parenting news stories on Newser

Video Captures Dad Putting Baby in Washing Machine

Rob Quinn — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:30:00 CDT

Authorities in Camden, New Jersey, want to have a conversation about parenting with a dad who was caught on camera putting his toddler son in a washing machine. In what appears to have been a game of peek-a-boo gone wrong, the father places the boy in a laundromat washing machine...

Hey Kids: This Summer, Ditch the Gadgets

Matt Cantor — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:26:05 CDT

The Internet and iPads and smartphones are great for adults—but we need to take a hard look at what they're doing to our kids, warns a computer science professor at Yale. It may be tempting to let them sit down with an iPad come June, but such technology is...

Time 's Nursing Mom: I Expected the Uproar

Matt Cantor — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:10:05 CDT

The brouhaha over Time magazine's breastfeeding-mom cover came as no surprise to the cover-mom herself: I "knew what we were getting into," Jamie Lynne Grumet tells the Today show. Grumet says she understands Time 's decision to run the image, which doesn't represent "the way we breastfeed at home," which...

Mom Arrested After Daughter's Punishment

Kevin Spak — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:33:05 CDT

A Minnesota woman was arrested this week after shaving her daughter's head and forcing her to pick up garbage and do windsprints wearing nothing but a tank top and a diaper. The mother allegedly imposed this punishment—which she dubbed "diaper duty"—because she wasn't happy with the 12-year-old's grades,...

Man Straps 4 Kids to Hood of Car, Takes Off

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:29:05 CDT

There are drunk dads who designate their not-yet-10-year-olds as designated drivers ... and then there are men who just strap their kids to the hood and hit the open road. That's exactly what happened last night in Fort Wayne, Indiana, say police, who were alerted by a witness who saw a...

Average 2012 Prom Tab: $1K+

Kevin Spak — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:14:25 CDT

If you have a teenager nearing prom age, hopefully you've got good credit. Between dresses, flowers, limo rides, and hairdos, the average family with a teenager is expected to plunk down a whopping $1,078 on prom this year, up from $807 last year, according to a new Visa survey...

Now Georgia Town Cancels Egg Hunt Over Nuts Parents

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:31:05 CDT

First Colorado Springs , now this: An annual Easter egg hunt in central Georgia has been canceled after organizers say parents became violent while trying to collect eggs for themselves and their children in past years. This will be the first time in years that the Easter Bunny won't be visiting...

Pre-Chewing Baby's Food Looks to Be A-OK

Matt Cantor — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:47:00 CDT

Alicia Silverstone's video of herself chewing her baby's food last week prompted disgusted comments, but she may actually be doing little Bear Blu a favor. Our ancestors did the same, and plenty of non-Western cultures still do it, Life's Little Mysteries notes. Like breast-feeding, "pre-mastication" offers benefits to a baby....

Kids Are So Cute ... Until Age 4.5

Matt Cantor — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:35:05 CDT

No one's saying that 5-year-olds can't be adorable—but it appears that they're past their prime, in cuteness terms. Researchers in Canada and China polled adults on the cuteness factor of kids from infancy to 6 years old. Subjects called the younger children cuter, with a big shift at age...