Archive for the 'Learning & Development' Category

Newborn Euphoria

Published on March 21, 2012 in Learning & Development and Parenting & Discipline. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .

I love newborns. When they sleep, their sweet faces scrunch up, their lips pucker, they whimper, smile, and make some of the cutest involuntary facial expressions and noises. I could seriously stare at my six-week old’s precious little face all night long. Especially when she’s in a really deep, serene sleep and her face bears a look of utter peacefulness.

And they smell really, really, REAlly divine. Like a bed of flowers. Even their little bums smell good. I don’t know what gives them their fragrance (hormones maybe?), but I do know that it’s one of the most precious, fantastic-ly delicious and enjoyable scents that I’ve ever experienced in life.

As much as I’m yearning for a night full of slumber myself, like longer than say 3 or 4 hours, I know that I will miss not having a newborn in our house.

What makes me the saddest is knowing that if we decide that 3 kids completes our family, then the next newborn in our house will probably be when my kids have babies. And of course as much as I love newborns, I don’t want that to happen for a long, long, LONG time.

I can’t wait to watch my baby girl grow. What color will her hair be? Will her eyes stay blue? Will she love books as much as her sisters? What will her sweet voice sound like?

So much to look forward to.

Ultimately, I guess this is why photo albums were invented – so that we can relive a time in life that can’t be returned to. To savor the moments that have passed.

And to dream about the future.

-What did you like/dislike about the newborn phase?

Will the New Princess ‘Couture’ Help or Hinder Our Daughters’ Sense of Self-Esteem?

Published on January 19, 2012 in Learning & Development and Parenting & Discipline. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

By hudsonthego, Flickr

About a year ago, I took my 3 year old daughter to Target to buy a new blanket for naptime at school. I told my daughter, whose favorite color at the time was blue, that she could pick out any soft blanket that she liked. As we strolled down the aisle, we passed Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Dora the Explorer, and several other “girl” blankets. But when we saw the blue blanket, Spiderman, she got excited and told me she wanted that one. Despite the giggles coming from the observer lady in our aisle, I put Spiderman in our basket and headed to the register.

Now four years old, my daughter has expressed little interest in “princess culture.” And to be honest, we do have quite a bit of princess merchandise in our house. From dress-up clothes to princess learning laptops, to princess pull-ups to princess coloring books, you can’t escape the princess culture these days. In fact, you can hardly buy little girls’ panties these days without having a smiling princess across your child’s bottom.

I would be lying if I said that her non-interest in the princess culture wasn’t a huge relief to me. Just like the Barbie culture that I grew up in, I began to think about the type of impact princess culture would have on my daughter’s sense of self esteem.

How would she learn to define beauty? Would she begin comparing her looks to the princesses?

My husband and I have been making a conscious effort to compliment and highlight her inner strengths – how smart, capable, independent, loving, caring and generous she is. But would any of our efforts be over-shadowed by a culture obsessed with princesses, toddlers in tiaras and the Kardashians?

For some reason I just don’t remember growing up being surrounded by all of the princess ‘couture.’ I went to Disney World as a child, and loved the princess stories. But I didn’t wear princess underwear, and I didn’t own any princess dresses or tiaras.

So how did we get to where we are today – a culture that’s been engulfed by princesses?

When I saw a video of Peggy Orenstein on Anderson Cooper, everything started to become crystal clear. As it turns out, mass-marketed princess merchandise hit our stores around the year 2000. And as Peggy says in the video below, from 2000 to 2009, the princess merchandise industry went from a $300MM to a $4B industry. By 2009, there were 26,000 Disney Princess products in stores!

At the end of the day, the real question is how do we raise self-confident, independent, loving, caring, accepting children, in a culture that is obsessed with external beauty?

I can’t say I have the answers (but if you do, please share!).

As a parent, I think it’s important to remember as the kids get older that they are extremely vulnerable to external influences, and should be reminded that beauty comes from within rather than what they look like on the outside. That being said, it’s also important to compliment them and nurture their attributes that matter the most – how helpful, smart, loving and caring that they are.

