http://marybethhicks.comRSS feeds for Marybeth Hicks60http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/896/Moment-of-weakness-on-tween-and-technology.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=896http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=896&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/896/Moment-of-weakness-on-tween-and-technology.aspxIt was a moment of weakness, and it didn't last long. My college freshman almost had me convinced that I ought to change the house rules for her younger sister. The logic sounded reasonable, the timing seemed right, and I could almost envision myself jumping into the minivan and driving to the cellular store to pick out an inexpensive cell phone for Amy, my 12-year-old. Then, in a fit of common sense, I spent 20 minutes on one of those Mommy-blogger sites. Simply perusing the headlines reminded me of all the reasons why we don't get cell phones for our children until they hit high school. Ditto for Facebook. "There's no 3 in texting," one story is headlined. "A new way to monitor kids on Facebook," is another. "How to REALLY talk to your kids about cyberbullying," offers another. Not to mention all the stories about teens, tweens, technology and sex, an alarming connection in today's culture. Now, before you get defensive and start telling me all the reasons why these things are safe and appropriate for our children, know that I'm not judging your house rules. We're just not changing ours.mbhWed, 23 Jun 2010 17:02:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:896http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/895/Civil-discourse-Etheridgestyle.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=895http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=895&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/895/Civil-discourse-Etheridgestyle.aspxThis week, my eldest daughter began a summer internship in Washington. She is so enamored of our nation's capital that she even likes the humidity that leaves bus fumes hanging in midair like carcinogenic cotton candy. For political science majors like her, Washington is Disneyland. Flocking to the city with a few items of business attire and enough enthusiasm to light up our national monuments for two months, college students immerse themselves in the real world of politics that they usually can only dream about while struggling to write papers about political theory. Suddenly, they're wandering the streets scoping out politicians like celebrities on the red carpet. But as two college students learned this week, politicians can be dangerous.mbhWed, 16 Jun 2010 17:01:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:895http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/894/Jesus-a-punchline-at-Comedy-Central.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=894http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=894&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/894/Jesus-a-punchline-at-Comedy-Central.aspxA priest, a rabbi and a duck walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, "What is this? A joke?" Ba dum ching. Unfortunately, the folks at Comedy Central don't seem to know the difference between good-natured humor and vile insulting content that deliberately offends a huge segment of the population. Last month, the network announced it is developing a new animated show titled "JC," featuring a hapless Jesus Christ living on his own in New York City. The synopsis at Comedy Central's "Insider" website says, "A half-hour animated show about JC (Jesus Christ) wanting to escape his father's enormous shadow and to live life in NYC as a regular guy. A lot has changed in 2000 years and he is the ultimate fish out of water. Meanwhile his all-powerful yet apathetic father would rather be playing video games than listening to JC recount his life in the city. JC is a playful take on religion and society with a sprinkle of dumb." Actually, based on previous depictions of Jesus on Comedy Central shows such as South Park, as well as the treatment of Christians and Christianity on shows across this network, the funniest part of that synopsis is the use of the word "playful."mbhWed, 09 Jun 2010 16:59:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:894http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/897/School-year-ends-on-political-note.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=897http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=897&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/897/School-year-ends-on-political-note.aspxThe stack of invitations sits next to my computer, signaling the start of graduation open-house season. Across America, high school graduation celebrations seem to vary by region. I happen to live in the Midwest, where no child matriculates without copious casserole dishes filled with cheesy potatoes served under rented tents in the back yard. It's just what we do. For the two high schools of the Enfield, Conn., school district, graduation has taken on an unfortunate political context, thanks to the American Civil Liberties Union (insert expression of mock surprise). This time, in its effort to assure the civil liberties of high school graduates and their families, the ACLU filed suit to protect folks from seeing religious iconography while attending a graduation ceremony. It argued, and apparently U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall agreed, that simply walking into a church where Christian iconography is present constitutes a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As a reminder, the First Amendment's establishment clause says, "Congress shall make no law regarding the establishment of a religion." Holding a high school graduation at a local church involves neither Congress nor a law, but this is the ACLU we're talking about. Their copy of the Constitution is probably stuffed under a table leg to keep it from wobbling.mbhWed, 02 Jun 2010 17:11:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:897http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/893/Rights-of-a-child-is-parental-issue.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=893http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=893&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/893/Rights-of-a-child-is-parental-issue.aspxIf you're a parent, you are probably too busy doing the day-to-day work of raising your children to worry about an international treaty that could actually undermine your authority over them. But if you've ever insisted that your teenager drag himself out of bed on a Sunday morning to attend church with the family, or required him to find a part-time job to pay for the increase in your car insurance, or — heaven forbid — if you've ever spanked a young child for an act of willful disobedience, there are folks who would like to override your parental judgment. Folks like President Obama, in fact. The issue of parental rights is at the heart of the ongoing debate over the U.S.'s failure to ratify the U.N.'s Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Mr. Obama thinks it's a travesty that the U.S. and Somalia — a country not known as a beacon of human rights — are the only two nations that haven't ratified this treaty. Not only does he support its intrusions into our national sovereignty on behalf of children, he is openly embarrassed to be on the short list with Somalia.mbhWed, 26 May 2010 16:43:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:893http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/898/More-kids-need-to-visit-principal.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=898http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=898&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/898/More-kids-need-to-visit-principal.aspxDriving across town recently, I counted no fewer than a dozen cars sporting those annoying bumper stickers. No, not "Got tofu?" The ones that say, "My child is an honor student at such-and-such school." Based on their bumpers, it seems most of the children in town are on the honor roll. Either I live in a place where high achievers breed like mosquitoes in a swamp, or those stickers are not difficult to come by. The truth is, the bumper sticker that ought to be slapped on the back of a minivan or two is: "My child was sent to the principal's office." I'm not holding my breath.mbhWed, 19 May 2010 17:14:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:898http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/858/Interpreting-rules-of-religion-rights.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=858http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=858&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/858/Interpreting-rules-of-religion-rights.aspxYou have to wonder what God thinks when scanning recent headlines. For example, "Comedy Central's 'JC' to Depict Cartoon Jesus" announces an animated show in development for the cable network that would portray Jesus Christ as a "regular guy" who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow." Reports say, "His father is presented as an apathetic man who would rather play video games than listen to his son talk about his new life." Of course, that story only demonstrates that in America we protect freedom of expression, even if it potentially offends more than 80 percent of the citizenry that is resolutely Christian. A more dangerous and disturbing story this week is titled, "Senior citizens told they can't pray before meals." In Port Wentworth, Ga., patrons of the Ed Young Senior Center, owned by the city of Port Wentworth but operated contractually by Senior Centers Inc., were told they could observe a moment of silence, but not pray aloud before eating their federally subsidized food. The folks at Senior Centers, Inc. interpreted the guidelines issued by the state Office on Aging to prohibit the free and open expression of faith simply because $5.45 worth of the $6 per plate meal is paid for with federal funds. No wonder Comedy Central thinks God is apathetic. One solution for the seniors of Port Wentworth might have been to announce, "We are now going to bless the .55 worth of food on the plate that was not provided by the government."  mbhThu, 13 May 2010 01:52:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:858http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/857/Grads-hear-from-preachy-president.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=857http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=857&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/857/Grads-hear-from-preachy-president.aspxLast Saturday, President Obama delivered one of four commencement addresses he will give this spring, but rather than inspire the new graduates of the University of Michigan to envision and embark on their own versions of the American dream, Mr. Obama offered a puzzling and preachy message on his version of civics. Speaking at the "Big House," U of M's famed football stadium, the president instructed the 8,500 graduates and roughly 70,000 spectators in "Democracy 101." The edited version: Government is good. Even Michigan grads didn't necessarily appreciate his remarks, and that's saying something. The school's student newspaper, the Michigan Daily, ran this headline: "Graduates offer mixed reviews of Obama's speech." Full disclosure: I went to the school up the road. The one with Sparty. And Tom Izzo. And the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. Where I live, one gets used to a certain intellectual superiority emanating from Ann Arbor. I imagine it's a feeling similar to the smugness some schools have about always going to the NCAA men's basketball tournament rather than crossing fingers to reach the NIT — it's just a given. But I digress.  mbhThu, 06 May 2010 01:47:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:857http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/843/Che-Shirt-Reflects-Poorly-on-Culture.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=843http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=843&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/843/Che-Shirt-Reflects-Poorly-on-Culture.aspxI learned long ago that shopping with teenagers requires me to patronize places I would otherwise avoid. The combination of loud, thumpy music, unreasonably priced clothing with manufactured holes in the knees and overly perky salespeople reminds me it is good to be a grown-up. Recently, however, owing to his incessant habit of rapid growth, my 15-year-old son needed new shoes. Thus, I found myself in the chain store Journeys, where one finds all manner of casual footwear, including styles even a mother can approve. The Journeys store at my mall is well-managed and well-staffed. The salespeople are truly some of the friendliest, most attentive and most competent I've found in a store that caters to young shoppers. Still, I can't look these guys in the face. This is because despite their pleasant demeanor, every member of the sales team is pierced and tattooed in the extreme. They even sport "gauged" ear lobes — piercings that stretch the lobe to resemble elephant ears. So gross. So I adopt a strategy I have dubbed "Product Scrutiny." Basically, I focus all my attention on the shoes under consideration as though I have never before bought footwear. On our recent visit to Journeys, it happened they offered a freebie — a hat — for which we qualified by virtue of the size of our purchase. Two pairs of shoes, two packs of socks, tell the folks what they've won.mbhThu, 29 Apr 2010 00:58:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:843http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/828/Teens-in-need-of-character.