Have you ever picked up your kid from school and asked them, “How was your day?” and they responded with a one-word answer such as “Good,” “Fine,” or “OK”? This all-too-common interaction can be disheartening because, as a parent, you want to know what your child did during the 6 hours you were apart.

Let’s be honest: not every day can be “fine.” There are probably some days that weren’t so great that got glossed over. Or, some beautiful days, but your child didn’t feel like doing the emotional or mental labor of recalling everything.

Yamel Belen, a mother of 5 kids ages 7 to 25, who lives in Tampa, Florida, was tired of hearing the same old responses from her kids, so she started asking open-ended questions to get the ball rolling. She shared her conversation starters on TikTok, and the view has really resonated with parents, earning 740,000 views.

“I really hated getting the ‘It was good’ response to my after-school questioning,” Belen, a registered nurse originally from Brooklyn, told The New York Post. “I wanted to know everything about their lives at school and felt like I was doing something wrong [as a mother].”

“So, I started asking questions that would give me better responses,” she added.

@themotherhoodkit

I really hated getting the “it was good” reaponse to my after school questionining! I wanted to know more, all of it….so I started digging for questions that would give me better responses. Try these and let me know how it goes! . . . . . #afterschoolroutine #schoolpickupfun #schoolpickipline #motherhoodseries #motherhoodkit #motherhoodlife #motherhoodunplugged #bondingwithkids #openendedquestions #motherdaughterrelationships

Here are 5 questions that Belen says will open up some conversation with your kids:

“What made you smile today?”

“Who did you sit next to at lunch?”

“Did you see any acts of kindness today? If so, what were they?”

“Did you see any acts of people being unkind, and if so, what did that look like?”

“What part of the day made you super happy?”

“Remember, these are conversation starters, so they’re meant to have open-ended responses, Which leads you to better conversations with your kids,” Belen added.

Belen says that the conversations opened up the lines of conversation with her elementary school daughters, ages 7 and 9, and her 17-year-old son. “Now I’m getting all the tea,” Belen joked.

Dana Basu, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice at everGROW therapy, agrees with Belen in that asking “How was your day?” will probably cause your kids to draw a blank.

“I love asking my kids specific questions about their school day, which helps point their attention to specific moments,” Dr. Basu tells Verywell Family. “I find that this allows them to be better able to recall stories and moments from their day with me.”

Elizabeth Manly, who currently runs the website Discovery Play With Littles, adds that parents should set an example by sharing about their days, too. Parents don’t have to go on about the adult world of work, either. They can talk about what made them happy or moments of kindness they noticed.

“The more you tell them, the more they will understand how to talk about their day,” Manly said. “Oftentimes, younger kids don’t know how to talk about their day. We forget this is also a skill that has to be taught.”

Winnie-the-Pooh began life nearly a century ago as “Mr. Edward Bear” in a short story by the English author A. A. Milne. He soon scored a new name as well as a series of tales. Eventually he migrated over to The Walt Disney Company, who purchased exclusive rights to him and his woodland buds. Those rights lapsed in 2021, at which point he became fodder for a tongue-in-cheek R-rated horror version that came out last year. It’s this last iteration that recently shocked and likely traumatized some young school children in Florida.

Per Variety, a teacher at a charter school in Miami Springs showed fourth graders Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, which turns Milne’s wholesome kiddie adventures into a gruesome slasher. It seems to have been an innocent mix-up, albeit one the teacher was slow to pick up on:

According to Diaz, the film played for “20 to 30 minutes” before the teacher shut it off. She said that the students were allowed to a pick a movie to watch and they selected “Blood and Honey,” but “it’s not for them to decide what they want… It’s up to the professor to look at the content.”

“He didn’t stop the movie, even though there were kids saying, ‘Hey, stop the movie, we don’t want to watch this,’” Diaz added.

