Playground bureau
Horrible toys children adore
The funny minds over Topless Robot blog assembled a list of classic toys that kids love and parents universally loathe and we came up with a few they missed.
Before you attend a birthday party, check this master list of toy no-nos to make sure you're not committing a toy faux pas.
The offenders include:
PD*poll: Should dad be banned from son's graduation ceremony?
A new state law is keeping thirty-six year old James Jones from his son's high school graduation ceremony and he's not happy. "I'm always preaching education to my children. How does that make me look if I'm not there at graduation?"
In August 2006, a Missouri law went into effect that prohibits sex offenders from school property unless they have the permission of the district superintendent. The only exceptions being government meetings or polling sites. Jones was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl when he was 17 in 1990. He served five years in prison.
Top Baby Names of 2007
If you looked at the name tags of an average size preschool class, you'd likely find a representative of nearly every one of 2007's most popular baby names, according to the latest list released by the Social Security Administration.
Without looking ahead, can you guess what they are?
"What to Expect" gets a makeover
Young and pregnant for the first time back in 1992, I picked up "What to Expect When You're Expecting" because pregnancy literature was pretty sparse and blogs had yet to be invented.
Predictably, I spent the remainder of that pregnancy freaking out over what that I should and should not be eating and that every twinge was a sign of a Rare but Potentially Fatal Badness due to something I had or had not done. The "Best Odds Diet" (which should have been called "The Best Odds for Making You Insane Diet") was a total bust for me. During pregnancy was NOT the time for me to give up all refined sugar and flour so I just ate whatever and then felt bad about it.
Even the cover of the book was disturbing. An illustrated pregnant woman in a huge mauve tent dress and wearing ugly, but sensible shoes sat in a rocker looking pained (or gassy) while reading a book. (Perhaps she just read that in rare instances, the shrimp she had in her salad at lunch can cause children to be born with cloven hooves and horns?)
Kathie Lee Gifford "uncomfortable" with mommyblogging; TMI in books & television is okay
Blogging celebrity Heather Armstrong (better known as Dooce to most of cyberspace) recently made an appearance on The Today Show. Only instead of promoting her newly released book, Heather was subjected to the judgements of Kathie Lee Gifford about the evils of blogging . (Gifford, who clearly would not know a blog from a bog said, "There's something that worries me about it (blogging)......")
Contest calls adoptive moms "non-moms"
A few years ago, my best friend decided to build her family through adoption. Recently, she became Mom to an amazing young boy. She's taught me so much over the last few years, both about the process but also about how how to be sensitive to adoptive parents and children. So I was shocked when I read that a company called Teleflora, which is currently sponsoring an America's Favorite Mom contest for Mother's Day (Donnie and Marie Osmand will crown the winner on NBC's Primetime tomorrow night), categorized adoptive moms in their contest as "non-moms." An adoption blogger complained, and the company quickly realized their error. They've now change the category to "adopting moms" and issued an apology on their web page.
Michelle Duggar pregnant AGAIN!
Apparently the Duggar clan hasn't quite filled that quiver! Michelle Duggar, matriarch of the popular Discovery Channel program "The Duggars" and mother to seventeen children managed to surprise the entire lot live on the Today Show when she announced that once again she is expecting.
Obama answers mommybloggers
There are still many facets of life in the United States where there is room for improvement, but it's still an incredible place to hang your hat and owe your taxes. Where else could you find a place where a serious presidential contender would take the time to answer the questions of a bunch of mommy bloggers?!
Disappointed at the lame questions and lack of follow-up in that last televised debate, the MOMocrats sent a list of questions they wished had been addressed to the Obama campaign. Amazingly, they received a response from Obama on a variety of topics ranging from torture to maternity leave.
Of course, these answers were likely edited and assessed by dozens of handlers and speech writers and this is excellent PR for Obama. But it's still pretty awesome that average citizens can have the ear of a presidential nominee, even for just a second in cyberspace.
When dogs attack kids
In the drive through line-up this morning, I heard a story that disturbed me so much that halfway through, I flipped the sound off and glanced worriedly at my son in the rearview mirror. He was thoughtfully eating his cinnamon raisin bagel and looking out the window and I thought: sometimes I really don't want to let him out into the world.But I turned the radio back on, because I needed to hear the rest, to hear the ending.
An 11-year-old British Columbia boy is making headlines, for horrific reasons. The boy was playing basketball outside with his friends at his local elementary school when he was attacked by a pit bull, who at first licked him, and then viciously assaulted his face. The attack was so violent , the young boy required 100 stitches. The situation would likely have been even more grave had a witnessing 20-year-old neighbor not stepped in with a baseball bat and some serious moxie. A second pit bull at the site circled while the attack was in progress.
This story gives me shivers. Sean Bajwa was playing basketball at 4:30 in the evening in a public space, a child's space. The dogs were not on leashes, and apparently unsupervised. The man who intervened will likely have nightmares for a long time to come, and Sean Bajwa will likely be scarred forever, both physically and mentally.
Sean's father says that the owners of the pit bulls should be punished. I agree, and moreover, I think the punishment should be hefty. I've heard about too many of these attacks on kids -- if there were a serious penalty for dog attacks -- say jail time or a hefty fine -- perhaps more dog owners would be apt to keep their dogs in leashed, supervised areas.
