would take out a blob of dribble, especially if the baby has a cold, but we would never change the skin tone or 'de-wrinkle'."
Elaine Griffiths, editor of Prima Baby and Pregnancy magazine. "Airbrushing is not something we would do."
Esther Corbett, Hadley's mother, said she was not surprised that her son's photograph was airbrushed: "You kind of know that they do it because if you look at the front cover of magazines, most of the images don't look really real," she said. "But it didn't put me off."

Read more: http://www.momlogic.com/2009/11/baby_images_airbrushed_by_maga.php#ixzz0XLa70xJB

Mom says math homework is racist

Honey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:27:01 GMT

An image on an eighth-grader's math homework has one community embroiled in a debate about racism. Credit: Todd Huffman, Flickr

A middle-school math teacher is in the hot seat for including an image of a toothless black man on a homework sheet, and at least one parent is calling the illustration racist.

The Courier Times in Bucks County, Pa., reports that the African-American parent of an eighth-grader at Lenape Middle School was so distressed over the image of a black, toothless man on her son's math homework that she kept the boy home from school the following day.
"I couldn't understand what I was looking at," says the woman, whose identity was not revealed by the newspaper. The work sheet, titled "Solving Equations using Multiplication and Division!," featured a photo of a black man in a straw hat and a shirt and suspenders, his mostly toothless mouth agape. Underneath the picture is the grammatically incorrect phrase, "NO WAI!!!"
School district spokeswoman Karen Smith says that teacher Matthew Curran often uses photos and cartoons on his worksheets, and sent an e-mail to the Courier including a statement from Curran. "I chose it because it said 'no way,' which is a comment my students make when I require them to show each calculation," he writes in an e-mail. "I had no idea that I might offend anyone. I am very sorry for any distress that this has caused my students and the community." Curran claims that he found the image through a Google search for "multiply and divide."

The student's mother was not only distressed by the image, but also by reports of what happened to her son when his classmates saw the work sheet. The boy is the only African-American student in the pre-algebra class, and he says he was teased by other students.

"One of the kids in the classroom turned around and said, 'Is that your father?,' " she tells the Courier. "We are highly insulted and offended. We sent him to school to learn pre-algebra. He should be protected from this stuff, not have it thrown in his face ... He gets enough (racial slurs) and negativity from the kids. To have the teacher encourage it?"

The boy's family met with NAACP Bucks County President John Jordan, and released a written statement about the incident, the Courier reports.

"It brings into question whether all of our children are being provided a safe and fair environment in which to learn. What happened here is unacceptable, and we will take steps to make sure it never happens again," the statement reads.

According to the NAACP, several other students expressed their concerns about the picture, but the teacher told the kids to keep working, says the boy's mom. She did, however, ask her own son why he didn't leave the classroom. "He said, 'Mommy, I'm in school.' He knows the rules. He has to follow the rules," she tells the Courier. "He's trying to get on the honor roll right now."
Nick Chubb, Lenape Middle School principal, declined to comment but did tell the newspaper that administrators are investigating the matter. In the meantime, the boy's mother is keeping her child home until the situation is resolved.

"Racism is usually so subtle. To have it so blatant is what is so shocking," she says. "Hopefully, we can all learn from this and move forward in a positive way -- for everyone, not just the black kids or the Hispanic kids or the Jewish kids or the other subgroups ... We need some peace and understanding. I don't want hate."

Mom Says Math Homework is Racist - ParentDish

'I'm pissed! My friend "abducted" my kid'

Honey — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:06:04 GMT

Lisa from Atlanta writes:

Dear Friendship Court: My friend April is the consummate practical joker. She never stops. In fact, every time I get a phone call from someone I do not know, I assume it is her pulling a prank on me. Generally, I laugh at her antics ... but the last practical joke was out of line, and I do not plan on ever speaking to April again. My 9-year-old son, Jake, was outside on our driveway shooting baskets. We live in a suburban neighborhood, and though I am neurotic about safety, I let him go outside for a little while alone. Apparently, April was passing by and thought it would be funny to see my reaction to Jake's disappearance, so she coaxed him into the car and drove away. Even Jake tells me he said, "April, I do not think Mommy will think this is funny."
When I looked out the window and did not see Jake, I ran outside like a lunatic and ran up and down my street ringing doorbells and screaming. I called 911... and then April called. I was ranting about Jake's "abduction," and she still let me go on for what seemed like five minutes till she said, "I have him." When she returned with Jake, I grabbed him and went inside and have refused to respond to any of her attempts to communicate since. I would like your readers and you to weigh in on whether I am on solid ground here.

