Like most parents when I hear the words “drug recall” I can hear the fear monster creeping up on me. Times like this the internet can be your best friend and hence this is the most useful website for finding out if you have the medicines that have been recalled. Click here to check. Clear, concise and has all the correct lot numbers.
Archive for the ‘parenting tips’ Category
Helpful info about tylenol, motrin and benedryl drug recall
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Walking to school as a political statement.
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
I walked to school. And I walked home. At night. In the dark. Alone. I look back on the carefree things I did as a kid, teen and even college student and those same simple acts now as a parent make me shake with fear. How am I still here and in one piece? Growing up we left our car unlocked, slept with the windows open in the summer and walked home alone at night. And as a mother who loves her child intensely I think about those things I did as a kid and I try to justify them with caveats such as “It was Vermont and in the winter it was dark by 3:30″ because really I don’t know how I will be able to let my daughter simply walk to school alone as I did. Our current world seems so much scarier, more dangerous, but is it?
Jan Hoffman’s article appeared in the NY Times today in the Style section about whether or not our children should walk to school. Sure, parenting and your style of it, can fill the playground gossip machine for hours. But truly, who would have thought that the seemingly normal practice of having our children walk to school would be considered a political statement? Read on and then chime in. I want to hear what you think! Full article here.
Oh, Happy Days of Play…let them continue.
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
With our children back to school this week (some of us next week), I know I am not alone in my sentiment of “can’t wait!”. Ahh, its time for us parents to return to some much needed routine and well, a break, from being the all on one chef-chauffeur-creative director-coach and more. Its a mixed bag, though, with another summer gone those little critters are growing up so fast and the guilt of having wished some of the time away creeps in. And, the responsibility of giving them the tools to function well in society is never ending and at times daunting too. As delighted as I am to be off the hook of entertainment director for at least a few hours a day, I also know that I am more concerned with maintaining a balance of education and play. Although my daughter attends a private preschool the thought of which public school will be educating her next year is already on my mind. I don’t know of one school budget in America that is not facing scrutiny and some of the first cuts to be made are to the all important creative outlets of sports, art, music and now some schools have even cut recess. The article below from the NY Times addresses the importance of play and how it shapes our abilities to adapt and function well into adulthood. Take the five minutes to read it here. Then get out and play.
Go ahead, label my child.
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009Its a been a good start to July! Finally some sun and we escaped for a few days to York Beach, ME. What fun we had! Now, its back to work. About two weeks ago my darling wonder started day camp. She is for sure enjoying and I am so glad I sent her. In preparation for her fun filled days I had to send her with a supply of bathing suits and clothing. Everything had to be labeled. I know many people use the ol’ black marker but I honestly hate it. Trying to find a hidden spot and not wanting it to bleed through — who needs any more stress? Thankfully I found this source called Label Daddy. Fantastic — washable peel and stick labels! Alright so why now am I sharing my find well, they just emailed me (yes I signed up for their list!) and they have this other labels for kids with allergies! Ahh, what a stress relief for those parents of allergic kids! Thinking about back to school and lunchtime can put many parents on edge. I love this — you have the kids name and what they are allergic to printed on these labels and stick them on their lunchbox, cup, containers etc. “
Chemical Free Sleep for the Wee Set. Finally.
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Recently, I was at an event and while chatting it up, an aquaintance asked me if I knew where to find natural bedding – sure I know where to buy organic sheets, blankets, and pajamas but that wasn’t what she was in search of. Pregnant with her second child and already the mother of a child with allergies, this mama was on the hunt for natural, organic mattresses for her family. The eww factor: nearly all crib mattresses in use today contain polyurethane foam, vinyl (PVC), phathlates, chemical fire retardants or barriers, and an extensive list of added industrial chemicals. Yuck. Seems there is an abundance of solutions for adult sized places to lay your head but not for the wee set.
As many of you know, I love research and I consider myself a bit of information hub so while I am disappointed not to have had a source rolled off my tongue right away I was thankful for the challenge. I have known for sometime that mattresses have all kinds of toxic things in them — admittedly, I chose to close my eyes to this in order to well, sleep and not bankrupt my wallet. About 2 years ago when I had to buy a new queen mattress set I did consider an organic set however is was about 6k!
Flash forward to today and organic, natural mattresses for cribs are nearly the same cost as a high quality traditional crib mattress. So drumroll please, Naturepedic, is the answer. While it irks me that many companies view “green” as a marketing strategy, the benefit of this “trend”, is that it has created demand and therefore drives prices down and availability is up. All of this means its now time to say, Hello Organic…Goodbye Chemicals!
Have we gone nuts?
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Nut free, its a debatable issue now. Upon my daily dissection of the the NY Times, I read this Behavior Modification 101
Thursday, May 28th, 2009Behavior modification, it could have been a course in college if you were a psych major but let’s apply it to what we really know. Its really just a fancy term for bribing our children into doing what we want. Sometimes its a lollipop after a vaccination to halt the screeching. Sometimes its bargaining to get them to eat their veggies. It works for a while and then, well, we have to up the ante. Most recently I have been outsmarted by my tenacious three year old and had to devise a new system. Enter the Lakeshore Learning Store. Its a chain, gasp, but this mecca to teachers and parents alike helped me find a fabulous chart with reusable stickers! Aptly named the “good for me” reward chart this little beauty was part one of my plan to tame this tazamanian devil aka my daughter. Lucky for me darling Ava was more than thrilled to help write her own rules! (I had to pinch myself, this was going to work!) After writing our rules and drawing in some little graphics as the poor darling can’t read yet, I explained how she could earn things she wanted. Such as, this charming little pot of strawberry lip gloss that came in a cupcake shaped container that grandma had slipped my way or the prima ballerina kit by the Little Experience from Chi Chi Bean that Ava was dying for. We started small with teaching her to earn 5, then 7 and finally 11 stars for the most prized gift so far, the enchanted castle kit from the Little Experience. Sure it helps when mom has a store but honestly it was more about finding things she was excited about earning, so do whatever your kid is thrilled with. A pack of gum, new pencils, a water slide, etc.
It took her about a week until she could earn all 11 stars in one day to receive the castle but Ava was motivated and some gentle reminders helped her stay on track. Its awfully sweet to see the sense of pride she has taken in earning these rewards. Most importantly, the power struggle to tame her behavior has definitely eased.
And as an added bonus the enchanted castle kit from the Little Experience captured Ava’s attention for hours. Here are a few shots of her working on her castle kit. It was fun to reward her and have a calm child to do this project with. It’s these little wins we parents live for. Thanks Ava.
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- Enchanted Castle Kit – the big prize!
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- look at how focused she is…
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- sorting and counting…
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- popping the wooden castle pieces out with care.
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- easy to read picture directions…
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- love how she works so diligently…
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- she thought these dragon wings were so funny…