I know there are a lot of pit bull owners who say that the breed is safe and wonderful and that the problem with vicious animals is due to owner neglect. Perhaps this is true, maybe it's not -- but the fact remains that we hear a lot more about pit bulls attacking than Schnoodles and Labs. We need licenses to drive a car. Maybe it's time we think of granting - and not granting -- licenses for dog owners.
Speeding in the neighborhood
Yesterday, summer lurked in the air. It was the first day I could smell the mini daisies in bloom on lush April-rained grass, in the air I located the tinge of barbecue, summer night swims, and sea-salt crusted legs. I turned off my computer a little earlier than usual and slapped SPF four million on the pasty paleness of my son and I: we were going to walk down to the beach, inhale the promise-filled air.We were about halfway down the rolling hill to a small ocean-front park when a dark blue station wagon almost knocked us clean off the road, halting haphazardly on his brakes at the last possible section. I don't know why, but our quiet residential street does not have sidewalks. We need to walk tight to the grass of the houses when we're going anywhere. Though traffic is light, there are a lot of blind corners, and this particular station wagon has almost knocked us over before.
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10 ways to save money on newborn baby gear
Kids are expensive, there's no doubt about it. If you're expecting your first, setting up your household can be especially daunting. It's not helpful that there's a gadget out there for every possible parenting moment -- wipe warmers, pacifier cleaners, shopping cart covers. A walk down the baby aisle at your local Target is enough to make your head spin and your wallet hurt.It's hard not to overspend when you're expecting that new little bundle. It's an exciting time, and you have no idea what to expect. But if you've got the desire to be frugal, Moolanomy has some tips that can help you keep spending to a minimum when shopping for clothing, toys, and accessories.
Closing the door: How do you decide your family is complete?
My nephew was born last December, a delicious addition to my brother's family. Whenever I see him, which is not often enough, I nuzzle the folds in his neck, breathing deep his new-baby smell. I work hard to make him smile and laugh -- he's four months old after all, just learning to chortle -- and I fawn over his baby fingers and toes. I do this because I love him, because he grows fast between visits. But I also do it to test myself, to see how I feel when I have to give him back to his parents. If the desire to have another baby is going to rear its head, it's going to happen while I'm holding that sweet little man.
So far, though I love him with abandon, my uterus is quiet.
When people used to ask me if we were going to have more children, the emphatic "no" that came from my mouth always surprised me. It's like my brain knew something my heart didn't, because my heart just wasn't ready to close that particular door for good. But lately, especially with the arrival of a new round of babies among family and friends, I realize that while I was struggling with how to close that particular door, somehow it had shut on its own.
Sunkist continues popular free lemonade stands for charity program
There is nothing quite as warming to the heart as a child's genuine desire to help people who need it and Sunkist, Rubbermaid, and Domino/C&H sugar are trying to make charitable work easier for kids with their Take a Stand program.
Beginning May 1st, children between the ages of 7 and 12 who are residents of the United States or any province in Canada can register on the Sunkist website for a free lemonade stand to run and raise money for the charity of their choice.
Since inception in 2003, it is estimated that Take a Stand has helped to raise more than $1.5 million for charity by kids, one glass of lemonade at a time. Last year, 11,000 pledges were received with kids writing in from every state in the U.S. and every province in Canada. The top five states with the most kids pledging to raise money for charity through a lemonade sale included Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Texas and New York.
In addition to the free stand, the website includes tips on how to run a successful lemonade stand along with safety tips, printable sales trackers, poster and signs to help your charitable entrepreneur have a record-breaking fundraiser.
Babies and their beloved loveys
With the exception of a short relationship with a stuffed lamb named Sheepy and a long-term love affair with a pacifier, neither of my girls have formed a lasting attachment to any sort of lovey (or the more scientifically named "attachment object"). From the age of 18 months, my older daughter has carried an armload of small stuffed animals and baby dolls to bed each night and lined them up in her crib or bed, but her favorites change on a very regular basis. My younger daughter, too, has a large collection of objects that she rotates as loveys, currently a small stuffed fairy and a mismatched pair of ballet slippers. I don't expect the commitment to last longer than a week or two.
Studies show that it's normal for kids to attach to a lovey, and that it's normal as well if they don't attach to one at all. Over half of kids in Western cultures attach to a security object, though those numbers are lower in non-Western families. Loveys are tools to help kids cope when they start to learn that they are separate beings from their parents. Some kids use them, and some don't.
TheGoToMom.TV has an excellent post on how a lovey can soothe a baby and how you as a parent can choose appropriate toys for them to love. Though as my daughter and her mismatched ballet slippers have proven to me, you can't always help who (or what) you love.
Every day sensory activities for kids
When I was still teaching, I worked with an occupational therapist who was so talented, I wished I could bottle her up and take her home. She was constantly teaching me new things about my students and how to help them regulate their nervous systems.One of the most important things she taught me, however, is that children with special needs aren't the only ones who need a "sensory diet." Instead, she said, we all have inside of us an engine. When we need to be calmed or energized, we need to give that engine the proper fuel. Every body is different, so the key is finding what kind of activities are the best fuel for you or your child.
Mommy Poppins has a list of 99 sensory activities for every child, organized by type. If your child seems overstimulated, these activities can help bring them back down to Earth. If your child is tired and cranky, they can give them the energy they need to get through to bedtime.
