"CBI" wrote in message
...

"JG" wrote in message
t...

"Elizabeth Reid" wrote in message
om...

...It should be *ZERO*. How in the world could an otherwise
competent
parent .....

JG - the fallacy of your whinings is showing through.

First you whine about the AAP treating parents like idiots.
Then you whine that some of them are idiots.

Maybe there is some connection?
Perhaps the AAP is not being so unreasonable after all?

Many parents ARE idiots (incompetent). I believe the number, and
percent, of
"idiot parents" is increasing. A few reasons are obvious: Many
parents these days have (or had) less-than-ideal (and/or often absent)
parents
themselves ... A crappy (*overall*) public education system that turns
out future parents (and some teenagers who are *already* parents!) who
can't think (but who *think* they can think and who feel good about
themselves!) ... A culture (read: media) that continues to endorse and
encourage/promote self-centeredness--ME first, kid second ...
Politicians (and bureaucrats), intent on keeping their jobs, giving (or
trying to) all things to all people (even those who
neither need nor want to partake of gubmnt's largesse!), and have
thereby instilled a sense of both dependency and entitlement among much
of
the populace (why think for yourself when there's someone--some
bureaucrat--all too ready and willing to do it for you?) ... A federal
gubmnt that's made a habit of bailing out/subsidizing all sorts of
entities, including other gubmnts (e.g., cities) and corporations (e.g.,
Amtrak) as well as individuals (e.g., farmers) who DO screw up ... In
short, can you honestly deny that personal responsibility is a waning
virtue? But I digress...

As I've asserted before (previous threads), it's simply not possible to
educate a lot of idiots (the "uneducable"), no matter how hard one might
try. You can lead a horse (parent) to water...

The AAP apparently believes *all* parents are idiots, and thus
recommends pediatricians treat them as such (e.g., by asking MYOB
questions such as whether there are any guns in the house). As far as
head-flattening is concerned, if it's to the point where it's noticeable
(i.e., of medical concern) you'll have a hard time convincing me that
the parents themselves don't/haven't noticed it and taken some "common
sense"--intuitive--measures (such as those recommended in the article)
to alleviate/correct it.

If a pediatrician wants to cover his/her ass (against "failure to warn"
lawsuits), I'd suggest he/she simply put all his/her (i.e., the AAP's)
"advice" in a "new parent" booklet that can be given to all
new/expectant moms. Hand out an addendum regarding the importance of
repositioning infants to avoid smushed heads, if you wish.