But the children weren’t the ones running wild. Some of their parents were out-of-control. As a first time mom, I’m super sensitive to a lot of things, but this time, I think most moms would agree with me. These parents needed to be spanked! Two fathers chain-smoked near the baby swing set. A grandmother yelled at her granddaughter to stop crying. The little girl was wailing, because she accidentally dropped her ice cream. Heck, I might shed a tear, too, depending on how hungry I am! A woman took over the tire swing and dropped the F-bomb numerous times on the kids who were nice enough to push her grown behind on a children’s attraction. A little boy later ran up on me and asked if I had seen his mother; I wondered why his mom didn’t see him. Another child asked if I could pick her up and put her on the swing. Again, I wondered, where is your mother? A mother of a different child mocked her son for whining and told him to man up instead of asking what was wrong. A group of parents sat on a bench and drank (what I assumed was alcohol) out of a brown paper bag.

Oh, I almost forgot, a girl that looked about 10-years-old and was wearing makeup and boots with a small heel called another child a dirty whore.

I tried my hardest not to judge and intervene. I know I probably rolled my eyes and scrunched up my forehead. Luckily, my daughter, at the precious age of one, had no idea what was happening. Her only care in the world was swinging high into the sky while her mama wondered what kind of world we lived in.

I kept my (sometimes sarcastic) mouth shut. I knew these parents wouldn’t like what I had to say and a fistfight would erupt on the playground. I decided to keep my daughter out of harm’s way. The next day, we went to a different playground at the same park—one geared toward younger children. I was back in my safe haven of parents swapping stories about that month’s milestones and posting picture to Facebook and Instagram. When a little boy threw a chewed up apple that hit me and then dripped its juices all over the slide, I told him not to do it again. His mother swooped in with paper towels and apologies. And she scolded her son for his actions.

When I returned to work, I told the story to an older employee and asked her what happened to the philosophy, “It takes a village to raise a child.” She responded and said some of the villagers now have guns.

Would you check the misbehaving parents? Would you immediately make an exit?

Not long ago, Heather Hopson was a television host in the Cayman Islands. Today, she’s writing a different kind of story as a new mom for her new blog Diary of a First Time Mom. You can follow her as she transitions to motherhood and dating with a permanent plus one on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Ingredients
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) butter, melted
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 loaf brioche or challah (a French bread loaf can a used) sliced into 1 1/2 inches thick slices
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup whole milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
(optional) maple syrup and powdered sugar for topping

Directions
1. In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
2. Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping if necessary.
3. Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices.
4. Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices.
5. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours.
6. In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
7. Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don’t dry it out completely.
8. Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
6 cups chopped chard leaves, (about 1 small bunch) or spinach

Directions
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard (or spinach) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

The rumors went into overdrive earlier this week when she canceled a concert on her Mrs. Carter world tour due, allegedly, to exhaustion and dehydration. But E! says it’s confirmed the pregnancy with numerous sources and Beyonce is indeed expecting another addition to her family with husband Jay-Z. She’d said in an interview earlier this year that she wanted to give her year-old daughter a sibling, and it looks like Blue Ivy will be stepping up to the plate a little sooner than we thought. Congratulations to the couple!

The truth is, doctors have long known bed rest, which includes everything from a doing less physical activity to quitting her job and actually staying in bed, isn’t a definite solution for high-risk pregnancies. It’s seen as an appropriate suggestion because at first glance, there’s no real harm in a woman lowering her level of activity during her pregnancy. Besides, there’s no real treatment that reliably prevents premature birth, an answer that isn’t comforting to expecting parents. Bed rest is often linked to dangerous blood clots. OB/GYNs across the country have called for more definite research on the efficacy of bed rest.

In one study, when doctors prescribed bed rest for patients, a whopping 37 percent experienced premature births versus the 17 percent who did when they continued their normal activities. While experts hesitate to blame bed rest (here defined as no work, sex or physical activity) for the premature births, they do say the study indicates that it isn’t a cure.

Stress during pregnancy has been linked to premature births and bed rest alleviates that. But one possible reason for the spike in premature births for women on bed rest may actually be the stress it causes, posits Mommyish writer Maria Guido. With all that free time, what’s a woman to do but sit and worry? While more research is needed to determine whether doctors should keep putting moms on bed rest, women are advised to talk to their doctors about the pros and cons.

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