I've been trying to come to intellectual grips with the question about why rose hybridizers have so predominantly been men; and, to do so, I thought a good beginning would be to ponder how particular men came to be attracted to rose hybridization . . . and came to realize that, at least off the top of my head, I can't come up with a single instance of any of the hybridizers of the old rose era stating how or why he became a hybridizer. Some had a father or other relative in Horticulture, and some of course had a father who was specifically a rose hybridizer; parental success would increase the chances that the son would follow the same profession. Just guessing, concerning the old era: I suppose being a professional gardener was a first step to opening the door to being a rose hybridizer; the dirty and strenuous nature of professional gardening, just like that of its sister occupation farming, made it something that men would undertake or gravitate towards; but these qualities would have, I suspect, tended to be disincentives for the women of the era. In my own small way, I hybridize roses (as well as other plants). If anyone would ask me why, I could only get a rather blank look on my face and say, "Well, it's kind of interesting to see what happens," and I'd lay that to the account of a childlike curiosity rather than anything particularly male. This is an excellent question!

This thread is so funny and reminds me of when my children were young. I was more like Doc. My kids learned colors by helping to sort laundry, and the learned to do their own laundry when they were 10. They had a day, and only that day - dirty clothes were worn once or twice. If they left something out, and I picked it up, the item(s) were returned after one week and not before. They learned. I do NOT think you are being a b*&^h mom Breezy. You're the mom; your job is to teach them to behave in appropriate ways because you want them to grow to be mature, responsible, productive citizens. The reason you see so many children behave inappropriately is because the parents are not providing lessons and consequences and are working so hard to be the nice one that they've forgotten to be the parent. Personally, I wish there were more parents like you; I might still be a teacher if that were the case, but as the years passed, I found that children behaved worse and worse, and conferences were parents who made excuses for their kids or cried (literally) because they said they couldn't make their kids listen - I finally changed careers just short of 20 years. Things will change when kids become teens, but the lessons you taught when they were younger will make a difference. You'll fight battles that are important to you; they will know when you're not going to back down. And, the great thing is that you will see that when they are adults and when you have grandchildren. Funny story - when my kids were teens, they had a curfew, usually a bit later than their friends, but very strict nonetheless. One week restriction for each minute late which could be mitigated with a phone call if there were a real emergency. Each of the girls violated the curfew rule one time only; my son more than a few times - not fun times. I used to tell him that "being late is like being pregnant: either you are or you are not. Your actions are choices; all choices have consequences." Fast forward fifteen years, and my son is a manager for a manufacturing company, and when he got his promotion, one of the biggest problems were people not being on time. So a few weeks into his promotion, he has instructions to clean up the tardy problem or start firing people. Having never fired anyone before, he was loathe to do this, so he decides to have a meeting and talk to his guys. That night he came for dinner. He told me how much he hated the late rule when he was a teen and thought I was being mean for no reason because all of his friends didn't have to deal with the late issue. But in his meeting, he told the guys "being late is like being pregnant; either you are or you are not. All actions are choices, and all choices have consequences" He both groaned and laughed because he said he couldn't believe he quoted me. Being a parent instead of a friend is a good thing.

WOW! It's amazing to me how innocent this post started and how hostile it quickly turned. I don't feel it's right to belittle and demean people because of their personal beliefs and choices. Just because you waited til 12 months doesn't mean everyone else does or has. Everyone raises their children differently and, I would think, to the best of their ability. Forums, such as this, are to help and support others, not bring them down. Comments like that are not meant for places like this. That being said, every child is different. Every pediatrician will tell you that. What works for one, won't work for the other. This is true of adults as well. Hence the fact, that we have so many medications that do the same thing. One doesn't work for EVERYONE. Anyway. Now that I've gotten off my soapbox..... My daughter is 6 months old and I've been giving her 1 bottle of whole milk a day for the past 2 weeks and she's doing great with it. I also still give her breastmilk daily as well because I feel that she still needs the antibodies in it. (Due to being diagnosed with reflux issues at 3 weeks of age, I had to start pumping.) I have no issues giving her whole milk at such a young age. She started on solid foods at 6 weeks of age because she was HUNGRY all the time. After starting her on solids she was no longer fussy all the time. As for the whole milk, she has LESS reflux issues on with the whole milk than she does the breastmilk (which I also have to add rice cereal to because of the reflux). I don't have to add rice cereal to the whole milk. Again, every child is different and you have to do what works best for your child, and you!

March -- Geraldine Brooks (a rather nifty double!)