Leslie Adler: Dear Lisa: Can you spell c-e-m-e-n-t? Does April read the newspapers or watch the news? How many years did you age in the few minutes April had Jake? April's attempt at another practical joke was, in this instance, an exercise in bad judgment. I don't know that I could forgive her either.

Read more: http://www.momlogic.com/2009/11/my_friends_practical_jokes_knows_no_boundaries.php #ixzz0WlBlzgO6

Strollers recalled after at least 12 babies/toddlers have fingers amputated

Moongirl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:51:49 GMT

Strollers recalled over finger amputation alert

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
-Maclaren says some of it strollers pose a risk of finger amputations
-Recall affects nearly one million strollers sold in the United States
-Manufacturer has issued kit to make hinges safe

Maclaren says the recall affects nearly one million strollers.

(CNN) -- Close to one million strollers have been recalled by their manufacturer following reports at least 12 babies or toddlers had their fingers amputated after they were caught in the hinges.

British company Maclaren said the recall concerns Chinese-made models on sale in the U.S. that open with an "umbrella" mechanism.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said customers should stop using the strollers immediately.

Maclaren said it was issuing a free repair kit make the hinges safe.

The CPSC said the warning concerned models dating back to 1999 sold at stores including Target and Babies R Us.

The mechanism "poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding," the CPSC said in statement issued jointly with Maclaren.

Maclaren said its Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller models -- which retail between $100 to $400 -- were affected.

The manufacturer said its strollers met required safety standards, but the recall was being applied voluntarily to "alert the operator when opening or closing the stroller of the possible risk of injury."

In a separate statement, Maclaren's European arm said that no recall was being issued in the European Union, where there had been fewer reported injuries, despite higher sales.

"We wish to reassure our customers that they should continue to use their existing Maclaren buggies since they are safe when opened and closed correctly," it said.

"Our advice is that consumers should take the same level of caution and care as when opening or closing a car door or any other moving part that can be found in many other baby and toddler products.

"There are a lower number of similar reported incidents amongst the considerably higher number of Maclaren buggies sold in Europe. If a buggy is folded or unfolded in line with our operating instructions the risk of injury is non-existent."

� U.S. consumers can contact Maclaren at 877-688-2326 or visit Maclaren USA Buggy Recall to receive the repair kit.

Find this article at:
Strollers recalled over finger amputation alert - CNN.com

A movie guide for stupid parents

celeb_2006 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:17:08 GMT

A movie guide for stupid parents - Entertainment - OCRegister.com

Check out "The Movie Guide For Stupid Parents"

In the interest of full disclosure, I feel obligated to tell you that I have absolutely no experience raising children.
But I have no problem telling you how to raise your children.
And I would like to start with the woman who brought her young daughter to an afternoon showing of "Paranormal Activity" at the AMC 30 in Orange.
Because of my lack of experience in dealing with children, I have no idea how old her daughter was, but I can say with confidence that she was definitely under the age of 5.
"Paranormal Activity" is a cross between "Poltergiest" and "Blair Witch Project" in that it is a horror film about ghosts and demons, but looks like it was filmed by amateurs. It is about a young couple from San Diego whose home appears to be haunted. They decide to investigate the phenomenon by setting up a camera in their bedroom to record what happens in the middle of the night.
I found it creepy, but not very scary, although I have heard of young adults who have had trouble sleeping after seeing it. Word of mouth has turned the low-budget film into a pop sensation.
Personally, I don't think it's a movie for small children, and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) agrees.
"Paranormal Activity" is rated "R," which stands for "restricted."
This is an excerpt from the MPAA's ratings guide:
"An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously. Children under 17 are not allowed to attend unaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Parents are strongly urged to find out more about R-rated motion pictures in determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures."
Let's not deal with theater management at this time. It's much more fun to point accusatory fingers at irresponsible parents.
As I said, I don't know anything about parenting, but I know a lot about stupidity. It takes one to know one.
I was one of many people in the theater who glared at the woman with the little girl. The woman never acknowledged the glares. Somebody should have said something out loud, but it was a very polite audience. I was too busy thinking about turning the incident into a column, or I would have openly expressed my outrage.
Finally, the woman removed her daughter from the theater � not because she realized that the film was inappropriate for someone that age, but because her child was chattering incessantly and annoying the mother.
The little girl was too young to even appreciate what was going on in the movie, and she was talking as if she were on a playground.
I have concluded from this experience that a movie ratings system isn't enough. Perhaps it is my job as a movie columnist to help parents. It's only fair that I give back to the stupid people who give me column ideas.
Therefore, I am going to run down a list of upcoming movies that might not be appropriate for small children. Let's call it "The Movie Guide for Stupid Parents."

