No food and drinks in the pool -- and that includes you, breastfed babies! While many breastfeeding advocates are outraged that a mom was asked to get out of a pool to nurse her baby, some are saying breast-feeding in the pool itself is taking it a bit too far. Still others are just surprised her baby didn't object to the chlorine aftertaste. The mom says she was sitting on the steps and being discreet about her activities but that a lifeguard asked her to leave, citing a desire to keep bodily fluids out of the pool. She says that while she would have preferred to nurse in a pool-adjacent chair, it would have meant that her older child also had to get out of the pool and wait while she fed her baby. Do you think the lifeguard was being unreasonable in asking her to step outside of the pool?
Parents are happy to hear that McDonald's has announced it's making Happy Meals healthier. Ronald and the gang are cutting french fry portions by more than half and are making apples standard fare in the popular boxed meals. We suspect that kids, dazzled by the toy awaiting them, won't even notice they've been duped into eating healthily.
Prepare to be wowed. Against all odds, a homeless child, who was abandoned by his parents, managed to not only graduate from high school but to also go on to college. In 2010, a news story about him appeared in New York, which inspired readers to help him out financially, giving him $15,000 and a full ride to college. That was money well spent, because not only did he earn a 3.6 GPA his freshman year, but he's also spending his summer raising money to help other homeless kids get an education. This inspirational young man has already earned $3,000 to this end but wants to raise ten times that much. Given how much he's already accomplished, we don't doubt he'll do it.
Classic back-to-school images include shiny red apples for the teacher, new crayons and the ubiquitous yellow school bus. However, some kids in Texas are going to find themselves shelling out some serious cash if they want to hop a ride on that bus this fall. One school district recently approved a plan that would charge students $185 per semester for a ride to school. Second children would pay $135 and those who qualify for free and reduced lunch would pay $100. The district says the fees are the only way it can maintain bus service after voters rejected a 13-cent property tax increase.
Bring your daughter to work day was created to help show young girls that they too could be successful career gals when they grew up. Now, an increasing number of workplaces are offering moms a bring your baby to work every day option, showing them they can be both moms and career gals. Some offices are allowing mothers to bring their tiny bundles of joy into the office in the early months, before a baby gains mobility. It would certainly help moms ease their separation anxiety, but do those moms risk being viewed differently (and not in a good way) by their co-workers for doing so?
Dana Macario is a TODAY Moms contributor and Seattle mom to two sleep-depriving toddlers. She is currently developing an alarm clock that will start an IV coffee drip 10 minutes prior to wake-up time.