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Oprah comes to the aid of overwhelmed moms
Watching yesterday's epsiode of Oprah where she interviewed the teacher who left her baby in a hot car while she went about her day, I had the urge to shout at the screen, "Put your purse in the back seat! Put your purse in the back seat!"
You see, about a month ago I blogged here on Whoa, Momma! how I have a recurring nightmare that I might also be worthy of a guest spot on Oprah as "Worst Mother in the World" for forgetting a baby in a hot car. I admitted that one time while I had a break in my routine I was driving to work on autopilot and I had a momentary lapse where I was heading to work and forgot to take a turn into the neighborhood to drop off my baby at day care. I have since had terrible thoughts of "What if?" So ever since, I have put my purse in the back seat just in case my overwhelmed brain ever forgets there are kids back there. There's a whole scientific study about how our efforts to keep kids safe has put them in the back seat where Momma is more likely to forget they are there.
So Yahoo Shine picked up my blog post on this confessional -- and oh my goodness -- I got slammed. Granted, the hateration wasn't as bad as what was inflicted on this poor woman on Oprah, but I have an inkling of how she felt. For my effort to warn other overwhelmed moms, I was blasted: How dare I think more highly of my purse than my baby!
But the point is, how does your brain handle the normal everyday routine? Most women don't take one step without a purse in hand. So I still say: If you put your purse in the back seat, you are less likely to make the tragic mistake of hurrying out of the car and leaving your most precious cargo in jeopardy.
-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne
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Raising children isn't easy. Whoa, Momma! is here to help you with parenting tips and discussion of all parenting issues. We think there's no such thing as TMI, so our blogging moms aren't shy about the hot topics and won't back away from a good debate. Bottle or breastfeed? Public, private or homeschool? And sex -- it's all open for comment. Don't sit on the sidelines -- pull up a bouncy seat and join the chat.
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THE AUTHORS
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
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Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at 
Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, Comment Policy
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