The top 6 reasons kids have tantrums

celeb_2006 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:29:13 GMT

The Top 6 Reasons Kids Have Tantrums - Parenting on Shine

The best way to prevent tantrums is to know what triggers them. Lots of kids get irritable when they're hungry or tired, but those aren't the only situations that will spark meltdowns. Psychologist Jed Baker, the author of No More Meltdowns, offers a guided tour of the six most-common triggers, with tips on avoiding each tearjerker:

1. Biological issues
Some kids become especially irritable when they're hungry or tired. That's why it�s always a good idea to take favorite snacks along on outings; you can even pull them out when waiting for meals at restaurants. To keep children from becoming too tired, build some rest time into your plans and don�t overschedule their days. Last, consider what kind of stimulation your kids can tolerate � some like loud amusement parks, while others need quieter activities to keep them happy.
2. Lack of structure
Having nothing to do for too long a period of time is a recipe for trouble. Kids will create their own structure if you don�t, and this sometimes means arguing with each other or otherwise acting out. Create a "Things To Do" box with puzzles, games, art projects, books, videos and other calming activities for the downtime between scheduled activities. Take smaller versions along on long car rides or for destinations with long waiting lines.
3. Demands
Many kids find it stressful to be told to do homework or chores, or to try a new activity. So when it's time for them to do their chores or homework, make a game of it, with rewards for completing each part of the task. If kids are afraid to try something new, don�t force them � instead help them gradually overcome reluctance by letting them watch the activity first, then asking them to participate for a very short period of time.
4. Waiting
Some kids melt down when they don't get what they want, or have to stop doing something fun. It is easier for kids to wait for what they want if they know exactly when they'll get it, so keep a timer or clock on hand. If you know you are going someplace where they will want something they cannot have, tell them ahead of time; suggest that if they get through the outing without complaint, they can get something else. When kids resist stopping a fun activity, try to make the transition easier. For example, as a reward for leaving the playground and going home without incident, stop for a small ice-cream treat.

5. Threats to self-esteem

Some kids are perfectionists and cannot stand making a mistake on their homework or losing a board game. Remind such kids before an activity that you are more interested in their efforts or their sportsmanship than whether they do things perfectly. Promise rewards if they don't get upset when they lose a game.
6. Unmet wishes for attention
Some children fall apart when adults ignore them to attend to siblings or other adults. Children can wait for your attention more successfully when they know exactly when they will get it � again, a timer or clock can be helpful. If you are occupied with something important, ask them to stay near you while they wait; often, that closeness is enough to satisfy them for a while. Also, teach kids the correct ways to ask for attention, and to sit patiently rather than getting mad or acting out. If the kids ask nicely to play, then give them the attention they crave. After all, this is the most valuable gift you can offer them.

Stop! Don't touch my baby!

Honey — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:27:20 GMT

All new moms are warned about the dangers of germs when it comes to their newborn babies.

We're told to get flu shots; make sure everyone who touches baby washes his or her hands first; and to avoid taking newborns to church, restaurants, the mall or anywhere he's in danger of catching a cold,flu or worse.

But this year, the threat of swine flu has everyone on infection-control overdrive, and, as a Utah ABC news station reports, some moms are taking germ control to the max.

One Utah mom keeps people from touching her newborn triplets with Hands off Baby stop signs that can be hung from infant carriers warning, "Wash hands before touching baby."

Germ-phobes can also buy don't-touch-me bibs, onesies, T-shirts and more, in hopes of keeping baby-loving strangers from getting too close.

Would you buy any of these stop signs?

ParentDish

Can I do a thread about kids Costumes?

