1. Police in Georgia handcuffed a kindergartener with her arms behind her back after she threw a tantrum at school, and the police chief defended the action as a safety measure. As a parent I was disgusted after reading this story. How can anyone justify actually handcuffing a 6-year-old?
2. Brookside elementary in Gastonia, N.C. stretched the meaning of sexual harassment with its two day suspension of 9 year-old Emanyea Lockett last year. A substitute teacher heard the boy tell another student that the teacher was cute and when she told school officials they inflicted the suspension. Are schools taking sexual harassment a little too far?
3. I asked my son why Kung Fu Panda is a panda and his father is a duck and he said because he is adopted. Are cartoons a lot more involved than when I was younger?
4. When is right time to teach kids all the bad words that they are eventually going to hear at school anyway? Is it better to teach them early so at least then they know what words not to say that will get them in trouble?
5. I know a lot of people curse in everyday language, but if you are out in public like a mall or a store and you see there are little kids around shouldn't you just as a courtesy watch your language?
6. When your little kids crawl into bed with you in the middle of the night (monsters, bad dream, whatever) and you are too tired to take them back to their room, why do their little behinds take up so much of the bed?
7. Why is it that you can tell your kids to do something five times like clean your room or put your toys away, they don't hear you but the minute you say something you didn't want them to hear they can repeat it verbatim?
8. Is anyone else who has little kids tired of the TV only being on Sprout, Noggin or Nick Jr.?
9. Does anyone else look up long after kids went to sleep only to find that the TV is still on Sprout, Noggin or Nick Jr.?
10. My 4 year-old daughter Imani sat at the breakfast table when my wife was out of town with her hands crossed and said she is going on a hunger strike until her mommy gets back home . Where do kids learn this stuff?
11. If a channel is running a movie for kids, why don't they adjust the commercials to also be kid-friendly?
12. Why does Disney have so much witch craft in their programming and movies as well?
13. Why can't I find any trace of one of my favorite cartoons growing up, Muppet Babies?
14. Why did they kill Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender?
15. Why do kids ask one parent for permission or approval for something and if they do not receive their desired response, ask the other parent the same gist as if they two parents are not going to talk to each other?
16. What is the rationale for early education not being free?
17. Why do people turn and look at a parent who has a baby that is crying or making noise as if their look is going to convince the baby to be quiet ?
18. My son has locks, and people always want to come up to him and touch his hair. Why don't they know that's inappropriate?
19. Why do people always want to touch a pregnant woman's belly? Why don't they know that's inappropriate too?
20. Are you officially getting old when you think that the way young people dress nowadays is atrocious?
21. Growing up in an age where the only cell phones I saw were that of Zack Morris (Saved by the Bell) and Niño Brown (New Jack City). Isn't it amazing to see how many little kids not only have cell phones, but Facebook and Twitter accounts as well? I heard a little boy who couldn't have been older than 11 tell another little boy to follow him on Twitter [lol]. I think I'm getting old because times are really changing.
22. Cyber bullying has grown rampant among young people. According to statistics from the I-Safe foundation:
A. Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying
B. More than 1 in 3 have experienced cyber threats online.
C. Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied through their cell phones or Internet.
D. Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs.
23. This is so new to me because growing up, I couldn't even close my door without my mom peeking In to see what I was doing. Privacy was non-existent in my Mom's house. Kids nowadays have way more rights. But, seeing these alarming facts, should parents monitor their children's e mail, cell phone and whatever other accounts they have? Or is that considered an invasion of privacy?