Mar
31
2015

Toddler Breaks Archery Records

Take that, Katniss Everdeen!

Toddler Breaks Archery Records

Archery_toddler

Just shy of her third birthday, a little girl named Dolly Shivani Cherukuri has broken archery records in her country for firing 36 arrows at a target five metres away, and then again at a distance of seven metres. The feat has made her the youngest Indian to "score more than 200 points at a trial event."

“My daughter achieved the feat we have been dreaming… I can’t express in words how happy my family is,” said Dolly's father, Cherukuri Satyanarayana about his daughter's success.

RELATED: Amazing Video of School Kids Breaking Lego World Record

Yet the plot thickens (and gets a tad worrisome) when you learn she was trained in the sport "from birth" following the death of her brother, who was an archery superstar in his own right. From here, it smells like a vicarious victory for dad.


Though some have disputed Dolly's actual age, there is no denying that her accomplishment is staggering. Yet it begs the question: how young is too young to groom a child in a given activity?

In this country, many kids are fitted with skates and skis from the moment they can walk. While many parents may not have their sights set on the NHL draft, there does seems to be this push to give kids a head start on certain sports. 

You tell me: Is it exploitative to engage a toddler or preschooler in a given activity or sport?  

Image Source: YouTube

Mar
30
2015

Pregnant Meteorologist Addresses Haters On Air

Who died and made you the fashion police?

Pregnant Meteorologist Addresses Haters On Air

Haters gonna hate. To some degree, that's par for the course for any media personality. Still, hating on a pregnant woman who tells you the weather forecast? That's hitting a record low, as Global News meteorologist Kristi Gordon found out.

Even though she pleaded with viewers early on in her second pregnancy to "be nice" about her maternity wardrobe, that didn't stop several viewers from sending her hate mail.

RELATED: 15 Things You should NEVER Say to a Pregnant Woman

"Nowhere on North America TV have we seen a weather reader so gross as you," read Gordon. "Your front end looks like the Hindenburg, and your rear end looks like a brick (fill in the blank) house. We now turn off Globel [sic]."



"Buy some decent clothes and have some respect for your unborn child," read another letter. "You're not the first pregnant woman. OMG." Others commented that Gordon should wear "looser tops."

Notwithstanding the fact that one of the haters couldn't even spell Global, making their own ignorance the laughingstock of the network, Gordon admitted that on some level the words still hurt.

The fact that Gordon received not one but several hateful missives illustrates that this is not the work of one random crazy, but a collective, ingrained disgust with the pregnant form.

Anyone who has carried a baby to term knows there is no disguising a substantial bump in those final weeks. And why should they? After all, pregnancy is beautiful. Have some respect for the unborn child, indeed.

How is what a meteorologist is wearing anyone's business, anyway? Since when did telling the weather become a fashion parade? The blue screen is not a catwalk. Do male meteorologists face the same criticism for wearing an ugly tie on air? I should hope not.

Of course TV hosts should make valiant efforts to look presentable, but what's up with this expectation for female meteorologists to look and dress like supermodels?

Gordon is a skilled professional, after all, with two science degrees. She can wear a paper bag for all I care. She's reporting on the weather, not Fashion Week.  

 

Mar
27
2015

Uncut Childbirth Videos: TMI YouTube Trend?

Cameras are going there...

Uncut Childbirth Videos: TMI YouTube Trend?

For most of us, childbirth is an intimate and intensely personal event. We are wary of letting our partners see the goings on "down there," never mind thousands of strangers. But for some women, the desire to be candid and transparent has convinced them to post their labour videos publicly.
 
Such was the case for British mom, Gemma Vaughan, who shared graphic footage of her son Freddie's birth on YouTube. The 25 year-old was moved to record a no holds barred 39-minute account of birth, which has been viewed more than 16,000 times. She did the same with her second child, Oliver. The videos are part of a growing trend, just one of some 1.3 million such videos on YouTube. In a way, it's an extension of the camcorder age in which parents record a baby's every significant "first" — including his first breath — except in this case the audience is the world.

Vaughan wanted to be as upfront as possible, as she feels shows like One Born Every Minute give a sanitized, highly edited version of labour.
 
 
And health care professionals don't always give moms-to-be the whole truth and nothing but the truth when it comes to childbirth and its aftermath.

"I attended birth classes and the midwives admitted they often kept the more negative aspects of pregnancy and childbirth from mothers because they didn’t want to scare them," said Vaughan. "My argument is that at least if you’re informed about what’s coming, you won’t be as scared when it does happen."

The response to her video has been overwhelmingly supportive, though time will tell how her children will feel about seeing their moms give birth.

"Do I feel funny that men at my work might see me giving birth? Not really," admits Vaughan. "No one has ever said anything negative and if they do, well, that’s their opinion. The positive really outweighs the negative for me."

The birth of my son was a magical moment in my life. It was also a highly vulnerable, and not exactly dignified moment. Filming the proceedings would have felt like a voyeuristic PSA, and that was totally not for me. Yet I admire these women for putting themselves out there for the greater good.

You tell me: Ever watched a live birth video? Is it TMI or akin to a public service?