7 Ideas for Entertaining the Kids While Traveling in the Car

Published on December 21, 2011 in Activity, Family Time, Learning & Development and Travel. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Many of us will be traveling in the car over the holidays. Whether it’s a one-hour ride to Grandma and Grandpa’s house or a long journey, many of us will be looking for ways to keep our little ones entertained while driving. Nothing is worse than being stuck in the car with a couple of bored (and screaming) toddlers!

Some ideas/items that have provided Jasmine and me with countless hours of talking-to-daddy car time or even peaceful flight time are below:

(1) The Crayola Color Wonder Lap Desk

The Crayola lap desk comes with Color Wonder markers and paper. If you’re not familiar with Color Wonder markers, they are wonderful. The kids could (theoretically) write all over the inside of the car (not that we condone this!) and no one would ever see any color because they are designed to create color only on color wonder pages. Kids love these markers and if you save them for car use only, they’ll be a treat that will keep your kids entertained for long stretches of time.

The other thing I love about the lap desk is that it provides the kids with a mobile surface for reading, coloring, and/or working with the rest of the ideas below. I bought one to take on our last 10 hour drive to Boston. Unfortunately, my kids ended up fighting over it the entire trip. So I have since bought another one when I found it on sale at Target.

 

2) Magnetic or Felt Storyboards

Storyboards are wonderful for the kids because they can create endless creative combinations and stories using their imagination. Jasmine picked up Disney princess magnets from the dollar bins at Target and a $3 magnetic whiteboard for each of her girls, and they were busy for hours talking to their princesses. I’ve also seen Disney and Melissa and Doug magnet boards, with everything from Princess magnets to insects and athletic magnets (i.e. clothe a princess magnet in various clothing and accessory magnets, or dressing a boy in sports clothing, hockey masks, sticks, etc.).

 

3) Sticker books

Sticker books are always a huge hit in our house, especially the ones that come with specific pages for a set of stickers. If the kids can create or populate a landscape with stickers, it gives them something more than plain paper to focus on. And some sticker books have a special surface that allows the kids to unpeel and re-stick the stickers.

4) TAG Reader

The TAG reader pen is perfect for traveling because it is small and compact, and the kids can follow along books by themselves while you’re driving. They also come with a host of games, which we’re only beginning to discover on ours after owning our Tag for over a year. Make sure to pack extra batteries, though, because they will be very upset when it runs out of juice!

 

5) Sliding Puzzles

Recently my daughter discovered one of these puzzles while we were in a pediatrician’s waiting room. I didn’t even know they still made them because I haven’t seen them in stores in ages. No fear, Amazon has them and they are inexpensive.

 

6) “I Spy” Game

My kids always ask to play “I Spy With my Little Eye” when we’re in the car or running with the kids in the jog stroller. Even my two year old participates. Traveling at night makes the game a little difficult, but we always find lights inside/outside of the car to focus on.

Photo source

7) Portable DVD Player

When all else fails, we whip out the portable DVD player – a sure way to calm bored, tired, or anxious children. We usually don’t let the kids watch a lot of tv, but we make exception for long trips. If you don’t have screens built into your car, a variety of mounts can be purchased that will secure a portable dvd player to the car’s headrests, such as the ones found here and here.

What are your favorite games or activities for your young children while traveling?

Every Parent and Child NEEDS to Watch This

Published on December 6, 2011 in Learning & Development. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Every parent and every child needs to watch this video. You can’t watch this and not feel this child’s pain. Children need to see this to understand the impact that their words and actions can have on another. Parents need to see this to be aware that young children are experiencing this type of pain and these types of thoughts.

A friend of mine shared this video on Facebook last night, and it didn’t take long for me to break down completely in tears for this child. No child should ever feel this way. I wish with all my heart that I could take away his pain. It hurts so much as a parent to see this child’s suffering, but even more so because…

I was once there.

Many who know me surely don’t know this about me, but I personally know this child’s pain. I was bullied and teased beginning in about the 4th grade. I came home day after day, hid myself in my parents’ basement, and cried. and cried. and cried. For nearly three years, this went on. Many of the thoughts this child expressed crossed my mind, though I was very fortunate that I could never bring myself to truly hurt myself as much as I grew to hate myself for the way others treated me.

