why child magazine and health journalist denise foley should be ashamed of themselves…
Posted on February 23, 2007
Filed Under kids, parenting, snark |
Why Child Magazine and health journalist Denise Foley should be ashamed of themselves…
I’ve always been suspicious of parenting mags. But highlighting the life and times of the beautiful people must sell copies. And there is no shortage of this agenda in this month’s issue of Child. We read about the products that Diddy, Ms. Locklear, Julianne Moore and Faith Hill are purchasing for their pampered progeny. There is also a nine page spread on designer Catherine Connor Monteiro’s English country home, complete with 4 children, several horses, ponies and enough toile to make those of us still scraping loose wallpaper off horse hair plaster with our own bare hands want to weep. In the very same issue there is an interview with, Donna Bee Gates who has just published a book I Want it Now, Navigating Childhood in a Materialistic World. According to Child, Gates’ book tackles how to handle children who are “prone to the pull of things.” Child asks Gates how she recommends we teach our children to avoid the materialistic mindset. I’m just marveling at her ability to rein it in. I would’ve blurted out, “Well it’s simple really, don’t let them read magazines like this one. And never buy your baby a pair of moccasins that cost $57, as seen on page 65.”
That’s all fine and good. The usual stuff of parenting mags, but what really grabs me about the March issue is Denise Foley’s piece Toxic Exposure. There’s no doubt that Foley, a health journalist and editor of Prevention Magazine, means well, but by referencing inconclusive science, Foley spreads the fear factor without the facts.
My takeaway from the piece is that my children, given my lack of diligent parenting, should be mental midgets right about now. According to the article, “a mother’s cigarette smoke or her tuna fish sandwich” could lead to autism, asthma, lower IQ, ADD and cancer.” (Notice the word ‘could’ in the previous sentence.) Also cited as potential contributors to that list of ailments are: “living near a busy road or playing outdoor team sports near busy roads, living in a home built before 1987, playing in the backyard in a neighborhood where people use pesticides and herbicides on their lawns, breathing polluted air when pregnant, etc. etc. (Notice the word ‘potential’ in the previous sentence.)
There’s no doubt that there is an epidemic of autism in this country. There is an epidemic of cancer. There are many more children diagnosed with ADD and asthma than when we were children. The good news is, there is no shortage of doctors and scientists working on the causal relationship between these afflictions and the environment. However, by citing inconclusive findings that “need to be confirmed in other studies” Child and Foley whip up the level headed parent into paralysis of function.
Can’t stay indoors, too much lead. Can’t play outdoors because there’s the street and the Jones family next door have roses. Can’t play sports because, again, that’s outdoors. Shouldn’t sleep in a bed that Mom hasn’t washed, scrubbed and bleached this week, last week and all the weeks before. Oh, and if you live in a major city, or near one, don’t breath while pregnant, because, well, that breathing thing may be harmful to your fetus.
In short, our children shouldn’t play, breathe, sleep or eat.
I am left wondering how much smarter my daughter would be if I hadn’t used Round-up on the lawn, without wearing gloves, two days before I found out I was pregnant. I’m even pondering how much smarter I would be if my own mother hadn’t thought Margaritas a valid source of vitamin C for baby-to-be.
Do us a favor, Child. Until you can publish an article without so many “coulds, mays, suspects, suggests and potentials”, stick with what you do best: new products, new clothes, new recipes because your attempt at new science is just plain scary.
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