parenting | Pat Barone

Loving Kids Thin

This week has seen a lot of discussion about a new diet book which targets girls ages 6-12. After the initial outbreak of criticism, the author appeared on several talk shows defending his book as “empowering.” I spoke on the news about it Thursday.

I have to admit I’ve been wrestling with conflicting feelings about this. On one hand, I want to have the guy banned from Amazon and every other bookseller. His complete ignorance of the damaging and diminishing effect of diets on young women is simply deplorable.

On the other hand, we live in a country where we enjoy freedom of speech.

And yet, we have laws and policies that protect children from harm. And this is harmful.

To complicate matters further, as a blogger, do I speak up and risk giving him more exposure, or do I remain silent?

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Monuments that Matter

by patbarone

I’m back from vacation. It was wonderful to take a break from routine. It was also wonderful to get emails from my readers who missed me!

We visited Washington DC and saw many fantastic sights, museums and monuments.

But we also visited with family, where we met my cousin’s son’s little girl, Nadia, for the first time. She’s two and she’s amazing! Most babies are imaginative and creative and full of wonder – and she is all those things – before the world encourages them to drift away to more concrete “realities.”