Goose — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:19:18 GMT

Does anyone want to share their kids (or their own) costumes? Do we have one already that I missed? My 2 year old is going to be a lady bug (somewhat fitting, as we've had a million asian beetles at my house).

I can share her last 2 years of costumes, but can't do a current one due to computer/printer issues.

anyone interested?

For some parents, shouting is the new spanking

Honey — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:58:54 GMT

JACKIE KLEIN is a devoted mother of two little boys in the suburbs of Portland, Ore. She spends hours ferrying them to soccer and Cub Scouts. She reads child-development books. She can emulate one of those pitch-perfect calm maternal tones to warn, �You�re making bad choices� when, say, someone doesn�t want to brush his teeth.

Jamie Grill/Getty Images
LOWERING THE BOOM Some frustrated parents resort to yelling and screaming followed by feelings of guilt.

That is 90 percent of the time. Then there is the other 10 percent, when, she admits, �I have become totally frustrated and lost control of myself.�
It can happen during weeks and weeks and weeks of no camp in the summer, or at the end of a long day at home � just as adult peace is within her grasp � when the 7- or 9-year-old won�t go to sleep.
And then she yells.
�This is ridiculous! I�ve been doing things all day for you!�
Many in today�s pregnancy-flaunting, soccer-cheering, organic-snack-proffering generation of parents would never spank their children. We congratulate our toddlers for blowing their nose (�Good job!�), we friend our teenagers (literally and virtually), we spend hours teaching our elementary-school offspring how to understand their feelings. But, incongruously and with regularity, this is a generation that yells.
�I�ve worked with thousands of parents and I can tell you, without question, that screaming is the new spanking,� said Amy McCready, the founder of Positive Parenting Solutions, which teaches parenting skills in classes, individual coaching sessions and an online course. �This is so the issue right now. As parents understand that it�s not socially acceptable to spank children, they are at a loss for what they can do. They resort to reminding, nagging, timeout, counting 1-2-3 and quickly realize that those strategies don�t work to change behavior. In the absence of tools that really work, they feel frustrated and angry and raise their voice. They feel guilty afterward, and the whole cycle begins again.�
Amy Wilson, a writer and actress in Manhattan, used to give up shopping for Lent. That was before she had children, now ages 6, 5 and 2. This year she gave up yelling. Or tried to. �It didn�t really work,� she said, �but I definitely yelled less.�
Ms. Wilson has written a humorous autobiographical book about parenting, to be published next year, called �When Did I Get Like This?� An entire chapter is devoted to her personal efforts to curtail her yelling.

A ONE-WOMAN show, �Mother Load,� which she wrote and performed Off Broadway and will take on tour for the second time next year, opens with a yelling scene that draws laughs and includes the line �I have had it with looking for puppy� in a high-decibel lament that rings true to anyone who has searched for a favorite stuffed animal for the seventh time in a day.
Familial screamers have long been a beloved part of American pop culture, from the Costanzas of �Seinfeld� back to the Goldbergs of radio and early television, but they didn�t yell at small children. And though previous generations of parents may have yelled in real life � Dr. Spock called shouting �inevitable from time to time� � this generation of parents seems to be uniquely troubled by their own outbursts.
�My name is Francesca Castagnoli and I am a screamer,� began a post on Motherblogger.net earlier this year. �Admitting I�m a mom that screams, shouts and loses it in front her kids feels like I�m revealing a dark family secret.�
�It�s not kind,� said Ms. Klein in Oregon. �When I�m done I feel awful.�
To research their book �Mommy Guilt: Learn to Worry Less, Focus on What Matters Most, and Raise Happier Kids,� the three authors, Devra Renner, Aviva Pflock and Julie Bort, commissioned a survey of 1,300 parents across the country to determine sources of parental guilt. Two-thirds of respondents named yelling � not working or spanking or missing a school event � as their biggest guilt inducer.
�What blew us away about that is that the one thing you really have ultimate control over is the tone of your voice,� said Ms. Pflock, a child development specialist.
Parental yelling today may be partly a releasing of stress for multitasking, overachieving adults, parenting experts say.
�Yelling is done when parents feel irritable and anxious,� said Harold S. Koplewicz, the founder of the New York University Child Study Center. �It can be as simple as �I�m overwhelmed, I�m running late for work, I had a fight with my wife, I have a project due � and my son left his homework upstairs.� �
Numerous studies exist on the effect of corporal punishment on children. A new one came out just last month. Led by a researcher at Duke University�s Center for Child and Family Policy, the study concluded that spanking children when they are very young (1-year-old) can slow their intellectual development and lead to aggressive behavior as they grow older. But there is far less data on the more common habit of shouting and screaming in families.

