“I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me.” So says a T-shirt by JC Penney that got the retailer in hot water.
After the $9.99 T-shirt caused an uproar across social media, JC Penney decided to remove the shirt from its website.
Although many view the T-shirt as harmless fun, other parents expressed shock that the department store would sell a shirt like it.
“How is it funny to promote to young girls that what we value in them is their looks, not their brains?” tweeted blogger named Gumbinner .
The argument goes that girls in school already face enough pressure to be pretty rather than smart without a dumb T-shirt undermining their intelligence.
We parents of course have ultimate veto. By being selective and discerning about what clothes we buy for our kids, retailers will have no choice but to sit up and listen to the consumer. Looks like that's happening already, with JC Penney choosing to discontinue the offending T-shirt.
Do you think parents overreacted about the "cute and sassy" T-shirt? Personally, I wouldn't mind if JC made one in my size that said, "Too pretty to do housework"...
An Alaska mom who punished her adopted Russian son by squirting hot sauce into his mouth was given a 180-day jail sentence and a $2,500 fine.
As a ploy to get on the Dr. Phil TV show, 36-year-old Jessica Beagley made an 8-minute video of herself punishing the 7-year-old boy after he lied about getting into trouble at school (he was sword-fighting with pencils).
She then subjected him to a cold shower. According to her defence, Beagley was trying to get help for her son through the television show. But prosecution didn't buy it.
And even though District Court Judge David Wallace described Beagley's actions as "premeditated" and "gratuitous", he failed to convict her to the maximum 1-year prison term with a $10,000 fine.
With her police officer husband at her side, Beagley claimed it was her "most important job to love and nurture her children", and that being a good mother to her meant teaching children right from wrong.
Beagley's twin sons had been adopted 2008, after spending three years in an orphanage. Prior to that they'd lived in a shack and slept on shelves in an armoire. While one of the boys had adjusted to his new home in Alaska, the other still exhibited behavioural problems, including lying and urinating on the floor.
Beagley's defence suggested that she had resorted to the unconventional punishments after spankings, time-outs and restricting television proved ineffective.
Defence attorney William Ingaldson contended Beagley had reached out to the Dr. Phil show for help. The incident that sparked the videotaped punishment occurred at school.
Do you think the twins should be taken into care? Or is the hot sauce simply an extension of washing out a child's mouth out with soap -- once a common punishment for swearing?
It's elementary, dear Watson. After six years together, Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr. and his missus, Susan, are expecting their first child!
His rep told People.com, “Robert and Susan could not be more excited over this news. They can’t wait to welcome this new baby into their wonderful family.”
The 46-year-old Iron Man, who already has a 17-year-old son, Indio, with ex-wife, Deborah Falconer, expressed a gender preference this time around.
“I think we should probably try to have a girl because I don’t want another male entity to have to compete. I don’t want Indio to feel there’s another boy in my life."
Looks like Downey Jr. has well and truly cleaned up his act. So nice to see someone get a second chance...
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