Pop Culture

Pink, Inc.

Shawn at Parenting — Thu, 31 May 2012 03:33:30 +0000

A hard way to start a blog about the corporate greed surrounding breast cancer awareness and the pink-ification of America is to look two cancer survivors in the eye.

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Shawn at Parenting

The Born Supremacy

Shawn at Parenting — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:14:24 +0000

Drinkers of craft beers and mocha lattes, buyers of Docksiders and Ethan Allen furniture, fans of Dave Matthews’ music and Jennifer Aniston’s movies, sayers of “like” and “you know,” drivers of pick-up trucks and ATVs, acquirers of liberal arts degrees, appliers of SPF 50: It was a great run, but it’s over.

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Shawn at Parenting

The Year of the Dad

Shawn at Parenting — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:18:57 +0000

Encino Man.

That’s what I felt like when I was hired as the senior editor on Parenting’s sister publication Babytalk three years ago. During its nearly 80-year history, Babytalk has been—and still is—a magazine run by moms. When I arrived, it was as if the female editors had thawed me out, cleaned me up, and looked upon me quizzically. What is it? Does it talk like us? Can it write about nap schedules and breast pumps?

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Shawn at Parenting

An Open Letter to the Breastfeeding Boy on the Cover of Time

Shawn at Parenting — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:39:12 +0000

At first, I thought you were a really exotic piercing. Then I realized you were a boy. A big boy. You’re only three years old, but your clothes--camouflage cargo pants, sneakers, grey shirt with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows--make you appear much older. You look like you should be holding up a lighter at a Creed concert, not suckling at your mom’s breast.

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Shawn at Parenting

It's Normal For Kids To Sing About Being Sexy

Shawn at Parenting — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:42:35 +0000

My son Jackson sings about sex, drinking, drugs, breakups and school shootings. Which is a way of saying my son sings along to Pearl Jam, Pink, Taio Cruz, Flo Rida, and Foster the People. Jackson does not know he is singing about sex, drinking, drugs, breakups and school shootings. When he sings, “you better run, better run/faster than my bullet” from Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks,” he doesn’t know that his lilting soprano is six degrees of separation from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. He just turned 8. He is blissfully oblivious. For us grown-ups, it’s September 11th.

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Shawn at Parenting

Why My Son Quit The Boy Scouts

Shawn at Parenting — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:05:14 +0000

Last month, on almost the exact same day, Jackson, my 8-year-old son, and Jennifer Tyrrell, den mother of the Ohio Pack 109’s Tiger Scouts, left the Boy Scouts. Their journeys with the organization were similar, almost simultaneous, but the stories behind their exits are very, very different. Here is a timeline comparing Jackson and Jennifer: scout and den leader, youth and adult, kid and mom.

* * *

Joining the ranks

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Shawn at Parenting

Six Months Down, And Life To Go

Shawn at Parenting — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:16:30 +0000

UPDATE: Yesterday at 3pm, about the same time this story was posted, Avery Canahuati passed away due to pulmonary complications related to SMA. Avery's father managed to briefly recuscitate her using CPR, but she passed away at the hospital shortly thereafter. Our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones.

“Welcome to the field, Avery Canahuati.”

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Shawn at Parenting

The Coolest Single Dad on Earth Lives in Africa. And Isn't Human.

Shawn at Parenting — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:52:36 +0000

Adoption. Single moms. Single dads. Working parents. Foster parents. Multigenerational homes. Vegan families.

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Shawn at Parenting

Mom Is Not The Most Difficult Job In The World

Shawn at Parenting — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:32:13 +0000

My job is moderately difficult. I deal with thousands of words every day, but most of them don’t have more than three syllables. Sure, there are personalities to manage and deadlines to meet, but there’s also an hour for lunch and a Keurig machine in the break room.

I play with new toys and read new children’s books. The windows face tree-lined streets. I receive samples of YoBaby yogurt and Gerber Puffs, and eat them while enjoying the office’s perfect temperature of 73 degrees. It’s great when you can be at work and feel like a well-fed toddler living in Southern California.

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Shawn at Parenting

Should I Have Taken my Wife's Name?

Shawn at Parenting — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:24:09 +0000

It took Shannon Berry a month and a half to handle the name change after the wedding. Getting a notarized copy of the marriage certificate from a circuit court judge is no trip through the drive-thru window. Registering the change with Social Security required five trips to the local office in Huntsville, Alabama. The credit card companies were impossible. “They thought I was trying to dodge bad credit,” Shannon says with a laugh.

It must have been the bushy beard and rumbling baritone that made the process extra difficult. It’s not every day that a man takes his wife’s name.

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Shawn at Parenting