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Celebrity Mom Experts Backlash: Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Mama v. Critics

Posted on April 30, 2014

From Kristin Cavallari and Jenny McCarthy‘s vaccine stances, to Snooki’s expert book on parenting published within the same year of delivering her first baby to Jessica Alba‘s Honest company to the numerous celebs who’ve launched maternity (Jessica Simpson, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Victoria Beckham) and baby clothing lines beyond, there seems to be a refreshed backlash against celebrity mom parenting experts of late.

Recently, Gwyneth Paltrow and her controversial statements comparing Hollywood and 9-5 moms, and her reportedly pretentious stance on parenting were the subject of quite a few news articles.

And now, the latest celebrity mother to face the ire and snark of critics is Bellyitch Bumpwatch alum Alicia Silverstone.

The Clueless star’s latest book “Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, A Radiant Pregnancy, A Sweeter Birth and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning” triggered such a visceral response from Herald Sun writer Wendy Tuohy that she lashed out against it and other celeb experts in a commentary on the site.

It starts:

IN BREAKING news from Hollywood, parents who don’t sleep with their baby are guilty of borderline neglect, nappies are bad for babies (they should do their business “in the grass”), post-natal depression is what you get for doing your diet wrong — oh, and tampons can give you infertility.

And it doesn’t get kinder from there! Oy! Read the entire piece HERE!

No doubt, because of their high profile and huge following, celebrity parents are able to use their strong brand presence among general audiences to secure clothing lines, book deals and command a platform to espouse whatever they wish.

What are your thoughts generally? Understandable cashing in on their branding to make a living or exploiting their impressionable audiences for a quick buck?

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Trend: Punishing teens by shaming them virally in Social Media

Posted on April 25, 2014

Recently, a video of a mother in the Caribbean twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago beating her 12-year old daughter went viral. It sparked much debate and online conversation about whether corporal punishment is necessary to discipline teens and whether such discipline should be broadcast to the world to see.

That type of video is not new, however:

In Flint, Michigan this month, three adults were arrested after a video of them beating, slapping and yelling at an 11-year old boy was posted on Facebook. The mom’s boyfriend shot the video and posted it to shame the boy for pretending to be a gang member and having bad grades.

Last month, a mother recorded her husband beating their 13-year old daughter with a belt after she went missing for 3 days and the girl’s Facebook page revealed she was spending time with boys. The video, shown on World Star Hip Hop, got over 350,000 views.

In 2012, a video of a sick mother beating her baby garnered close to 2 million views. Online petitions caused Malaysian police to arrest the woman.

Also in 2012, a former official in California was sentenced and is serving three years probation after a neighbor shot the man, Anthony Sanchez, beating up his stepson while teaching him to catch a baseball. The neighbor posted the video on YouTube.

That year as well, petitions from online directed a judge to make a decision in a custody over a couple’s daughter after a video of abuse with the mom beating the on went viral and got over 330,000 views on YouTube.

It’s not always the parents posting the videos either.

There is the high profile case of Hillary Adams, a daughter of a judge William Adams, who in 2011 posted a video she recorded in 2004 of her dad beating her. She posted the video on Reddit saying the world should see that he is unfit for the bench. The video got 7.6 million views. Judge Adams lost his judicial election.

Non Violent Shaming

And beyond videos, we’ve seen the images with teens holding shaming signs their parents make them hold on street corners with some of them circulated on line. Some parents are forcing their kids to hold signs and posting them online to teach their teens a lesson about how dangerous social media is and how fast an image can circulate world wide.

Last fall, a California mom made her 11-year old daughter wear a sign and stand on a busy street corner for twerking at a school dance.

Last January, a photo of a dad standing next to his daughter with a photo of himself on the front and the words, “Try me”, went viral on Reddit. The dad made his daughter wear the shirt around school for a week as punishment for breaking curfew.

There is also that 2012 YouTube video of a dad shooting his daughter’s laptop after she posted things about him on Facebook.

Also, in 2012, an Ohio mom changed her daughter’s Facebook cover and profile so the words superimposed on it said, “I do not know how to keep my mouth shut. I am no longer allowed on Facebook or my phone. Please ask why, my mom says I have to answer everyone that asks.”

In August 2012, a South Carolina man mom made her son stand on a street corner with a body placard that read, “”Smoked pot, got caught! Don’t I look cool? Not!” and “Learn from me, don’t do drugs.”

A Florida teacher was fired in 2012 after she put dog “cone-of-shame” collars around the necks of tardy students and some of the kids posted the images on Facebook.

