The life of a soldier is difficult and can only be fully understood by one who has served. That is especially true for those military members who have children waiting for their return at home. The time spent away from family is tough.

But perhaps that hurdle is a bit more bearable now. The United States Army instituted a new paternity policy which allows soldier Dads to have 10 consecutive days of administrative leave time for the birth of a child. If stationed state-side, the leave must be taken within 45 days of the birth. If stationed overseas, it must be taken within 60 days of his return home. That 10 day period can be incredibly helpful for a newly expanded family, especially if there were complications with the birth.

On behalf of ProActive Dads everywhere, I want to commend the Army for this new policy and thank them for recognizing the positive impact an involved Dad can have on his family. There are many organizations in the private sector that should learn from your example.

For more info: http://www.military.com/news/article/army-news/new-gi-dads-get-administrative-leave.html?ESRC=army.nl
(Thanks to ProActiveDad "Spc. Scott" for bringing this to our attention!)

The debates normally surrounding dolls usually include no more than two topics: how slutty are they and/or should you let boys play with them? Well that topic list just grew by one!

"bebe Gloton" is a new product that allows young girls to simulate breastfeeding. It will pretend to be hungry and can only be calmed by the act of breastfeeding. Of course, since the doll is intended for very young girls it doesn't actually require breast milk. (Thank goodness!)

This is such a strange concept that even now, weeks after the initial public relations nightmare began for the doll and its manufacturer (Spanish toymaker Berjuan), I still find it difficult to formulate my own opinions succinctly. And in total honesty, it took weeks to even decide if this was a bloggable topic for us. Breastfeeding is and should be a Mom-dominated topic.

When parents are deciding whether or not to breastfeed their children, of course that should be a discussion between Mom and Dad with input from their doctor. But teaching a daughter to breastfeed or explaining the act of breastfeeding is really a girl thing. No issue here. But then it dawned on me that this is about more than just breastfeeding. This is about a toy, its symbolism and psychological message to a young girl, and how it might help craft her thoughts on motherhood, family, and children.

So where does that leave Dad? Quite plainly: right in the middle of the discussion. As Dads, we should make sure we are giving our children -boys or girls- the toys we believe appropriate. Children are influenced by everything they encounter and toys such as this are dealing with issues far beyond the reasoning and thought maturity of a 7-year-old girl. She has no idea what it means to really be a Mother, but this doll is strongly pushing her to desire a child. Could it be an element in a decision to have teenage sex? Unprotected teenage sex? Unprotected teenage sex with the sole goal of having a baby? Unprotected teenage sex with the sole goal of having a baby just to relive that fun experience of breastfeeding? Perhaps not such a straight line from doll to Mommyhood, but mix this doll with a few Bratz (whore look-alike "action" figures, in every sense of the word) might help promote a whole lot of promiscuous behavior.

But I'm just one Dad with one opinion and as my wife and I discovered last night over dinner, I'm an old fuddy duddy: I used the phrase "I'm the bomb" followed up by "rad".

So what's your opinion?

The English government has just notified neurologists to be on the lookout for a fatal neurological disease in patients who have recently received the experimental swine flu vaccine!

As has been discussed in various non-mainstream media outlets, specifically podcasts like No Agenda, a similar vaccine was used in the United States in 1976 to combat a flu outbreak and had disastrous results:

--More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu.
--500 cases of Guillen-Barre Syndrome (GBS) were detected.
--The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.
--The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.
--The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.

Governments around the world have authorized their doctors to administer an experimental, insufficiently tested swine flu "vaccine" to their patients. Despite the virus' obvious targeting of healthy adolescents and early 20-somethings, governments are prioritizing the vaccine for infants, the elderly, and health care workers. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this order is that the vaccine hasn't been tested on infants! They literally have no idea what the effects could be.

But now scientists are concerned that the vaccine may repeat the same horrible effects as it did in 1976.

GEE, YA THINK?!

Article on Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206807/Swine-flu-jab-link-killer-nerve-disease-Leaked-letter-reveals-concern-neurologists-25-deaths-America.html

Kyle Graddy is allergic to peanuts so he's never been able to enjoy the American pasttime and fun family time that can be experienced at a professional baseball game. The old song phrase which demands, "buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks" can actually have a deadly meaning for him.

So our compliments go out to the Birmingham Barons in Alabama which hosted a peanut-free game night so that kids like Kyle could enjoy something they've been prohibited from attending.

The full CNN article can be found here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/10/peanut.allergies/index.html
And check out our previous blog post about protecting kids with allergies here:
http://www.proactivedads.com/index.php/blog/46-protecting-kids-from-allergens

The man in this picture is Frank Hatley. Frank Hatley has no children. Never had kids. Never been married. But he has been in debt, homeless, and eventually jailed. He was also responsible for child support payments for 13 years for a child that wasn't his. And even after a DNA test in 2000 proved the child wasn't his, he was still ordered to pay child support. Why? Because he signed a consent form when the case first started...13 years prior. The amount he was ordered to pay was $16,000!

This case doesn't get any better for Mr. Hatley, until today, when Cook County Superior Court Judge Dane Perkins signed an order stating, "defendant is no longer responsible for paying any amount of child support."

Its hard for me to imagine that anyone in America thinks the family court system is fair or adequate. The personnel are ridiculously overworked, over regulated, and under paid. Mothers are unjustly favored in most cases and Dads are too often denied their rights. Mr. Hatley's case is not alone. There are thousands of American men forced to pay child support to unethical women for children they did not create.

For more on Mr. Hatley's case and the full article in CNN, click here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/11/georgia.child.support/index.html

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