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NYT Round-Up

Jill

Lots of good stuff this week.

First, diaper-free babies. Apparently more than 50 percent of the world’s children are toilet trained before the age of 1, and a handful of Americans are catching on. It’s an interesting article, but like so many others written about childrearing, it’s a “mom-article.” The man-on-the-street interviews are all mothers. The only men are experts and doctors, and they seem to focus only on the mother’s role: I’m all for it, except I don’t think many people can do it,” Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, the renowned child-rearing expert said of elimination communication. “The thing that bothers me about it is today, probably 80 percent of women don’t have that kind of availability.” Fathers get one line of mention at the end.

That article is followed up by an excellent op/ed by an antropology professor, who promotes tossing out the diapers.

Scientists are trying to create embryonic stems cells without the embryos. Good luck to ’em.

Now this, I can relate to. I don’t live at home, but I definitely don’t consider myself an adult. I’m still in school, but even if I had a real job I don’t think I’d feel very adult. Adult, to me, means a career and a marriage and a mortgage and a couple kids. I’m not sure I’ll ever be one.

Are women the future of Afghanistan? It’s a long article, but read the whole thing. Incredible.

Noah Feldman, I love you. He asks, What does it mean for Iraqis to vote “no” on the Constitution?

7 thoughts on NYT Round-Up

  1. I’m kinda creeped out by this super-fast toilet-training thing. I smell trouble in kindergarten.

    And, to me, it kinda sounds like these people just don’t want to deal with the dirty work of having a baby. Babies poop until they stop pooping.

    Is Freud rolling over in his grave right now or what?

  2. Um. In A&P and in neuroscience class, we were taught that humans aren’t fully myelinated until about the age of two.

    That means that bowel and bladder control aren’t fully realized until that time. I dunno…is this super-fast toilet training thing training the *kid* or the *parent*?

  3. I looked at those superfast toilet training articles and though “oh, great, another way to make American women feel like they’re doing a bad job of being a parent.” It would be lovely to have the little monsters toilet trained by the time they could walk to the bathroom, but if it involves being surgically attached to them I suspect that there are _plenty_ of cases where the choice is either (a) house or (b) toilet-trained at 18 months.

  4. Our second kid came from China already trained not to shit herself. At ten months. Took us a while to figure it out; we thought she was constipated when it was more like PUT ME ON THE POT, ALREADY! Very labor-intensive, though, early potty training.

  5. Now this, I can relate to. I don’t live at home, but I definitely don’t consider myself an adult. I’m still in school, but even if I had a real job I don’t think I’d feel very adult. Adult, to me, means a career and a marriage and a mortgage and a couple kids. I’m not sure I’ll ever be one.

    I’m not sure what that article says, since I don’t read the NYT, but I find very ironic for someone who purports to want to break down traditional notions of what it means to be an adult/woman/etc. would believe such tripe about “requirements” to be an “adult.” Ultimately the test is taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. There are plenty of fully-functioning adults that that don’t have a marriage, mortgage, or kids, and likely might not even have what one might consider a “career” in the traditional sense.

    As an adult that has none of the things you cite, and goes to school full-time, I take offense that I would not be considered an adult under your definition. I house myself, feed myself, clothe myself, get myself to class, to work, etc. I take responsibility for myself and my actions. I am an adult.

  6. What does it mean for Iraqis to vote “no” on the Constitution?

    Obviously, it means they get to try again.

    Of course you are aware it took over 10 years for the US constitution to be ratified…

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