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=828http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=828&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/828/Teens-in-need-of-character.aspxIt's been two weeks since Josie Lou Ratley, 15, was brutally beaten at a school bus stop outside the Deerfield Beach Middle School in Deerfield Beach, Fla. She's been in a medically induced coma since the day of the attack. Doctors report she isn't getting any worse, but she isn't getting better either. The story made headlines because another 15-year-old beat Miss Ratley — a high school boy named Wayne Treacy — who became angry over text messages sent to him by Josie Lou disparaging Treacy's late brother, who committed suicide last fall. The texts prompted Treacy to announce to friends that he planned to kill the girl, and by all accounts that's what he intended when he pounded her head on the concrete sidewalk several times, and then kicked her repeatedly with his steel-toed boot. The two teens didn't actually know one another. In fact, Treacy almost attacked the wrong girl until his girlfriend directed him to Miss Ratley. According to reports, Miss Ratley had allowed the boy's 13-year-old girlfriend — a schoolmate — to communicate with Treacy by using her cell phone for text messages. One report indicates Miss Ratley found the nature of the relationship between Treacy and her friend inappropriate and said so in texts to Treacy, which escalated into the insensitive and unkind message she apparently sent regarding the boy's late brother. Treacy has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. He's being held in a juvenile detention center while authorities decide whether to charge him as an adult. His girlfriend also has been charged as an accessory to attempted murder. (Her name has been withheld due to her age). Meanwhile, as she waits at her daughter's bedside for an outcome that looks increasingly bleak, Miss Ratley's mother, Hilda, bravely urged the public not to let the event simply pass by, but to use it as a teachable moment. A magnanimous sentiment, but just what should the lesson of this teachable moment be?mbhWed, 31 Mar 2010 15:08:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:828http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/827/Best-practices-in-whose-eyes.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=827http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=827&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/827/Best-practices-in-whose-eyes.aspxThe high-stakes political maneuvering leading up to the passage of Obamacare included a few moments of candor not often exhibited by members of Congress. For example, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared on March 10, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." And during a meeting of the House Rules Committee on Saturday, Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida admitted, "When the deal goes down, all this talk about rules … we make 'em up as we go along." With this sort of honesty from representatives in Congress, it's actually shocking that as much as 64 percent of the voting public strongly disapproves of the job they are doing. Though the bill has been signed into law, the debate about the merits of the legislation continues. In particular, proponents on both sides of the abortion issue question the compromise gesture of an executive order to limit federal funding of abortion, the solution that enabled Rep. Bart Stupak and other pro-life Democrats to join their party in passing the bill despite the lack of legislative language limiting federally funded abortion services. Pro-life advocates note that an executive order is easily reversed and expect that President Obama will do so when the furor over health reform subsides. Pro-abortion advocates fear the executive order represents "a significant rollback in reproductive rights," a concern expressed by Jehmu Greene of the Women's Media Center, appearing on Fox News. "Bart Stupak had an agenda," Ms. Greene said, "to have the government intrude, to come into my home and come into your home and insist on a medical decision that the government wants to see happen. Thats not what this bill does." Sorry, Ms. Greene. That's exactly what this bill does. mbhWed, 24 Mar 2010 15:06:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:827http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/826/At-26-its-time-to-be-a-real-adult.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=826http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=826&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/826/At-26-its-time-to-be-a-real-adult.aspxAn Open Letter to My Four Children: I don't care what President Obama says, you may not remain on our health care policy until you are 26. For the record, you also may not move into the basement and install black lights or hang Che Guevara posters (or posters of Barack Obama in the style of Che), nor may you consider our laundry room an intergenerational gathering place. At 26, you will have been a legal adult for five years and will have obtained an education or professional training. You will have been taught to drive, cook, operate a power drill, call the cable company when the service goes down and, most important, prepare your own income-tax return. You will be old enough to get married, enter into a binding legal contract, start a business, buy a home and even rent a car. Twenty-six isn't terribly old, but it's old enough to know better. It is not adolescence, no matter what the American Psychological Association says. Not to worry. We have confidence in you. Adulthood is not as hard as it looks. Love and kisses, Mom.mbhWed, 17 Mar 2010 15:03:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:826http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/825/Abortion-at-14-shhhh-its-OK.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=825http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=825&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/825/Abortion-at-14-shhhh-its-OK.aspxWho would have thought you could contract carpal tunnel syndrome at the oral surgeon's office? After writing my initials and signing my name on roughly 217 consent forms, I was ready for an ice pack and a wrist wrap. No surprise, really. After all, the surgeon was extracting seven teeth from the mouth of my 12-year-old daughter. Despite the fact that three of those were baby teeth, the risks of the procedure apparently are legion. With all the paperwork, I wasn't sure if I would find the tooth fairy or medical malpractice attorney Sam Bernstein in the parking lot when we were finished. Of course, it would have been different if the procedure had been something insignificant and safe, lacking in any long-term physical or emotional ramifications, such as abortion. For that, a minor girl can maintain her "right to privacy," and her folks don't necessarily need to sign a thing. That's because 14 states plus the District of Columbia allow teens to get abortions without parental consent, and Planned Parenthood's health counselors are adept at getting around the laws of the 35 states that do require parental consent or notification with a judicial bypass. (Utah has no bypass option.) Thus, Planned Parenthood assures it never loses a sale. Oops. Make that, assures that all girls get the "health care" they need. mbhWed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:825http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/824/Union-pushes-daycare-diktat.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=824http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=824&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/824/Union-pushes-daycare-diktat.aspxThey operate under names like Granny's Junction. Inside, among cubbies for winter coats, boxes of Legos and kitchen tables surrounded by booster seats, they offer a lifeline to millions of working mothers and fathers. The nation's home-based child care providers represent millions of single business owners — women, mostly — whose entrepreneurial spirit and operating ingenuity are surpassed only by their willingness to clean the noses and backsides of other people's children. In Michigan, roughly 40,000 such day care owners were perhaps too busy changing diapers, reading stories and making lunches to notice a random piece of mail in which they were invited to declare themselves unionized state employees. Obviously, a private business owner cannot be an employee of the government. But the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) couldn't resist the lure of so many potential dues-paying members. So AFSCME hatched a grand scheme. Suppose you declare that any child care provider whose clients receive state subsidies for day care are considered employees of the state? You'd instantly have 40,000 new state employees to add to the rolls of union membership. Follow the union's logic: Say you own and operate Granny's Junction Daycare. A few of your clients attend job-retraining programs that qualify them for subsidized child care benefits. Along with the money that is paid directly to you from these clients, you receive a check each month from the state to pay some of their expenses. This makes you … wait for it … a state employee. "Close enough for government work" never rang so true.mbhWed, 03 Mar 2010 15:58:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:824http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/823/Childhood-obesity-in-the-nanny-state.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=823http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=823&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/823/Childhood-obesity-in-the-nanny-state.aspxEarlier this month, President Obama created a task force on childhood obesity to be headed by Michelle Obama, who has taken up the issue as her public-service cause under the banner "Let's Move." Pointing to the nearly one-third of U.S. children who are either obese or overweight, the administration will pursue a legislative agenda to support its efforts, expanding the federal school-lunch program by $10 billion over 10 years and spending $400 million to bring grocery stores to so-called food deserts, urban and rural areas without adequate food stores. So I guess this means we'll now own the corner groceries, right next to our federally owned and operated car dealerships. Mrs. Obama comes at the issue as a mother. In interviews, she says her pediatrician pulled her aside and encouraged her to improve her family's health status by initiating portion control, eliminating high-calorie convenience foods and sugary drinks, and getting her daughters moving with more exercise and less TV time. She listened to her children's doctor, and her daughters are healthier for it. Now, the Obamas have committed themselves to eliminating not only the possibility that their daughters might be overweight, but also the entire nation's childhood obesity health crisis, in the span of one generation. No one can argue that this would be a good thing, as obesity is almost entirely preventable and contributes to some of the costliest maladies burdening our health care system.  mbhWed, 24 Feb 2010 15:55:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:823http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/822/A-conservative-creed-for-today.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=822http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=822&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/822/A-conservative-creed-for-today.aspx"Mom, I need to ask you something," my daughter begins as she buckles her seat belt. Knowing the drive to school lasts only six minutes, she must figure the answer will be either concise or embarrassing, so I brace myself for a question about the meaning of a phrase I will undoubtedly have to look up on Urbandictionary.com. "What's the difference between liberals and conservatives?" Whew. An easy one. I'm just glad she didn't ask the difference between Democrats and Republicans. That's harder to explain. "The short answer is, liberals think government can solve a lot of our problems, while conservatives believe the government should be limited so that people can solve their own problems," I say. I offer up a couple of examples of government programs to illustrate the point — the economic stimulus package, "Cash for Clunkers" — but there's not much time to elaborate as we arrive in the school drop-off lane. "Well, I'm definitely a conservative," Amy says as she climbs out of the van. "See ya." I'm amused, but not surprised, that my 12-year-old already has decided on a philosophical label. Knowing Amy, it won't be long before she's asking me the difference between neo-cons and libertarians or the "Old Right" versus the "New Right." Clearly, she was sent to us by God to keep us on our toes. I'm also not surprised to be having a conversation about political theory with one of my children. Call us geeky (we're OK with that), but we believe it's crucial to teach our children not only our core religious beliefs, but also our political beliefs. This is what it means to instill our values, and thus, to do the real work of parenting.  mbhWed, 17 Feb 2010 15:52:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:822http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/821/Stand-against-preteen-sexuality.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=821http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=821&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/821/Stand-against-preteen-sexuality.aspxFile this under: Unintended irony. