Kim Kardashian’s Global Travel Plans
Crazy-busy traveler Kim Kardashian has been keeping a low-profile at home after the birth of her baby girl, North West, in June, but apparently she’s already planning her next move: accompanying Kanye on the European leg of his world tour. Radar Online reports big-sis Kourtney is fuming over the idea of taking an infant overseas for the stress of traveling. A family friend said Kim “loves the buzz of taking 10 flights in three days,” but Kourt wants her sister to put the baby’s well-being first. “Kim does whatever she wants, and she’s always been self-centered,” said the source, “so Kourtney’s been disappointed so far.” Ouch.
Jenny McCarthy’s Autism Crusade
When Jenny McCarthy’s young son developed autism, she came out vocally against vaccinations, citing shots as the reason behind Evan’s disorder. However, in early 2011, the major study linking autism to vaccinations in childhood was exposed as an “elaborate fraud” according to CNN. Experts slammed McCarthy, who recently announced she will be joining The View, for promoting beliefs unfounded by science, like professor of vaccinology and professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Paul A. Offit, in his book Autism’s False Prophets. McCarthy also claimed to have cured her son of autism by 2010, prompting speculation he may have had an entirely different disorder.
Alicia Silverstone’s Pre-Chewing Practice
Moms everywhere squirmed after Alicia Silverstone admitted to pre-chewing her 10-month-old son’s food as a way of introducing him to solids while still breast-feeding. “I can understand that it would make some people feel uncomfortable, possibly, because it's new to them," Silverstone said, according to Us Weekly. "But I do want to let you know that this has been going on for thousands of years—still going on all over the place—and it's natural."
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Strict Child Diet
The Goop lifestyle guru is no stranger to controversy—the star once said, “Gloria Steinem may string me up by my toes” after advocating stay-at-home motherhood and “be[ing] a wife” to a career-minded celeb-friend in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar—but rumors that Gwyneth Paltrow imposes a harsh nutritional regimen on her kids, Moses and Apple, really made the actress laugh. “I don’t know where they get some of this stuff!” Paltrow told Dr. Oz, according to E! Online. “What it is," she revealed, "is that my son has very bad eczema and he's allergic to gluten and he's allergic to cow dairy. I try at home to make everything gluten-free for him because the difference in his comfort is unbelievable when he's sticking to what he's meant to be eating."
Gisele Bündchen’s Stark Parenting Advice
While most acknowledge that breast-feeding is right for some moms and not for others, Gisele Bündchen ignited outrage when she publicly disagreed. “Some people here think they don’t have to breast-feed, and I think, ‘Are you going to give chemical food to your child, when they are so little?’ There should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breast-feed their babies for six months,” she told Harper’s Bazaar UK (via the New York Post) just 7 months after giving birth to her son, Benjamin in 2010. The outspoken supermodel also claimed she had her baby potty trained at six months because “diapers pollute the environment.”
Mayim Bialik’s Breast-Feeding Tactic
Blossom and Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik wasn’t shy about her uncommon mothering technique: nursing her son, Fred, until age 4. According to Us Weekly, Bialik said she kept it up well past infancy because it provided the “best nutrition, nurturing and bonding ever.” She also acknowledged how others did not approve of her decision: “All of you snarky mamas who glared at me nursing my 3 1/2-year-old on the NYC subway, prepare to be amazed. And to all of my family and friends who wanted to chastise me about nursing a walking, talking, thinking, laughing little man named Fred, thanks for holding your tongues," Bialik declared earlier this year, after her son finally made it to a major milestone. "We did it: Fred weaned."
Lisa Whelchel’s Hot Saucing
Cruelty or correction? Former Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel claimed “hot saucing” her three kids was one of her preferred methods of discipline. She placed a drop of the sauce on a fingertip and touched it to the children’s tongues. "It does sting, and the memory stays with them so that the next time they may actually have some self-control and stop before they lie or bite or something like that," Whelchel said, according to ABC News—who also conducted a poll, in which 65 percent of respondents disapproved of Whelchel’s parenting decision.
Beyoncé’s Extravagant Birth
Word on the street? Beyoncé and Jay-Z rolled out the red carpet for the grand arrival of their first daughter, Blue Ivy, back in January 2012. Sources claim Beyoncé racked up a birthing tab worth millions of dollars, rented out an entire wing of Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC and her requirements even made it difficult for new parents to visit their newborn babies, according to E! Online. While the hospital denied the allegations, and Beyoncé never really commented on the debacle, the grumblings were widespread.
Victoria Beckham’s Sky-High Heels
At the royal wedding in 2011, a six-months-pregnant Victoria Beckham was spotted wearing 6-inch heels, sparking controversy over whether a mom-in-waiting should be teetering around on spikes that high. Criticism intensified when the Daily Mail claimed that a slipped disc in her spine was the result of wearing such high stilettos throughout her pregnancy. Whether that story was true or not, experts often recommend putting pumps into storage during pregnancy, since a bump changes a woman’s center of gravity, making falls and injury to mom and baby more likely.