In November 2012, Florida parents of a 16-year old made her stand on a street corner with the sign “I sneak boys in at 3 AM and disrespect my parents and grandparents.”

All of these are attempts from parents to curb teen drinking, sexual activity, bullying or disrespect. Supporters of these shaming methods say that parents and caretakers have few options with unruly teens.

Many defenders of online shaming point to the fact that they were beaten as a kid and they turned out fine but they leave out the part that no-one saw their beating, especially not a half a million people. Nonetheless, they also assume the shaming will work.

Shaming doesn’t work

Nonetheless, history proves that these public humiliation punishments don’t always work.

In 2011, a teen boy who was beaten by his uncle in a viral video was later shot and killed in a gang-related incident. The mom said her son was bullied and teased a lot after the video went viral.

“I regret maybe not being a part of his life a little bit more after the video,” the uncle said after his nephew Michael Taylor was killed.

Clearly, the online beaten didn’t sway Taylor from continuing down that path he was going in anyway, and without more intervention and care, a beating may not be the end of bad behavior. In fact, the viral videos may foster more negative outcome than good.

When kids compare extreme punishments to those their peers receive for similar offenses, they might feel singled out and treated unfairly by their parents, which can create feelings of resentment and damage the relationship, a NannyWebsites post states. This could lead to further acting out, which results in a no-win power struggle.

“Teaching kids to be respectful includes treating them with respect,” says Annie Fox, M.Ed., teen/tween expert and parenting author o” Teaching Kids to be Good People”. “Disrespect is a boomerang.”

Shaming could leave a mark on the teen’s self-esteem and add to depression, anxiety or isolation. A child could feel personally rejected by their own support system, giving them the sense that no one is in their corner and that they lack self-worth. Add to that the potential that the embarrassing punishment itself could lead to teasing and bullying within the child’s social circle and it might very well result in a dangerously alienated young person.

In sum, many of the bad acts the kids are being punished for were known by a relatively small number of people and broadcasting it on the internet lets potentially millions more know. Where is the value in shaming a kid for life for one small lesson, especially when there is no guarantee that it will work?

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What celeb moms are up to on Instagram (PHOTOS)

Posted on April 19, 2014

We stalk your fave celeb mom who we have Bumpwatched in the past so you don’t have to. So…what is some of our faves up to these days?

Nicole Richie is group selfie pic’ing after a night out with the girls.

Rasheeda is looking Boss and fit and trim while out and about.

Fergie is enjoying a girls night out.

Brandy Norwood is enjoying a Friday night out

Busy Phillips is marveling at her new funky and kinda scary nail art.

Beyonce is showing off her killer abs while prepping for a tour w/hubby Jay Z.

CaCee Cobb and hubby Donald Faison are celebrating pal Zac Braf’s birthday

Gwen Stefani is sharing throwback Thursday photos of herself as a child.

Phaedra Parks is attending a celebrity event with RHOA pal Porsha Stewart

Hillary Duff is having fun going out

Kim Zolciak is marveling at how great her hubby Kroy is at cutting baby nails

Ivanka Trump is showing off her cute babies.

Melissa Joan Hart is celebrating her recent birthday.

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How one parent used her kid’s superhero to prevent bullying

Posted on April 10, 2014

guest post by Danita Dawson

As a parent in the age of video games, You Tube, and cyberbullying, I often wonder, almost to the point of obsession, about ways to impact my child’s development. I believe that superior parenting has always included a touch of creativity but with Generation X, Y, Z (or whatever they’re calling the current generation nowadays), creativity is the cornerstone of even remedial parenting.

To reach your children on the most basic of issues requires ingenuity, but it almost takes pure wizardry when it comes to lofty, esoteric issues like character, empathy and spirituality. Until Oprah comes up with Super Sick Sunday for kids, we as parents need to find ways to encourage soulful growth within our children. I have found such a tactic.

I have developed a very close relationship with the superheroes in my son’s life. By getting to know the ones he relates to the most, I am able to use their personas to teach him life lessons.

When my son was younger, he didn’t fit in. He generally was gentle and compassionate which probably came off as soft to other boys his age, and it didn’t help that he wasn’t into sports when most of the boys around our neighborhood were. Sometimes, he was bullied or just felt left out. Things got even worse once he starting middle school. He often begged me to drive him to school because of the school-bus fighting he often witnessed.

However, one day he did a rap about his favorite element for a science project. Once he performed it for the class and half the school, he became Mr. Popularity overnight. All of a sudden he was a 6th grader that 8th graders wanted to know.

Now, needless to say, I was concerned when he didn’t fit in and was getting bullied, but I became even more concerned now that he had become Mr. Popularity. I didn’t want him to turn into the child that bullied less popular children, or teased them and made them feel left out like others often had done him.