I know - it doesn’t make sense, but as a child when you’re attacked for the very things that are a part of you, that you don’t feel you can change, your mind goes there. My religion was my saving grace when it came to thoughts of suicide - I was taught very young that this was not the answer, that I had no right to take away the gift that God had given. But it didn’t stop me from asking myself whether I’d truly be missed if I were no longer there. Would those who hurt me then feel sorry?

Yesterday, I shared a link in the highlights post of new research that found that children are contemplating suicide as young as third grade. The child in this video is evidence of that assertion. Parents, we need to teach our children how impactful their words and actions can be.  To this day, I still remember the names and faces of the children who picked on me, the image of one of those girls chasing me home from school tossing rocks and calling names, sitting in a dark corner in my parents’ basement frustrated, angry, and sad.

Like this boy, I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I found enough reasons to stay strong. And fortunately for me, my parents sensed my pain as much as I tried to keep it from them. In 7th grade, they enrolled me in a private school out of fear that if I continued to junior high with these children, a junior high with a reputation for drugs, that I’d fall into drugs or worse. They saved me. As did my new best friend and the youth who accepted me at my new school. That year was my turning point.

Even still, I continued for the rest of my young adult life to deal with feelings of insufficient self-worth and apprehension at letting people know the real me. Many who’ve known me over the years might say I was confident and strong, but for most years it was an affront. I just kept telling myself, pretend to be confident, and eventually it will come.

I’m sure those girls who bullied had no idea the consequences of their actions, no idea how long it would stay with me.  And while I am a stronger person for it and hopefully in a better place to counsel my children, I don’t wish it on another child for a moment.

For this child’s sake and for the many others who are in such pain, I will pray that they find the reasons to be strong and the ability to realize their true worth. Our children need to know every day that we love them unconditionally and that they are never alone. that there is hope. life gets better, and these experiences are but a small moment in our journey.

- Jasmine

 

Fantastically Funny Friday (10/14/2011) – Two Cousins Perform Nicki Manaj’s ‘Super Bass’

Published on October 14, 2011 in Learning & Development and LOL Moments. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Have you seen these two little girls performing Nicki Manaj’s “Super Bass” yet? If you haven’t, you must! They were interviewed on Ellen this week and my daughters and I couldn’t stop cracking up at these videos. These two little cousins are absolutely adorable, and hilarious to boot (not to mention super talented!).

The videos are a bit longer than we normally post for FFF, but we promise, you won’t be disappointed!

Toddlers & Tiaras: Documentary or Exploitation

Published on September 22, 2011 in Learning & Development. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Spray-tans, fake nails, fake hair, fake teeth, fake eyelashes, butt glue, waxing…Girls as young and younger than my own are being subjected to this in the world of child beauty pageants. Never mind being dressed as a hooker.

Yes, one mom last week defended her actions of dressing her 3 year old as Julia Roberts’ prostitute character from Pretty Woman. Her justification was that her child had no idea what she was wearing (despite flaunting it), and she was subsequently dressed up as the classy Julia Roberts which put it all in context and made it cute and funny. Hmm, I don’t think many parents are laughing.

The video of this little girl strutting her stuff in thigh-high boots, blonde wig and a replica of Julia’s tank top-mini along with images of other young pageant girls, including a 2 year old dressed as Madonna in her cone-shaped bra and a 4 year old Dolly Parton with padded breasts and behind, have circulated in recent weeks igniting a firestorm over TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras series.

People magazine published a cover story on the show in its latest issue, and I happened to read a bit of it as I was at the checkout stand last night. I found myself incredibly infuriated at the selfishness and lack of judgment coming from these young girls’ parents. And TLC? Shame on TLC too. The show has been running for nearly 3 years now, and its justification for continuing the show is downright ludicrous. TLC’s position is that they do not condone nor judge the parents, and they do not choose the costumes…They only document reality.

Well, they sure seem to be exploiting it. You only have to go no further than the show’s website to see them highlighting “Season 4′s Best Moments” and videos under the titles “Oh, No They Didn’t” and “Little Divas” for gasp-worthy material. Yes, and they’re selling DVDs of the series too. TLC is profiting from these children and their misguided parents. And I’m sure, they’re no doubt enjoying the attention this week which they generated themselves when they released the video of the 3 year old Julia Roberts, likely in an attempt to generate more buzz for the show. FYI - For this very reason, I refuse to post the video.