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) released a report Tuesday titled "Stand + Deliver: Sex, Health and Young People in the 21st Century." I'm guessing the title alludes to the critically acclaimed film "Stand and Deliver," in which Edward James Olmos played a dedicated math teacher who challenges his erstwhile high school dropouts to learn calculus. In the movie, these misunderstood yet courageous young people come of age, metaphorically, as they realize their true potential. As it happens, according to the Web site phrases.org, the phrase "stand and deliver ... was used by 17th century highwaymen (robbers) in the [United Kingdom], when holding up stagecoaches." It literally means, "Stop and give me your valuables." Come to think of it, given the contents of this ghastly report, the title may be apropos after all, because what the IPPF wants to do is hold our children up and steal their innocence, their childhoods and, worst of all, their sexual morality. First, some context: The IPPF is the international umbrella for 180 Planned Parenthood organizations worldwide. Its political agenda includes population control through contraception and abortion, as well as the broad promotion of "sexual rights." The IPPF works closely with the United Nations and other international groups to promote social and political change in support of their views on sexuality. Those views include seven principles of "sexual rights," including that "Sexuality is an integral part of the personhood of every human being, for this reason a favorable environment in which everyone may enjoy all sexual rights as part of the process of development must be created" and "Sexuality, and pleasure deriving from it, is a central aspect of being human." The IPPF's new report on sexuality in young people - loosely defined, but including anyone over the age of 10 - expands on these rights to include children. That's right. Children.mbhFri, 12 Feb 2010 15:32:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:821http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/778/Take-PC-out-of-parenting.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=778http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=778&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/778/Take-PC-out-of-parenting.aspxI'm not sure how to explain my reticence to speak up. Perhaps the dark-brown muck oozing its way into the roots of my hair is causing me to doubt my credibility. Perhaps the aluminum foil squares hanging wildly in my face are cutting into my self-confidence. Or maybe it's the knowledge that one of the women whose conversation I am overhearing — and whom I dearly wish to admonish — will soon stand over me with a pair of scissors and my hairstyle in her hands. Whatever the reason, I don't comment. Instead, I pretend to read a magazine while listening to two women, both mothers of 12-year-old middle school students, lament the difficulties their daughters are having on Facebook. "I just cannot believe the things these kids write on their walls," one woman says. "I know — and in their text messages too," the other agrees. Worried about their daughters' emotional health and about the long-term consequences of rumors, gossip and high-tech teasing, their chatter continues for a solid 15 minutes. It's a rambling, estrogen-infused diatribe about the indignities of the nasty texts and Facebook comments their daughters endure at the hands of other, meaner middle-schoolers, but also the great parenting strategies they use to make sure their girls do not respond in kind. "I said, 'You had better not do that.'" Masterful. Really.  mbhWed, 03 Feb 2010 23:07:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:778http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/774/Shocking-report-no-real-surprise.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=774http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=774&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/774/Shocking-report-no-real-surprise.aspxPerhaps most curious of all the results of the recently released Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) study "Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds" are the headlines it has generated. "Researchers shocked at kids' online time," says one. "U.S. kids using media almost 8 hours a day," another screams. "New media use by children up by hours per week," another story warns. Essentially, the news coverage since last week's unveiling of the updated research on children, teens and the media has focused on the sheer quantity of media consumed by America's youths, and this is newsworthy, to be sure. The very idea that children and teens are physically able to absorb more than 53 hours per week of media content — or seven hours and 38 minutes per day — astonished even the researchers, who had thought the previous average of six hours and 21 minutes per day calculated in 2004 represented the maximum amount of time that could be spent. Even more mind-boggling, thanks to multitasking (using more than one kind of media at a time) children and teens "actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes … worth of media content into those 7½ hours," the KFF study says. A note to the already astonished: The study didn't include the time youngsters spend texting via cell phones. Add another 1½ hours per day. As the mother of four, I wonder if the folks who are surprised by this research have children. It strikes me that only the childless would be shocked by the results. The rest of us spend much of our time saying things like, "Turn off the computer and go to bed."mbhWed, 27 Jan 2010 16:27:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:774http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/773/Default.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=773http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=773&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/773/Default.aspxThe television hanging above my head in the waiting room airs an episode of the syndicated talk show "The Doctors." The topic? Sex. But not just sex. Graphic sex. The guest talks candidly to the show's regular cadre of physicians about exactly how she contracted HIV, and she's not using any euphemisms. Call me repressed, but I just don't want to share this moment with a roomful of strangers. As my teenagers would say, "AWK-ward." On the other hand, I've never felt awkward talking to my teens about sex. It's a subject we've discussed openly in our home since our children were young. At every age and stage of development, we've addressed their curiosity and need for information about human sexuality just as we talk about other issues of health and morality. It turns out for all our culture's "sexual liberation," today's parents are still too reticent to discuss sexuality with their children. This month's edition of the journal Pediatrics includes a study that shows when it comes to communicating with children about sex, America's parenting can be summed up thusly: too little, too late. "Many adolescents report little or no communication about sexuality with their parents," the study found. Worse, "Many parents and adolescents do not talk about important sexual topics before adolescents' sexual debut." Past studies have suggested that many parents underestimate their adolescents' sexual activity, assuming their children are not engaging in sexual behaviors. One such study found 58 percent of teens reported they were sexually active, while only one-third of their mothers believed they were. Perhaps this is why so many parents miss the chance to influence their teens' choices to become sexually active. Yet one thing is abundantly clear: Parents who make their moral beliefs about sex known to their children and clearly express their disapproval of adolescent sex have a positive influence on their children's attitudes and behavior. These conversations also serve to strengthen relationships between parents and adolescents, and closer relationships also are a key to avoiding premature sexual activity.mbhWed, 20 Jan 2010 16:23:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:773http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/753/MTVs-assault-alive-in-Jersey.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=753http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=753&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/753/MTVs-assault-alive-in-Jersey.aspxLeft: The cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore." Snooki is the girl in black. A message for Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi: I am not a hater. I can see why you'd come to that conclusion after last week, when my comments about you and the show on which you appear, MTV's "Jersey Shore," made their way from Us Weekly online to countless entertainment Web sites, including the infamous PerezHilton.com. But honestly, it's not personal, Snooki; it's strictly business.mbhWed, 13 Jan 2010 16:17:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:753http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/754/Fatherhood-by-billboard.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=754http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=754&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/754/Fatherhood-by-billboard.aspxThe billboards are everywhere. On one, a child's tiny toes rest atop the big, burly feet of a man, suggesting a playful moment between a dad and his toddler. Another portrays a laughing boy being chased by what appears to be his boisterous father. In another, a dad and son hop across the grass on bouncy balls in a larger-than-life spontaneous moment. All of these images are captioned, "Take time to be a dad today" and refer to the Web site www.fatherhood.gov. Positive images of fathers engaging with their children are a welcome message in a culture where families struggle to remain intact and mothers generally bear responsibility for childrearing. Then again, I'm certain that our Founders are gathered in some corner of heaven wringing their hands and wondering how we evolved into a government that teaches its citizens how fulfill our most basic human responsibilities. What next? Take time to brush your teeth today? Take time to blow your nose today? Take time to visit the potty today?mbhWed, 06 Jan 2010 16:31:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:754http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/758/War-on-Christmas-must-be-over.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=758http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=758&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/758/War-on-Christmas-must-be-over.aspxIt turns out that Dr. Nathan Grills of Australia's Monash University isn't the ultimate Christmas curmudgeon, but when it comes to comedy writing, let's all encourage him not to quit his day job. Dr. Grills' satirical article "Santa Claus: A public health pariah?" published in the current edition of the scholarly British Medical Journal posed the controversial thesis that "Santa's behavior and public image are at odds with contemporary accepted public health messages." Unfortunately, the professor's article didn't come across as satirical. Probably because it said, "Given Santa's fame, he has considerable potential to influence individual and societal behavior -- and not necessarily for good. Santa is a late adopter of evidence-based behavior change and continues to sport a rotund sedentary image." Not even kidding.mbhWed, 23 Dec 2009 16:45:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:758http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/756/Indecent-ads-are-a-nosell.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=756http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=756&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/756/Indecent-ads-are-a-nosell.aspxSneakers? Check. Morning TV show to pass 40 minutes on an elliptical machine? Check. Soft-core porn advertising for the commercial break? Check. Who knew you could burn so many extra calories at the local gym just being humiliated by the content of an ad for designer watches? Thanks to Italian fashion icons Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, we can all cringe with embarrassment while three anorexic-looking twentysomethings engage in the latest TV and advertising fad: Sexual threesomes. You are probably wondering how sexual perversion and timepieces go together in a television commercial. Me, too. Apparently the target audience for the brand D&G Time includes promiscuous young adults with upward of $650 to spend on a simple wristwatch. I guess when the watch is all you plan to have on at the end of the day, it had better be special.  mbhWed, 16 Dec 2009 16:38:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:756http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/757/Common-sense-in-Constitution.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=757http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=757&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/757/Common-sense-in-Constitution.aspxBack in September, my husband, a law professor, asked if I would host one of the student groups for which he serves as a faculty adviser for a gathering at our home. I spent a delightful afternoon helping the group put on a barbecue to launch the semester while listening to them banter about myriad issues, as law students tend to do. This made me wonder: Are lawyers taught to argue among themselves, or are they born that way? Hard to say. One thing these aspiring lawyers didn't debate were the basic principles that brought them together as a student group; namely, the tenets of their Christian faith. This was a gathering of a chapter of the Christian Legal Society (CLS), a national organization of lawyers, judges, legal scholars and law students whose stated purpose is "seeking justice with the love of God." Seeking justice now brings CLS to the highest court in the land. mbhWed, 09 Dec 2009 16:41:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:757http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/711/Climate-fears-harm-children.