As if being a parent wasn’t hard enough, now there’s a Facebook page dedicated to banning the very objects we use to tote our tots around. What’s next? Is someone going to suggest we don’t let our children out of the home until they turn 18?

Personally I love the argument that today’s SUV-style stroller is simply too big. Would you like to see the pram my mother toted me around in? It was huge! And it only held one baby. I have three! Big strollers are nothing new, but the intolerance around their “inconvenience” to passersby is.

Much of the recent debate started on January 2, 2011 when a Halifax, N.S. couple were told they could not board a city bus with their six-month-old twins because their stroller was too big. The bus was almost empty to boot.

The father, Mohammed Ehasan, a PhD candidate and part-time instructor at Dalhousie University, filed a complaint with Nova Scotia’s Human Rights Commission and parents with plus-size prams everywhere are up in arms.

Personally, I’ve never been turned away because of my stroller, but I have dealt with some dirty looks and found it next to impossible to navigate Toronto’s anti-wheeler subways and streetcars. Can’t we all just agree that being a parent is tough and give parents everywhere a break?

Who says reading US Weekly can’t be educational? Granted there’s not much to learn from following Lindsay Lohan’s ups-and-downs but sometimes popular culture can make us look at our own lives and encourage us to do something we’ve been avoiding. Listening to the coverage of Michael Jackson’s untimely death may bring you flashbacks to bad 80s leather jackets or rekindle bewilderment over his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley–did that actually happen? Whatever you feel for Michael Jackson, it’s almost impossible for any parent to listen to Michael’s sad life and not feel something for his three children–and what will happen to them now.

The answer seems to be his mother will get custody (with Diana Ross as a backup provider). Since Michael seems to have nothing but unfond memories of his own upbringing, one wonders if he really gave much thought to who would provide for his children should something happen to him. Didn’t the pop icon once brag he would make it to 150? If one believes they are invincible, why put much thought into a will?

When it comes to our own children, all of us are a little guilty of the invincibility act. Can any of us really picture our children’s life without us? For this reason, too many of us either have no will (or one with too little thought put into it). Is your named guardian really the best option should something unforseen occur?

If you’re one of those parents without a will (or one in need of updating), I encourage you to do it sooner rather than later. Don’t know where to begin? Cookie has a great article outlining the three easiest ways to make a will. It’s a great place to get started.

If your kids are like mine they get sick–a lot. I’m convinced my toddler’s preschool is a petri dish for all things contagious. So when the European Union health commissioner advised Europeans against traveling to U.S. or Mexico due to the recent Swine Flu outbreak it made me a little nervous (I’m sure Canada will be next on the EU Health Hit list. After all we have 6 confirmed cases).

Knowledge is the past way to fight off unwarranted fear so here are the facts for parents:

What is the swine flu?

A highly contagious acute respiratory disease normally found in pigs. Swine flu is usually spread through contact with pigs, but some limited cases of human-to-human contact have been reported.

Could there be a pandemic?

Experts say there is cause for concern but not alarm. (Even though the death toll in Mexico has reached 152 and officials have shut every school in the country.) Health officials worry the swine flu virus will combine with a human flu virus or mutate on its own to become easily transmissible. As the virus circulates, it becomes more likely a pandemic strain will emerge, but there is no way to predict when, and if, this will happen.

What can parents do?

Listen to regular updates and practice good hygiene. Wash your hands, and your child’s hands, frequently and stay at home if you feel ill. As for diet, it’s safe to eat pork. The swine flu virus dies when cooked to temperatures of 158 F (70C) or higher.