In a dramatic turn of events, the birth mother of little Max, the infant at the root of the Missouri adoption fiasco that appears to be all about prejudice against fat, has gone public with her disgust with the present situation.

Having her cousin's family, the Stocklaufers, raise her child was her adoption plan, and her goal for Max. As birth parents will attest, this is not a decision made lightly nor without pain. To overturn or overlook her choice for her child seems the height of arrogance.


News out of Australia suggests that parents there are dosing their kids for fever too often.

According to this report, a fever under 40C ... that's 104F ... on its own does not need to be treated; in fact, it is the treatment.

"The body has purposely set its temperature higher to try to stop bacteria from multiplying; it's an immune response."

I've sent this information to my husband, but I can't see him not jumping up with full syringe every time one of our kids starts feeling warm. Sam's febrile seizures rather set Mark up to totally freak when the mercury rises, and there's no talking him down.

If your kid has asthma, you'll find this interesting. In a recently released study, it has been shown that parents' perceptions may be coming between their child and health.

Apparently, many parents don't believe the drugs their kids have been prescribed are essential or that they pose some health risk, so they end up not giving the child what they need.

When speaking with parents who grew up with asthma themselves (the disease is hereditary, to an extent), healthcare providers should remind them that the advances made in medicines over the last decade can offer today's kids a symptom-free life, or close to it, with good adherence. Suffering need no longer be part of the schema ...

As we hear from Julie on the Parenting Special Kids Blog and others, legal issues with school districts can be a huge issue, and expense.

A news report from Seattle emphasizes the point well today.

A law firm that represented a group of parents who eventually won their case would now like to recover close to $2 million in legal fees from the Seattle Public School District, but they're getting a fight.

Not everyone will be as amused as I am over the fact that the British Schools Secretary's name is Ed Balls, but you might find his new proposals interesting.

The idea is to start fining parents if their kids who've been suspended from school are seen outside the house.

“Good discipline and strong leadership are vital for driving up standards in our schools. But schools can only do so much in isolation. Parents have to be responsible for instilling right and wrong too. Our measures help to build strong and supportive partnerships between parents and teachers that will create a more united front against poor behaviour.

I want to heads to engage with parents, including using parenting contracts at an early stage , so that schools and parents are able to work together to prevent bad behaviour from escalating.”

Part of what is called the "Education and Inspections Act", police, local authorities and head teachers will be able to impose "penalty notices" if kids kicked out of school are caught in a public place, and parents who don't pay up could end up with a £1000 ($2022) fine or a community service sentence.

They're figuring the program will cost £13.7 million (almost $30 million) to implement in secondary schools, and I just don't see how it's going to help even one little bit.

Maybe if Ed's last name was Sense ... ?