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=711http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=711&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/711/Climate-fears-harm-children.aspx Here in the Midwest, we know a thing or two about climate change. Don't like the weather? Wait five minutes. It'll change. Perhaps it's my casual attitude about weather generally, or maybe my cynicism about big science, but the revelations of data doctoring by climate scientists at the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit didn't come as a surprise to me. With so much at stake, one must only follow the massive money and political power trails to assume there's more to this issue than an uptick in the temperature. Climate change is the issue through which citizens of the U.S. could be forced to subject our Constitution and ourselves to the sovereignty of a worldwide governing body. The ramifications for our liberty and lifestyles of an international treaty on climate change are truly frightening - much more so than melting ice caps.mbhWed, 02 Dec 2009 19:46:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:711http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/709/Dont-diversify-Thanksgiving.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=709http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=709&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/709/Dont-diversify-Thanksgiving.aspxMy community is a state capital and a college town, which means I live in a geographic bastion of political correctness. To wit: A recent headline in my hometown newspaper actually read: "Celebrating diversity." Setting aside the lack of journalistic brainpower that prompted such a cliche - above the fold, no less - the story about a "multicultural appreciation event" (formerly known as an "ethnic festival") offered up just one more example of the general obsession with multiculturalism as an end in and of itself. With Thanksgiving and the Judeo-Christian holidays upon us, I fully expect a series of equally creative headlines in the coming weeks such as "Giving thanks for diversity," "Interfaith services celebrate diversity" and "Holiday meals celebrate diversity." Truly, the most fervent among the diversity movement are headline writers.mbhThu, 26 Nov 2009 19:31:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:709http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/697/Palin-Oprah-and-media-literacy.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=697http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=697&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/697/Palin-Oprah-and-media-literacy.aspxThanks to Oprah Winfrey's interview of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, I'm heading out to buy her book, "Going Rogue: An American Life." Like millions of Americans, Mrs. Palin intrigues me, not because I'm a huge fan or a huge skeptic, but because despite mountains of media content produced about her, she remains a mystery. Those who want the stereotyped, "Saturday Night Live" image of Mrs. Palin to hold up as fact argue that the mainstream media has offered an accurate picture of the woman and that picture is "I can see Russia from my house." mbhWed, 18 Nov 2009 14:56:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:697http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/696/Maturity-means-rejecting-violent-video-games.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=696http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=696&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/696/Maturity-means-rejecting-violent-video-games.aspxPhoto: Screen caption of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Tuesday was one of those days when the news can confuse us. Just as millions of Americans tuned into the painfully moving memorial service at Fort Hood, Texas, honoring 13 Americans whose lives were extinguished by an Islamist soldier in their midst, entertainment news carried headlines about a record-setting war game now available wherever toys are sold. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" from video game publisher Activision is predicted to be the highest grossing first-day release in the entertainment industry. It's supposed to make more than any book, movie, DVD or video game ever has made on its initial release, including all of the "Harry Potter" iterations. We ought not be surprised, but we ought to be concerned.mbhWed, 11 Nov 2009 14:53:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:696http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/695/Lack-of-civility-costly-in-court.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=695http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=695&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/695/Lack-of-civility-costly-in-court.aspxIt's probably just a matter of time until burglary suspect Kane Kellett files a lawsuit claiming he was denied his right to free speech. What with the perverse, modern-day interpretations of our constitutional guarantee of expression, one can only imagine the damages he will try to collect for being held in contempt of court simply because he flipped off the judge. For now, Mr. Kellett sits in a McHenry County, Ill., jail, where one might hope he is learning a hard - if not overdue - lesson on the importance of civility. Or not.mbhTue, 03 Nov 2009 14:39:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:695http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/669/Nonadmission-on-baby-videos.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=669http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=669&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/669/Nonadmission-on-baby-videos.aspxIt has a long way to go to make its organization's name a reality, but the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood claimed an important recent victory. CCFC has for years sought to reveal the truth about so-called educational videos designed ostensibly to increase the brainpower of growing babies. Studies show no measurable gains in intelligence or verbal skills associated with baby videos. In fact, researchers at the University of Washington found that for every hour per day of screen viewing by infants aged 8 to 16 months, a measurable decrease occurs in communicative development. In 2006, CCFC filed a Federal Trade Commission complaint against Baby Einstein and brand owner Disney, charging that the company's marketing misled parents into thinking the videos could positively impact development and learning.mbhWed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:669http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/659/Between-lines-on-poster-ban.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=659http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=659&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/659/Between-lines-on-poster-ban.aspxToday's observation: Is it any wonder our teenagers are confused? They're surrounded by absurd mixed messages from adults that defy logic and fly in the face of common sense. To wit: A Georgia school's ban against religious messages on high school cheerleader banners. For at least five years, the Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe cheerleaders have held up large paper posters through which the football team crashes to enter the field at the start of their Friday night battles. The purpose is motivational, and no one has ever complained that the banners were inappropriately religious. In fact, the community loves them. But a parent's notification to the school district that such posters violate federal law has forced the cheerleaders to cease using motivational phrases from the New Testament...mbhThu, 15 Oct 2009 02:37:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:659http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/658/Hidden-hurt-of-unemployment.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=658http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=658&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/658/Hidden-hurt-of-unemployment.aspxThere had to be a dozen mismatched suitcases - big ones - all stuffed to capacity and secured with luggage straps, but the one I noticed first was a small, pink overnight bag with a teddy bear sticking out of the front pocket. Its owner stood in the airline-ticketing queue clutching an American Girl doll while all around her, family members hugged and cried. It didn't take long to figure out what was happening; the little girl's family was moving from Michigan to Hawaii, where they hoped to find work. The ambivalence on her face seemed to say this move wasn't a happy family adventure.  mbhThu, 08 Oct 2009 02:23:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:658http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/639/Default.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=639http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=639&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/639/Default.aspxToday’s update on America’s culture war comes from the village of Wintersville, OH, population 4, 067. This charming enclave is home to 21 churches, an authentic drive in movie theatre, and perhaps the only high school marching band in the nation that has turned the vulgar music of Britney Spears into a football halftime show. Nope. Not kidding. According to news reports, students in the Indian Creek High School marching band were permitted by director Donald Llewellyn to choose the music for this year’s halftime show.  mbhWed, 30 Sep 2009 16:02:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:639http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/644/Parents-needed-in-culture-wars.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=644http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=644&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/644/Parents-needed-in-culture-wars.aspxThe subject line on the e-mail in my inbox said, "Moms group question - song lyrics." The first draft of my reply read: "AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG," but I thought better of it. E-mail isn't good for conveying deeply held emotions. Here was the question: Several mothers of girls ages 10 to 12 want to know whether they should allow their daughters to buy instrumental versions of two currently popular - though extremely inappropriate - songs, "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga, and "Low" by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain. I know what you're thinking. Are those the names of singers or brands of toothache remedies?mbhWed, 23 Sep 2009 18:54:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:644http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/620/Selfrestraint-prevents-incivility.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=620http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=620&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/620/Selfrestraint-prevents-incivility.aspxThrough emotional outbursts in virtually every corner of our culture, from the halls of government to popular music to professional sports, famous folks recently have offered up a veritable smorgasbord of bad taste on which to comment. Summing up: People are rude. The flurry of incivility that lately has found its way to Youtube's "most viewed" list ought to make us worry about the messages our children are getting, given that Youtube is the most popular Web site for children 8 to 18. It's time to turn our kitchen tables into learning labs and take advantage of this week's teachable moments. To review:mbhWed, 16 Sep 2009 11:21:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:620http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/615/America-uberparent-I-think-not.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=615http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=615&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/615/America-uberparent-I-think-not.aspxOn the night before school starts, I announce that it’s time to take our walk. All six of us fan out throughout the house to find our flip flops, someone gets a leash for Scotty the Dog, and we set out in a disorganized band up our street. But it’s not just a walk. It’s a ritual. As we stroll through the neighborhood, my husband, our four children and I take turns confiding our intentions for the coming school year. By announcing our aspirations, we turn our dreams into goals, our hopes into plans. But the exercise also reminds us we’re not alone in our efforts – we have family cheering us on and faith to support us. Along the way, the encouragement and advice we give to our kids is not unlike the message President Obama delivered in his address to schoolchildren.mbhWed, 09 Sep 2009 16:28:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:615http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/593/Girlhood-Interrupted.