Therefore, I turned to his favorite superhero, Spiderman, for help.

It wasn’t enough to make sure he didn’t abuse others. I wanted to teach him to discourage others from doing so as well, now that he had this newfound popularity. So, I borrowed Spiderman’s motto, “With great power comes great responsibility”. I used this to teach him that as one of the popular kids (that used to be bullied) he had the responsibility to encourage kids to treat others well.

Usually when teaching my son, I never really know if he’s quietly listening to me or quietly ignoring me, and this time was no different since I got no immediate response. I even forgot we had this talk until the day he told me that on the way home a school-bus fight broke out and he stopped it.

Instead of cheering it on or taking pictures like many children in today’s media-crazed world, he got between the two boys and stopped them from fighting. I was astounded!

Just a few months before he was cowering; now he was intervening.

After that, I knew that at least in part, I had Spiderman to thank because while I’ll admit my son was naturally a peacekeeper before this incident, Spiderman helped that part of his nature flourish in what seemed to be overnight.

Since then superheroes have become one of my best teaching tools. It has even helped me have a new outlook on issues. Once, my son and I were having a conversation about one of his other favorites, Batman.

He was trying to get me to understand the reason that Batman wasn’t as nice as the other superheroes and didn’t always get along with them. He empathetically explained that, “Batman was messed up because he saw his parents die in front of him and he never got over it”.

I was so touched by this gentle and forgiving view of my eleven-year-old son that I decided to use it to remind myself along with him that when difficult people come into our lives such as bullies or mean coworkers, we should view them in the same non-judgmental way he views Batman, by looking beyond their actions and trying to understand their pain, and it actually works.

So, get to know the superheroes in your child’s life. It will give you insight into your child’s psyche. Then, you can develop methods to encourage his strengths and to overcome his weaknesses. And you may learn a few things to help yourself along the way.

Danita Dawson is a loving parent with a creative look on life and parenting.

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Pregnant Celebrities who don’t share bump progression pics accused of faking it: The Jwoww Case Study

Posted on April 3, 2014

So this week, Jersey Shore reality TV star of the longtime MTV hit, Jenni “JWoww” Farley teased some of her 3.58 million Twitter followers on an upcoming bump photo. Since the Snooki and Jwoww star announced her pregnancy with fiance Roger Matthews last December, she is yet to share an all-out baby bump photo.

Interestingly enough, the comments to the post she linked with details about a teal one-shoulder Rissa of LaBling dress she wore October 2013 on Chelsea Handler‘s talk show this week piqued accusations that she isn’t really pregnant at all.

“Maybe she is not carrying the baby?? Maybe she has a surrogate?” one named Chloe questioned.

“I bet she faking a preg I think she adopting a baby!!” another named Joan added.

And thus the convo diverted to commentary about whether she is pretending to be pregnant as a publicity stunt.

Recall Danielle Jonas and Kevin Jonas‘ first pregnancy was similarly dogged by similar rumors and infamously Beyonce as well.

One might notice that a sure sign a celebrity woman is pregnant is when she ordinarily posts non-stop selfies of her full body on social media but suddenly shares only face pics. It could be she is uncomfortable with her changing body and not yet figured out how to dress her bump or she is just keeping the news under wraps until the critical first trimester passes.

It may very well be that Jwoww didn’t wait the three months and shared the news immediately and thus has not really started to show much.

The speculation is unwarranted even if she is farther along because many women don’t show until well into their second trimester and others do a great job in hiding the bump under baggy or loose clothing.

This incident may reveal a new disturbing trend among baby bumpwatch fans and followers of celebrities who announce their pregnancy. If they don’t reveal a bump or show a “normal” progression, they may be dogged by fake pregnancy rumors.

What do you think?

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Rory Beca’s versatile design is perfect for stylish moministas

Posted on March 22, 2014

Abbey from District Dress Up

After having a baby, it takes a little bit of time for the tummy and body to regain its pre-baby shape. We discovered a brand of colorful, cute and timeless looking clothing with bold patterns and made of comfortable material that would make it relatively easy to feel stylish and confident. Buy a size up in one of Rory Beca‘s impeccably designed pieces, and you’re good to go.

This line is a fave among younger set, but given how much give many of the pieces have in the draping in the middle, it can can also be great for a first trimester mom-to-be who is trying to conceal a growing bump.

