The Best of the Rest of the Web: Men are Faster Diaper Changers, Nobody’s Normal, & a Viral Video about Bullying

From our February issue, a selection of thought-provoking, laugh-inducing, and just plain interesting thoughts from the web and the world of parenting.

The Happiness Equation?

“Despite upbeat popular media portrayals of single moms by choice who forgo marriage to bear children alone, actual research suggests that women raising children with their children’s fathers are happier.”

—according to a new report entitled “When Baby Makes Three: How Parenthood Makes Life Meaningful and How Marriage Makes Parenthood Bearable,” released by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, in partnership with the Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values, based on a survey of 2,870 married men and women ages 18-46

I love it when people refer to ‘research’ as if that alone will validate claims. As a single mother by choice, who also has a small measure of my child’s father’s involvement in our lives, I can tell you that it would be infinitely easier if I did this completely on my own. The one weekend a month my son spends with his dad always causes more discord than ‘happiness,’ and I often wish that I had chosen an anonymous donor. As for married couples raising their children together, if I get told by one more married mom that she ‘feels like a single mom’ because she does all of the work alone anyway, or if I yet again hear ‘if it weren’t for the kids I’d get a divorce and make myself happy for a change,’ I’m going to start wondering where all of this scientific ‘research’ actually comes from.

—Issa M. Mas, born-and-bred New Yorker, single parent life coach, fabulous single mom to a 4-year-old boy, editor at www.yoursingleparenting.com, and blogger at Single Mama NYC, in response to the above-mentioned report “When Baby Makes Three.”

“Men are clinically proven to be faster diaper changers than women, but women actually do it right.”

—from Let’s Panic About Babies, now a book and the latest online offering from Brooklynite Alice Bradley, author of another of our favorite blogs, Finslippy and her West Coast partner Eden Kennedy (btw, congrats to Finslippy for being named to Babble’s Top 100 Mom Blogs of 2011—weighing in at #5!!)

Not Just for Grandparents

“You think about your grandkids endlessly. You tell everybody you meet—including the supermarket cashier and the cabdriver—how cute it is when they suck spaghetti through their missing teeth. You post pictures of them all over… Is it abnormal? Is it unhealthy? Should you be worried? Whatever ‘normal’ is, nobody’s it.”

—Dr. Georgia Witkin (known to her three grandsons as “GG” for “Grandma Georgia”), senior editor of Grandparents.com and professor of psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center in NYC, in her new book The Modern Grandparent’s Handbook; we bet her words ring true for a fair number of parents out there, too!

JONAH MOWRY COULD BE ANYONE

jonah mowry youtube video

Back in December, a video on YouTube went viral and continues to stir conversation across the web and media months later. In it, 14-year-old Jonah Mowry (pictured above) vividly shares his pain about being bullied every day in school, considering suicide, self-injuring, and more. His video has gotten more than a million hits, and countless others have posted direct responses challenging his honesty, offering support, and echoing the pain of his experience. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should.

Somehow we didn’t see the coverage on 20/20 or Good Morning, America or read about it on Perez Hilton—rather, we saw it posted on Good Enough Mother, a blog by Rene Syler, who lives with her two children and husband in Westchester (thanks, Rene). Check out her blog to offer your own thoughts and link to the video, and for so much more about her own parental experiences; and go to www.childmind.org/SuicideHotline to read about Facebook’s and Google’s efforts to partner with the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and offer support to those showing signs for being at-risk.

The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center

The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center offers year-round, community-based dance and music programming in a fully inclusive and nurturing environment, located in the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District. The School&rsquo;s diverse and professional faculty provides progressive and non-competitive instruction with all of our classes accompanied by live music. Though we are a non-recital school, there are opportunities for students to perform and for parents to see their dancers in action.

Monster Mini Golf

Upon entering Monster Mini Golf, all perceptions of traditional mini golf will be spirited away by the indoor, 18-hole, monster-theme, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course! The locations in <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/deerpark/">Deer Park</a>, and <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/gardencity/">Garden City, NY</a> invite guests to experience a host of family-oriented fun activities. Whether visiting for the first time or the one hundredth, mini golfers feel the excitement and adventure of playing mini golf amidst spooktacular monsters and custom, glow-in-the-dark, hand-painted artwork. While testing their skill on the fairways, lively music flows over the course from the unique &ldquo;WEIRD Radio&rdquo; station&rdquo; and an interactive DJ entertains golfers with contests, awarding cool prizes for the wackiest reasons. While the course is challenging enough for adults, it is also quite playable for children. Monster Mini Golf is open year-round and frightfully fun for the entire family. In addition to miniature golf and thrilling arcade and redemption games, the locations offer additional attractions. <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/deerpark/">Monster Mini Golf in Deer Park, NY</a> offers a Laser Maze and a Virtual Reality experience. The Garden City location offers a Laser Maze, Bowling, and a Virtual Reality Experience. Two very posh, private party rooms are also available and are perfect for any event. Monster Mini Golf looks forward to making it a monstrous success. Monster Mini Golf is indoors, ensuring that the event will always take place, regardless of the weather. It is a climate-controlled, affordable source of family entertainment. For more details please visit <a href="http://monsterminigolf.com">monsterminigolf.com</a> or find them on Facebook.

Super Soccer Stars

Soccer Stars is New York&rsquo;s most popular youth educational soccer program! With 24 years of experience under our cleats, we have positively impacted over one million kids in our local community by putting the FUN in FUNdamentals in our weekly classes and camps. At Soccer Stars, we use the soccer ball as a vehicle to help children not only improve their soccer skills, but develop self-confidence and physical literacy, improve gross motor skills, build teamwork, and hone socialization skills. Our highly trained coaches and early childhood experts lead an age-specific curriculum with a low kid-to-coach ratio so every child gets individual attention and can grow at their own pace. Kids ages 1-12+ can join our seasonal programs, including Parent &amp; Me, FUNdamentals, Development Training, and Travel Soccer. Join us at one of over 80 locations in neighborhoods across across Westchester County, Connecticut and New York, available 7 days-a-week: Connecticut: <ul> <li>Cos Cob</li> <li>Greenwich</li> <li>Port Chester</li> </ul> &nbsp; Westchester: <ul> <li>Briarcliff</li> <li>Eastchester</li> <li>Mt. Kisco</li> <li>New Rochelle</li> <li>Ridgefield</li> <li>Scarsdale</li> <li>White Plains</li> </ul> &nbsp; New York City: <ul> <li>Bronx</li> <li>Inwood</li> <li>Upper West Side</li> <li>Upper East Side</li> </ul> &nbsp; Can&rsquo;t find a class or location that fits your schedule? Soccer Stars also offers private classes for small groups or individual training. Let our coaches come to you with a completely customizable program, anytime, anywhere. Birthday parties are also available!&nbsp;