Parent Talk: Hot posts from our daily blog

UNDERAGE DRINKING IS NO JOKE

It's not unusual to hear children joke about alcohol. The other evening during a pause for dinner while watching the game, my friends' daughter kept asking for a Bud Light, a shtick my 10-year-old and his buddies at the table found funnier than Boone singing "Shout" into a beer bottle in "National Lampoon's Animal House." Kids think booze is amusing and the idea of being drunk hilarious.

Apparently, Madonna agrees, but she went too far. Recently she took a photo of her 13-year-old son, Rocco, flanked by his pals looking their gangster best as they held up gin and vodka for the camera. She posted the snapshot to her Instagram page with the caption: "The party has just begun! Bring it! 2014."

It's hard to imagine that Madonna -- at 55 and around the block and back a few times -- wants to glorify underage drinking. Maybe she simply finds it as funny as the kids do. After all, in response to criticism for the post, she told critics to get a sense of humor, pointing out that the young'uns weren't drinking.

I like my wine, but I discourage my son from using alcohol as a punch line, even as I hide my smile when I find some of his antics funny. You should see his "drunk old man" character. I could send you a photo, but I haven't taken any and don't plan to anytime soon.

BULLIES TARGET STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

East Rockaway author Barry Edwards McNamara explores the bullying of students with special needs in his new book "Bullying and Students With Disabilities: Strategies and Techniques to Create a Safe Learning Environment for All" (Corwin, $31.95).

McNamara addresses classroom and playground teasing, taunting and physical aggression aimed at atypical students. "There is a very limited but emerging body of research that suggests that students with disabilities are more likely to be victims than their general education peers," McNamara writes.

McNamara is a professor of special education at Dowling College in Oakdale and has a doctorate from Columbia University's Teachers College in Special Education: Learning Disabilities.

MULTITASKING DAD GOES VIRAL

Doyin Richards thought he was just documenting a busy morning. A photo snapped of Richards in the act of parenting -- a cute picture of dad styling his toddler's hair while wearing his younger daughter in a baby carrier -- captured the moment perfectly.

So perfectly, in fact, that the image has gone viral -- it's been shared thousands of times on Facebook and been the subject of numerous news stories. Richards wrote the post on his blog DaddyDoinWork.com and was titled "I Have a Dream: That People Will View a Picture Like This and Not Think It's a Big Deal." The photo has summoned a wave of emotions in viewers, and while many have praised the Los Angeles dad, not all feedback has been positive.

Richards said in his blog post that some people have even emailed him and said his behavior makes other dads "look bad."

I'm a father of a 2-year-old son and I definitely don't think Richards is making any fathers look bad; if anything, he's giving us something to aspire to. It would be wonderful if more dads were open to baby-wearing and sharing household chores with their partners. Richards' Facebook page has a picture of Richards wearing a shirt that says: "Real men don't baby-sit their kids -- they raise them."

I couldn't agree more.