Parents were not pleased that their kids watched a movie in which, according to the film’s Wikipedia page, Christopher Robins’ fictitious animal friends go to seed after he leaves for college and survive by eating poor Eeyore. “I feel completely abandoned by the school,” one parent said of the incident, calling the teacher “careless.”

Administration was quick to address the screw-up with the teacher and students who watched the film have been sent to the school’s mental health counselor.

Blood and Honey isn’t the only example of people milking Pooh for decidedly un-family friendly fare. An edgy forthcoming video game subjects our bear hero to so many Cronenbergian body horrors that some are wishing the guy had never fallen into the public domain. On a related note, there’s also that horror-comedy take on the Grinch…

(Via Variety)

The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA championship in large part due to the performance of their stars, with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray dominating in their playoff run. However, beyond their top stars, the Nuggets also showed the value in consolidating your talent into a tight rotation, as they ran an 8-man playoff unit that trimmed any fat in the rotation and proved to be an absolute buzzsaw.

The general theory in Denver has been to get versatile players that have complementary skills, while getting rid of redundancies. Nuggets GM Calvin Booth detailed that team-building strategy and how they’re moving forward with young players after seeing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green leave this summer in a fascinating profile by Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. In that, he gave one of the most brutally honest quotes about a trade that you’ll see from a general manager when asked about trading Bones Hyland last year to clear up the rotation and open the way for rookie Christian Braun to take that final spot in the main rotation.

One of Booth’s first moves was to trade Bones Hyland, a young bucket-getting guard who came off the bench but didn’t offer a lot other than scoring. Despite being so young and showing promise, Hyland was dealt for just two second-round picks. The Nuggets didn’t want too much of the same thing on their team.

“I knew you couldn’t have two guys that couldn’t guard, and we couldn’t have two guys that were young and kind of more ‘me guys,’” Booth said. “Mike makes $30 million. He’s one of the best shooters in the NBA. So, Bones, there’s no place for you.”

It’s not a quote that’s shocking beyond you don’t often see this kind of blunt truth on the record from NBA front office personnel. Hyland’s value is, unquestionably, as a bucket-getter and the Nuggets simply didn’t need that and didn’t need a player potentially frustrated by a lack of touches or opportunity in the locker room. What’s more fascinating about the quote to me is calling Michael Porter Jr. a “me guy,” which, again, is the assessment plenty of folks would make, but just isn’t a quote you’d expect from the Nuggets front office. The honesty is appreciated and while Hyland surely won’t be a big fan of the quote, it’s incumbent on him to prove he’s more than that with the Clippers. As for Porter Jr., Booth does go on to note that MPJ became a better defender and rebounder last year, and that those skill additions to become passable made all the difference in him being a bigger part of the rotation on a title team.

As for who will step forward this year, Peyton Watson gets pumped up big time by Booth in this piece, calling him a better defender than Bruce Brown, as well as rookie Julian Strawther who has looked tremendous shooting the ball in the preseason. Whether they can replicate last year’s success remains to be seen, but Denver has a clear plan and Booth is not afraid to be incredibly honest when it comes to his evaluation of who fits and who doesn’t on this roster.

The 2020 election was a pretty chaotic affair, and it continues to be. After all, the guy who lost the presidency still insists, baselessly, that he won it (except when he blurts out that he didn’t). But what if we were spared a second Trump ticket? What if a very popular TV personality swooped in and saved the day? And what if that celebrity teamed up with a much less popular politician? Apparently that might have almost happened.

As per Axios, there’s a new book en route about Mitt Romney called Romney: A Reckoning. Among the claims made by author McKay Coppins is that in 2020, the failed presidential candidate was approached by no less than Oprah Winfrey. Her plan? The two would team up to run together to “save the country” from four more years of the orb guy.

Alas, Romeny claimed he turned down the idea, arguing that such a campaign would somehow help Trump in the end, as so many sure-fire-seeming attempts to put an end to his antics do.

