Teeny Manolo

In last week’s poll, I asked “how old is too old for a man to father a child?”  The largest vote-getter was anything over fifty.  Thirty percent said over sixty.  There were also some very interesting and heartfelt comments, and I continally marvel at our readers’ eloquence and honesty. But what else should I expect from the superfantastic fans of the Manolosphere?

Buttering up aside, this weekend I was thinking about all the stuff there is for kids. And I’m not necessarily talking about things to buy, although there certainly is that. Malls have play areas, there are gyms especially for kids, seemingly billions of different camps and classes, DVD players built into cars, and practically every restaurant has a kid’s menu.

I don’t remember any of that growing up.

Last week’s poll asking about the rising cost of inflation and how it affects your budget had two-thirds of respondents saying there was some sort negative impact. Wow, let’s hope that the Fed doesn’t cut interest rates this week, shall we?

Doing my usual “this poll has absolutely nothing to do with the last poll” type of thing, I’d like to talk about fathers for a minute. Kevin Costner recently fathered a child at age 52. Larry King was 66 when he had a son with his sixth wife, and then another a year later. Charlie Chaplain was 73, and Tony Randall was 77 when his last child was born.

Barring medical intervention, there is an age when carrying a child is no longer an option for a woman. Not so with men, who can father a child very late in life.

Yesterday my husband went grocery shopping.  He came home with approximately fifteen items.  The bill came out to over one hundred dollars, yet there was no filet mignon or fresh crab legs on the list.   More like apples, bananas, and whole wheat bagels. 

According to this lovely table from the Beareau of Labor Statistics, the year-over-year increase in inflation of food and beverage prices from March of last year to March of this year was a whopping 4.4 percent.  But as I stated above, I didn’t need that graph to tell me that the daily cost of living, from food to gasoline, has risen.

My goodness, is it Monday already?  It seems like just last week I was asking about teens and plastic surgery.  Oh, yeah, right. It was just last week.

The choice that got the highest vote count regarding teens wanting cosmetic surgery was that it saddens many people with sixty four percent of the vote.  The next highest was that these girls need a bit more life experience before making such a big decision with fifty eight percent.  Thirty eight percent said that they were totally against it, which I agree with.

There was a big debate going on in the comments about what constitutes cosmetic surgery, and I would have to say that I don’t consider braces to qualify.  I think that if a person just doesn’t like the way something looks and wants to change it, even though it functions properly, would be my criteria.  In that regard, teeth that need braces are not functioning properly, so I don’t lump them in the same category as a breast augmentation. 

And there you have it folks, my two cents.

The last few months have seen us at birthday parties galore, sometimes with multiple birthday parties per week.  I have to say that it has given me a great opportunity to see all kinds of children of many ages, as well as differing ethnic and social backgrounds.  Kids really are fascinating, and nothing brings personalities to the forefront like a party.  When faced with the social jungle of the bounce house and unfamiliar faces, I am often surprised at how even children I thought I knew well, act. 

It got me marveling at how fabulously different their personalities are, and how children differ from their parents and even siblings.

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Source 

Well, you guys sure are better than me.  Last week’s poll about candy rationing found that a full forty four percent of you dole it all out over time.  Eighteen percent give out a portion of the candy, then find somewhere else to put it, whether it be the candy bowl at work or the trash can. I find myself eating more of it than I should, then throwing most of it out in a fit of pique that there isn’t more chocolate.

There is no doubt our society places a premium on looks.  It seems that at a younger and younger age, girls are beginning to notice their looks and some of them decide that they don’t measure up.

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Last week’s poll addressed attitudes toward homeschooling and people who choose that option.  Multiple choices were allowed, and the category with the largest percentage of votes was the “imparting religious instruction not given in public school” with almost sixty percent.  Now, that may or may not be true, but I had a feeling that was a perception among most people.  The next category with the most votes with fifty one percent was, “their views differ from the mainstream.”  I thought it was a really interesting poll, and I thank you all for your honesty.

Now, doing my normal thing of zooming into an entirely different subject, I’ve got one about candy and how much candy kids get during holidays and celebrations. This weekend, my son got more candy than he could ever eat. Now, what to do with it?

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Last week’s poll regarding organic food found 35 percent of you buying organic as often as you could fit it into your budget, while 27 percent bought it as often as possible, depending on what type of food.   A total of 19 percent eschew buying organic altogether.  Altogether a fascinating little snapshot of people’s food-buying habits, if I do say so myself.   And I do, so there.

Since there was quite a big dust up last week over my homeschooling post, I thought I would address the topic in today’s poll. There were wide-ranging opinions regarding why people choose to homeschool, and I really wanted to find out perceptions about homeschooling from a larger portion of the population.  Not that my polls are huge, but I have a feeling they reach a fairly good cross-section of people. 

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My question about tattoos elicited some very interesting responses and comments indeed.  A full 58% of respondents said that it would be acceptable for their child to get a tattoo only after the age of 18, and 27% said the child couldn’t get one as long as they still lived at home.  

Most of the comments were not in favor of permanent markings, and I would have to say that I am not really in favor of them either.  However, if my son were to grow up and get one, as long as it wasn’t easily visible I wouldn’t object.  Too strenuously.  But really, once it is done, it’s done so there would be no point getting upset about it.

This week we veer off into the realm of organic food.  Is it the only way to go when feeding a family?  Is it a big moneymaking scam?  I want to know what you  think.

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Last week’s poll about the Oscar telecast should have the Academy a bit worried, because hardly anyone watched the Oscars, and those that did weren’t all that pleased.  A paltry 16 percent had anything positive to say about it.  Perhaps they need to provide a little more excitement than people tuning in just to see if Jack Nicholson is still alive.

This weeks poll is inspired a bit by Oscar winner Diablo Cody and her prominently displayed tattoo.  I was wondering what you thought about when and if your child wanted to get one.

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