Parenting Under the Stars

I awoke with a splitting headache today. I have no idea why and I wasn’t hung over because I don’t even drink. Of course my daughter could not find her backpack or her forms and was in a snit about that.

I made a lame attempt to assist her but shuffled along as though I were 90 years old. Busting any sudden moves made my headache worse. One possibility is that I need glasses because I do squint a little more to read fine print and I have been reading a lot.

It was horribly stormy out there today. We have concluded that my youngest daughter’s snow pants are in fact too tight even though she was wearing the wrong ones previously.

It was so bad the door wouldn’t stay closed unless you locked it. The wind was that powerful. People were wiping out everywhere and it was shocking to us all since the day before was like spring.

Grocery Shopping in a Storm

Tomorrow we’re doing a big grocery run so I do hope it calms down. We try to get a month at a time so my husband comes along and we use two carts. We had one horrible experience at the grocery store one stormy evening.

We didn’t have a car so we called a taxi. The taxi showed up about a half hour later and said he could not fit all the groceries into his vehicle. He was supposed to call us another taxi. Another half hour went by. By this time, the store was closed and we were beginning to freeze.

My husband finally jumped in front of a truck and asked for assistance. He drove us home and we gave him some gas money. Anyway, lesson learned. Don’t go shopping if it’s storming out and you need a taxi because a lot of them will not be out there.

Wow, hard to believe it’s been that long but yesterday Lego turned 50. They have certainly come a long way and have expanded into all kinds of new products. At Lego.com they have many wonderful creations your kids could try to duplicate.

Shown here is a skull I found in the Lego hall of fame. At Lego.com there are lego games, a magazine, message boards, products and more.

My son is nuts over those Bionicles and they are fun but all those little pieces still drive me nuts. They’re not that cheap to replace either and they hurt when you step on them. I’m not very good at putting the Bionicles together but my son is. My husband is no good at it either which makes me feel better. I guess we’re both missing that part of our brains.

On average, there are about 62 LEGO bricks for every one of the world’s inhabitants. In addition to providing great fun, LEGO bricks also promote motor, cognitive and creative skills — one of the many reasons parents have put their faith in the LEGO brand for decades. It’s not just children who are crazy about these building blocks: countless numbers of adults find inspiration in them — be it in art, architecture, engineering, landscaping, filmmaking or furniture design, among others. The bricks are also used in classrooms from preschool to university levels to teach any subject matter playfully, and some workplaces even use the bricks for creative inspiration and developing team communication skills.

“When you give someone a LEGO brick, the possibilities are endless,” said Soren Torp Laursen, president LEGO Americas. “The brick is a medium for creativity and fun unlike any other. Over the last 50 years we have seen millions of incredible creations and heard amazing stories from the young and the young at heart. The classic brick remains the same, the only thing that varies is the creative breath that children bring to the play experience, and that’s the real magic behind a timeless toy.”(ENFIELD, Conn., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire)

After reading a rant by Sherry at Chaos Therapy, I was deeply disturbed. Girls have enough to worry about growing up without being pushed to wax themselves. Some children haven’t hit puberty and a Brazilian wax was being touted to 10 to 14 year olds?!

Larissa Dubecki wrote about it and this is an actual quote being referenced from another website. (Why 10 is too young for your first Brazilian) “Nobody really likes hair in their private regions and it has a childlike appeal.” I believe the quote has been removed but the fact that it was said at all is disgusting.

It’s a very personal choice that an ADULT would make about whether they want all their hair removed. If some prefer women look like children and that is why they like it, it is a sad world indeed. It has to be a confusing message for girls. Alright, now that you’re beginning to grow up, make yourself look like a kid again.

Apparently, Nair has a hair removal line they promote towards 10 to 15 year olds. What the heck is going on? It’s disturbing that the media has taken it upon themselves to tell girls yet again what to do with their bodies.

What age parents would allow kids to get their ears pierced used to be the big decision (whether they would allow it at all). It was still the parent’s decision though. I cannot wrap my head around how anyone could think it was appropriate to be pushing a kid to remove hair that may not have even grown yet.

The clothes, make up and lifestyle the media promotes to tween girls is bad enough but suggesting hair removal at the age of ten is going way too far.

Ahhhhh!! Do you ever have the urge to let out a primal scream? It’s not bad therapy but I can’t do it because everyone is asleep.

Tired Kids sure talk crazy and you can go crazy yourself if you listen too intently.

I was sucked into an insane argument over whose snow pants were whose. I think I would know since I purchased them. One was complaining they were too tight and refused to believe they were the wrong ones until I finally found the other pair to present as proof.

