June 29, 2007
This article is a guest blogger submission from J2R of Journey2Retirement. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to his RSS feed?
Inspired by the list of five reasons that boys are better than girls (and vice versa; see below), I wanted to create my own version, broken down into phases: Pre-Puberty and Post-Puberty. Here’s the original list:
Here’s a quick rundown of the top five reasons why having little boys is better than having little girls:
1. No whining (or less, at least)
2. No pink
3. No ballet
4. No make up
5. No growing up to be teenage daughters
And just for the sake of balance, here are five reasons that girls are better than boys:
1. No testosterone - ’nuff said
2. More than just sneakers
3. No Little League
4. No frogs, snails, and puppydog tails
5. No daughter-in-laws
Since I’m an Engineer, I had to take a “scientific approach” to this.
First, I created categories that worried me (I took a lot from the original post). Each category has a “maximum worry points”. Those are just abstracted levels of how much I worry about each category.
All I had to do then was to assign points to boys vs girls in each of the two phases and analyze the results.
Click here to see the spreadsheet that I created.
From the graphic linked above, we can “scientifically conclude” that little girls are easier to raise than little boys, but once they reach puberty, daddy’s little girl is “gone” and teen boys are easier to raise.This worries me, because my kids are still toddlers, so I know there’s still a *lot* ahead of me.
This article was originally published at Journey2Retirement.
June 28, 2007
“A man should never neglect his family for business.” -Walt Disney
June 27, 2007
This article is a guest blogger submission written by Jordan of MamaBlogga. For more information, check out her “About” page. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to her RSS feed?
It’s time I said something. I have to stand up for all the mothers of little boys out there.
We want adorably outfitted children, too! Yes, there are cute clothes for baby boys, but compared to the selection and cute-itude of baby girl clothes, them’s slim pickins. How many department stores have you been to where the infant/toddlers section has maybe three racks of boys’ clothes and 400 square feet of girls’ clothes?
Easter is the worst. Not only are we innundated with frilly pastel dresses, but even the boys’ selection seems to be all pink and purple—perfectly camouflaged with the girls’ clothes. (I think Hayden could pull it off, but I don’t think Ryan really wants him to!)
And then there’s the hair. Don’t even get me started on the hair. [more]
June 25, 2007
This article is a guest blogger submission from Mike of Clever Dude. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to his RSS feed? Also be sure to check out BuildingNutrition, which is run by his wife Stacie.
Since we began dating, my wife Stacie and I have agreed that, if possible, we would adopt a child and also give birth to a biological child. However, we never decided in what order or when. Now that we’ve been married for a number of years, we think we’re almost ready for children. But we’re not heading into parenthood in the normal way. [more]
June 24, 2007
June 22, 2007
This article is a guest blogger submission written by Kathy of Broken Home School. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to his RSS feed?
I’ve been dealing with sibling rivalry issues at my house lately. The problems of normal brother-sister-baby squabbling are compounded around here by my sister’s three kids, who are here so much that they’re included in the bickering as normal combatants. The seemingly endless combinations of battle options provided by three girls and three boys, all 2 years apart, can have me at wits’ end faster than a Ferrari can go zero to sixty. [more]
June 21, 2007
This article is a guest blogger submission from Living Almost Large. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to her RSS feed?
A few months ago we were watching our neighbor’s son. He’s four years old and very cool.
Anyway, we were going out to dinner and Chuck E. Cheese and had to put the carseat into a 2 door Ford Focus hatchback. Unfortunately, the carseat was larger than expected, so it didn’t fit through the door. Instead, we had to fold down the seat and pass it through. We also couldn’t figure out how to install it because there were no latches and it wasn’t obvious how it worked.
So the kid hops into the car and say “No, you put it here and do this.” He rearranged the seat, jumped in, grabbed the seatbelt, and showed me how to pull it across him and snap it in. For those parents out there dying and thinking “I wouldn’t let you watch my kid” — I think I did it right. At least it looked how it supposed to look. I just wish we had asked how to use a carseat before we went out.
I was impressed. I guess I have a lot to learn. Too bad newborns can’t talk and tell you how to install carseats properly! Anyway, I learned if you babysit, try to get a kid that is mobile and able to tell you what to do. And geez… Carseats are hard to install!
June 20, 2007
This article is a guest blogger submission from They Call Me Mommy. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to her RSS feed?
Dani Shapiro, a writer and mother, wrote a piece on the Huffington Post the other day about having to miss her 8 year old son’s school play despite her best efforts to attend. She posed an interesting question that I have to wonder about myself. “Why would a performance of a school play be scheduled for nine o’clock in the morning?”
Since my son isn’t of school age, I never think about stuff like this. But it does make me worry about the day I do. I don’t plan on being a stay at home parent forever, so what kind of balancing act will my husband and I find ourselves in? And until then, there will surely be days when he will have to miss events because of work. Maybe I’m jumping the gun here, but the piece certainly made me pause for thought.
And we’re off! By the time you read this, we’ll be well on our way… We’re headed out for a relaxing (and reasonably long) summer vacation that will involve a little better than 1300 miles driving in each direction (plus some local miles at the far end). I’ll have intermittent internet access, so I’ll try to pop in from time to time. However, most of the writing that you’ll see over the coming days was contributed by a handful of guest bloggers. To all who contributed, thanks for your help — and be sure to watch this space… You’ll soon see your name in lights!
June 19, 2007
According to a recent CNN/Health article, a growing number of U.S. parents are deciding against circumcising their sons. Apparently, the circumcision rate peaked at nearly 90% in the 1960s and began dropping in the 1970s. By 2004, 57% of all male newborns in the U.S. were circumcised. Interestingly, immigration patterns have played the biggest role in the decline, which is most apparent in western states with large Asian and Latin American populations.
As for us, all four of our boys are circumcised, and we’ve never regretted it. In fact, we have a couple of friends who opted not to have their sons circumcised and have regretted their decision due to frequent urinary tract infections. In one case, they ended up having their son circumcised much later — as in, when he was old enough to be fully aware of what was going on, and to remember it. Of course, this isn’t to say that circumcision is for everyone…
In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics no longer endorses routine circumcision, though they don’t recommend against it either (here’s their policy statement). However, recent evidence that seemingly shows decreased susceptibility to HIV in circumcised men has caused them to take another look at their policy. No, I don’t know the details of these studies and yes, I can imagine many ways in which circumcision could be confounded with other factors. Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
