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Strollerderby
A CDC panel has expanded their recommendation on the HPV vaccine to include boys. Finally.
After all the furor over giving this shot to girls, it’s great to see the CDC do the right thing and recommend it to boys as well. The virus can affect boys as well as girls, it’s only right that they also be vaccinated for it.
In case you’ve been living under a rock: the HPV vaccine protects against cancer-causing strains of the human papilloma virus. Because it’s usually sexually transmitted, some Republicans have made a big stink about the vaccine being a license for free sex.
Keep my privates private!
Unless you’re living under a rock you probably witnessed the internet commotion about a paparazzi shot of Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s son playing around, naked, on a beach.
A website called Barstool Sports used the headline “Check Out The Howitzer On Brady’s Kid” above the photo of 1-year-old Benjamin Brady frolicking on the sand. The website also added this horrifying descriptor: “Just swinging low like a boss. That’s what MVP QB’s do. They impregnate chicks and give birth to big dicked kids.”
As Deadspin.com reports, the uproar that ensued even involved state police:
The post was deemed so controversial that it resulted in writer Dave Portnoy’s being banned from Boston sports radio station WEEI, numerous threats of bodily harm from faceless Boston sports fans, and a mini-revolt from some of his own obscenely loyal fan base. According to Portnoy, the outcries were so severe that two exasperated Massachusetts state police officers even paid a visit to his house to ask if he would pull the offending post down.
Dave Portnoy took down the post but has remained vehemently unapologetic, saying he only took it down because he didn’t want to get in a pissing match with police. Douche. I know, I know, this particular discussion has been beaten to death but how a grown man can defend posting a photo and commenting on the private parts of a toddler is beyond me.
I bring up the Benjamin Brady photo as an example to ease you into my point. Parents, who would be outraged if someone else commented on their kid’s junk, do it themselves all the time. Continue reading »
Mama's boy fo sho!
I am head over heels, cuckoo crazy in love with my little Henry boy.
This kid is a peach, A PEACH, I tell you!
From day one the little feller just goes with the flow and grins more than any human being has a right to grin, really.
I love him so stinking much I’m certain I’ll turn him into a mama’s boy. And I’m super cool with that. I’ve always said mamas’ boys treat women better. Ever dated a guy who’s really close with his mom or a fellow who only has sisters? They always seem to be more sensitive to women than a big jock of a fellow who grew up with a bunch of rough and tumble brothers.
Now, a study backs up my claim.
Continue reading »
Boys are racing towards puberty earlier and earlier
Early puberty isn’t just for girls anymore. A new study shows that boys have been reaching adolescence earlier as well.
People have been raising concerns about girls’ increasingly early development for years. As Jezebel points out, Kotex has even started marketing maxi pads for kids as young as 8. Because there’s a market for that.
In boys, the onset of puberty can be a little harder to spot. There’s no menarche. They don’t wake up one day with a spot of blood on their undies and join the demographic of pubescent kids. It’s more like a gradual process.
So how can you tell if that process is starting earlier? One researcher is doing it by looking at death rates.
There’s a photo in my summer album from a few summers ago of a friend’s six-year-old son playing happily in the sandbox at our local playground. He’s playing trucks with a few other boys. Unlike his playmates, though, he’s wearing a princess dress.
For a few years, this little boy was as fascinated with dress-up as his little sister. Princess gowns, fairy wings, high heels, the works.
His mom was an inspiration in managing this. She fiercely defended him, and went to bat with his teachers to let him wear skirts and dresses to school. She patiently taught him that his fashion choices were fine, but also unusual in ways other kids might notice and comment on. She let him grow through the princess phase just like I’ve let my girls go through it.
In this DVR and download-enabled age, we don’t see as many TV commercials as we used to. So when my kids watch something on actual network television, the ads always catch my attention. First, because they’re LOUD and it’s impossible not to stop what you’re doing and come over to see what’s making that horrible noise. (Weren’t they supposed to be doing something about that?) Also because of the incredibly specific way they market to my kids.
The visual parts of TV ads are so striking, it’s easy to ignore the language. But a new analysis may have you listening more carefully from now on. The image at left is a mash-up of the most common words used in advertisements for boys’ toys.
See the girls’ version after the jump.
Who knows about boys better than dad?
As young girls grow older and enter adolescence, fathers often begin to feel a little left out. Suddenly, daddy’s little girl isn’t so little anymore. She’s likely to be less interested in toys and games and more interested in bodies, boys and other big girl stuff.
But while many dads are happy to step aside and let mom take over during this important stage of a young girl’s life, a recent study from New York University suggests that it might be better if they didn’t. Continue reading »
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