Mommage

Mommy v. Daddy

As an attorney, I didn't practice domestic relations law.  Even now that I'm working as a legal assistant, I breathe a huge sigh of relief that my attorney doesn't practice it either.  There's so much emotion involved in these type of cases when it comes to divorce.  I would have to take out a membership to Costco or Sams just to keep me in Tums and tissues.  Plus this type of law really seems to bring out the worst in people

Case in point.  Yesterday, one of the attorneys at my firm was deposing the husband in a divorce case.  It was a little hostile.  At the end, the husband used our bathroom before he departed.  Instead of lifting the seat, he lowered the lid and purposefully urinated all over the toilet and floor.  Just like a pet would announce his displeasure.

Yes, people are not at their best in divorce situations.

Virginia Is For Lovers

It was a simply courthouse marriage ceremony between Antonio Blount and Justine McCain.  Yet it's making headlines now because is turns out Justine is actually Justin and Virginia is not one of the two states that recognizes same-sex unions. 

It probably would have gone unnoticed except that Justine filed an application for a name change in May.   What name did she want to change hers to?  Penelopsky Aaryonna Goldberry, of course.  No... that shouldn't have raised any eyebrows at all. 

Virginia driver's licenses have a design flaw - the notation for male or female is right on top of the darkened Virginia seal and courthouse authorities didn't notice that Justine was actually male.

An investigation ensued and it was learned that Justine was in fact Justin.  Or at least had been born Justin.  And that raises a whole ton of legal questions.

Homeschooling

There were many times I considered homeschooling my son, not because I thought it was better, but only because I felt he wasn't learning enough in the classroom due to his behavioral problems.  Every time I came close to making a final decision, however, things would improve at school causing me to change my mind.  Two things bothered me about the idea of homeschooling.  One was the lack of social interaction, and the other was the fact that I am not a teacher and am not qualified to teach.

Apparently I'm not the only one concerned about a parent's lack of teaching expertise.

To Spank?

Allow me to introduce to you Sophia Willis.  She is the mother of an 11 year old son and she disciplined him for lying by spanking him five to seven times either with a belt or an electrical cord.  Willis was brought up on charges of battery, convicted and sentenced to a year in jail.  The Indiana Supreme Court reversed, saying that Willis has a right to discipline her son and that her actions were neither degrading nor disproportionate to the offense, and his bruises were neither "serious harm" nor permanent.

Yes, apparently there were bruises.  Does that make it child abuse?  Or do we just need to allow parents to discipline their own children in a manner they find appropriate?

A Tragic End For Megan

Teenager Megan Meier committed suicide after being rejected on MySpace by a boy  named Josh Evans.

Except there was no boy.  Lori Drew, a mother herself, created a profile on the social networking page posing and posting as the 16 year old boy to woo Megan and then ultimately dump her.   After dozens of cruel messages, the final one to Megan (sent apparently by someone other than Drew), told Megan that the world would be a better place without her.  Megan (who was only 13) was devastated and hanged herself in her bedroom.  Now Drew is charged with federal crimes of conspiracy and accessing protected computers to obtain information to inflict emotion distress.  In short, cyberbullying.

Introducing the newest type of helicopter parents.

Baby You Can Drive My Car

Well, only if you follow my rules and the State laws, and even that might not be good enough to keep you safe.  The comments to a letter written via Planetfeedback to AAA Minnesota/Iowa, reminded me of all the reasons I have not taken my son for his driving permit.  He turned 16 back in September, but I have been putting it off despite the constant reminders and peer pressure.  I feel confident that he will  be a safe driver, but that's not my primary concern.  It's all the other drivers on the road I'm worried about.  Considering teen drivers have the highest fatal crash risk of any age group, deciding when to let your teenager behind the wheel could very well be the most important decision you ever make.

There are things you can do to prepare for this milestone, and some of them are just pure common sense.      