Hanging onto hats and mittens seems to be a challenge as well. I had a system going where they each had a basket that they were supposed to put them in. That basket got full of everything but hats and mittens. I have a huge basket for boots as well and I don’t like how it has turned out. The basket system is getting old.

Actually, it’s mainly the mittens that are the issue and of course socks. Everyone here gets the same color of socks and if they can squeeze them onto their feet, they’re theirs.

It works out better for us than separate colors. When I was a kid I used to get compliments on my colorful socks. We had tons of different colors but we also had a whole drawer full of mismatches.

I could not get onto the site until now for some reason and it’s late so if I’m babbling that’s my excuse.

• If you want to read about parenting toddlers, Randi just started writing there. She’s fun and has a couple of kids so if you have toddlers, check it out.

Have you ever gathered all the laundry or toys with a big blanket or sheet off the floor and used it for a bag? Bobbi took that one step further and refined her design into a mesh bag with handles at all corners.

It’s a great simple invention and it seems to be taking off well. You could use it for many purposes so don’t necessarily have to just sweep up toys with it. That’s how Bobbi Benish originally came up with the idea. It seems very compact as well so would be ideal for using as a reusable shopping bag.

It would be nice if you could throw it down and only toys got piled upon it but that’s asking too much. I fear I would be sweeping all sorts of other strange things along with it so would still have to sort through it all.

“Stay-at-home mother” of two pre-school aged children, Bobbi Benish, invents the NETcessity – The Universal Bag. Her start-up company launches USA production only four months later. Bobbi believes the NETcessity will be effective in improving security checkpoints. When needing a way to quickly gather and store her children’s toys, Bobbi created an innovative new product. The idea came to Bobbi when she was looking at all the toys on her living room floor. “I had a baby tissue in my hand and gathered the four corners making it into a miniature bag and voila! The NETcessity was born.” said Bobbi. “The unique open design of the bag allows you to place your necessities in the center, gather the four corners and carry or store your bag almost anywhere.” she continued.

Immediately, Bobbi went to work on her idea from sewing the first prototype by hand and applying for patents, to having it in full production with a major USA manufacturer. The bag is offered in four sizes and is made of polyester net which gives it strength while remaining extremely lightweight. Bobbi soon realized that the bag’s uses were nearly endless. “It took on a life of it’s own.” she stated.

Bobbi believes her bag will be effective in improving the efficiency and security levels at security check points, help the elderly or handicapped become more independent within their own homes and give a useful option to paper or plastic bags while shopping. “It’s universal. The NETcessity is great for Mom and Dad’s diaper bag, laundry, sports, outdoor recreation or a hunting bag.” stated Bobbi.

For additional information on the news in this press release, please contact Bobbi J. Benish or visit www.mynetcessity.com. NETcessity – the universal bag is a trademark of NETcessities, LLC Patent Pending.

There are supposedly three categories or styles of parenting although I prefer not to be pigeon holed.

We’ll explore them anyway and then you can decide which one you are, although my guess is most of us are a combination.

They are Authoritarian, Permissive and Democratic/Authoritative.

Authoritarian:

Strict and rigid rules with the expectation to obey them with no questions asked. Punishments are given if children do not conform.

Permissive:

Warm and loving but few if any demands, boundaries or expectations are made on the child. Children are not generally punished or given rules.

Democratic/Authoritative:

There are clear rules and expectations but the child is encouraged to communicate by questioning and talking. Some flexibility with compromises occurs. Children may still be punished and/or disciplined but the reason is explained to them.

• Actually there is a fourth category and that is the uninvolved or neglectful parent. It’s somewhat similar to permissive parenting except in this case the parent does not care about their child and is basically uninvolved.

In some cases children should simply obey for their own safety especially when little but for many things there is room for flexibility.

I would like to explore the styles further but in the meantime you can take this parenting style quiz if you want. They have labeled the styles as Autocratic (Authoritarian) Permissive and Active (Democratic). I was a cross between Authoritarian and Democratic which was no big surprise.

• If you would like to explore home schooling, check out Mom is Teaching’s unschooling post.

I made a huge batch of salsa for our tortillas and now I’m behind on my blog posts. I would share the recipe but I’m not sure of what the exact measurements were and I have made better. I did throw in tons of tomatoes, a few garlic cloves, jalapeño peppers, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and onion since that’s what I had on hand.

Although this isn’t the same type of salsa, it prompted me to find this wonderful video of kids salsa dancing. They’re very good and it looks like an excellent work out. Enjoy.