It’s that versatile. We love it. Here are a few of our favorite pieces:

Contrarian Evening Dresses · Rory Beca Cocktail Dresses · Rory Beca Dress Pants

Rory Beca Cocktail Dresses · Rory Beca Longsleeve Tops · Rory Beca Sleeveless Tops

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Study: More Fetal Deaths linked to Home Births

Posted on March 17, 2014

Earlier this month, actress Thandie Newton announced that she gave birth to her third child at home. She is among the growingnumber of women opting for home births in the United States in the last decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

A recent study presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting on February 7 stated that patients delivered at home by midwives had a roughly four times higher risk of neonatal deaths than babies delivered in the hospital by midwives. The increased neonatal mortality risk is associated with the location of a planned birth, rather than the credentials of the person delivering the baby, the report noted.

Using CDC data of 14 million linked infant birth and neonatal death, researchers at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center found the absolute risk of neonatal mortality was 3.2/10,000 births in midwife hospital births, and 12.6/10,000 births in midwife home births, and it further increased in first-time mothers to 21.9/10,000 births in midwife home deliveries. Neonatal mortality was defined as neonatal deaths up to 28 days after delivery.

“This risk further increased to about seven-fold if this was the mother’s first pregnancy, and to about ten-fold in pregnancies beyond 41 weeks,” said Amos Grunebaum, M.D.

Grunebaum and co-author Frank Chervenak, M.D. said that obstetric practitioners have an ethical obligation to disclose the increased absolute and relative risks associated with planned home birth to expectant parents who express an interest in this delivery setting, and to recommend strongly against it.

They suggest that hospitals make their policies more welcoming to mid-wives and create more comfortable birthing environments, to eliminate the need for “unnecessary obstetric interventions”, a release about the study stated.

Interesting. What are your thoughts on this study and the authors suggestion which seemingly implies hospitals should do more to obviate the need for midwives who will assist in a home birth?

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What’s NEW on Instagram: Celebs show off new babies and other new things (PHOTOS)

Posted on March 8, 2014

It’s Instagram Saturday. Check out what’s up with some of the celebrity and other accounts we are following on that popular photo and image sharing app. Garcelle Beauvais featured NEW pics of herself with her twins Jax and Jaid.

Oh and follow Bellyitch on Instagram too while you’re there!

Hilary Duff and son Luca tried on a NEW craft at a pottery studio.

Tamar Braxton-Herbert showed off the two men in her life, hubby Vince Herbert and NEW son Logan.

Cougar Town‘s Busy Phillips was gushing up with her NEW 7-month old baby Cricket

Tamera Mowry-Housley featured her handsome little man, relatively NEWly turned 1-year old son Aden.

Rachel Zoe‘s was showing off her super cute NEW son Kaius.

Eva Marcille gave the world a first peek of her cutie pie NEW baby Marley who is a spitting image of her pops producer Kevin McCall

Nicole Richie has NEW … purple hair

Brandy Norwood is showing off her fab style in a NEW outfit.

Adrienne Bosh was snuggling up with a NEW born baby tiger.

Ali Larter was noshing on ice pops on the set of her NEW movie

Bravo Andy has landed in Austin for another NEW week at the South by Southwest festival.

Bethenny Frankel was interviewing Tamera Mowry-Housley on her relatively NEW national TV show.

Beyonce was channeling Sasha Fierce or her other NEW alter ego Yonce in concert

Donald Faison was getting his baby-wearing on with son Rocco, a NEW practice.

Ciara has been loving the NEW freedom of pregnancy hair.

The First Lady is encouraging moms to get covered and sign up for a NEW healthcare plan.

Fit Pregnancy was encouraging parents to get out and exercise for the NEW season.

Sally Hansen was showing us one of their NEW RED colors!

Kim Kardashian‘s MUA (make up artist) was getting her prepped in a NEW location, the Bahamas

Kim Zolciak Bermann was showing off her NEW fit and trim post-twins bod while working at home in sweats.

New author LaLa Anthony was showing her pearly whites in her closet – a NEW selfie spot.

Oprah Winfrey was blowing out candles to the massive NEW birthday cake that Tyler Perry got for her.

Toni Braxton was at a meeting finalizing deets of her NEW baby, a new book.

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PHOTO History of Ethnic Barbie Dolls Through the Years

Posted on February 24, 2014

This year Sports Illustrated marked the 50th issue of its widely popular Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition by devoting an entire spread to the iconic Barbie doll. And of course, the decision did not come without controversy and the usual back and forth debate and banter about Barbie, what she means to little girls and their self esteem, and to beauty ideals.

Instead of jumping on that bandwagon, I thought I’d re share a quite popular spread we did a few years back during the 50th birthday of the doll and used the occasion to pay homage to how ethnic Barbies had developed through the years since Barbie first came on the scene.

