Talk about old-fashioned parenting. Freemon Everett Seay and Julie Seay, from Washington State, were arrested for going Medieval on their 16-year-old daughter. When they found out she had gone to a party without their permission, she was beaten with a tree branch and forced to dress in armor and fight her stepfather with a wooden sword, duel-style, while her mother watched. Freemon and Julie may be Renaissance enthusiasts (like they’re literally part of a group that does Renaissance LARPing), but authorities do not endorse this antediluvian style of discipline. In modern times, we call this child abuse. Good thing they don’t actually exist in Medieval times or else they’d be getting the guillotine. [MSNBC]
Earlier this winter, Yale Law Professor Amy Chua published Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother, a memoir about her strict parenting style rooted in her Chinese upbringing. A “Chinese mother” is a broad term to describe a sub-set of strict parents who expect excellence from their children and force them to both study and rehearse instruments for hours a day. Chua’s two kids were not allowed play dates or sleepovers; she harshly admonished them and punished them throughout their childhood for not devoting themselves to schoolwork and musical study. The book — and her Wall Street Journal op-ed excerpted from it — unsurprisingly caused a huge kerfluffle among parents. Many thought she was was downright abusive.
But consider this: earlier in the week, Amy Chua’s elder daughter, Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, learned that she was accepted to Harvard University‘s class of 2015, and plans to attend. It begs the question, was growing up with a “tiger mother” worth it? Keep reading »
If it’s a day ending in “y,” that means there is more trouble for Brit-Brit. Ex-bodyguard Fernando Flores filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the pop tart yesterday. Even though we knew some of the accusations previously — she walked around the house naked; she asked for his belt to spank her kids — now he is spilling all the beans. And they’re some dirty, dirty beans. Keep reading »
Is Britney Spears a “Toxic” parent? Ex-bodyguard Fernando Flores allegedly claims she hit her kids with a belt, the UK’s Sun newspaper reports. A “source” said that according to Flores, last March or early April, Britney “came marching into the pool house and her mansion and demanded [Flores'] belt. He handed it over, but then followed her to into the main hose and claims he witnessed the alleged incident.” Flores also claims Spears fed her sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, food they are allergic to, including shellfish, which made them ill. Keep reading »
In China, an unnamed 9-year-old schoolgirl became one of the youngest mothers in the world this week when she gave birth to a 6-pound baby boy by C-section. Even though her family is refusing to speak publicly about the incident, they claim to have reported the pregnancy to authorities, who are still trying to discover the identity of the father so they can arrest him. Keep reading »
Am I the only one who thinks there is something really wrong with a 5-year-old who has a six-pack? The kid you are looking at (to the left) is one Giuliano Stroe, the 5-year-old who is the toast of Romania after walking on his hands for 33 feet with a medicine ball between his legs and securing a Guinness World Record. His father has been taking him to the gym since he was born and training him vigorously since the age of 2. Pops feels there is no danger in training Giuliano hard, even though he’s barely old enough for kindergarten, but I’m wondering why no one is questioning his safety. It can’t be good to put such physical strain on a body that’s still developing, not to mention the psychological damage he’s probably doing to this kid. I’m sorry, but does anyone else feel like this child is being exploited, kind of like Balloon Boy? And just for the record, I am also against 5-year-old girls getting spray-tanned for beauty pageants. [Daily Mail] Keep reading »
Finally, some good news to come out of this sad story: Phoenix police will pursue felony child abuse charges for the parents, Liberian refugees, who abandoned their eight-year-old daughter in July — after she was allegedly gang-raped by four boys — because they were ashamed.
The boys, ages 10 to 14, who are also Liberian refugees, allegedly lured the eight-year-old girl to a storage shed, by promising her chewing gum, where the alleged assault took place. When the parents learned their daughter had been raped, they apparently told police they did not want her to return home. She has been living in protective custody since the incident.
Ditching their kid is not the main reason police are pursuing abuse charges, however. According to the Associated Press, the young girl and her family have been referred to Child Protective Services in Phoenix five times since the girl was four years old. Altogether, past reports (including several times the young girl was found by neighbors or police to be wandering around the neighborhood by herself stealing or begging for food) could comprise felony child abuse. [Fox News]
Keep reading »
news
The Soapbox: Why Jezebel Was Wrong To Post Images Of A Woman Being Raped |
relationships
10 Played-Out Online Dating Messages That Guys Send Women |
health
I Have ADD |
|
guys
Ask A Dude: Does He Want His Ex Back? |
|
entertainment
Inside Demi Moore’s Devastating Post-Marriage Meltdown |
