Author Archives: llpitlwp

Locker Room Etiquette…

Posted on by
Reply

This post is from the archives… What do you think?

 

Noteworthy Wednesday!

via: Flickr: Heather Poole

I went swimming at the Y.M.C.A. Later, in the men’s locker room, a father walked in with his daughter. Occasionally, this happens with babies or toddlers, but the girl was 7 or 8. He put her in a shower stall while he showered, and left her there while he shaved and flossed. Then he brought her to the lockers, where they changed. I was appalled. What do you make of this?

via Too Old for the Men’s Locker Room – Social Q’s – NYTimes.com.

This question appeared in the Sunday NYTimes and it truly raised questions for me.

I have often thought about this dilemma especially when I see kids out for the day with their dads.

Interestingly, I don’t always think about this when I see kids with their moms!

But  back to dad and the “Y” locker room. This scene raises concerns for me…granted, I have not visited a men’s locker room but the women’s locker room is certainly an experience. Some women walk around naked, others cover-up as best they can…they usually do not spend any unnecessary time in the locker room…shower, change, pack up and leave. When young children are with their moms, from my observations, they get changed and leave in fairly short order most of the time.

For me, it seems this dad took entirely too much time while his daughter was hanging out in the men’s locker room.

My own “yuk” feeling is coming to the surface here. Exposing children to other naked adults, personally, makes me uncomfortable. I would have to think of another way of doing my toilette if I were in a similar situation.

  • What do you do when your opposite-sex child has to use a public restroom?
  • At what age should children be allowed to use the public restroom by themselves?
  • What public restrooms would make you think twice about letting your child use it without accompaniment?
  • More importantly…what do you teach them ahead of time to “protect” them.?
  • Do you teach your boys the same as you teach your girls?
  • Is this more of a “Dad Dilemma” than a “Mom Moment”?

Like I said, I used the “YUK” feeling factor to help me in these situations.

My feeling is by 7 or 8 years of age many kids have been in some type of locker room situation at school but “Y” locker rooms of the opposite sex seem to be an altogether different story.

It would be interesting to hear other responses to this issue and how parents deal with this common life situation.

Remembering…9/11

Posted on by
Reply

Graham Hagget was just 10 weeks old when his grandmother, Sandra Lee Wright, was killed in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. But he knows a lot about her, mainly from the stories his mother, Shelli Wright, has told him.

via Boy Grows Close To Grandmother, Through Memories :

NPR.

 

I will always remember where I was on the morning of 9/11…the memory is forever etched in my mind as I am sure it is in yours.

It is the most horrific event of my time…

It seemed that everyone knew someone, who knew someone that perished in the events of 9/11…in the WTC….in the Pentagon … in a field in Pennsylvania.

Personally, I had the honor of meeting one of the NYFD’s first responders, a few months after 9/11.

He was working on the “recovery” at Ground Zero. He was from Queens  and he recently had recovered the remains of his own nephew, another fireman, who perished in the WTC. That late January afternoon, Bobby was with another of his nephews, also a fireman as they drank at Moran’s …a bar near Ground Zero. He was from a family of firefighters…a family of New Yorkers. Bobby had also been a first responder to the plane crash in Queens that occurred that same Fall of 2011.

He told me how as he and his “brothers” rode to the site of the WTC, they knew that some of them would not come back so they wrote their social security numbers on their limbs for identification…many were identified by their boots or coats ,which were labeled with their numbers and names.

As he told his story, I sat glued to my chair listening to every word, realizing that he was traumatized and was not the same person that left his home on the morning of 9/11.

I will never forget the events of that day…nor will I ever forget meeting Bobby, from the NYFD in Queens. I do know that his son is now a member of the NYFD and carries on a family tradition, a very proud one…of that I am sure.

Today, I remember all those who lost loved ones that day…

Here’s to the NYFD and the NYPD…today and everyday!

 

 

What are you doing for Grandparents Day!

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Grandparents Day!

I came across this blog post about grandparent bonding and it reminded me that today is Grandparents Day!

Fortunately for us, everyday is grandparents day in our house!

