More from the previous posts ...

For a peek at more frivolous news ...if you can think of anything more frivolous than boobs on men ... how about this story about how parents dig into the kiddies goodies?

For the first time researchers have counted up the fat consumed by adults living with children and compared it to the amount eaten by those living in child-free homes.

They found parents eat an extra 5 grams of fat daily - including 1.7 grams of the most unhealthy saturated fat linked to heart disease. That's around one-quarter of the total 'permitted' amount of fat an adult should be eating a day - and equivalent to a pepperoni pizza a week in saturated fat alone.

Living with children also means you are more likely to eat foods such as cheese, ice cream, beef, pizza and salty snacks, says a report in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Well ... yeah ...

And at the same time, a Canadian study has found that, "parents are not leading by example when it comes to promoting physical activity and good snacking habits in their kids."

Oops.

The survey found that only 40 per cent of the 477 parents questioned thought they were good role models for physical activity. It found that parents are not only doing less physical activity than their children, but also that most of their physical activity was gained doing household chores.

ONLY 40%? That means 60% of parents are doing MORE physical activity than their kids. I'd say that's pretty good.

Talking percentages, 31% of parents in the US and Canada see themselves as parental wimps.

Dr. Shari Barkin, chief of general pediatrics at Tennessee's Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt found 31 percent of about 5,000 parents surveyed said they 'never' or 'sometimes' perceived their methods to be effective.

... 'Disciplining is something we do daily as parents but if this many parents think it is ineffective, it highlights the need to discuss other way to teach children how to resolve conflicts,' she said.

Once again ... yeah.

And for the end result of some spoiled-bratdom, how about this letter for advice?

Dear Dr. Gail: I am having problems with my fiancé’s parents. They aren’t as generous as my parents are. I resent this, and now that we are planning our wedding, they haven’t been very cooperative helping financially. This makes my blood boil.

I defend my parents in that they should not have to pay for the entire wedding. Now, it looks like the only way we can pull this off is if my fiancé picks up the financial slack. This, in turn, will take money away from our life together. Yet, only three years ago, when my fiancé’s parents married off their daughter, they took out a $20,000 loan. I feel they are throwing a wrench into my wedding plans, yet they say they are happy we are tying the knot. They know how I feel. My fiancé doesn’t seem upset with them at all, and this has caused arguments between us. What should I do? — Tied Up in Knots

Thankfully, Dr. Gail makes it unnecessary for me to track this girl down and slap her silly. After some very sensible comments, she reaches this bottom line:

People who are grown-up enough to get married are also grown-up enough to manage their finances. This includes paying for the wedding.

And with that, my work here is finished ...

for a few hours.