Was Winfrey serious about this? Did the meeting even happen? One source says Winfrey was never serious about the fun. Others, though, think she should have gone through with it.

Still, it all worked out in the end, sort of. Trump lost re-election, though he’s running again, despite those whopping 91 criminal charges against him. As for Romney, well, he’s getting the heck out of politics altogether, in part because he hates what his party has turned into.

(Via Axios)

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Ice Spice, Kid Cudi, Offset, and more.

Ice Spice has certainly been on a roll this year, but while plenty of folks in her position would be more than happy to rest on their laurels, Ice Spice just keeps giving fans more reasons to keep looking out for her. She debuted her newest song, “Pretty Girl” with Rema, on Friday, then performed it on SNL 24 hours later.

Another rap it-girl, Latto, also dropped a new song, but not exactly an official one. She and Christina Aguilera teamed up for an ad for Just Eat, making an argument that maybe all these brand partnerships aren’t so bad. Meanwhile, Young Thug managed to release “From A Woman” from behind bars, Nicki Minaj shared the exclusive “Bahm Bahm,” and Lil Baby joined Skrillex and Flowdan on “Pepper.”

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending October 13, 2023.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Jay Worthy, Kamaiyah & Harry Fraud — Am3rican Dream

The two California rappers team up with one of the most soulful producers in the business for a nine-song LP that proves them a proper pairing of vibey styles.

Ken Carson — A Great Chaos

With Playboi Carti’s Antagonist Tour postponed to next year, why not put out another album from his label, Opium? After all, Carson’s third album will have plenty of lead time to build momentum before they hit the road — and given the spooky aesthetic the collective has cultivated, the Halloween season is as good a time as any.

Offset — Set It Off

Offset’s second album and first since officially splitting up with Migos, Set It Off is an impressive collection of collaborations for the world’s biggest Michael Jackson fan. Cardi B, Don Toliver, Future, Latto, Travis Scott, and Young Nudy all make appearances, but ‘Set spends most of the show going solo — and showing off his singing voice.

Westside Gunn — And Then You Pray For Me

The Buffalo rapper remains every bit as productive as ever. 12 months have gone by since his last mixtape, 10, and he’s used that time to marshal all his curatorial skills, tapping Denzel Curry, DJ Drama, Giggs, JID, Rick Ross, and RZA (among others) to join his usual collaborators Boldy James, Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, Rome Streetz, and Stove God Cooks. You know what it is.

Singles/Videos

TK — “TK”

youtubelink

TK

Gucci Mane — “Glizock & Wop” Feat. Key Glock

Gucci Mane always had fast chemistry with Key Glock’s mentor Young Dolph, and it appears to have carried over to Glock, as well. This focus track from Gucci Mane’s newest album, Breath Of Fresh Air (out now via Atlantic) suggests that these two can certainly be a dynamic duo.

Larry June & Cardo — “Chops On The Blade”

Larry June and Cardo have turned out to be a match made in heaven. They premiered their partnership more than two years ago and they just keep getting better since. There’s not much selling needed here.

Mike Dimes & Dro Kenji — “Do Not Disturb”

Texas rappers Mike Dimes and South Carolina’s Dro Kenji have been teaming up a bunch over the past couple of years and their chemistry just keeps going up. Their latest is a twitchy, paranoid street sweeper, harkening back to early ’90s thug rap with a modern flair.

Mozzy — “If I Die Right Now”

Mozzy hasn’t lost a step in his time away, with every line of his latest single as cutting as ever. Thanks to his association with CMG, he’s got the momentum to make up for lost time, and this song certainly whets the appetite for his next full-length project.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Heading off to college marks a major transition in a young person’s life—a distinct shift from childhood into adulthood.

Except, that shift isn’t always an instant transformation into complete self reliance, as many parents find out. In fact, lots of parents discover that their kids relied upon them for even the most basic information. Like, to a hilarious degree.