I really believe that it is the responsibility of the grandparents to remain as close as they can with their grandchildren.

By that, I mean staying in touch, making phone calls and planning visits.

I have witnessed families where grandparents feel they should be “kowtowed” to, in my opinion this does nothing to encourage a loving, supportive relationship between grandparent and grandchild.

So if you are a grandparent ….today is a day to celebrate.

Do this anyway you wish but include your grandchildren in your own special way!

Win a Back to School Gift from Hallmark!

Posted on by
Reply

There is nothing like little surprises and my grandchild loves them as much as I do.

Hallmark Cards has just the cutest items to surprise your child during lunchtime.

Many years ago, when my own girls were young, I was working and left home before my girls got up for school. I tried very hard to somehow connect with them prior to their leaving   for school or while they were in school.

I always left them breakfast and for lunch I would use a cookie cutter to shape their sandwiches into “heart” shapes. Every now and then I would leave a handwritten note.

Then, when they both went to “sleep away” camp I had to depend on “snail” mail to deliver, cards, letters and packages. It was fun choosing from companies that specialized in camp baskets designed for kids away from home, who were not allowed to have candy and food items in their cabin….not easy!

As school reopens….I find myself along with my daughter trying to make lunch not only healthy, but interesting and fun. It is an opportunity to share a moment during the day to say something special to a sweet little girl starting out in the world.

Here are some of the fun “Back to School” Hallmark items that I found to help make my grandchild’s lunch a memorable moment of her day at school.

Enter the contest below if you would like to win these items in a Back-to-School Gift Pack from Hallmark!

 

Win It!

I get to give one Back-to-School Gift Pack to one of you! To enter, tweet the following and leave me a comment letting me know you did:

Tweet “@LoretteLavine I want to win the @Hallmark Back to School Gift pack.

Extra Entries:

Follow ParentingintheLoop on Facebook
Follow Hallmark on Facebook
Follow LoretteLavine on Twitter
Follow HallmarkCards on Twitter

Leave one comment per task letting me know you did, or already do.

Sweepstakes run from today, September 7 until  Saturday Night September 9th

I was not compensated for this post. I was given product for review and giveaway. All opinions are my own.

There is no winner for this gift pack from Hallmark as there were no comments or tweets related to this post.


 

“Toast Tuesday”

Posted on by
Reply

My “toast” today is to kids’ lunches…the parents that make them and to The Stir.

“Hey Mom…Whats for lunch?”

Labor Day Weekend is all but over… happily, we have already made a school lunch for the first day….it is in the fridge!

Just came home from dinner with friends….the “last summer supper” as we like to call it, I opened up my FB page and saw this wonderful video with “My Plate” Guidelines.

In honor of  tomorrow, the first day of school, I knew it had to be shared. The link contains some  fab school lunch ideas and the guidelines are the easiest.

Kids deserve something delicious, healthy and interesting at lunch don’t you think?

These are not even over the top ideas.

Just have a little fun and be creative or let the recipes be creative for you.

What are you serving for lunch on the first day back to school?

School lunches and snack time stress me out. There. I said it. We are about to go back to school, and at my house, that means five days a week, for my two kids, I need to pack lunches that consist of more than just turkey thrown in between two slices of bread, and snacks other than pretzels. I know I can be more creative than that, and I truly want my kids to eat better than that. Plus, I am really into following the new MyPlate Guidelines, which recently replaced the food pyramid I grew up with but never paid any attention to to help make sure my kids learn to eat balanced meals.

via White House Chef Schools Us on Healthy Lunches VIDEO | The Stir.

“Week in Review” from ParentingintheLoop

Posted on by
Reply

Tantrum discussions are trending…but then when aren’t they trending online somewhere in the parenting/grandparenting sphere?

Here are my picks this week.

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend…we are trying to capture some last rays of the summer, leaving our footprints in the sand and making memories to last us through the coming Fall and Winter.

The study, led by  Lauren Wakschlag, Ph.D., also debunked the common belief that temper tantrums are rampant among young children. Although temper tantrums among preschoolers are common, they are not particularly frequent, the research shows. Less than 10 percent of young children have a daily tantrum. That pattern is similar for girls and boys, poor and non-poor children, and Hispanic, white, and African-American children.The study found key differences between “typical” tantrums and “atypical” tantrums.

