I had to wade through a lot of spam to bring you Skeptical Parent Crossing #9, but there was plenty of good reading too. This is my first time hosting a blog carnival. Be gentle.
New mother Elisha questions the notion of the mighty supermom and takes this veteran parent back in time to revisit the folly that so often surrounds childbirth. And Brad at Skepdad discusses letting your children slide (or not?) when it comes to independence — sometimes doing things that make you seem less like a superparent on the surface can be ultimately beneficial.
Rabbit is stimulated by an Oprah segment about buying vibrators for your daughters to weigh in on talking to your kids about sex. The money shot (er, sentence): “The beauty of healthy sex cannot be taught by an orgasm machine.” If talking to your daughter about vibrators makes you uncomfortable, there’s still a discussion to be had, courtesy of Pop Tart, about the pragmatics of wearing risque clothing even at the cost of being marginalized. Alessia also skirts the topic of victim marginalization while reacting to a study of online avatar selection as a risk factor for abuse.
Babylicious considers the benefits and potential harms of breastfeeding a child while pregnant, and Rose gives us her humorous perspective about raising a heap of kids in the spotlight of reality TV.
We’re throwing my daughter a science-themed birthday party next weekend. Just in time for it, one anonymous Dad blogger (hey, just like me) pitches in a great idea for demonstrating camouflage as an advantageous adaptation. Gwen gives some great examples (complete with illustrations) of how conformity to seemingly harmless assumptions underlying educational exercises can really undercut critical thinking.
Get tired of your kids’ music? Amber has some suggestions that bridge the gap between the standard (often good, but old after a million times) kids’ tunes and things that might be more appealing to some parents’ own musical tastes. (I know, I know, this one isn’t especially skeptical, but I dug it, so it’s in.)
Tags: blogs, carnival, skepticism
Glad to hear the natural selection/camouflage adaptation activity suits your party! A science-themed birthday party sounds great, I hope you consider posting the activities, the reaction of the participants and your feelings about the outcome!
We are hosting a Scooby Doo party, ourselves (also next weekend – odd, that) – featuring my child’s favorite gang of skeptical inquirers. I plan to work up a 4yr. old’s version of ‘host a murder mystery’.
I’m happy to have been featured on the SPX blog carnival – and look forward to future postings.