Chip Leighton, comedian and creator of the marriage/parenting themed TikTok series “The Leighton Show,” recently had parents share the wildest questions their college freshmen ever asked them after leaving home.

In the viral clip, we see oh-so innocent, oh-so bizarre questions ranging from “I can use my expired passport to get out of Mexico, right?” to “does the post office sell stamps?” to…wait for it…”what time is noon?”

Bless their hearts.

@the_leighton_show Posting this again for all the parents who just dropped kids off at college #teenager #text #college #freshman #funny ♬ original sound – The Leighton Show

After his original video got 2.3 million Leighton followed up with several more, each question more outrageous than the next—leaving parents virtually cackling.

Here are just a few gems:

“What’s grandma’s actual name?”

“Can I use the bathroom on a plane?”

“How often is annual?”

“Do we live above or below sea level?”

“How do I know when water is boiling?

“Pork chops are part of a chicken right?”

Of course, the comments sections of Leigthon’s videos were equally rife with hilarious anecdotes from parents.

One wrote, “My college freshman daughter: which one makes noise? Lightning or thunder?”

Another shared, “My college sophomore was recently filling out a job application and asked me if she was a veteran.” Oh dear.

@the_leighton_show OK – the passport one was from a 29 year-old. All from your comments. #college #freshmanyear #teenager #text #funny #greenscreen ♬ original sound – 𝙷𝚊𝚗♡

Other parents went a different route, sharing comical misunderstandings their Gen Z kids have made.

“I told my college freshman son that something cost ‘sixty five hundred dollars’ and he told me to ‘speak English please,’” one parent wrote.

Another added “Daughter: What places have I been to? Me: Lists locations and Disney was one of them. Daughter: So I’ve never been to the US?”

While of course it’s fun to laugh at these (mostly cause we’ve all been there and thank god we aren’t there anymore) there could be something to be said of instilling a “there are no dumb questions” policy.

After all, going to college is an exciting experience, but it can also be a daunting and lonely one.

It’s a huge adjustment for teens to step into a new routine, new location, new friend group, new responsibilities…and all without having their normal support system close at hand. So even a simple answer to “how do I know which sock is the left one?” could be the very thing that provides a bit more emotional security during a big transition.

@the_leighton_show All from your comments. #teenager #college #freshman #text #humor #greenscreen ♬ original sound – 𝙷𝚊𝚗♡

And the bright side to all this—it’s easier than ever for parents to record these questions to bring up for a good laugh many years later.

By the way, Leighton has all kinds of hysterical comments gathered from teenagers, along with some other funny content. Find it all on his TikTok

Even though America has come a long way in gender relations over the past few decades men are still far behind women when accepting domestic responsibilities.

A recent study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey found that women aged 15 and over spend 5.7 hours daily on domestic tasks, whereas men spend 3.6 hours, a 37 percent difference. Women with a 35-hour week devote 4.9 hours daily to home chores and child care, compared to men’s 3.8 hours.

In a world where men still trail behind women when it comes to work on the homefront, a Texas UPS driver is going viral for a TikTok video where he urges men to reconsider how they think about domestic responsibilities.

In a video with over 6 million views, J.R. Minton proudly says he doesn’t “help” his wife with jobs around the house. “I don’t help my wife cook. I don’t help her clean, do laundry, take care of the kids — none of that,” Minton, 32, began his clip.

Warning: Strong language.

@minton__jr

So, why does Minton refuse to help his wife?

“Because I do what I am supposed to do as a father and a husband. I cook. I clean. I do the laundry. I take care of the kids. I can’t help my wife do those things because they are my job, too,” he reveals.

He then urged men to change their perspectives on how they view their relationship to domestic responsibilities and their wives. “Change the way you speak, change the way you think, and grow the f*** up and be a man,” he added.

The video received raves from women in the comments. Sadly, many used the video to share that their husbands have fallen short of Minton’s level of understanding. “My husband sometimes doesn’t even flush the toilet,” Human Robot wrote. “I am sending this straight to my man he needs to see this,” JJsMom added.