These medical bracelets (or anklets if you want) are available for children six years and up and there are styles to suit various lifestyles as well as boys and girls.

Cindie started Creative Medical ID since she had to wear one and wanted something more fashionable. Her husband and friends helped start her business on eBay and it took off from there. Now they have plenty of designs to choose from.

One of the best ones in my opinion is the sporty waterproof ones. I have a horrible time with watches so require a tough one. I imagine having to wear a medical bracelet all the time for a child to be even more of a challenge.

Most of the bracelets are customizable as well and they offer engraving to add some more personalization.

Head Scarves for Kids

Kids with cancer can now wear something with more style as well. At Stylish Noggins, they have six different scarves to choose from and many of them look like they would be appropriate for boys to wear.

At Fashion Scarves and Shawls, one of my favorites is this Fortune Teller head wrap. I love the stars and moons design. They have tons of other head scarves to choose from including leopard spots, baseball cap styles and polka dots.

I think it is great that there are some cheerful fashionable things to wear when children are sick. That is when they need cheered up the most. Instead of them asking kids why they’re bald, they might ask about where they can get one of those cool scarves.

• If you’re the one with cancer and need to discuss it with your kids, Karen Lynch from Discussing Breast Cancer has some wonderful posts on how to deal with it.

Academic ability is generally valued more than art or music. Children are frequently discouraged at an early age even by their own peers.

One of my daughters is very artistic. She’s a fantastic dancer and artist. The images she draws blow my mind. I love to create things but cannot draw very well, so I really admire that skill.

Anyway, one of her friends told her she could not be an artist since they are all crazy and starving. She must have received this message from an adult and I do think it is sad.

My daughter used to talk about designing clothes and now she is asking me how much money dentists make. I know she does not want to be a dentist but she thinks that job will give her more respect.

Artistic talent should be encouraged and valued more. Just think of how drab the world would be without artists. Scientists have to be creative if they want to make any new discoveries as well.

In this video, Ken Robinson talks about education at TED and how creativity is just as important as literacy. He feels that we are educated out of our creativity because highly talented people become convinced that they are not. He shares an inspiring story about Gillian Lynne and her experience in school as a child. The teacher suggested she had a learning disorder because she would not stay still.

Her mother finally took her to a specialist who happened to have the radio on and Gillian would not stop dancing. The specialist told her mother to enroll her in a dance school and so she did. Gillian Lynne is now a director/choreographer and did Cats, Phantom of the Opera as well as several other successful productions.

He makes some very good points. I agree that had Gillian gone to see the wrong doctor about her fidgeting problem, they may have simply medicated her and told her to go chill out somewhere.

Our children’s creativity should be celebrated, embraced and encouraged.

Although Corey puts up a tough front as many teenagers do, he won’t talk to his parents because he says he’s afraid they will kill him.

He says it just started out as a small party with a couple mates but 500 people ended up attending as well as the Police force and a dog squad. He lied to his parents, telling them he had work commitments and couldn’t join them to travel out of town.

I feel bad for the parents but I bet they won’t let Corey have the house to himself for quite a while. I do hope they make him pay up if the $20,000 dollar fine sticks.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and read about some theories on “Are Food Allergies on the Rise?” (Cheryl Sternman Rule)

Hygiene Hypothesis

The hygiene hypothesis makes sense to me. There are so many anti-bacterial soaps and disinfectants being used that a lot of people are not exposed to as many germs as they once were. We’re basically over sanitized.

Infections are prevented before they start with shots or are killed with the latest new antibiotics. Our bodies may not know how the heck to fight off germs or bacteria once exposed and our natural immune system no longer functions properly.

Feeding children too early/too late

Another offered theory is feeding foods to children too early or too late. Feeding too early does not make sense to me because babies used to start eating a lot earlier. Now they’re saying wait until six months. That seems a little late because most children will show an interest in solids long before then. Anyway, if anything my vote would be on feeding solids too late.

Being exposed to processed food is another theory and possible contributor but nobody really knows because it hasn’t been studied enough. I highly doubt all the chemicals, additives and hormones help the situation any however.

I remember when we practically lived off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for snacks and lunches. Now there are so many children allergic to peanuts that you can’t send anything that may contain peanuts to school. For those of you who have food allergies or have children with them, what is your theory on why there has been such an increase?

There’s a video at the end on families fighting the flu. We’re getting over some mutant strain. The bottom line is wash everything.

It is interesting and unfortunate how different strains of the flu come back to haunt us. It seems as though you have the same one sometimes but it’s just a similar one that has mutated. You can’t get the same one twice. Each time you might get a new and exciting new symptom.