In fact, I feel conflicted even writing about the show because I’m adding to the attention being directed at the show, albeit negative, but I think that we, as parents, need to voice our opinions and let TLC know how we feel. It’s despicable. These young girls are being completely objectified and sexualized. Being coerced by their mothers to wear provocative outfits, strut their stuff, dance suggestively, and make themselves up to be anything but the sweet, natural, innocent little girls that they are is completely robbing them of their childhood and setting them up for a lifetime of misplaced values and poor self-esteem to say the least.

TLC may have thought they were serving the greater good when they first began airing the series in an effort to highlight this issue, but now they’ve become a part of the problem themselves. It’s time for the show to come to an end.

Melissa Wardy, the woman in the video above and the owner of Pigtail Pals - an apparel company dedicated to redefining girly, contacted the shows producers requesting its cancellation and has provided their information so that other parents can do the same. I plan to do so. It’s time to stop giving the pageant parents the fame they so desperately seek and the pageant industry any more attention. TLC and its advertisers need to grow a conscience and stop profiting from such abuse.

Want to contact the show? Have at it:

Producers: ToddlersTiarasCasting@authentictv.com

Owners: 
Discovery Communications, LLC
Viewer Relations
1 Discovery Place, 5th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Discovery Ethics Hotline: 1-800-398-6395

 

Mom Punishes Child with Hot Sauce and Cold Shower?

Published on August 23, 2011 in Educational, Health & Safety, Learning & Development and Parenting & Discipline. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

To say that I was shocked by this video is an understatement.

Growing up, I remember a few friends’ stories about getting a bar of soap shoved into their mouth for cursing or lying, but that was the exception, rather than the rule.

Warning, this video brought on the waterworks, and is not appropriate for little eyes.

After the video aired on Dr. Phil, this mom was charged for child abuse, and is currently going to court to face her charges.

We will be focusing a few upcoming posts on healthy and effective ways to discipline children. As parents, the way we discipline our children can have a profound effect on our children for the rest of their lives, especially when it comes to our children’s sense of self, confidence, and self-esteem.

-What are your thoughts after watching the video?
-What methods of discipline do you use in your house?
-How were you disciplined as a child?

-Heather

Words and Acts of Encouragement…From Two Amazing Kids

Published on June 13, 2011 in Learning & Development. 4 Comments

Since we talked a lot about confessions last week, how we view our bodies, and how we miss the spontaneity of carefree days, we wanted to share these awesome words and acts of encouragement with you.

Brilliant words can come from even the youngest of us.  ”Thumbs up everybody, rock and roll!”  :)

This weekend I also stumbled upon 4 year old Aelita Andre, who has been dubbed “the next Picasso” (no pressure or anything)! In this video, you see her first painting as a toddler in diapers, and now her paintings are sold for thousands, one even fetched $27,000! How’s that for a college fund?!

Thanks to Aelita, I have been inspired to pick up my paintbrush…for the first time in over 10 years.

What do you feel inspired to do today?

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6 Steps to Loving Your Post-Baby Body
Jump-Starting the Workout Routine After Baby
Fantastically Funny Friday (6/10/2011) – Julia Sweeney “Sex Ed” Monologue

Ever Feel Like it’s Groundhog Day Every Day?

Published on June 6, 2011 in Learning & Development and Parenting & Discipline. 13 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I have a confession to make. Sometimes I miss being spontaneous.

When I was 24, one of my best friends called and asked me if I wanted to go to Australia and New Zealand with her. She had some friends that we would stay with in Sydney and Melbourne, and the rest of the time we would stay in youth hostels. So, just like that, I booked a ticket, two weeks before we left, and took a month off of work. Other than a friend’s place to stay in Sydney, we had absolutely no idea where we were going or what we’d be doing.

In fact, I hadn’t even picked up my Lonely Planet guide until we boarded the 22+ hour flight to Sydney. Once we were there, we booked plane tickets to Melbourne, Cairns, and to Christ Church, New Zealand. Oh, and we decided to stop in Fiji on the way there. We had a glorious time exploring the island of Viti Levu, even traveling to a Fijian village deep within the interior mountains and sharing a traditional kava tea ceremony with the villagers (scroll down for photos). We also rented a sail boat and sailed around the other smaller Fijian Islands. The captain of the ship grilled fish for lunch that he caught while we snorkeled in the clearest, crystal blue waters below.