Handcuffed at School

A five year old kindergartener at a public school in Queens, New York, was put on a chair and handcuffed behind his back by a school safety agent.  According to this report, he allegedly threw a tantrum and was taken to the principal's office where he apparently knocked items off a desk.  The police report says the child was "punching his teacher and swinging wildly at school aides, that he smacked the assistant principal in the face, ran into a corner, and began to throw things on the floor."  The boy suffers from asthma, has speech problems, and may have attention deficit disorder.  He had two other tantrums the previous week and was transported by EMS to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

The Union representing the safety officer said cuffing the child was the last resort, because this particular child could not be controlled.  The New York Civil Liberties Union calls this an example of "criminalization of the classroom" and says that school officers have a history of going too far, and that the situation with school discipline is out of control.

No one ever wants to witness a child in handcuffs, but I definitely see two sides to this issue.

Medication Errors

Medication errors are on the rise, both in the hospital and in retail pharmacies.  The jury is still out on exactly what is causing these errors.  Is it inattention?  Incompetence?  Laziness? Lack of training? All of the above?  Are the drug companies at fault?  Recently Dennis Quaid and his wife suffered a scare their newborn children were hospitalized to receive Intravenous medication (what type was not disclosed), Heparin is a blood thinner routinely used to flush IV tubing to keep it from getting blocked up.  Unfortunately something happened in the case of Dennis Quaid's kids that is shocking but also happens with greater frequency then anyone would like to admit or accept.

The Quaids are suing the drug manufacturer, saying that the packaging (blue) was very similar between the products and at least in part may have contributed to the error.  The hospital Cedars-Sinai admits responsibility for what it calls a preventable error, they say that the pharmacy (placing in the wrong slot) on down to the nurses (actually injecting) were responsible, not one person did a double take in the chain of custody.  The hospital placed a new policy in place stating that 4 separate pharmacy personnel must now check all high risk drugs before they leave the pharmacy (that is a step in the right direction), what about the Nurses, what are they going to do to fix their part in this "preventable error"?

The Quaids say they are not suing for money, they want to force the manufacturer to find a way to make these products highly distinguishable from one another, be it by color, vial size, text size, etc.  If you or your child are ever in the hospital, you have the right to inspect medication before it is given, ask questions if something does not look right.  Luckily this error was caught in time and the babies were given a drug that reverses Heparin before they bled out.

--Contributed by Renee 

Should Vaccinations be a Choice?

Upon school officials realizing that more than 2,000 students in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, did not have the required vaccinations, parents were ordered by a judge to appear with their children at the courthouse to be vaccinated on the spot, or to provide proof of vaccination or risk going to jail.  Parents also had the option to offer an explanation as to why their kids had not been vaccinated.

Children who lack immunizations can be expelled, causing their parents to be brought up on truancy charges, which can also result in a 10-day jail sentence for a first offense and 30 days for a second.

Should parents be put behind bars for not complying with school vaccination requirements?

Smoking in Cars with Kids

I'm the last person I thought would be a proponent of anti-smoking legislation, but I am in this case.

Let me explain. I am a former smoker who feels that some of the current anti-smoking laws are getting COMPLETELY out of hand. I'm all for banning smoking in restaurants and most public places, but I strongly feel that smokers should still be able to smoke in small bars and pubs. The reason? Smokers are the bread-and-butter of these little 'hole in the wall' establishments, and the smoking ban is putting a lot of them right out of business.

But I digress.

California has recently passed legislation that will fine a driver $100.00 if they are caught smoking in their cars with a child present. Twenty other states and municipalties have similar legislation pending.

I love this law. I cringe when I see people smoking with their small kids in the car, inhaling those fumes. Studies have shown that secondhand smoke for children is responsible for more health issues than previously thought.

What are your thoughts? Do you feel that government is going too far with the anti-smoking legislation? Or do you feel, as I do, that a more common sense approach should prevail?

~Contributed by Tracy