Enjoy this trip down blog memory lane:

Barbie, full name Barbara Millicent Rogers, was first introduced on the market on March 9, 1959. Her boyfriend, Ken, debuted in 1961.

She has always been controversial for activist-type moms who fear that the doll represents an unattainable and idiolized form of beauty that they don’t want their daughters striving to achieve.

Many moms “of color” have opposed Barbie because they say she represents a beauty ideal that their daughters can never attain (and look natural trying): blue eyes and blond hair.

However, a few year’s after her introduction, Mattel introduced a doll with darker complexion.

Francie doll introduced in 1967

In 1967, Mattel released a “colored” Francie doll that was made in the same mold as Barbie but just still had European facial features and body shape.

Francie was featured on the Cover of Vogue Italia’s Black Barbie issue in 2009

Only in 2009, did Mattel release a “black Barbie” for commercial (non-collection) sale that had African features.

First Black Barbie doll, introduced in 2009, that had African features

Asian parents wanted in too and wondered when Barbie would come in a version that resembled their little girls. In 2010, Mattel released its first ever Asian doll, a Ken version, which many Asians complained should’ve been dressed like a modern Asian man in a t-shirt and jeans and not a Kabuki-looking, domo outfit.

A few years ago, when Mattel tried to modernize and release chic and updated dolls, mainly for adult collectors, I noticed the Barbie Basic dolls which featured dolls of various ethnic faces, hair styles and texture.

In fact, it was the first time I saw a dark complexioned doll with a mini Afro. I took a photo of it but in the caption, I noted how the black dolls were dressed extra provocatively and one had on a J-Lo style navel cut dress. Upon research, I discovered that several African American parents were up in arms over the dolls. But honestly, since they were collector items for adults, I really didn’t see much harm in them, unless they are complaining about Black women being portrayed as hypersexual in the media too much, then okay.

Over the years, Mattel has released various ethnic dolls, though for collectors and not commercial sale.

In, 2009, Italian designer Eliana Lorena outfitted over 500 Barbies in multicultural clothing for a charity auction to benefit Save the Children at Sotheby’s in Florence, Italy, to celebrate the then 50th anniversary of Barbie. Among those in the collection:

These dolls had ethnic features.

And then periodically, there are those celebrity replicas such as those our sister site Poshthesocialite featured last year:

Nicki Minaj Barbie

Halle Berry – “Die Another Day” James Bond Barbie

Janet Jackson Barbie

Diana Ross Barbie

Beyonce

Kimora Lee Simmons

Beyond Ethnic Barbie, other controversial ones cylced in too…

There was that pregnant Midge , Barbie’s cousin, who scared parents into thinking Barbie was going to convince their baby girls they should get knocked up. She didn’t last on the shelves too long.

People went bonkers when a blogger spoke out against the idea of a Bald Barbie for children undergoing chemotherapy while suffering with cancer and Leukemia.

And folks got mad when they thought Mexican Barbie came with her passport to prove she was a citizen.

Despite it all, Barbie has weathered the storm and stays on the scene. She is a ride or die chick. Outlasting it all.

What do you think about Barbie’s legacy and changes through the years?

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Danielle and Kevin Jonas welcome daughter amidst Fake pregnancy rumors

Posted on February 4, 2014

Congratulations to Danielle Jonas and hubby Kevin Jonas of the Jonas Brothers on the birth of their daughter on Superbowl Sunday, February 2.

This is the first child for the former hairdresser turned reality TV star and eldest Jonas brother. The couple married in 2009 and announced last summer that they were expecting their first kid together.

Like Beyonce, the couple have been plagued with fake pregnancy and fake baby rumors as seen in this IB Times article and a Crushable post which claims to break down how fake the baby is.

The Crushable article has managed to get a lot of people on board with the conspiracy theory but there are many clues in the article revealing that the author has never had a baby before. She questions a doctor visit with the baby’s heartbeat shared in Instagram because there is no video image of the baby, but dopplers take the baby’s heartbeat and have nothing to do with a video or video monitor. The monitor just happened to be sitting there. Thee photos she posted in IG where her tummy was flat were possibly old photos before the pregnancy. There are so many holes in the piece to go into that it’s not worth it.

But what I did appreciate was the Instagram video Kevin shared with the baby moving inside Danielle’s tummy. That was THE best feeling during pregnancy inside and out. So cool of Kevin to catch that on video.

The conspiracy theorists are wack! But um getting a baby detergent brand to sponsor your first photo release, hmmmm. Can’t knock the hustle.

Congrats guys!

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