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=593http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=593&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/593/Girlhood-Interrupted.aspxI finally had to sit down with my 11-year-old daughter for "the talk." Despite my best efforts to preserve her innocence and protect her from growing up too quickly, I simply had to tell her some important facts of life. No, we didn't have a talk about how babies are born. This talk was about America's assault on girlhood. The time finally came for me to explain to my daughter the relationship between media and marketing and money, and why some people think nothing of exploiting girls if it increases their ratings, sells advertising and beefs up the bottom line.mbhWed, 26 Aug 2009 17:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:593http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/595/Health-reform-veterinarystyle.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=595http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=595&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/595/Health-reform-veterinarystyle.aspxWhat's the price of love? That's the question I've been asking myself lately as I don my rubber gloves and prepare to administer a dose of antibacterial ointment on the business end of my dog, Scotty. Of course, he can't help that his current malady requires an unpleasant application of medicated ointment.mbhWed, 12 Aug 2009 17:06:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:595http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/549/Dr-Mom-sees-threat-in-reform.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=549http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=549&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/549/Dr-Mom-sees-threat-in-reform.aspx"You'd better get over here," the school secretary said. "Something's up with Katie." "Something" turned out to be a post-tonsillectomy bleed that began 11 days after surgery. It continued on and off for four days and included two ambulance rides, several long nights in the emergency department and, eventually, a 3 a.m. emergency surgery, a blood transfusion and a week in the hospital to recover. Most families would look back and recall kindergarten. We look back and remember "Katie's tonsillectomy." That was 15 years ago. There have been countless episodes before then and since involving my four children that brought me into the health care system to varying degrees. As any parent will attest, most of us mark time with medical stories, as in, "That was the summer Jimmy had staples in his head" and "That was the year Betsy had a stress fracture and couldn't run."mbhWed, 29 Jul 2009 14:36:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:549http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/539/Are-we-sapping-kids-ambition.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=539http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=539&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/539/Are-we-sapping-kids-ambition.aspx"What are you doing? I love that song," I say to my daughter as she reaches over to change the radio station in my van. "That's Darius Rucker. He was born to sing country music." Best known for his lead vocals in the pop group Hootie and the Blowfish, Mr. Rucker's first country solo album debuted at No. 1 on the country charts. Obviously, I'm not the only one who thinks he's meant to sing country. "I just think this song promotes mediocrity," Betsy says. "It bugs me."mbhWed, 22 Jul 2009 21:14:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:539http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/538/Emerging-from-news-blackout.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=538http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=538&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/538/Emerging-from-news-blackout.aspxIt says something about the times in which we live that my husband and I decreed "no news" on our vacation. It's the only way we figured we could relax. It's not easy to avoid all that's happening in the world, but it turns out a few ground rules do the trick: no free newspaper at our hotel room door, no Internet surfing on our laptops, no TV news. Nothing that might connect us -- even superficially -- to the world beyond the beach. The only exception to our "no news is good news" pact is my scheduled foray online for the purpose of filing this column. So here I am, quickly checking to see what newsworthy events have happened in the world while I've been busy reading Harlan Coben. It turns out the content in our news media, much like daytime dramas, doesn't change much over the course of a few days.mbhWed, 15 Jul 2009 21:11:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:538http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/536/Time-to-give-celebs-a-break.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=536http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=536&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/536/Time-to-give-celebs-a-break.aspx “Wow,” my daughter said as she strolled into the kitchen on Sunday morning. “Billy Mays died. It’s officially celebrity death week.”   News of the passing of TV’s most famous pitchman had barely broken and we were already speculating, over breakfast, about what might have happened.mbhWed, 01 Jul 2009 20:51:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:536http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/477/When-Subaru-love-is-all-there-is.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=477http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=477&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/477/When-Subaru-love-is-all-there-is.aspxHave you seen the television advertisement for the Subaru Impreza that asks the rhetorical marketing question, “What makes a Subaru a Subaru?” The answer, oddly enough, is not “An Obama ‘08 bumper sticker.” No, the answer to “What makes a Subaru a Subaru?” is “love.” In fact, the automaker now has an entire campaign devoted to the theme of “love” as the prevailing emotion evoked by its products. There’s even an ad on Youtube called “Love Letters” in which real Subaru owners read personal letters about their attachments to their cars. The Subaru slogan struck a nerve with me from the moment I first heard it, and not because I drive a Honda. Rather, what bugs me is our cultural fixation on feelings as the basis for every sort of decision, from which car we park in our garages to which candidate we elect to public office.mbhWed, 24 Jun 2009 11:06:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:477http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/466/Lettermans-faux-apology.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=466http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=466&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/466/Lettermans-faux-apology.aspxPerennial late-night class clown David Letterman has at last apologized to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her family for his "flawed" joke about her daughter. In my effort to promote civility and manners, I'm not going to repeat the joke itself. If you didn't hear what Mr. Letterman said last week, just think back to sophomore year in high school and recall the tasteless humor of the smarmiest guy you knew. It was that sort of thing. This wasn't the first time Mr. Letterman got his audience laughing at the expense of Mrs. Palin.mbhWed, 17 Jun 2009 18:47:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:466http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/456/Dont-fume-teach-virtues.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=456http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=456&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/456/Dont-fume-teach-virtues.aspxNext week, the U.S. Senate is slated to take up a long-planned and unprecedented overhaul of the American health care system. In such an effort, I'm certain these lawmakers will overlook a huge but hidden cost of their massive national health care program, that being the indubitable spike in high blood pressure among those taxpayers who read newspaper articles about health care reform and then pace across the kitchen, fuming. To wit: My husband. I hope Altace is one of the drugs the government plans to hand out like candy on Halloween when it imposes its new system to assure our good health.mbhWed, 10 Jun 2009 18:53:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:456http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/444/Jon-and-Kate-reprioritize.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=444http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=444&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/444/Jon-and-Kate-reprioritize.aspxIt's not scientific, but it's telling nonetheless that 80 percent of those who took People magazine's online survey about reality-TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin say the couple's current struggles aren't just the typical ups and downs of married life, but instead are reason for them to "step back and re-prioritize." Updating you cave-dwellers, Jon and Kate Gosselin are The Learning Channel (TLC) parents of eight children - a set of 8-year-old twin daughters and sextuplets, age 5. Their raucous home life has been chronicled for four seasons as they adjusted to, and then mastered, their roles as parents of multiple multiples. Along the way, the reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" has offered voyeuristic glimpses into the Gosselins' marriage and extended-family relationships.mbhWed, 27 May 2009 12:15:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:444http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/428/Teacher-fails-wrong-news.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=428http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=428&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/428/Teacher-fails-wrong-news.aspxThe folks in one northern Michigan community can rest easy because it's clear their high school computer teacher is on the ball. Last week in the computer lab, a student who completed his video production assignment killed time by surfing the Internet on a school computer. But the teacher (unnamed in news stories) caught a glimpse of the screen and put a stop to the student's consumption of vile and vulgar Internet content. Just what despicable Web site was the young man viewing? Here's fair warning before you read on ... consider sending the children out of the room or at least shielding their eyes. He was reading Foxnews.com. According to reports, when the student, a senior, was caught scanning headlines on Foxnews.com the teacher publicly berated and belittled him for reading the "wrong" news. Thank goodness there are teachers like this all across America, protecting our children from the dangerous influences of the Internet. Not.mbhWed, 06 May 2009 19:43:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:428http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/387/Parent-skills-take-work-not-luck.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=387http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=387&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/387/Parent-skills-take-work-not-luck.aspxA few years ago, author Rebecca Hagelin appeared on Fox News' “O'Reilly Factor” to promote her first parenting book, “Home Invasion.” During the interview, an incredulous Mr. O'Reilly challenged Mrs. Hagelin, asking how she reacts to teens who rebel against standards in the home about media. Mrs. Hagelin calmly explained that when children and teens understand their parents' standards and values, they tend not to rebel much - or at least, that's been her experience. Mr. O'Reilly summarized, “Well, then, you're just lucky, that's all.” I've no doubt that Mrs. Hagelin is lucky, in the way that we all feel blessed with the embarrassment of riches that parenthood brings. But it wasn't luck that created a household in which she and her husband could expect that their children follow guidelines about media consumption; it was skill.mbhWed, 08 Apr 2009 15:04:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:387http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/370/Men-are-womens-issue.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=370http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=370&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/370/Men-are-womens-issue.aspxLast week, President Obama signed an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. He did so with a speech in which he praised the perseverance and pluck of his own single mother, the grandmother who ultimately raised him, and especially his wife, whom he credited for her exceptional skill as mother to their two daughters. Under the direction of his longtime political pal Valerie Jarrett, Mr. Obama has added membership on this council to the already daunting list of tasks of every Cabinet-level appointee. He says the council's job will be to ensure that the feminist agenda saturates public policy on all levels. The president gathered the A-listers of feminism to celebrate his announcement, including the leaders of the National Organization for Women, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily's List. Others who work to advance the cause of women and girls (but not abortion rights), were not in attendance. Probably an oversight.mbhWed, 18 Mar 2009 03:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:370http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/363/Sunday-morning-blame.