Doctors offices are full of sick people too so I try not to go there unless it’s something I’m sure is not going away on it’s own.

Sick Sandra, signing off to scrub something.

Families Fighting the Flu Video from Parenting.com

This Potty Watch is not a bad idea to help potty train children but it still can’t take the place of a parent in my opinion. It flashes at different time intervals (30, 60 and 90 min.) and plays familiar songs to remind them it’s time to go.

There are special potty training inspired lyrics to go with the songs if you want to sing a long to help inspire your child. Here are the lyrics that go along with London Bridge:

Look at me, it’s potty time,
Potty time, potty time.
Look at me, it’s potty time,
Let’s go potty now.

The same tune works for tidying up, so why not. “Now it’s time to tidy up, tidy up, tidy up…..” That song really grated on my nerves after awhile, but maybe I’m a party pooper.

Sometimes it may get tiring to remind your child to try to go to the potty or you could forget yourself. A little reminder from the Potty Watch wouldn’t hurt occasionally but I can’t see it training your kid on its own. It may be a good reinforcement tool. You would probably end up reminding them to go to the potty every time the song came on, but suppose eventually they would connect it themselves.

• How would this work at a daycare? Would they all have to be on the same timers? It could become quite the zoo if there were 30 timers going off at different intervals playing different songs!

It’s gotten rave reviews from lots of people and it’s cute and is only ten dollars. I can’t help but think it would get a little annoying after a while but suppose it depends on how long the potty training process takes for your child. I wonder if it’s water proof.

“We found that our son simply was not interested in remembering to go on his own, so we found the Potty Watch, which he loved. You program this wrist watch to play songs and light up at 30-, 60-, or 90-minute intervals; then it resets itself and starts the countdown all over again,” said Heather Ledeboer to Parents.com.

Pamela Parkinson, CEO of Potty Time, Inc., points to this as another example of the great experience people have with the Potty Watch and their willingness to share that experience. The grassroots company has put a lot of effort into creating and developing a product that is both fun and useful.
“We have held the belief that a well-designed, fun product will do more in the current marketplace than most marketing campaigns,” said Parkinson. “When people love your product they talk about it for you. Having sold into 48 states on word-of-mouth advertising, we continue to rely on great product development that really serves parents and children.”SANDY, Utah, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire

If you’re still at the sleep training stage, Jackie at Nursing Your Kids gives us her take.

Every year Lions clubs sponsor an international peace poster contest for children ages 11-13. Shown here is 2006-07 “Celebrate Peace” grand prize winning art by Min-Ji Yi, 13 years old from California, USA. Tarzana Lions Club sponsored it.

It blows my mind how well these children can draw. You can learn more about the Peace Poster contest and see more art at the Lions Clubs International website.

Kids are encouraged to express themselves using a variety of mediums through art. This year’s theme is “Peace Around the World”. There have been 112 posters submitted and the winners will be announced at 4:00pm, January 16 at Loyala University Museum of Art (LUMA) in Chicago Illinois.

Lions members worldwide sponsor this program to encourage children to creatively express their visions for world peace. Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest service club organization, began the contest in 1988 to support one of its main objectives, “to create and foster a spirit of understanding among the peoples of the world.” To date, more than 3.5 million children from around the world have participated. (OAK BROOK, Ill., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire)

Art as Therapy

Sometimes things can be expressed through art that can’t be vocalized through words. It is especially helpful for children who have been traumatized as a way to express their emotions through art.

• Art is used as a form of therapy all over the world. This clip shows children creating art from Darfur. They revealed crimes against humanity that cameras were not able to capture. In 2007, the children’s drawings were submitted to the International Criminal Court. They were then able to proceed against the Sudanese government and the military for the war crimes they were accused of committing.

Some of the images are disturbing since they depict some of the horror children had to witness. It is still amazing how art was able to speak for these children when no one else could.

• Wendy at Artists Passion addresses how art is fun therapy for adults too on her Time Compromise post.

It’s somewhat disturbing that there is a demand for these bulletproof back packs at all, but if you want more information, check out the video at the end of this post and/or go to MyChildsPack.com at MJ Safety Solutions.

Mike and Joe from MJ Saftey Solutions came up with the idea of making backpacks bullet proof for their children. Friends and family wanted some and since then the demand grew.

They sell for $175 at a threat level two protection, apparently the same level as bulletproof police vests. I can’t see them being quite as safe because the children would not have them on as often. I suppose some sort of shield is better than none though.