• Last updated 2/2/12 by Peggy O'Mara

On June 19, 2002 I attended the congressional hearing, “The Status of Research into Vaccine Safety and Autism” in Washington DC. This hearing was part of the oversight investigation of the Committee on Government Reform, headed at the time by Congressman Dan Burton (IN-REP). According to the background material presented to the Committee by Congressman Burton, “When the Committee began its oversight investigation in 1999, autism was thought to affect 1 in 500 children.” In 2002, when the hearing was held, autism was thought to affect 1 in 250 children. CDC data from... read more

• Last updated 1/16/12 by Peggy O'Mara

    Today, January 18, 2012, several major internet sites, including Wikipedia, Reddit and Boing Boing, are dark to protest two new pieces of federal legislation, SOPA and PIPA. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), House Bill 3261, would allow copyright holders to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. Proponents of the bill hope to stop the illegal copying of movies and music. Opponents say it would require websites to police their members as well as seriously limit freedom of expression on the internet. The... read more

• Last updated 1/15/12 by Peggy O'Mara

  Because optimism is a job requirement for parents, I look for ways to interpret life that do justice to the hope implied by my children’s existence. Yet, pessimism tempts me every day. The word apocalypse is often used to describe our times and to frighten us into believing that the end is near. I don’t want to believe this so I looked up the word apocalypse in the dictionary and found, to my surprise, that the word does not mean the end of the world at all. The word has come to be associated with the end because The Apocalypse of John, the last book in The New... read more

• Last updated 12/12/11 by Peggy O'Mara

The holiday season can be a tough time for the conscience. We want to give presents to our children, but we don’t want to overwhelm them with consumerism. We’re concerned about fair trade and how things are made, but we don’t always know how to determine this. Plus we have a limited budget for presents so price is also a consideration. We have to get creative. First, it’s good to remember how little children really want. A ball in a big box wrapped with lots of paper (could be newspaper) to rip off is always a hit. In a great column from last year, GeekDad identified... read more

• Last updated 12/7/11 by Peggy O'Mara

  I’ve been receiving unsolicited emails from a neighbor telling me where I can get the flu vaccine. Last week when I went to Walgreen’s there were signs up all over the store urging me to get vaccinated. The excessive marketing of the flu vaccine can make it hard to know your own mind. This is especially true for pregnant women. Up until recently pregnancy was a contraindication to the flu vaccine; now it is recommended for pregnant women. Generally when we are pregnant we want to refrain from ingesting drugs or receiving invasive procedures. The current flu... read more

• Last updated 11/16/11 by Peggy O'Mara

If you had any doubts about the loyalties and efficacy of the US Congress, you need look no further than the today’s spending bill, the fourth emergency spending bill since April. Hailed as a “breath of fresh air” by Steven LaTourette (Rep-OH)), the bill effectively blocks school lunch standards that would limit French fries, pizza and salt and increase the use of whole grains. It also allows tomato paste to be counted as one of the required vegetables in federally subsidized school meals. I’m not making this up. It’s pitiful to think that we have to wage a national... read more

• Last updated 11/15/11 by Peggy O'Mara

I picked up the book The Big Year when I went to buy bird food recently and it’s rekindled my love of bird watching. The book is about a year-long competition to see the most birds in North America and has been made into a movie with Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black. When my oldest daughter was ten we would sit on my bed watching the birds at the bird feeders on the porch off my bedroom. We learned to identify our local mountain birds together and later incorporated some aspects of an ornithology course from Cornell University into her homeschooling studies.... read more

• Last updated 11/8/11 by Peggy O'Mara

      Harvey Karp’s book The Happiest Baby on the Block has changed the landscape of parenting in the US. As a result of its irresistible title, easy to learn method and national network of 2500 teachers, most new parents in the US today are instructed to swaddle their babies. Despite this popularity, there are growing concerns that swaddling is not the cure-all parents hoped it would be. Since the publication of the book in 2003, I have increasingly heard reservations from health professionals about its recommendations. A nurse practitioner wonders if the shushing... read more

• Last updated 11/14/11 by Peggy O'Mara

In 2003, one of our Mothering community members, Tracy, started the first Holiday Helper Forum. Gemini, SpatulaGirl, JustVanessa, DreamsinDigital, Maluhia and other members have developed the program over the years. In 2009 we helped 73 families, nearly 100 in 2010 and this year we hope to help up to 150 families; we have 40 families signed up so far. FAMILIES IN NEED To be eligible, a member’s family must have significant financial need. The member must have been a Mothering member for one year as of October 24, 2011 and have posted 500 times. In the interest of... read more

• Last updated 10/31/11 by Peggy O'Mara

On October 25, 2011, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all 11 to 12-year-old boys get vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the CDC press release, “The HPV vaccine will afford protection against certain HPV-related conditions and cancers in males, and vaccination of males with HPV may also provide indirect protection of women by reducing transmission of HPV.” First licensed in 2006, the HPV vaccination, branded as Gardasil or Cervarix, has previously been... read more