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=363http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=363&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/363/Sunday-morning-blame.aspxI used to think it was the hormones in chicken that were ruining our culture. I'm not exactly a natural food freak, but given the 90 pounds per person of chicken Americans consume in a year, you have to wonder whether those hormones aren't responsible for road rage and a willingness to deficit spend and even the early onset of puberty in children. If not our chicken, perhaps it's our media. Maybe two generations of MTV programming that glorifies sex and drugs, plus magazine headlines such as one on the cover of this month's issue of Cosmopolitan - “You, you, you - How to be happier with one tiny change” - have succeeded in reorienting our cultural compass. I'm always on the lookout for a simple explanation for the general rudderlessness that now seems to define America. Well, my search is over because I finally found it. The culprit is...mbhWed, 11 Mar 2009 16:41:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:363http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/348/Britains-bizarre-sex-advice.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=348http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=348&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/348/Britains-bizarre-sex-advice.aspxA week ago, the bizarre story of 13-year-old Alphie Patten landed on the front pages of Britain´s tabloid press, subsequently circulating around the globe. Even Britons, known for bawdy humor and infamous sex scandals, were shocked by the news that a boy could have fathered a child. Even more outrageous than the freakish photo of man-child and baby is the revelation that the precocious sex life enjoyed by Alphie and his 15-year-old girlfriend was well known to their parents. How exactly did Britain, the center of the British Empire, become an urban jungle for emerging sexuality that has not been seen since 1980's “The Blue Lagoon”?mbhWed, 25 Feb 2009 15:48:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:348http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/333/Tween-cynicism-coming.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=333http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=333&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/333/Tween-cynicism-coming.aspxI walk into the kitchen just in time to hear my 11-year-old daughter summarize for her father the destiny of anyone cast as a celebrity apprentice for Donald Trump: "It's the sign that you're just another clump of dried seaweed washed up on the beach of pop culture." There's no time for a lecture on cynicism before school, and besides, she has a point. The cast of NBC's upcoming "The Celebrity Apprentice" series has somehow managed to offer gainful - if short-term - employment to country singer Clint Black, former NBA star (and tattoo canvas) Dennis Rodman and the perennially Botoxed Joan Rivers. Times are tough. People need work, and as gigs go, even a short-lived career with "The Donald" can be lucrative. Remember Omarosa? And besides, these celebrities work for charity. But I digress.mbhWed, 11 Feb 2009 16:18:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:333http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/326/Teens-not-with-stupid.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=326http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=326&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/326/Teens-not-with-stupid.aspxThis is what people always say when they learn that I'm the mother of three teenagers and a tween - "Whoa ... I guess you spend a lot of time hearing how stupid you are." Usually the people who say this also are the parents of teens, and the comment comes as an attempt to bond over our presumed mutual suffering from the ill effects of our adolescent's bad attitudes. I heard a comment like this recently at the doctor's office, when I mentioned that I have a 14-year-old son. "Oh, my kid is 15," came the reply. "I never knew how dumb I was until now. But that's just a teenager for ya. Right?" Decision time: Do I say, "It is a dumb adult, indeed, who lets a teenager speak to him as though he is a potted plant," or do I smile and nod in deference to the needle he holds in his hand?mbhThu, 05 Feb 2009 01:39:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:326http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/313/What-Obama-can-teach.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=313http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=313&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/313/What-Obama-can-teach.aspx"Mom," Amy said in her most serious tone, "I have to get dad to run for president. That's the only way I'm going to meet the Jonas Brothers." Amy and I had been watching Monday night's televised "Kids' Inaugural: We Are the Future," a live concert hosted by Michelle Obama, Jill Biden and the Obama Inaugural Committee at Washington's Verizon Center. Working with the folks from the Disney Channel, they put on a tween extravaganza and somehow in the process managed to connect the dots between the presidency and the nation's most popular teenage idols - Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the Disney franchise managed to insert itself into this week's historic presidential inauguration. Disney is a lot of things, but dumb isn't one of them.mbhWed, 21 Jan 2009 17:47:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:313http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/266/Truth-in-ads-a-bit-too-much.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=266http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=266&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/266/Truth-in-ads-a-bit-too-much.aspxI never thought I'd miss Mr. Whipple. You remember him - the character played by Dick Wilson whose famous admonition, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin," was meant to embarrass hundreds of sufferers of a secret toilet paper obsession who staked out the aisles of grocery stores to grope rolls of irresistibly soft paper products. Back in his heyday, I thought Mr. Whipple was hokey and the people who created the character cornier, still. Who sits around thinking of an imaginary grocer who catches housewives midsqueeze with a package of TP? It turns out the people who thought of the Mr. Whipple ads for Charmin are a whole lot more genteel than the folks who now produce the company's advertising. At least the old team knew when to use euphemisms to describe the benefits of their product. Quite simply, the current ads, featuring two annoying and overly graphic cartoon bears demonstrating the coarser points of personal hygiene, offer us consumers too much information. To wit: Last night, while drifting off to sleep in front of the television, I awoke to a voice assuring me that Charmin leaves less paper behind on the ... er ... well ... behind. Let's all respond together: Yuck.mbhWed, 07 Jan 2009 21:38:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:266http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/265/Youths-resolve-helps-all.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=265http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=265&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/265/Youths-resolve-helps-all.aspxI don't make New Year's resolutions. First, when it comes to resolutions, I'm a pathetic cliche. I start out with determination and commitment and end, roughly a week later, in a pool of chocolate. My problem is that making resolutions for the New Year feels like entering a perpetual state of Lent, which is sometimes doable for 40 days, but for a lifetime is the definition of hell. Or failure. Or both. Second, I don't make resolutions because doing so strikes me as shallow and self-serving. Most resolutions tend to have at their core a benefit only for the one who is resolved. As such, these promises are easily broken, and thus, the probable cause of a spike in chip consumption only a month after the annual rise in sales of exercise apparel. If the problem with New Year's resolutions is that they are punishing promises meant to serve only the one who is resolved, then it might follow that resolutions could be more successfully maintained and more useful to society if they were the opposite. They should be easy to do and meant to improve the lot in life of others, not just ourselves.mbhWed, 31 Dec 2008 21:36:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:265http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/254/Morgue-field-trip-too-CSI.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=254http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=254&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/254/Morgue-field-trip-too-CSI.aspxSometimes you don't even have to read the story. Just the headline can drive home the realization that our culture is in trouble. Case in point: Sunday's Detroit News story entitled, "School autopsy tours canceled; Oakland County stops trips to medical examiner's office after kids see exam of girl from their district." Let's read that aloud, shall we? All together now: "School autopsy tours canceled." [Emphasis added for obvious reasons]. There is so much that's wrong in this story beyond the headline that I don't really know where to begin, so I'll start with a little over-simplistic analysis just to get the ball rolling.mbhWed, 10 Dec 2008 23:05:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:254http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/246/Parents-failing-the-job.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=246http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=246&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/246/Parents-failing-the-job.aspxPublic health officials love the parable of the floating babies. You may have heard it -- the townspeople are gathered at the riverbank for a celebration when suddenly they notice a baby struggling to stay afloat in the river's rushing waters. Someone runs to save the baby when he notices another one coming from upstream. More and more babies now come rushing down the river as the people of the town quickly make a human chain to try to save the infants. Then, the story goes, a few townsfolk begin to run upstream along the riverbank. Someone yells to them, "Where are you going?" "We're going to find out who is throwing these babies into the river and stop them!" And the moral, of course, is that we can't just rescue those who are caught in the current of health risk; we have to look for the source of the problem if we're going to make real, systemic change. Welcome to the riverbank.mbhWed, 03 Dec 2008 12:29:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:246http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/239/Giving-thanks-in-all-things.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=239http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=239&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/239/Giving-thanks-in-all-things.aspxIt must be the result of an official safety study, conducted by at least three highly trained traffic engineers, culminating in the adoption of a policy on interstate snow removal. Said policy, because it reflects "best practices" as well as a full spectrum of litigation-avoidance measures, now must demand that the highway be cleared of snow while simultaneously being treated with an anti-icing agent — salt or sand, or more likely, some chemically perfect combination of the two. I have no doubt this policy is dutifully followed after having been reviewed by the head of the road commission only weeks ago, when it was presented with all due authority at a meeting of professional snow-removal technicians. This is the only explanation I can imagine for the illogical traffic jam in which I have, for the past 27 miles, crawled down the interstate while ahead of me three snowplows ride abreast across the entire expanse of expressway, slowing the midday flow of cars to a maddening 15 miles per hour.mbhWed, 26 Nov 2008 19:49:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:239http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/234/What-no-president-can-do-for-our-children.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=234http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=234&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/234/What-no-president-can-do-for-our-children.aspxIt's been just a week since the historic election that will put President-elect Barack Obama in the White House on Jan. 20, and we can expect that he'll move quickly to bring about the change he promised for two years on the campaign trail. However, I hope we're not expecting Mr. Obama to do what must be done for America's children. Wait a minute - didn't we just endure roughly 36 months of rallies and rhetoric promising to restore good government, economic security and unlimited opportunity for our children? Didn't Mr. Obama assure us he knows how to make this a safer world for the next generation? Didn't he invoke "America's children" while taking the moral high ground on every issue from the federal debt and the price of crude to greed on Wall Street and anger on Main Street? He did. And I have no doubt he meant every word of what he said. But I also know one thing for sure: This president will not do what must be done to assure a safe, bountiful and productive future for America's children. That's because no president can.mbhWed, 12 Nov 2008 16:50:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:234http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/225/Good-lessons-from-bad-economy.