Parents

If you're raising a child in a vegetarian household, power struggles and awkward social issues are bound to crop up. Vegetarian parents may produce offspring who are curious about meat but worried that they will get in trouble from their folks if they eat it. That can be a stressful situation for a little kid, says Jennifer Nelson, director of clinical dietetics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "You need to be able to support your child in situations where he is going over to Tommy's house and Tommy's family is not vegetarian," Nelson says.

Police found the bodies Friday of two elderly people inside a house where a gunman had barricaded himself and fired at three officers. Montclair Police Capt. Chris Weiske said Adrian Marvin Bonadie, 33, whose parents owned the house, surrendered after a six-hour standoff. Weiske said Bonadie would be charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder of a police officer. Two of the officers suffered minor wounds. "He was displaying symptoms of mental illness," Weiske said of Bonadie.

More than 100,000 parents whose children are U.S. citizens were deported over the decade that ended in 2007, a Department of Homeland Security investigation has found. The parents were removed from the country on immigration violations or because they had committed crimes. The removals of the 108,434 parents were among the approximately 2.2 million carried out by immigration officials between 1998 and 2007, Homeland Security Inspector General Richard Skinner said in a report made public Friday.

Re "L.A. County Probation Department suspends aggressive billing of guardians," Feb. 14 Parents of juvenile delinquents should have to pay L.A. County for housing their children at juvenile detention centers. Why should taxpayers -- many of whom have children of their own -- have to foot the bill for parents who can't control their kids? If these parents or guardians can't afford the bill, they should participate in community service with their delinquent kids and be one big, happy delinquent family.

Re "A dose of reality on autism," editorial, Feb. 25 The court decision that additives in the measles vaccine do not cause autism may not be the final word on the issue. As history has shown, officials tend to downplay beliefs of parents or other nonprofessionals. But parents have brought needed attention to this important issue, and the demand now should be that government and the pharmaceutical industry dedicate adequate resources to the discovery of any and all possible environmental causes for autism.

Re: David Lazarus' consumer column, "Joblessness takes a toll on the soul -- and the family," Feb. 22: Parents who lost their jobs are having a hard time facing their children with the news that they got whacked? I thought that you should be honest with your kids. Just tell them, "I lost my job today. We are going to have to figure out ways to spend a lot less money. We're in a depression and we may not recover from this for years." There are places in the world where parents have to tell their kids there's no food to eat or no money for the doctor.

Re "Ponying up for public school," March 8 Steve Lopez's column on parents being hit up at Ivanhoe Elementary -- an L.A. Unified School District school that ranks 14th out of 484 -- because the wider citizenry won't pay up depicts an unfortunate situation. Now, to round out the picture, please visit a meeting seeking parent support at the LAUSD's 484th-ranked elementary school and tell us what they're up against. Wendell H. Jones Ojai

Re "Beverly Hills surrogacy firm accused of fraud and theft," March 26 As co-owner of a surrogacy agency, I am saddened by reports of fraudulent behavior. Not everyone is out to take advantage of vulnerable parties. I entered this profession to give back to others, so they could be helped by someone who'd experienced the pain of infertility and who had trusted someone else to carry her child. The process is emotional and complex, and both intended parents and surrogates benefit from the guidance of an understanding, experienced party.

Re "Taking a pass on a basketball star," May 4 This story is just another example of parents sponging off their kids, hoping to hit the lottery with a professional sports contract. These opportunistic parents are not looking out for their son's best interest, just their own financial well-being. Steve Owen San Diego According to your story, on the day Fairfax High senior Renardo Sidney announced his college choice, "the gymnasium floor ... was filled with 13 tables decorated in white linen with rose centerpieces, where more than 100 family members and friends dined on a catered meal."