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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.

Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 12:42
The Glue Stick That Binds
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
I’m not ashamed to admit I love doing arts and crafts with my kids—although I have reason to be: I come from a long line of carpenters, men with calloused hands and gritty fingernails. Luckily, my parents appreciated my artisan efforts. My father was genuinely complimentary when I turned up in a vest made from zebra-print fabric and rhinestones. That’s what happens when you give an 11-year-old pro-wrestling fan a $20 bill at Jo-Ann Fabrics.Read Full Post
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - 18:37
Ire Starter
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
In our world of SPF 85 and toddler leashes and backseat sunshades, have we taken the life out of our kids lives? Sure, we live in an increasingly complicated world, one that requires that they have more rules, more boundaries, more lines in the sand. That also leaves many people murmuring about how it used to be. It's a time period we seem to hold with warm, wistul nostalgia. How It Used To Be.Read Full Post
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - 11:53
Fit Dad
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
It's funny: The biggest thing that comes between dads playing sports with their kids is sports. Show me a dad on the weekend, and I'll show you a guy sunk into a sofa, remote control sitting nearby like a small lapdog, his eyes glued to the leather/rubber projectile moving up and down the field/court. In these moments, the dad is oblivious to the fact that he has kids, or that he's even fertile. When his kid looks for some attention, the dad involves the child by becoming the most boring sports professor in the history of sportsdom ("You see, Benny, if he stop dribbling the basketball it's called traveling."). I watch dads do it, and I'm guilty of it myself.Read Full Post
Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - 17:53
A Ken For All Seasons
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
Here at the Pop Culture dadology laboratories, a sprawling space between the men's restroom and the color copier at Parenting and Babytalk headquarters, we not only examine people in the dad universe, but those on the fringe of father culture who affect our daditude. Which leads me to today's subject: Ken, Barbie's boy toy.Read Full Post
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - 15:56
You just got Nicked!!!
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
When I got home from work, there were two little shoes, one slightly bigger than the other, outside the front door. I learned from Brandy that Jackson’s class had learned about St. Nicholas that day. St. Nicolas was the original Santa Claus, a bearded bishop in 4th century Greece who left candy in the children’s shoes. Keeping with the spirit of the day, I put a few Hershey’s kisses and a candy cane in each Sketcher. But that wasn’t enough for me. So I wrote them a note from St. Nicholas. But even that wasn’t enough. So I put the note on St. Nicholas letterhead.Read Full Post
Thursday, December 9, 2010 - 17:04
Cut to the chase
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
Circumcision. That's right I said it. Circumcision. Cir. Cum. Ci. Sion. That's about all you can say about circumcision without starting a fight. It has become the hot button of all hot buttons for moms and dads. It has surpassed scheduled c-sections, drinking while pregnant, silent births, gay adoption, vaccines, surrogacy, and in vitro. Strangely, in the world of parenting, circumcision has become our 9/11. Our Palestinian state. Our affirmative action. Our Roe vs. Wade. It is a topic that cannot simply be discussed. It must be debated. It must be fought over. It must put us at odds with our friends and family at the dinner table. Even if you aren't on a side, the topic demands that you grab a weapon and stand a post.Read Full Post
Monday, December 6, 2010 - 15:55
Apps for the iDad
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
Parents—and fathers, in particular—have plenty of technology at their fingertips. In fact, with a little research I discovered several apps, products and services aimed at making us better, faster, more productive fathers. And we could use the high-tech help. Simply going online and hitting a few computer keys won't improve a man's parenting skills. Although I must admit, a few computer keys have captured the storyline of some past relationships. (Control? Escape! Return.)Read Full Post
Wednesday, December 1, 2010 - 16:25
My breasts deserve paternity leave
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
When I came across a story about a dad getting time off work to breastfeed, I thought it was the premise of some strange David Lynch flick for the forthcoming OWN Network (working title: Not Without My Nipples). It was in fact a news item out of Europe. The short version: earlier this year Pedro Manuel Roca Alvarez, a new dad in Galicia, Spain, fought a law stating that men should not be given short breaks from work to care for their newborns if the mother is self-employed. The European Union Court of Justice backed Pedro up, stating that the current law "caused an unjustified discrimination on grounds of sex." And so Pedro and thousands of other Euro dads have since been granted "breastfeeding leave."
Read Full Post
Monday, November 29, 2010 - 19:01
Fat Dad
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
For a long time after our first baby arrived, I looked like an extra in a Papa John's commercial. It took six years, 430 mozzarella sticks, and 1,200 never-even-attempted crunches for me to realize this simple truth: be a good dad, and you'll be active and motivated. A fat dad looks at a playground and sees the park bench. An active dad looks at a playground and sees a race to the monkey bars in 3, 2.... We need more active dads. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 19.6 percent in 2008. Is it a coincidence that the home computer arrived around 1980?Read Full Post
Thursday, November 18, 2010 - 18:31
Mad Mentor
by Shawn Bean
Pop Culture
When Mad Men debuted in 2007, it was beloved as much for its sharp characters and storylines as for depicting the rather boorish culture of the 1960s. As Wikipedia puts it, Mad Men highlights “cigarette smoking, drinking, sexism, feminism, adultery, homophobia, racism and anti-Semitism.” It’s the perfect dramatic series for raising a family. Take, for instance, Betty Francis, Don’s ex-wife, who smokes nonchalantly through her pregnancies. But don’t blame her; medical science had nothing against it at the time.Read Full Post

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