Examined Lives

What's up with...the miserable NYC prep kids?

I had a rare few hours of sofa surfing last night, nursing a potential cold and accompanied by aimless tv watching. I happened to stumble upon an episode of NYC Prep, Bravo's reality series of young pre-school kids doin' the town, squabbling, angst-ing and blowing wads of their parents' money.

Whhhooo-eeeeee!  I was fairly blown away.  First of all, what kind of parent would let their kid participate in an enerprise like this? It seems upon casual viewing that many of the parents are no-shows, out and about on the town or in the Hamptons, so maybe that's why.

Because this is embarrassing for these kids in a big way, like Facebook on steroids. Ten years from now, these kids will be appalled that there's visal record of them cooing over designer clothing, posing half-naked while interning for a Real Photographer, doing idiotic things in bars and putting down adults twice their age while hiring them to give voice lessons.  There's the usual teenage gossiping and shopping and posing and put-downs, but in an adult way that's just icky at their age.

Well, on second thought, maybe I'm a little out of touch with city life. Maybe money does entitle kids to be incoherent, incredibly rude and self-possessed, like the brat who wants to work for Operation Smile because her resume is short on community service and she'll, like, "do anything to get into Harvard."  (Harvard, if you admit her, you'll get a bunch of angry phone calls. I'm not threatening; I'm just saying.)

The kids mainly seem to want jobs in entertainment or fashion (nice use of the fancy education!), which may explain why they crave exposure -- but then, what teenager doesn't love the limelight? It's their parents who oughta be paddled, but good.

I caught a little bit of Grease a few nights ago (Excuse:  the kids wanted to watch!), and thought, wouldn't it be nice to 17 again?  But watching the Prep kids, I had no such desire. And that's sad.  Because these really should be prime years, and those kids are already jaded.

~BurbMom

What's up with...freaky chemicals in food packaging?

I knew the basic gist of this outrage, really. I knew that most food packaging, especially paper goods lined protect against grease leaking, contained some of the most frightening chemicals there are:  PFOS and PFOA, known collectively as perfluorochemicals.

As I watched the microwave mac n'cheese I was heating for my kids spin around and around in its own handy dandy plastic container, though, I considered the ramifications of what has just come out:  A new study has shown that those chems do indeed leak out of the containers and into our blood.  Not just traces, either; according to a writeup on the study by Rebecca Renner of the American Chemical Society: 

"...perfluorinated chemicals used to make food wrappers grease-proof can migrate into some foods at levels up to several hundred times higher than current FDA-approved guidelines..."

Perfleuros have already been found in breast milk, which is ironic, because they have been linked to infertility and irregular menstrual cycles in women. And lower birth weight and size...and certain types of cancers, including that of the breast.  And developmental problems!

And so I ask:  What's up with this?  Why is this stuff still touching, and leaching into, our food?  And why do we, the public, continue to put up with this?  The Green Daily has five ways to avoid packaging, all of which we should be doing anyway -- eating more produce, blah blah -- but here's the most important one:  Write your congress person, and tell her to get off her duff, and get chemical companies to come up with alternatives, already.  Believe me, they can afford to -- chem giant DuPont has already agreed to it -- and many food companies are already demanding that they do.

~BurbMom

What's up with ... the brouhaha over Michele Obama's short sleeves?

Everyone's buzzing about Michele Obama's apparent preference for short-sleeved dresses, and frankly I don't see what the big deal is. Some critics say it's not seasonal, as in it's winter so it's not right. But stylists say it doesn't really matter. First of all, Jackie O used to do it all the time. Second, If I had toned arms like hers, I'd be showing them off, too. Third, the whole "argument" is just so boring! Don't we have better things to do? In this video, CNN's Brooke Adams asks: "Is it so wrong to bare arms?"

—CityMom

What's up with...the Kumon craze?

Is it just kids in our school district, or is everyone stampeding to their nearest Kumon?

If you're not familiar with this phenomenon, Kumon is a math and reading tutoring chain with the self-stated goal of helping each kid perform to his or her potential -- improving concentration and study habits, helping a kid master the basics, increase self-discipline and confidence, and so forth. There are some 1,500 centers in the U.S. alone, and it feels like 1,000 are in the New York tri-state area, judging by the numbers of kids I hear of who are enrolled. And you know that goes -- for every kid you hear of that's enrolled, there are four you don't know of.

Some of the kids reportedly need it to catch up with their class, which makes me think maybe the classes are too hard. Or we're just not teaching them right in the first place, because internationally the U.S. is still lagging behind eight other countries in global math scores. (Maybe the entire public school system should adopt Kumon?) Some of the kids are taking it (or their moms are thinking of enrolling them) to stay ahead of the class; Kumon says its goal is "for all students to begin studying above their school grade." After all, as the New York Times reported, "Kumon lore is filled with stories of 8-year-olds mastering calculus." 

And still others, and I fall into this group, are thinking of enrolling their kids because it's kinda scary if all the other kids are cramming except for yours.  You know, that bit about calculus does sound appealing...

~BurbMom

What's up with ... those Wall Street bonuses?

I'll make this short and sweet: I have a few friends and relatives who are in banking and they work very very hard and deserve every penny they get.

That said, it's hard to understand how Wall Street is able to give out bonuses—to the tune of $18.4 billion, by some estimates, including the NYC comptroller's office—when so many banks have come to the government a-begging for taxpayer money.

Connecticut senator Chris Dodd is so incensed, he's promising to try to get some of those billions back. And who can blame his—and many others', including the president's—outrage? The words "tone deaf" don't even begin to describe their insensitivity to the current economic climate, the fall of which they partly—some might say primarily—caused. 

—CityMom

P.S. For an outstanding explanation of how the housing industry led to the Wall Street meltdown, listen to this episode of NPR's This American Life Web site.

(Photo from American Consumer News.)

What's up with...sexy slogans on kids' clothes?

My mother bought the kids some socks at a discount store.  Not in itself a unique occurrence; I think bulk clothing purchasing is part of the grandma job description. But these socks were special, I noticed while folding laundry.  One pair said "Darling DIVA" and the other "Unavailable."

Unavailable?  WTF?!  Unless the socks are communicating that she's unavailable for a post in the Obama administration, or for dinner at Per Se, I'm taking them to mean she is not up for a date, or anything related to dating, including flirting or sex.

Of course she's available for none of these things. Without revealing her exact age, I can tell you that she's unable to write her name in cursive.

Now, when we allow things like "diva" or "princess" on our girls' apparel, we're just begging for trouble for ourselves. Of course your little darling is going to turn into a demanding monster. It's written all over her. Similarly, don't buy her a Bratz doll and then bitch when she asks for eyeshadow at the age of 10. ("What is it?" my daughter asked when she got a Bratz as a birthday present.  She was five.) 

But when we let them wear stuff in public that hints at sex or sexual maturity -- like makeup, nail polish, high-heeled baby booties, pageant gowns and junior cheerleader uniforms -- we're letting others view them as somehow ready for action, or at least a future fastie out of the gate. We might as well be the village yenta, hinting at bargain prices for our child brides. Buy early and save. All suitors welcome. Such a deal!

~BurbMom

(Note: "What's up with..." is our new weekly column on the absurdities of modern life.  Have a suggestion for a topic? Let us know at citymomburbmom@gmail.com).