Editor’s note: This is a weekly digest of stories we’re following — trends, news you can use and provocative parenting reads. Do you have a good read for us? Write emurray@parentmap.com.
1. We should stop using the term “Having It All,” says Anne-Marie Slaughter, the author of the much-discussed Atlantic article titled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All." Any term with “mommy” in it should also go.
2. Susan Chira, who was foreign editor at The New York Times for eight years while raising children, shares a different story, and perspective, on working motherhood.
3. Ready for more debate over whether modern parenting practices are ruining American kids? The New Yorker takes on this age-old question in “Spoiled Rotten,” a lengthy essay that, among other things, compares our Amazonian kids who take on adult-like responsibilities at a very young age.
4. Meanwhile, over at The Huff Post, Lisa Belkin questions the usefulness of the comparison: “The relevant question here is not whether kids can cook crustaceans at age six, or get into the shower on command at eight, but rather what they are like several decades on.”
5. If you’re still mulling the ugliness of the Sandusky case and how to talk to your kids in such cases, blogger “Ask Moxie” has a useful link to a primer, and Seattle-based expert Amy Lang has a post on how to spot a pedophile.
6. Healthland (and many other sources) shares news of a Pediatrics study finding that physical punishment of kids — not necessarily abuse — can increase the risk of mental disorders later in life.
7. Big news last week was the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. Seattle Mama Doc shares her two cents over what it means for her pediatric patients.
8. Like the idea (and savings) of DIY summer camp? A Parenting columnist shares tips on starting your own.
9. Summer safety tip: We all know that pools can be dangerous — but familiar pools are especially so, with a study finding a a six-fold increased risk for drowning when at the pool of a friend or relative.
10. Finally, our favorite comedian-dad Jason Good shares his strategy for wearing out his amped-up youngest son before bedtime: “I know people usually do that to their pets, and yes, that’s where I got the idea, but I’m telling you now that it works just as well for tiny humans.”
