'Tis The Season For Parents And Kids To Be Scammed

As the parent of a 16-year-old (the TeenWonk) high school junior that has a 4.35 G.P.A., we've been getting a number of so-called "nominations" for inclusion in this or that "national honor roll," "who's-who book," and, of course, the United States Achievement Academy.

The "nominations" were made by her well-intentioned (but unknowing) teachers, who think that they are doing the kids a favor by so "honoring" them with inclusions in these various national honor rolls and "who's-who books."

What the teachers are doing, instead, is a (unintentional) disservice to their students. They aren't just setting the kids' parents up to spend money in order to buy these who's-who books, but worse, far worse, the teachers are setting the kids and parents up to receive a flood of junk mail.

Sadly, many teachers and parents don't know that most (and quite possibly all) of these "honor" outfits are scams.

Go here and read this very illuminating piece by a New York City doctor who did a little homework on these companies. Then read this little eye-opening followup.

And then take a look at how the Better Business Bureau of Kentucky describes the so-called "United States Achievement Academy." Be sure to scroll-down and see the list of "other names" that this business operates under.

Vanity Publisher Indeed.

Helicopter Parents Vs. Stinger Teachers

When are "involved parents" too involved? In one Maryland district, the fur is flying between some parents and a number of teachers:

The Baltimore Sun ran an article on Tuesday about parental involvement taken to the extreme. The trigger was an annual survey by the Howard County Education Association that shows a majority of teachers say they have been subjected to harassment, and most of the harassment is done by parents.

You should really read the whole thing and follow their links.

Smaller Than The Average Baby?

CNN has something for new parents to chew on:

There are few issues that preoccupy new parents more than this: Is my baby growing normally? When the percentiles seem off-kilter, we worry -- but experts say there's rarely reason for concern.

For starters, healthy kids come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and they don't grow at a steady rate, either.

Your child can look very different from your friends' kids -- or from his own siblings at the same age -- and still be completely normal.

What influences growth

At birth: A baby's size when he's born is based partly on genetics. Firstborns tend to be smaller than subsequent children because the uterus is smaller and tighter in first-time moms.

Boys are larger than girls, and multiples, boys and girls, are smaller than average.

Some environmental factors that can influence a newborn's size:

I've always found it intriguing how much my seventh-grade students physically change over the course of a year.