In Australia, we snorkled the Great Barrier Reef, and hiked through the rainforest with two nice women we met from Canada. At one point, we took a dip in a rainforest watering hole and found out later that that watering hole was a favorite spot for local crocodiles. And in New Zealand we rode a helicopter to the top of Fox glacier and went hiking – on top of the glacier.

These days, the most spontaneous decisions I face are what to make for dinner.

Sometimes I feel a little, well, blue. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love my children, my husband, my life. I am extremely thankful for my family. Sometimes I just miss having the ability to explore new places, meet new people, and all of the other exciting-ness that comes with travel. And let’s face it, I do miss walking out the door without taking an hour just to pack a bag with enough snacks and juice boxes for an afternoon at the swimming pool.

After I watched this video last week, I spent an entire afternoon researching flights to Australia and New Zealand. My hat goes off to these two families. Although I envy the path they’ve chosen with their little ones, I also have to wonder, where do the older children go to school? How does the constant travel affect them over time? Do their children ever crave the stability that comes along with sleeping in their own bed at night?

What about you, do you ever miss or feel the need to be spontaneous (or am I all alone here?)

Photos From Travels to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand:

My friend Liz and me on Bondi Beach, Australia

On a dive boat, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Getting ready to bungee jump off the Kawarau Bridge, New Zealand (Site of the first recorded bungee jump)

Boarding Helicopter for Fox Glacier Heli-hike

Hiking on top of Fox Glacier, New Zealand (South Island)

Meeting with a village in the mountains in Viti Levu, Fiji

Traditional Kava Tea Ceremony, Fiji

Drinking Kava Tea for the first time. Let's just say it was an "interesting" experience; Viti Levu, Fiji

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Eric Carle is a Genius

Published on April 25, 2011 in Activity and Learning & Development. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Every time I sit down to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar with my children, I can’t help but think that the author, Eric Carle, is a genius. At every stage of my little ones’ development, there is something in it for them.

It started with the beautiful and striking illustrations and the sound of Mommy’s voice when they were infants…

Then it became tactile, as my little girls began to follow the caterpillar through his food adventure with their little fingers…

Now my 1 year old is learning to speak, so we focus on the objects – “sun”, “apple”, and “orange” for example.

And then we’ll begin to follow the path of my now 3 year old. With each day of the week, the very hungry caterpillar eats a growing number of fruits…an excellent tool for early counting skills.

And if she’s anything like her sister, which her growing love of books is a sure indication, she’ll have this book memorized by the age of 2. We have a pocket version of this book that went EVERYWHERE with us, and she and I both knew the entire story by heart. How we loved to hear her little voice reciting its words. I can still hear it in my head now, “One Sunday morning, the warm sun came up and POP! out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar”. And my favorite part as she recited the array of junk food the caterpillar consumed on Saturday in her adapted vocabulary – “one piece of chlocate (chocolate) cake…one slice of solomami (salami)…one shaushage (sausage)…”.

Of course, at the end of this day of indulgence, the poor little caterpillar has quite a tummy-ache, which is subsequently cured by eating through one “nice green leaf”. The perfect opportunity to teach my little one about eating healthy!

Now my 3 year old and I are learning the days of the week.

Mommy: “On Monday, the caterpillar ate through one apple, but he was STILL hungry. What is the next day?”
Little J: “Tuesday!”

And I’m sure it won’t end there…One darling idea I came across recently focuses on fine motor skills. Using a green ribbon, your child can imitate the caterpillar as he or she threads the ribbon through the holes the caterpillar has left behind with each bite.

And then there is the science behind it all – the life stages of a caterpillar who begins his life as an egg and ultimately becomes a beautiful butterfly! One mom who reviewed the book on Amazon ordered caterpillars online and followed the stages of their development with her little one along with the book until they released them as butterflies in the spring…The learning opportunities with this book are endless!

I love collecting children’s books, and this is absolutely a must-have for your child’s collection.

One piece of advice? I recommend getting it as a sturdy board book or purchase more than one. We have three of them, and each shows just how much it has been “loved” by my little ones.

 

What is your favorite children’s classic?

- Jasmine

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