We've all been there... well, sort of. In the flurry of excitement, your toddler—a writhing critter in his own right—is pointing and madly clambering to look at the zoo animals in the enclosure.
You may hoist him into your arms to get a better view of the world's fastest land mammals. What you don't do is dangle him over the edge of the exhibit where he slips 10, 12 feet down, into the lair of cheetahs.
By some miracle someone clambered into the enclosure and your boy found his way back into your arms, shaken and a bit hurt. Still, it could have been worse, so much worse.
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Except now it is. The cats, mercifully, were not interested. Yet now there's talk of endangerment. The Cleveland authorities may press charges against you, the boy's parents.
You should have known better. You weren't thinking straight. You are nothing if not human. And heaven knows, humans sometimes make dumbass choices, but not the kind that put their children's lives at risk.
Are you a criminal? Do you not love your child? Such questions sound pointless to ask now that your son is safe in your arms...
Should law makers use you to send out a strong message to others: Don't do what these parents did? Or was your close call at the zoo that day punishment enough to last you a lifetime?
That's not for me to decide. No matter what happens, and no matter how I wish it were otherwise, I know your story isn't the first of its kind, and it won't be the last.
Alyssa Milano isn't a happy camper. The actress and mom of two had it out with Heathrow Airport on Twitter after her breast milk was confiscated by the London airport.
"@HeathrowAirport just took my pumped breast milk away. 10 ounces. Gone. Not okay," tweeted Milano on 9 April when she was travelling without her seven-month-old daughter, Elizabella Dylan.
Heathrow was quick to remind the American actress of The Rules for bringing liquids onboard flights into the UK—namely, carry-ons of only 100ml are permitted. An amount that isn't practical or sufficient for feeding purposes.
Milano was outraged, and rightly so.
Why should a baby's food be subject to the same rules as shampoo? Short answer: it shouldn't.
These rules are absurdist and even more absurdist is the fact that they have remained in place for so many years in the aftermath of 9/11. Is throwing out breast milk really the most effective way to prevent terrorism?
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While most commenters were supportive of Milano's plight, others were less forgiving.
"And since those are the rules, the source of your outrage is lack of preferential treatment. Get over it," tweeted Michael Bailey @Thespar. "It's a travelers responsibility to know the rules, especially when traveling internationally."
Either she didn't read up on the regulations before her flight, or flagrantly disregarded them as though they didn't pertain to her personally. I think most likely it's a case of the former, and for that reason Milano has my sympathy.
It's unrealistic to expect that moms of babes will either not travel or will not at some point travel without their infant in tow.
Rules may not be there to be broken, but they are certainly there to be publicly challenged and relentlessly debated so that change can be effected in cases as illogical as this.
Heathrow, are you listening?
Image Source: Instagram
We all know that the path to weight loss depends upon healthy eating and regular exercise. Yet for those of us who need more guidance, which diet is most effective when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off? A new study may have the answer.
With rates of obesity at an all-time high, it's no surprise that the weight loss industry is a lucrative (like $2.5 billion lucrative) one that can cost individual users upwards of $50 a month. It's also a competitive one, with no fewer than 32 major "diet" plans out there to choose from.
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But not all diet plans are created equal.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found that only two commercial plans will help you successfully keep off the pounds at the 12-month mark—Weight Watchers (WW), and Jenny Craig.
While Craig showed a 4.9% greater weight loss, WW showed a 2.6% greater weight loss than the control group, which relied solely on printed material or behavioural counselling.
Although those in other low-calorie plans—such Medifast and OPTIFAST—enjoyed similar loss in the short range, participants were likely to pile back on the weight after a year.
The bottom line to shrinking your waistline: most diet plans out there will help you lose weight. But if you want to keep it off for good, it may be worth investing in one of the above plans.
Spill it: Have you had any success with either of these plans?
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