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Friday, 30 March 2007 19:00
 For years moms have known that for thoughtful parenting articles, they could do no better than Child magazine. An icon in the parenting space, the magazine was not only the go-to magazines for parents, but also incredibly profitable. Until now.
Following in the footsteps of the fallen print editions of both Life and Premiere magazines, Meredith Corp. announced this week that Child will be closing down. The brand, like the others, will now be featured online. And in July, after the last issue of Child runs, its features will become part of “a parenthood portal,” which will also include content from Family Circle, Parents, and American Baby. So there go the print magazines. More and more magazines (and even newspapers) across the board are starting to sing this same tune, as subscriptions, circulation, and ad pages continue to decline. Although Child had other challenges to contend with, such as the recent Conde Nast publication Cookie, this new trend is one primarily brought on by changes in consumers.
Thursday, 29 March 2007 19:00
 So, word around the parenting community is that a new breed of parents is being singled out and given the nickname the “grups” (or, when combined with the terms yuppie and hipster, the “grupsters.”). Which sounds harmless enough, unless you’re one of these parents and also happen to be a Star Trek fan, in which case it might offend you.
Here’s why: In an episode of Star Trek, the Enterprise landed on a planet that looked just like earth and was ruled by children. The children called the landing grown-ups grups, who they are fearful of and, at first, attacked. It seems that, due to an experiment gone wrong, anyone on the planet who reached puberty died. The term is nerdy, sure. But pointed as well.
Wednesday, 28 March 2007 19:00
 While the story about Angelina Jolie’s newest adoption of a 3-year old boy from Vietnam is practically old news already, and it was certainly less controversial than other recent adoptions (ahem, Madonna), there are some questions surrounding the new addition. Such as why change the boy’s name?
Especially since this boy, now Pax Thien Jolie, came with little else than a few toys and his given name, Pham Quang Sang. Pax Thien is a combination of Latin and Vietnamese, respectively, which translate to “peace” and “sky”. While certainly peace is the type of name you’d expect Angelina to give to one of her multicultural children, the boy’s given name also had meaning – it means brilliant or bright light and is a common name in his native country. So what effect does changing it have? After all, Pax is already 3 and was answering to his own name. (Ironically, one of the English phrases they taught him in the orphanage to prepare him for his new life in America was “What’s your name?”) How much of your identity is based on your name?
Monday, 26 March 2007 19:00
 Have a car that is the bane of your existence? Do the backseat trash and cracker crumbs seem to build with no end in sight? As moms, we are always battling with the endless build-up in the car. From carting kids to t-ball to ballet to play dates, our cars have become our home away from home. I call this a new trend: the "stay-in-the-car" Mom. In fact, according to a survey of 1,500 Moms done by Mamasource.com, over 50% of us run over 3 carpools and errands a day. Actually, I think I run about 6...between school drop off, pick up, and dashing around.
We feel the pressure to keep our cars as pristine as our homes, but who has the time? Not me! But it still bothers me to no end.
Finally, someone has thought of us moms, and how many times we say, "Uh...please excuse the mess in my car!" as we shove things aside when giving a fellow Mom a ride.
Monday, 26 March 2007 19:00
 As women, we’re not surprised by the constant clamor around the topic of women having it all. Sure moms want a harmonious home life with happy and successful children, but in today’s world, they also want the glamorous and high-powered careers they have dreamed of since they were in grade school. After all, these are no longer the days of June Cleaver and Donna Reed. Right?
On second thought, maybe not. Amidst all of the often one-sided reporting about mothers either neglecting their kids to pursue a career or, if they’re lucky, managing to balance work and family flawlessly (much to the dismay of their stay-at-home mom neighbors or career-obsessed coworkers), a recent national poll showed many moms singing a different tune. The poll was conducted by BabyCenter, and, while it was made available only to BabyCenter users, the results were still somewhat different than some recent stories may have predicted. If money was not a consideration, only 3% of responding moms and moms-to-be said they would work in an office full-time, while 43% said they would opt to stay home full-time rather than working part-time – even from home.
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