“Yep! My husband and I recognize it’s BOTH our kids and BOTH our house, therefore BOTH our responsibility,” Sweetheart wrote.

Minton is an equal partner to his wife because he was raised much differently and wants to right the wrongs of his past. “Pretty much everything about my parenting style is in spite of what I saw when I was growing up,” he told Today.com

Minton knew that his philosophy on marriage was necessary when a woman at Target praised him for doing the “bare minimum.” “I was wearing the baby, and I had two kids in the cart, and this lady comes up to Brittany, and she’s like, ‘Oh my God. Is this your husband!? Look at him. You should take a picture of him,’” Minton said. “I get so much credit for doing nothing. How low is the bar?”

Minton responded to his viral video with a heartfelt follow-up to everyone who loved how he cared for his wife and family. “I’m truly humbled at how far my message has gone,” he said. “However, I’d like to take a second to say: I am not special. I am no ‘unicorn.’ I am normal.”

“Nothing about my parenting style or my commitment to my wife is unique. Although it may seem out of the ordinary, it is far from extraordinary,” he continued. “Every father and husband we know (that seems to come up short) is fully-capable — yet unwilling.” He added that there was one thing that separates dads who do their part and dads who don’t: “Effort.”

Eating an early dinner has always been a stereotype associated with older, retired people who don’t have to worry about work schedules and traffic. Plus, older people tend to have an early-to-bed, early-to-rise schedule and are more concerned about thoroughly digesting their meals before hitting the hay.

But an unexpected change in the great American culture means that older people and Gen Zers are more likely to fight each other for a 5 p.m. reservation at their local diner. A recent story in The Wall Street Journal shows that an increasing number of Americans are going out to dinner earlier.

According to Yelp data cited by the WSJ, restaurants currently seat 10% of diners between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. That number has doubled since 2019 when only 5% of people went to restaurants between those hours. People are also taking Ubers to dinner earlier these days, with a 10% jump in rides between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and a 9% drop in those after 8 p.m.

— (@)

The trend has also caught on in New York City, which, at one time, was known for being a city that never sleeps. RESY reports that reservations across New York City made at 5:30 p.m. have jumped from 7.75% to 8.31% over the past two years, while 8 p.m. reservations have fallen to 7.8%, down from 8.31%.

So what has happened? Have Americans been so run down by the last few years that they’re now acting like their grandparents? Is it more important to binge TV before bedtime than burn the midnight oil with friends? The Robb Report attributes the change to hybrid work. These days 34% of people work from home most of the time, so they can leave the house a lot earlier than before. Plus, when you’re cooped up in your house all day it’s nice to get out and enjoy a bite to eat as soon as possible.

Broadway has adapted to the new trend by scheduling its performances earlier in the day. Movie theaters accommodate the new early-bird lifestyle by adding more early screenings and canceling those that run late at night.

Devorah Lev-Tov from RESY New York applauds the change. “A few years ago, we would’ve joked about dining with all the old folks or being condemned to screaming children. Yet now, 5 or 5:30 p.m. is my preferred time to dine … And I’m not alone,” Lev-Tov writes.

According to research, this new change in the American lifestyle could benefit our collective health.

A study published by Cell Metabolism found that people who eat all their meals within a 10-hour window and finish dinner earlier in the day are less hungry, burn calories faster and have a lower risk for obesity.

This rapid change in America’s dining habits shows how sometimes the things we think are deeply embedded in our culture can easily change overnight. The next question is, will brunch still be brunch when people begin eating it at 7:30 a.m.? Because then it’s just breakfast, and drinking champagne for breakfast feels uncouth. But then again, that could change, too.

This article originally appeared on 7.4.23

I’ve written tons of things about minimum wage, backed up by fact-checkers and economists and scholarly studies. All of them point to raising the minimum wage as a solution to lifting people out of poverty and getting folks off of public assistance. It’s slowly happening, and there’s much more to be done.

