Hallmark Cards has often been accused of “inventing” Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, as well as Monday, to make more money. (Only partly true; The Bangles invented Monday.) Now, the taciturn, emotionless greeting card company has hatched a new plot: Hallmark research shows consumers are adopting another use for Mother’s Day. The day that traditionally […]

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With over 100 U.S. schools closed now to limit the spread of swine flu, fear is rising. Parents are concerned about children. Children are concerned about their friends. Yet surprisingly few Americans appear to be concerned about the fate of the pig as a super-cute children’s clothing motif. This is wrong. Swine have faced an […]

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Here at Perfect Baby Handbook Worldwide Headquarters on Montague Street, we collect news stories about both perfect and imperfect child-rearing. Frieda Blimlock, head of our Oddness Department, contends that these five headlines are among the most amusing: 1. Canadian Parents Fooled Into Raising Prostitutes: Considering that most Canadian parents aspire to raise either malingerers or […]

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Brett Berk, one of America’s less conventional parenting authorities, is giving away three copies of the new, controversial book True Mom Confessions: Real Moms Get Real by Romi Lassally on his blog. He asks only that you debase yourself by making a confession of your own and hints that grotesque disclosures will be judged extra-favorably. […]

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Friend of PBH Lynn Harris (rhymes with “hilarious”) reports with uncharacteristic sobriety on the ongoing “bottle or breast” debate over on NPR.org. “Anyone remember the 2005 public health campaign comparing not breast-feeding to riding a mechanical bull while pregnant?” she asks. If breast is indeed best, then breast-feeding advocates would do well to stop calling […]

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