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/755/Yearend-recap-reflects-life-cycle.aspx#Comments0http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=200&ModuleID=582&ArticleID=755http://marybethhicks.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=755&PortalID=1&TabID=200http://marybethhicks.com/columnist/pastcolumns/tabid/200/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/755/Yearend-recap-reflects-life-cycle.aspxThey don't call it a "news cycle" for nothing. As surely as the minute hand winds down the waning moments of 2009, headlines bombard us with a now familiar theme for every New Year's week: The Recap. This time, we're reviewing not only the year that ends at midnight Friday, but the decade as well -- a period one of the newsmagazines is calling the "Worst Decade Ever." Ouch. Decade-in-review stories interest me because I'm afflicted with a memory like Swiss cheese. Pointing and clicking my way through the headlines, I'm saying, "I remember Kelly Clarkson," and "Oh yeah ... Halle Berry's Oscar" and "Has it been that long since the wardrobe malfunction?" Time flies like a bustier at a Super Bowl, doesn't it? Of course, there were seminal occurrences during the past 10 years that have redefined our country and our culture, and those remain with us as current events. Richard Hatch's victory on the first season of "Survivor" gave us "The Bachelor" and "Jon and Kate" and the recent ill-fated "balloon boy" attempt at celebrity. The Facebook guys gave us "friend" as a verb and teenagers with bad grades. Those hanging chads of 2000 gave us a generation of Bush-haters and a lucrative career for Al Gore in climate change. The inconceivable and surreal tragedy of 9/11 gave us the war on terror, now being fought by 18-year-old men and women who were still wide-eyed children on the day it began.mbhWed, 30 Dec 2009 16:33:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:755http://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-943feb885714:756