Spanking is Abuse

How many times have I heard parents say that they were spanked and turned out fine? Really? That is your excuse? You were spanked. You will spank. I don't call that success.

I was spanked as a child. I did turn out fine. I don't spank. Ever. It should never, ever be in a parent's mind to harm their child to prove a point. I don't care if it is a little smack or a big one, it is child abuse.

You cannot hit a child for hitting his brother and then assume he will learn a lesson. What did he learn? That mama can hit and he can't, therefore, he must grow up before he is allowed to do such things. Good job on that lesson.

Some parents justify it by saying their child doesn't respond to anything else. I suspect these parents have not tried talking to their child civilly. A child with a good idea of what is going on will tend to behave much better.  In my experience, spankings only cause children to act out more.

Stop hitting your child and calling it discipline. Call it what it is, abuse.

Should I Feed My Baby Fruit?

My friends all started their babies on bananas and sweet cereals. Then they complained when their cute baby grew up and hated vegetables. I have to shake my head over this stupidity sometimes.

If you feed a baby sweets, they want sweets. Of course they do! It tastes better! Start with things like spinach and broccoli and you will have a child who eats vegetables happily. I didn't start my children on sweet veggies, like carrots and squash, until they were considerably older perhaps 10 or 11 months.

And while we're on the topic, stop giving 4 month olds food! Babies are not developed enough to handle food at that age. Do you know what the damage of that little slurp of ice cream is at that age?

- Leaky gut syndrome
- Food allergies
- Upset tummy and intestinal damage
- Reflux

But by all means, if you want your baby to have a lifetime of health issues, go ahead and think it's cute to feed him before he can even sit up properly.

TV is NOT a Babysitter

I overheard two women talking on the bus. One said she hated TV but she uses it. "It's my babysitter!" Then she laughed. Her friend laughed. I did not laugh.

It's not funny. Babies and small children shouldn't even know what a TV is, let alone have "their shows." Older kids should be strictly limited.

We don't have a TV. We sometimes watch a movie on Netflix. The kids (8 and 6) do NOT watch television shows. They watch a maximum of four movies per month. These are prescreened by us and are watched as a family. Frankly, I consider this a compromise.

Why do kids need television? It stunts their imagination. It ruins their thinking, not to mention their eyesight. Send them outdoors to play. Better yet, go play with them. Toss the TV in the garbage, where it belongs.

Homemade or Not at All

A friend of mine tried to serve us soup. It was from a box. A BOX. What is in that stuff? I don't even want to know. I told her we would eat at home, thanks anyway. She didn't get it.

Homemade is not hard. Homemade is easy. Anyone can make soup. Look:

Take 1 lb. of beef bones, cut into 1-2" pieces. Put in a big pot, cover with water, cook. Easy, no? You just made bone broth. Add herbs and veggies if you want.

To make soup, saute an onion in olive oil, add chopped garlic, carrots, potato and leek. Pour in broth. Cook.

See? Easy. You make enough at once to serve for several meals. Even easier.

There is no good reason to use tinned or processed foods. My kids hate processed foods. That plastic cheese that comes in individually wrapped squares? They gag on it. And they should. There's nothing redeeming about that stuff.

Make it yourself or don't eat. It's that simple.

Why Are You Chopping Up Babies?

My son is 8. He's intact. For those of you new to being nice to your child, that means he is uncircumcised. Not cut.

Who thought it was a good idea to start cutting little babies? Everyone gets up in arms about chopping off baby girl bits, but Heaven forbid we say anything against chopping up little boy bits.

Common arguments FOR this nasty practice include:

• "It looks better." - Says who? You? Really? You think you know what girls in 20 years are going to like? And why do you care? Maybe scars will be in by then. Better slice and dice your baby's face, too.
• "It's cleaner." - Obviously, you would know, since you're against intact boys. It's easy to clean a penis. A child can do it. MY child does it.
• "He'll have problems later in life." - Then you deal with it later in life. The chances are slim he'll have problems. You know what? Your daughter's breasts will probably get cancer, so you better chop them off at birth, too. And don't forget that troublesome cervix.
• "His dad is cut, they should match." - Right. So your child that doesn't look enough like you better get plastic surgery so she matches. Same difference. Please, people. Who is standing there comparing penises with their son? NO one, I should hope.
• "Babies don't even feel pain." - So if I slap your baby in the face, no biggie. He won't feel it anyway.

There may be some medical issues that require circumcision, but outside of that, stop cutting your babies up. Leave them be. 

Getting Annoyed Yet?

By now you know I'm not that sugar coated mama who will praise you up and down for everything. I have my opinion. I say it. Go ahead and say yours, I don't care. Everyone has their own opinion. We should be free to express it.

Just don't expect me to agree.

If you are for chopping up babies, feeding children poison and beating them, that's not ok. You can have your opinion, but it's still not ok. Just so you know.

Breastfeeding vs. Bottles

Bottles vs. breast. Big controversy, right? Wrong. There is nothing controversial about what is best for your baby.

I get that some moms can't breastfeed. This isn't about them. This is about the ones who CHOOSE formula. Formula is not mother's milk. It's not. It's not even remotely the same. Does it work in a pinch? Sure. But don't think there aren't repercussions.

And none of this nursing for the first 6 weeks business. Why would you stop? If you work, pump. Again, another post on working moms!

Your baby deserves to have the best you can give him or her. Not for as long as it's convenient. For as long as needed. Guess what? Your baby knows how long is needed.

There is help if you are having problems. No matter what you're dealing with, other moms have been there. And they did it. Some nursed until 2 or 3 years old, so there's no excuse.

Breastfeed unless it's impossible. Point made.