Kathy's Chaos: Loving the Olympics

I wanted to be Nadia Comaneci when I was little

When I was a young girl, I dreamed of being Nadia Comaneci. You may recall that Nadia was the first female gymnast to score a perfect 10 in the 1976 Summer Olympics. She also went on to win two gold medals in the 1980 Summer Olympics. I was obsessed with her. I got a leotard. I lined up the picnic table benches in my backyard and pretended they were a balance beam. I practiced back bends and hand stands. However, much to my dismay, I later discovered that one cannot be five feet 10 inches tall as I am and be an Olympic gymnast. I could dream though, couldn’t I? Now my children are at about the age I was when my Olympic dreams began. We have been watching the current London Olympic games as much as we can. There are several things I love …

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Kathy's Chaos

Kathy's Chaos: 'Jersey Shore' Firsthand on 'Dumb People Sunday'

Lots of teachable moments in Seaside Heights

My husband had the day off, and we were looking for something different to do. New York City? Too far. Philadelphia? Too far. The kids wanted to go to the boardwalk. How about a different boardwalk? How about Seaside Heights? I couldn’t recall the last time I had been there, probably more than 20 years ago. We looked online to see what kind of rides they have and what time they opened. Roller coasters and noon. Perfect, let’s go! I can honestly say that we didn’t start the day with the intention to seek out any MTV "Jersey Shore" television show cast members. I admit I have watched the show, which is set in Seaside Heights. I know who the people are. I know they work in one of the T-shirt stores there. But I didn’t know that they are …

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Kathy's Chaos: Summer's Here!

Don’t forget how lucky we are to live where we live

It seems like just yesterday I was hoping for a snow day. And now, Memorial Day is upon us. Last weekend, we were not among the many who attended Bamboozle, my kids are a little too little and I am a little too old. Instead, we hit the Belmar beach on Saturday afternoon and thanks to a breeze from the right direction, got to listen to Bamboozle for free. We ran into a friend on the beach, there with her cousin, who was visiting from Bergen County. We were introduced and the cousin said something like, “It so great that you can do this all the time.” She is so right. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to live to where we live. I grew up in Middlesex County, so I know how lucky we are. I think if you grew up here, like my kids, you don't …

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Court: Striking Your Child Once in Face May Be Abusive

Judges say parents go too far if the blow leaves a handprint or bruising.

  A parent who strikes a child in the face hard enough to leave fingerprints and bruising has used excessive force and can be put on a list of abusive parents, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday. In their 16-page opinion, judges Victor Ashrafi and Douglas Fasciale reviewed two other cases in which a parent who slapped a teenager and another parent who struck her child on the shoulder were found not to have used excessive force. But in this case, the judges held that striking the child in the face, and with enough force to leave a mark the following morning, crossed the line. "Slapping the face of an eight-year-old child with sufficient force to leave a hand imprint and cause bruising goes 'beyond what is proper and reasonable,'" the court…

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Mel Sharples

1:56 pm on Thursday, April 18, 2013

The ONLY thing slapping your kid teaches them is to slap their kid when they're an adult. That's it, that's all, nothing else.   more ›

In My Daughter's Eyes, A Story of Autism

An editor's personal journey.

This story is not mine to own. It could belong to you. It could belong to your sister, your friend, your neighbor, the waitress at Jersey Boys, the bank president, the school principal, the police officer directing traffic.  In New Jersey, the story belongs to all of us. The findings of a federal study released last week show that one in 49 children, and one in 29 boys, are diagnosed with autism in New Jersey. Nationally, one in 88 children are diagnosed annually.  Autism is a disease that gives itself freely and without prejudice. There is no way to protect your child from it; no diet or vaccine that will prevent it. It is, as experts will tell you, pervasive. Autism has been an unwanted guest in my house for 11 years. It has attached …

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