One study that did take a look at the topic � a paper on the �psychological aggression by American parents� published in the Journal of Marriage and Family in 2003 � found that parental yelling was a near-universal occurrence. Of 991 families interviewed, in 88 percent of them a parent acknowledged shouting, screaming or yelling at the kids at least once (though it didn�t specify how many did it more often) in the previous year.
�We are so accustomed to this that we just think parents get carried away and that it�s not harmful,� said one of the study�s lead authors, Murray A. Straus, a sociologist who is a director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. �But it affects a child. If someone yelled at you at work, you�d find that pretty jarring. We don�t apply that standard to children.�

Psychologists and psychiatrists generally say yelling should be avoided. It�s at best ineffective (the more you do it the more the child tunes it out) and at worse damaging to a child�s sense of well-being and self-esteem.

�It isn�t the yelling per se that�s going to make a difference, it�s how the yelling is interpreted,� said Ronald P. Rohner, director of the Ronald and Nancy Rohner Center for the Study of Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection at the University of Connecticut. If a parent is simply loud, he says, the effect is minimal. But if the tone connotes anger, insult or sarcasm, it can be perceived as a sign of rejection.
Professor Rohner noted that while spanking is considered taboo by the major medical and psychological associations, there are still some religious and conservative groups who support it as an effective disciplinary tool, believing that the Bible explicitly allows it.
But, he said, �There is no group of Americans that advocate yelling as a parenting style.�
�My bottom-line recommendation is don�t yell,� he said. �It is a risk factor for a family.�
Easier said than done. Strategies to stop yelling abound. Ms. Klein said she has a friend who gives herself a timeout by going into another room when she feels a scream coming on.
Experts suggest figuring out ways to prevent situations that make you most prone to yell. If forgotten homework sends you into the stratosphere, make sure the children have their books and notebooks packed and waiting by the door before they go to bed. If you�re stressed and hungry after a long day at the office, make sure you grab something to eat in the kitchen before you tackle, say, a brewing disagreement over Legos.
Still, there are those moments.
�I�d like to think that most of the time we have a good interaction based on reason,� Lena Merrill said of her 4-year-old daughter, whom she has never spanked. But then there are the times when �she�s done something like poured milk on the floor or ripped a page out of a book,� Ms. Merrill said. �I just lose it.�

Usually, she says, she shouts something like, �Why did you do that? Why would you do that?�
�It�s phrased like a question to make her think, but the tone scares her,� Ms. Merrill said.
Still, Ms. Merrill, a travel consultant in Rutherford, N.J., finds that the threat of yelling can be a convenient stick, much the way the threat of a spanking was in her childhood. Even her husband has taken to using it to encourage good behavior, she said, issuing the warning:
�Don�t make mommy mad.�

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'My friend dissed my kid'

Honey — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:55:10 GMT

Am I overreacting? The Friendship Court weighs in.

Getty Images

Carol from Texas writes: My friend Janice shocked me. She had a party for her son Derek's birthday last week, and didn't invite my son Ethan. Most of us aren't having parties for our kids at 10. Ethan got a trampoline in the backyard and had two friends sleep over. But Derek had 10 kids at the kids' favorite local restaurant for dinner. Ethan is on his soccer team and is in his religious school carpool. Often, Derek comes to my house after school because Janice won't be home in time, so he just leaves for religious school from here.
Derek probably said he didn't want to invite him (I know Ethan wouldn't want to invite Derek either), and Janice probably said that was okay. I just don't agree, and would never let Ethan (at this age) leave someone out. So now everyone's talking about the party in the carpool, and Ethan wasn't invited. The good news is that he doesn't care, but it's annoying me because we (Janice and I) have had conversations about this very thing!
Am I overreacting?

Leslie Adler: I can see from your title you think your friend dissed your kid. I would just ask you, did your friend diss you or your kid ... or both?
So tell us, what do you think?

Read more: http://www.momlogic.com/2009/10/my_friend_dissed_my_kid_leslie_adler.php#ixzz0V1DK FMMM