But when it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road is what it means for everyday workers who have to live with those wages. I honestly don’t know how they do it.

Ask yourself: Could I live on this small of a full-time paycheck? I know what my answer is.

(And note that the minimum wage in many parts of the county is STILL $7.25, so it would be even less than this).

This story was written by Brandon Weber and was originally appeared on 02.26.15

Gerod Roth posted a photo of himself with a coworker’s child last month.

And while it might not be immediately obvious why this was such a mistake, well … let me tell you.

The initial photo, screencapped and tweeted above by Twitter user Dr. X, is seemingly adorable. But the comments and Roth’s intent soon turned rather ugly.

Roth had snapped the pic of his coworker’s 3-year-old son, Cayden, without his coworker’s permission (already an incredibly uncool thing to do) and proceeded to use it as his profile picture.

u201c#HisNameIsCayden Racist White People Mock Black Child on Facebook http://t.co/y7IriGlK3fu201d

— Dr. X (@Dr. X)
1444009492

After it was posted online, his Facebook friends filled the photo’s comment section with hurtful, racist “jokes”:

“I didn’t know you were a slave owner.”

“Dude where the hell did you get a black kid??”

“Kunta Kinte.”

“But Massuh, I dindu nuffin.”

Roth replied in the thread, “He was feral.”

Yep. Real comments from real people … aimed at a 3-year-old. Because of his skin color.

Of course, this being on the Internet and all, Cayden’s mom quickly learned about the awful things being said about her child.

The funny thing about the Internet is, things get around. And before long, Cayden’s mom, Sydney Shelton, heard about what this coworker had done at her child’s expense.

“He is a well-loved, fun-loving, hyper-active and typical three-year-old,” Shelton told Fox 5 News, adding there was nothing funny about that post.

Roth told the outlet he was disappointed in his friends’ reactions to the photo and insisted that his own comment had only been “interpreted as racist,” even though he hadn’t meant it that way.

Shelton wasn’t buying it.

“People post things in a [joking] manner and it gets taken a completely different way,” Shelton acknowledged. “But I don’t believe any of these people were joking.”

Instead of firing back at Roth with a few choice words, Shelton responded by letting the world see the real Cayden.

She posted several photos of her smiley, adorable son to Facebook, accompanied with the hashtag #HisNameIsCayden.

The Internet caught wind of #HisNameIsCayden. And unlike Roth’s friends on Facebook, there were some really fabulous responses.

Britt Turner, a woman from Phoenix, was so inspired by Cayden’s story that she decided to launch a GoFundMe to raise money for Cayden’s college fund.

“Instead of continuing to shed light on all of the dark aspects of this horrible act, I would like to shed a lot of light onto the good things,” Turner wrote on the fundraising page. “This young man has a full life ahead of him. I wanted to create this for Cayden, simply for that reason alone.”

In the aftermath of the comments on the initial photo revealing Roth’s penchant for racist humor, Roth has since lost his job.

Michael Da Graca Pinto, president of Polaris Marketing Group, where Roth had been employed, shared a statement on the company’s Facebook page about the incident. He, too, was not happy about what had happened and assured followers that Roth had been fired on Sept. 29 (although he claimed it was due to unrelated issues at work):

“It breaks my heart that Sydney and her adorable son Cayden were subjected to such hateful, ignorant and despicable behavior. Cayden visits my office almost every afternoon after daycare, he’s sat at my dinner table and I consider him a part of the PMG family. The atrocious lies, slander and racism he and his mother have been forced to endure are wholly intolerable. Myself and the entire PMG family in no way condones this kind of behavior and would never willingly associate with anyone who does.”

Sometimes the Internet can be a truly awful place…

But the times when overwhelming love trumps mean-spirited hate, victory tastes so sweet. Keep being awesome, Cayden.

This article has been updated. It was originally appeared on 10.06.15