Amid the devastation caused by the tornado that ripped through Joplin, Mo., one story of love and survival is bringing smiles instead of tears. A grandmother who was caring for her four-month-old grandson when the storm hit took shelter in a closet and clutched the infant through the entire ordeal. When the storm passed, she was holding both the baby and the closet door handle, although the house around them had been demolished. That grandma's pretty much the best babysitter, ever.
In this increasingly globalized world, some regional differences and mindsets remain. These differences naturally trickle down to parenting styles and what some are calling "loco-parenting," or the role local communities play in raising kids. Are presents unwrapped as part of a kid's birthday party festivities or tucked away to be opened later, after the guests have left? Is PTA involvement an expected part of motherhood or something virtually unheard of? It might depend on what 'hood you call home.
Ladies, are you raising your sons to be the ideal husband later on? A new study shows that a guy's willingness to commit as an adult may stem to how he was treated as a child by his mother. Kids whose mothers treated them with love and affection are more likely to resolve conflicts and establish committed relationships as adults. And while you're at it moms, teach him to pick up the check, open the car door, and both notice and compliment new hairstyles. Your future daughter-in-law's happiness depends on it. No pressure.
If you're sick of hearing about San Francisco's proposed ban on circumcision, don't worry. This story's not about that. It's about Santa Monica's proposed ban on circumcision. It's pretty much the same deal as the measure in San Fran, except further south and with better beaches. Oh yeah, and it's not actually on the ballot yet, but if intactivists have their way, it will be soon. Stay tuned.
Not much that is more endearing than a guy who's big and tough on the outside and a total softie on the inside. J.T. Thomas, an NFL player for the Chicago Bears, recently asked an eighth-grade girl who suffers from spina bifida to the junior high school dance. Thomas met the girl because she rides the same bus as Thomas' seven-year-old brother, whom Thomas collects from the bus every day. The girl, who's a Bears fan, told Thomas she'd had a rough week because every boy she'd asked to the dance had said no. The pro football star later made the young girl's day by inviting her to the big dance. Thomas is now the subject of mom-crushes nationwide and has likely created a few new Bears fans as well.
Many kids have been told something along the lines of, "If you watch that TV any more, your mind will turn to mush." But what about computers? A recent study shows that children's reading levels have dropped in countries where homes have at least one computer. Since the early 1990s, kids' reading scores in the U.S. and Sweden have declined but have increased in Italy and Hungary, where families are less likely to have a computer in the house. Some say the cause is that more leisure time spent playing games on the computer, equals less time spent reading.
If a male Dayak fruit bat can breastfeed, then why can't I? So asked one 33-year-old single guy before he attempted just that. After purchasing herbal supplements designed to increase milk production and a breast pump, he attempted pumping every three hours for seven weeks in the hopes of lactating. No luck. We can't decide if it's weirder that a single, childless man would attempt this to begin with, or that he described pumping as "surprisingly pleasant."
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. Once properly caffeinated, she also blogs at www.18years2life.com.