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=225http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=225&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/225/Good-lessons-from-bad-economy.aspxI'm waiting for someone to write the book "Economic Meltdowns for Dummies." Until they do, I may never understand the relationship between the "for sale" signs in my neighborhood and my possible post-retirement career as a Wal-Mart greeter. I keep watching the news to try to figure it all out, but the other day I saw a story that says even the experts aren't sure what will happen next. So I guess that makes me an expert, too. Only a few weeks into the economic crisis, we're seeing a trillion stories about how to live with less and make due without expensive extras. (I say "a trillion stories" because who really knows what "a trillion" looks like? I'm always on the lookout for how the news of the day impacts families, so I'm focused on news stories about how moms and dads should talk to their children about the economy and its impact on daily life. According to several news stories, parents across America find themselves in a new and unfamiliar situation - denying their children the material goods that define happiness in our consumer-driven culture.mbhWed, 15 Oct 2008 18:17:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:225http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/221/Election-cycle-sickens.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=221http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=221&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/221/Election-cycle-sickens.aspxHere's my October "no surprise" - I'm officially sick of the presidential election. I'm not sure exactly when I reached my saturation point - somewhere between the YouTube video of a Yoko Ono-esque woman directing the "Obama Youth Choir" and the opinion piece I read assessing the authenticity and relevance of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's "Minnewegian" accent. It's come to this. No wait - it was Friday on an airplane bound for Wichita, Kan. I was chatting with a woman headed home for her high school reunion, when the subject of the previous evening's vice-presidential debate came up. My seatmate and I both had missed it. For my part, a long-planned speaking engagement conflicted with the event. The woman in seat 5B had another reason. "I actually can't bring myself to watch Sarah Palin," she said. "There's no way I could sit there and listen to anything she had to say." Say it ain't so, seatmate.mbhWed, 08 Oct 2008 17:44:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:221http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/220/Bailout-Lets-talk-about-sex-instead.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=220http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=220&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/220/Bailout-Lets-talk-about-sex-instead.aspxIt used to be that every time one of my children started a conversation with the words, "Hey mom, can I talk to you about something," I braced myself for a question about sex. Now I hold onto my hat for a question about something far more difficult to answer: the economy. A week ago while driving my 10-year-old to a party, Amy delicately broached this subject in the way one might ask where babies come from. Sensing this was sensitive territory, she cleared her throat and said, "Mom, the kids at school keep mentioning something about Wall Street and some sort of crisis. Also, I heard on the news that we're all going to be depressed about it. It's making me worry that something bad is going to happen," she said. You might think there's a huge difference between telling my daughter what's going on in the financial markets and just filling up the minivan with the sound of my voice babbling, but it turns out there isn't.mbhWed, 01 Oct 2008 17:37:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:220http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/199/Phones-unsafe-for-kids.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=199http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=199&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/199/Phones-unsafe-for-kids.aspxKnee pads? Check. Low-sodium, sugar-free diet? Check. Annual well-child physical? Check. Seat belts in the minivan and helmets on the bike? Check. Cell phone? Not so fast. According to a study released in Europe, your child's risk of brain cancer may jump as much as five times if he or she uses a cell phone as a youngster. Presented in London at the conference of the Radiation Research Trust by Lennart Hardell of the University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden, the research concludes that children who start using cell phones before the age of 20 are much more likely to contract glioma, as well as two other forms of cancer. Or not.mbhWed, 24 Sep 2008 15:17:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:199http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/209/MTV-killing-our-culture.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=209http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=209&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/209/MTV-killing-our-culture.aspxI want to be careful not to seem overzealous. After all, a columnist loses all credibility by making sweeping generalizations or oversimplifying the cultural and social issues that confront us. My statements must ring true without hyperbole, if I'm going to be taken seriously. With that caveat in mind, I submit: MTV is killing our culture. Specifically, the annual cultural orgy known as the MTV Video Music Awards, held Sunday evening in Los Angeles, at which awards were given for outstanding achievement in the creation and production of music videos. Suppose that we ignore the relative merits of music videos as an art form. Not since Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video have I seen one that captured my attention. But that one cost a cool bajillion dollars to produce, and no one wears wolf makeup or red leather jackets anymore.mbhWed, 10 Sep 2008 16:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:209http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/173/Unconventional-inspiration-in-politics.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=173http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=173&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/173/Unconventional-inspiration-in-politics.aspxI will never forget the Democratic National Convention of 1968. Not because I understood what was happening in the streets of Chicago regarding the police force, the Illinois National Guard and mobs of antiwar protesters, nor because I followed the political maneuvering that ultimately secured the nomination of Hubert Humphrey for president. No, what I remember was the shriek my mother let out when she discovered that while the family was gathered around the TV in the family room, my 3-year-old sister had wandered off, found a pair of scissors and cut several huge bald spots into the back of her hair. Mind you, I was only 7. My capacity to understand the political battle on TV was limited, so the drama around my sister's new "do" was for me a bit more concrete. If my younger sister lacked appropriate supervision, the times were to blame. This was August in Detroit. The riot of the previous summer was as fresh on the minds of my family as the scene that unfolded in Chicago. I doubt my grasp of the convention was little more than impressions, but this I knew - whatever was going on had my parents glued to the television. It had to be important.mbhWed, 03 Sep 2008 17:35:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:173http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/172/Kitchen-TV-adds-spice.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=172http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=172&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/172/Kitchen-TV-adds-spice.aspxTrue confession - a little over a year ago, I caved and bought a TV for the kitchen. It's a small TV - not the sort of thing on which you'd watch an important football game or a movie - but big enough so I can see what Rachael Ray is doing across the room while I'm making my own yum-o version of mac 'n' cheese (from a box). I didn't get the TV only because I'm a Food Network junkie. The real reason I got it was to try to keep people from taking food to various parts of the house so they could watch television while they ate. Our family room was starting to look like the dirty-dish belt at the local all-you-can-eat buffet. So I capitulated on my longtime rule that there would be no TV while my family ate because clearly I was suffering under the delusion that anyone was obeying this rule in the first place - my husband and myself included.mbhWed, 20 Aug 2008 17:23:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:172http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/146/Reality-check-on-tweens.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=146http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=146&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/146/Reality-check-on-tweens.aspxFair warning - this column is going to be a rant. But bear with me because it's possible you also saw Sunday's USA Weekend featuring tween icon Miley Cyrus on the cover with the headline, "Why You Can't Ignore This Face." The story wasn't about Miley, per se. No, the article inside was titled, "The Secret Power of Tweens." It was a culture piece about the influence of today's 8- to 13-year-olds. According to the article by Michele Meyer, "Kids who aren't old enough to be in middle school, let alone high school or college, are determining what cars, clothes, computers and music we buy, what movies and TV shows we watch, even how we talk and write." She connects the dots between the power of today's youth and the marketing machine that feeds their appetite for consumption, quoting one Robert Thompson, founding director of the Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University: "It has nothing to do with development, other than of early and loyal lifetime shoppers ... If you can make an 8-year-old into a consumer, you potentially have her for 70 years." The bottom line in this cultural trend is simply follow the money. The article cites children's marketing expert (yes, there is such a thing) James U. McNeal in estimating that tweens spend or influence their parents to spend $500 billion a year. That, says the story, is enough to buy both Microsoft and Google. OK, stand back. Here I go.mbhWed, 13 Aug 2008 21:07:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:146http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/145/Marital-sex-gone-from-TV.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=145http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=145&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/145/Marital-sex-gone-from-TV.aspxLet me start by saying I am not a prude. I've seen my share of racy movies and TV shows with suggestive scripts. I've read a few novels by Sandra Brown. I have four children, for heaven's sake. I know what's what. Nonetheless, yesterday I felt my face blush as I read a report sent to me by the Parents Television Council called "Happily Never After: How Hollywood Favors Adultery and Promiscuity over Marital Intimacy on Prime Time Television." Never mind the statistics - such as, for example, that across the broadcast networks, references to adultery outnumbered references to marital sex 2 to 1. The really shocking part of the report - the part that caused me to minimize my computer screen when one of my children came into the room - were the pages of script samples provided as documentation. There's something about reading the words, rather than hearing them delivered as punch lines followed by canned laughter, that can cause even the savviest suburban mom to cringe with discomfort.mbhWed, 06 Aug 2008 21:02:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:145http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/126/Begging-works-if-you-let-it.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=126http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=126&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/126/Begging-works-if-you-let-it.aspxI have to give my daughter credit. She's persistent. Despite my repeated denials, emphatically delivered in my most characteristic "mom" voice, she pleads for a cell phone as if there is any chance on God's green earth we will relent. She's tried every conceivable argument. "I'll be safer," she says. "Think of the convenience when you want to call me home from Nicole's house." (Nicole lives next door.) And my favorite - because it's so unconvincing - "I'm the only one of all my friends without a cell phone." Amy is going into the sixth grade. She's not getting a cell phone for another three years, when, anticipating the start of high school, we will arm her with our own version of an electronic tether - a bargain phone with basic features, not to include a portable typewriter.mbhWed, 30 Jul 2008 18:29:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:126http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/117/Good-girls-still-dont.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=117http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=117&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/117/Good-girls-still-dont.aspxThe conversation on my neighbor's front porch is so animated the mosquitoes have trouble lighting on us. My daughter Katie and I have stopped while walking the dog to say hello to a friend, which seemed like a good idea before the possibility of malaria evinced itself. Bug spray, anyone? No matter. My neighbor, Lisa, has questions about the current state of social life for high school girls. Her only daughter will be a freshman in the fall, while my eldest daughter graduated a year ago. This makes Katie an expert on the subject. Lisa is worried. Already she sees her daughter's friends changing - acting more worldly and sophisticated than she thinks is appropriate for 14-year-olds. She's concerned about protecting her daughter's innocence against the peer pressure to grow up too fast. Based on our experience, her concerns are not unfounded.mbhThu, 24 Jul 2008 01:12:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:117http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/118/Parents-a-risk-to-children.