Very interesting information regarding typical and atypical tantrums, if you have a question about your preschooler’s meltdowns you might want to check out this new information from Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

This post from Core Parenting, discusses how to deal with a tantrum with emotional competence. Agree or disagree it just might help get you through the next toddler/preschooler meltdown.

So the next time your child has big emotion, change the way you think and see and respond in the moment. Change your thoughts from “Oh no, not again!” to “Yes! Another opportunity to practice emotional competence!” Take a deep breath and be amazed at the hard work your child is doing. Learning about emotions is difficult, engaging work. Be there, by their side.

Sick Days and Preschoolers

Posted on by
Reply

School days bring sick days…children somehow pass around the nastiest of germs. Fevers  from unknown viruses seem to be the most common and the most perplexing. None of us like to see our little one suffering from a fever.

Coughs and colds come winter are common and mostly annoying with endless sniffles and runny noses. Medications to treat cough and colds are not recommended for preschoolers

A child who is puking is really a challenge….many times I have run out of towels and linens before the vomiting ends…but in all cases do not give anti-nausea meds. Consult with your pediatrician to avoid dehydration.

Baby Center has a short list of medications not to give to preschoolers.

Check it out or better yet print it out and keep handy as the “out sick season” starts with the beginning of school.

 

Eight medicines you shouldn’t give your preschooler | BabyCenter.

Highlights

Toast Tuesday!

Posted on by
Reply

Vaccinate Your Effing Kids | Jessica Gottlieb A Los Angeles Mom.

Jessica makes an important statement here.

If you are deciding whether to vaccinate or not vaccinate your children, definitely do your homework. Your life and your child’s life could depend upon the decision you make.

It is important to make medical decisions based on solid research that is done by reputable researchers not based on Hollywood personalities or business men like “The Donald”.

So this Tuesday …I am recommending Jessica Gottlieb’s blog.

“Week in Review” from ParentingintheLoop

Posted on by
Reply

Just Around the Corner

I love to post these tidbits on Friday…I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Fall is just around the corner. Here is recipe to welcome in the season…one of my favorite combinations spicy pumpkin and chocolate chips. Do you think that this is a healthy treat? I do!

I am not a rule person and that may be one of my problems…but I do expect family members to know what needs to be done. There is parenting beyond the rulebook and I love this particular post about “parenting from scratch”. Kids learn and live by what they see and experience.

Oh, when I read this post, I could feel this mom’s frustration and it brought me back to some truly unforgettable tantrum times. What I wish I knew 30+ years ago was how to cope with these terrible parenting moments and actually empathize with my child. This article was not wasted on me as I have learned so much watching my grandchild and trying to step back and respond according to what I have read in “The Happiest Toddler on the Block” by Dr. Harvey Karp.

Kindergarten and the return of the monster tantrum | Confessions of a Dr. Mom.

Have a great weekend!

Preschool Problems…

Posted on by
Reply

I recently read a post which discussed whether we should be teaching our kids to hit back when another child hits them in preschool.

Personally, I think hitting back in school should not encouraged at any age much less in preschool. If a child is being hit at school, it seems to me that the teacher should intervene. If the offending child keeps hitting that calls for parent/teacher discussions.

Our preschool does not tolerate hitting and deals with these issues directly with the offending child’s family. Apologies are expected from the child doing the hitting to the child or children that he/she hit. That is usually the end of it. I am not sure what happens if this type of behavior continues.

It seems that encouraging a child to hit back does nothing to solve the problem…it merely tells another child that hitting is okay in certain instances. To me, preschoolers, do not seem to have the ability to differentiate between when hitting back may in fact be appropriate.

I think preschoolers should defend themselves by telling the teacher and telling their parents.

The parent should then make sure that this is resolved swiftly and appropriately.

What do you think about teaching your preschool child to defend him/herself? Would you encourage hitting back? If so under what circumstances would you think hitting back was okay?

Do dads feel differently about this problem?