Estes Americanos...

Kids treated like Smokers on Planes

Last month a mom traveling with four kids, including an autistic son and a daughter with cerebral palsy, were detained in Phoenix and not permitted to board their connecting flight to Seattle because her kids were unruly on the previous flight.

However you feel about that incident, a recent study says that 85% of those polled believe that airlines should have a section reserved for adults traveling with children. When I first heard this statistic, I was initially indignant. Our society calls for tolerance of all types of people. What about kids? Should they be segregated like smokers, their cries the equivalent of carcinogenic second-hand smoke? The quality of air travel has declined enough without being forced to sit every flight in the back of the plane next to the smelly bathrooms.

Besides, one of the things I love about air travel is being mixed in with business travelers, teens, and senior citizens. Not being segregated is good for kids. How else will they learn to behave in "mixed" company? It's the same problem I have with dining out. If kids don't do it they'll never know. Ditto for restaurants that limit kid's menu options to fried finger foods that never require them to expand their palate or use a knife. At some point we have to civilize them.

Rachel Campos-Duffy for ParentDish

Is Parmalat really Milk?

So this is a weird one. When we travel we always bring along Parmalat for our toddler. It's much easier, obviously to transport and deal with on the road as it's vacuum-sealed and doesn't need to be refrigerated (until it's opened of course). Upon a recent trip to Central Park Zoo, a friend said someone had once told her that Parmalat isn't really milk.

The friend's acquaintance who made this claim was vegetarian (as is our family) and my friend was actually commenting on how people make such strange distinctions. The acquaintance refused to drink Parmalat because it wasn't "real milk." My understanding is that Parmalat is, indeed, real milk, it's just packaged differently, and perhaps treated a little differently to ensure it's safe to be packaged in a way that allows it to not need to be refrigerated (until opened).

So what is the deal? A recent trip to the Parmalat website upped my curiosity factor. They refer to the milk they distribute as "milk products." They also call it "ESL milk" which means Extended Shelf Life--not English as a Second Language. With regard to the whole vegetarian thing, while we don't necessarily eat meat, a good deal of us do drink milk--Parmalat included. Vegans don't do any animal products whatsoever, but quite a few vegetarians do.

Jennifer Jordan for ParentDish

Abandoning your Children now Legal in Nebraska

Every state in the U.S. now has what is called a "safe haven" law. Intended to prevent unwanted babies from being abandoned just any old place, the law allows desperate parents to leave their babies at hospitals with no questions asked.

Until recently, Nebraska was the only state without a safe haven law. But about a month ago, they passed their own version and added a unique twist. Unlike other states who are trying to protect newborn babies with the law, Nebraska wants to protect all unwanted children and therefore allows a minor of any age to be abandoned at a safe haven hospital. What's more, the law doesn't even specify that it must be a parent who abandons the child. Which means the babysitter, the neighbor or anyone else can surrender custody of a child.

Adam Pertman, a frequent critic of safe-haven laws is especially critical of this one. "Whether the kid is disabled or unruly or just being a hormonal teenager, the state is saying: 'Hey, we have a really easy option for you,'" he says.

Sandy Maple for ParentDish

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