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=118http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=118&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/118/Parents-a-risk-to-children.aspx"Oh, good heavens," my husband gasped as we drove past a scenic overlook. "Did you see that?" I assumed the majesty of the view of the Grand Canyon had caught his breath, but it turned out he was startled by something even more profound: the stupidity of the parents who had allowed their young children on top of the retaining wall. "What can they be thinking?" he asked. The point is, they're not thinking. Their priority isn't safety, it's a photo opportunity. Either that or these particular parents didn't believe there was anything wrong when Michael Jackson held his infant son over a hotel balcony. Our summer odyssey took us from the Grand Canyon to Yellowstone National Park, where apparently there aren't enough signs to warn parents about the dangers of wild bears. Otherwise a bear sighting would not have prompted several families to allow their offspring to run within 20 yards of a black bear for the chance to take a picture. Even a lecture from a park ranger didn't deter people from encouraging their children to get dangerously close to an unpredictable wild animal. That people risk life and limb for the sake of a quick thrill, a good story or a great photo is not new. That they'll teach their children to take such risks confounds me.mbhThu, 17 Jul 2008 01:31:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:118http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/119/Datings-not-what-it-used-to-be.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=119http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=119&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/119/Datings-not-what-it-used-to-be.aspx"So, how's your girlfriend?" I ask my son out of the blue. "Which one?" he says with a devious smile. "The new one," I say. "Oh, her." He shrugs. We both smile. And that's the end of our update on Jimmy's dating life. It's all a joke, of course. Jimmy doesn't have a dating life. The "girlfriend thing" remains awkward (his word) and unnecessary (my word). Instead, we encourage our 14-year-old son to have a host of friends - girls as well as guys - and to forget about dating until the time is right. (That would be a time when he has his own money and a driver's license.) The fact that we discourage exclusive, romantic relationships for our tween and young teenage children - and that we monitor their behavior to assure they aren't dating behind our backs - puts my husband and me outside the parenting norm. (What else is new?) We believe in the concept of "late blooming" as far as dating goes, based on the theory that childhood is too short to spend your time worrying, for example, about whether your 13-year-old girlfriend has seen you talking at your locker to another person who just happens to be - gasp! - a female. So while some 14-year-old boys must attend to the emotional whims of their romantic partners, my son must concern himself only with important things, such as how the Yankees are doing and how long he must wait until I feed him again.mbhThu, 10 Jul 2008 01:43:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:119http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/93/Take-charge-to-instill-values.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=93http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=93&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/93/Take-charge-to-instill-values.aspxPink now is the wardrobe essential for an entire generation of tween and teen girls, so it didn't surprise me when a mom I know mentioned taking her daughters to the new Pink retail store at the mall. What took me aback was when she said: "I absolutely hate the Pink store and I can't stand shopping there. Yet my two girls are always walking around with the word 'pink' across their rear ends. What can you do?" What can you do? Hmm. ... What can you do? What, oh what, can you do? This is the pivotal parenting question for 21st-century moms and dads.mbhWed, 25 Jun 2008 13:10:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:93http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/95/Politics-parenting-unlikely-to-mix.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=95http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=95&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/95/Politics-parenting-unlikely-to-mix.aspxWhat do America's shopkeepers, schoolteachers, summer lifeguards, pediatricians and class moms know that politicians don't? Better parenting is the answer to America's problems. Ultimately, it's the way to reduced crime, improved school performance, lower rates of accidental injuries and deaths, a more educated and dedicated work force, increased health and fitness (ergo, lower health care costs) - not to mention better dental hygiene and the return of table manners. Better parenting would alleviate road rage, eradicate the always inappropriate "belly shirt," squash the influence of MTV and maybe even reduce wildfires in California and soap scum in America's showers. Better parenting would produce more responsible citizens - the kind who vote, and not just for the people they think will put money in their pockets. It would reduce pollution, increase private investment and probably even stop global warming. Let's face it, where Mom and Dad are getting the job done, things look pretty good. And where they're not - well, there is mayhem. Just look around you at the community pool this week to see if I'm right about that.mbhWed, 18 Jun 2008 16:52:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:95http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/50/Learning-should-be-its-own-reward.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=50http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=50&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/50/Learning-should-be-its-own-reward.aspxRight away when I answer my cell phone, the sound of Amy's teacher's voice tells me this is going to be bad. "Mrs. Hicks," she said gravely, "we have a problem." "I have given your daughter several chances to complete her missing work and also to have you sign a slip saying she has told you that she has fallen behind in social studies," the teacher said. "She continues to lie to me about having done the work, and I suspect she is also lying about having told you about the missing assignments." This is a veteran teacher: Her suspicions are money in the bank. According to Amy, she somehow "forgot" to tell me she owes her teacher enough workbook pages to wallpaper an airplane hanger. Go figure. We'll leave the issue of integrity for another day. The other more immediate problem is, fifth grade is about to come to a close. The teacher would like to be sure Amy knows enough social studies to matriculate to the sixth grade. Quite honestly, I'd kind of like to know this, too.mbhWed, 11 Jun 2008 20:53:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:50http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/47/Behavior-that-goes-beyond-scope-of-grounding.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=47http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=47&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/47/Behavior-that-goes-beyond-scope-of-grounding.aspxI have been a parent for going on 19 years, which means I have read my fair share of books and magazines about how to raise healthy, happy, well-adjusted children. Through the years, in my effort to do a good job as a mom - or at least ensure I don't scar my children for life - I have made it a habit to consult the "experts" to learn the best practices on everything from potty training and bedtime routines to nutrition and discipline strategies. Today, as I scan the headlines, I'm wondering why I never read an article on how to avoid raising a teenager who one day attempts to murder her mother. Someone should have addressed this issue because, according to the media, it seems to be happening more and more. Not to me, thank goodness. But still.mbhThu, 05 Jun 2008 18:42:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:47http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/40/Oval-office-for-my-son-may-be-just-a-dream.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=40http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=40&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/40/Oval-office-for-my-son-may-be-just-a-dream.aspxThe blue light from the TV casts a sleepy glow in my bedroom. I climb under the covers, easing my weary shoulders onto the two pillows that provide the perfect angle on which to doze while watching the news. I must be restless because on this night, it takes me almost a full five minutes to nod off. (Like most mothers, I find falling asleep generally isn't a problem. Sleeping through the night? That's another story.) As I drift off, pundits are talking about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's perseverance versus her sense of entitlement. Someone else mentions Sen. Barack Obama's sense of entitlement versus his unstoppable momentum. No one says anything about Sen. John McCain, which in itself may speak to any sense of entitlement he may or may not have. I'm not a pundit, so I wouldn't know. Anyway, I fall asleep.mbhSun, 18 May 2008 20:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:40http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/32/Sheltered-from-bad-TV-poor-influences.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=32http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=32&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/32/Sheltered-from-bad-TV-poor-influences.aspx"What's your favorite music video?" one of the children at the lunch table asked. A flurry of titles and artists' names was bandied about the sixth-grade section of the cafeteria. My daughter didn't know about any of them because all of the favorites aired on MTV. Instead, Katie mentioned a music video she had seen on the Disney Channel. After an almost imperceptible pause, the group burst out laughing. "You are so sheltered," one of the girls taunted.mbhSun, 27 Apr 2008 13:32:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:32http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/29/10-going-on-25-isnt-a-joke-its-marketing.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=29http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=29&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/29/10-going-on-25-isnt-a-joke-its-marketing.aspxMy friend Jen knows how to get a rise out of me. All she has to do is send an e-mail with a link to a news story about tweens. Last week, she found an article about the new trend among tween girls to have professional hair treatments such as highlights, lowlights, chemical straighteners and permanent curls. Unlike the home treatments we may have had our moms do for us when we were teens, pre-teenagers today get their moms to plunk down upward of $45 for a salon visit to get streaks of color not found in nature. According to the salon owner quoted in the article, girls as young as 6 sometimes come in for color streaks in their hair, though she admitted "8 to 12 is more the norm."mbhMon, 21 Apr 2008 00:36:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:29http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/30/Serving-food-for-thought-at-dinner.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=30http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=30&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/30/Serving-food-for-thought-at-dinner.aspxIf it's 9 p.m. Tuesday, it must be time for dinner. Now if only I had thought to get to the grocery store earlier in the day. Sigh. The dinnertime challenge around our house isn't just figuring out what to feed the troops — although that's certainly part of it. I have teenagers who still think it's "yucky" to eat tomatoes. No, like most families, our challenge is to manage our respective schedules in such a way that we're all in the house and hungry at the time I coincidentally serve a hot meal.mbhMon, 14 Apr 2008 00:43:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:30http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26/Chaperone-duty-is-not-an-easy-process.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=26http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=26&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26/Chaperone-duty-is-not-an-easy-process.aspxThe thing about caller ID is that it tells you only where a call originates, not what it's about. So when the phone rings and the name of my children's school appears on the handset, I have no choice but to answer it. Suppose someone is sick? Or hurt? Or in trouble with the assistant principal? Maybe it isn't a call concerning one of my children, but the child of a family for whom I'm the emergency contact. I'm compelled to answer the call, but in retrospect, I wish I had let the answering machine take a message the other day. That way I could have avoided this stint as chaperone at the middle school Activity Night. mbhSun, 03 Feb 2008 17:18:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:26