What goes up doesn't necessarily come down

There’s a dangerous trend on the rise among preschoolers. Forget obesity for the time being. Forget bullying. I’m talking about noses. Or nostrils, more precisely. What possesses kids to stick things up their noses, anyway? It’s as though they wake up one day and say, ‘Hey, what are these strange holes doing on my face?’ The answer: to shove things up, obviously. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time…

Click here to read the full article, as featured at Oh Baby! Magazine.

My Yummy new job

For those who haven't heard, I got a job writing content for the Yummy Mummy Club, the mom site run by Erica Ehm of Much Music fame. 

Unfortunately this means my own blog posts will be even more sporadic than they have been of late.  But I hope you'll continue to support my work here, there, and everywhere.  I'm obviously biased, but think the "Mummy Buzz" will prove a cool read indeed...

Click here to check out the first installment. The Buzz will be updated daily, bringing you hot mummy news as it happens.

Tiger tutor wanted

A-list celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow and her hubby, front man of the rock band Coldplay, Chris Martin, are seeking the services of a private tutorfor their two young children, 8-year-old Apple, and 6-year-old Moses.

According to British newspaper, The Telegraph, the pay is outstanding -- £62,000 (around $100,000) a year for clocking just four hours a day. The package includes star-calibre accommodation, nine weeks’ vacation, and a myriad travel and health care perks.

Now, before you go and polish off your resume, be sure you possess Gwynie’s prerequisite qualifications ad nauseum.

In the ad, which was recently posted on a specialist website,the ideal candidate for the job must meet a long list of must-haves:  a background in classics (including Greek and Latin), fluency in a minimum of three languages (preferably including Mandarinor Japanese).  The applicant must also be able to play at least two instruments, and have a “passion for sailing and tennis, art history or martial arts”.

Is that all, you ask? Apparently not.  In addition to the stringent criteria above, applicants must also be cognizant in “the history of thought from a philosophical perspective”… Looks like Gwynie is giving Amy Chua a run for her money in the Tiger Mom stakes.

No X-boxes or Transformers in the Paltrow/Martin household, then.

Taking the world by Storm

So a Toronto couple has decided to keep their baby's gender a secret.  Only Storm's immediate family knows what's between Storm's squidgy legs.  Is it any wonder this story recently went viral?  That the baby's name is Storm should tell you all you need to know...  Well-intentioned parents land a truly crackpot idea and decide to run with it.  Their hope is that people will get to know Storm as a person, not a gender.  And while the ideology behind the decision is laudable, the reality of a 'sexless' baby is laughable. 

Click here to read the full article, as featured at A Mother World.