Close

Member Login

Logging In
Invalid username or password.

not a member? sign-up now!

Customize Parenting.com to your family and get personalized newsletters.

Home ›
Shawn Bean

Shawn Bean is the executive editor of Parenting Early Years. He lives with his wife and two young sons in Florida, where family time often means fielding questions about body parts, ninjas, cavemen, and lava.

Monday, March 28, 2011 - 16:53
Of Mice and Men
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
This past December, the journal Biology of Reproduction published a study detailing an incredible achievement: scientists had created baby mice using the DNA from two fathers. When asked recently about the experiment, the study’s author, Richard Behringer, Ph.D., said, “It was a weird project, but we wanted to see if it could be done.” (I said the same thing in college after making a Jell-O sofa.) This experiment raises a lot of questions, but I only have one: What would happen if we took mom DNA out of the picture, and created a master race with dad DNA?Read Full Post
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 17:10
Affirmative Action for My Boys
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
I like that everyone I work with believes I’m smart (or at least they lie to my face with a warm, friendly smile). The truth is it’s a big ruse. I don't tell them that I got a 660 the first time I took the SAT. I don't like to think of myself a dim bulb-more like an eco-friendly, energy-saving bulb. In any case, I can only imagine that my two boys have at least a sliver of my limited brainpower. So I was happy to see that last week the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights abandoned its investigation into several colleges it believed were discriminating against female applicants in an effort to manage the student body's gender balance.Read Full Post
Friday, March 11, 2011 - 17:40
Pop-isms, Volume IV
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
Imagination mover: a kid-friendly way of saying lobotomist… Did you know the word "if" is in wife and "us" is in husband? Who has the problem with commitment now, ladies?… A baby monitor is a great way to turn your infant into the most boring reality show ever… When the going gets tough, the tough bribe with Hershey’s Kisses…Read Full Post
Friday, March 4, 2011 - 13:13
The First Lecture
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
Inspired by Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture," I’ve written “The First Lecture,” a guide to life for my boys. To get started, I needed to know what my boys had learned from me so far. One evening, I asked my oldest son, Jackson, “What’s the most helpful thing I’ve ever told you?” Pause. “Go poop at school.”Read Full Post
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - 14:03
Popisms, Volume III
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
It takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow. I can’t believe it took a bag of Skittles to share that sentiment with my 6yo… People who work at Moe’s Burritos must be really good at swaddling babies…. A look at the baby photo album over the weekend inspired talk of having another child. Here’s how to avoid that conversation: Keep all the empty picture slots filled….Read Full Post
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - 16:11
Baby Daddy on Board
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
Every day that doesn’t start with “s,” I commute to work—75 minutes each way. Luckily, it’s not a bumper-to-bumper-palooza where speeds go up and down and fingers go up (and stay up). I can’t listen to music because my son Jackson stuck two CDs and a handful of coins in the CD player (a hard right turn makes the car sound like a lucky slot machine). What do I do during the commute? Nothing. Sweet, silent, Zen-riffic nothing. My Hyundai is a loose change-riddled, Starbucks-stained monastery. It’s funny: everyone talks about how moms need mom time, but no one talks about whether dads need dad time. So for me, those 150 minutes each day are about thinking and decompressing, and little else.Read Full Post
Monday, February 14, 2011 - 16:00
Happy Random Acts of Kindness Week!
by Shawn Bean
Show and Tell
Want the world to be a better place? It all begins with you and your fam—and one very random event happening this month.Read Full Post
Friday, February 11, 2011 - 17:29
The difference between a bully and a d*#!
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
I’m fully aware that bullies can be d$#@s, and d%#@s can be bullies, but they aren’t the same thing. Grand theft and grand larceny are similar (the word ‘grand’), but are not the same. Just like there’s a difference between a girlfriend and a fiancé (several grand), there’s a difference between a bully and a d$#*.Read Full Post
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 18:23
Battle of the Books: Father-Son Edition
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
After the last period was in place and everything was stapled together, Jackson showed me his book. "Look, Dad!" he said proudly. "You've only written one book, and I've written three books. I've written more books than you." This was true. My only book is about kids and babies, all fluffy and snuggly and fuzzy, and here he is, having written multiple books about the most hardcore part of society: war. Even though I'm a rookie, it's only fair that my book be given a fair shot. So let's have a battle of the books, shall we? Let's compare them and see who really has the best one.Read Full Post
Friday, January 28, 2011 - 18:40
Out-cooled
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
About six months ago, Brandy and I decided that Jackson was old enough to pick out his own clothes for school. As it turns out, he's got great taste. Every morning he comes downstairs, and looks like a supercool teenager hit by a shrink ray, like a Kings of Leon action figure (actual size). And we're not shopping at designer kids boutiques. It's just that he has a trendy streak, something I never had.Read Full Post

< previous   next >
awkward pregnancy photos - what-about-me

The Weirdest Maternity Photos Ever

You've got to see these awkward pregnancy pics to believe them