Non-abusive tot moms

[Neal Whitman]

The creator of the "Tot Moms" blog, begun in April 2011, goes beyond the
straightforward "mother of a young child" meaning of "tot mom" to include
other characteristics that you would not guess at just based on the words
"tot" and "mom":

"A tot mom is enthusiastic, committed, hard working, loving, fun, and most
of all, dedicated to their [sic] tots. Every mother featured has all the
qualities of a tot mom."
http://totmoms.wordpress.com/

She seems to have no idea that opposite connotations might be creeping into
other people's conception of "tot mom" because of Casey Anthony and Nancy
Grace, as discussed here in 2008 and this year (threads at
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ADS-L;HcuHeA;200812291008240500E
and http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ADS-L;8e2f13ec.1105D).

Neal Whitman
Email: nwhitman at ameritech.net
Blog: http://literalminded.wordpress.com

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