Toast Tuesday!

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

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…

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?

 

Blog Boundaries-Followup

Blog Boundaries – Follow-up

Here is a message that I received a few minutes ago from the editors at Babble.com.

Thanks for you note, Loretta. We very much appreciate your feedback. Please note that all comments revealing identities, unrelated to the issue at hand, or those considered “unduly hostile” have been removed. We’re still in the process of monitoring the post, so it’s very possible that we may remove more. Again, we appreciate your concern and thanks for letting us know your thoughts. -Babble Editors

 

I am happy to see Babble take the reins in this issue.

Thank you all for reading and I am always appreciative of your comments.

Related Post:

Blog Boundaries…where do you draw the line?

 

 

Toast Tuesday!

Toast Tuesday!

This Tuesday, I am going to simply pick a blog post that I like.

We are currently inundated with “back to school” posts so this one caught my eye as one that deals with another mom moment.

What about the mom who is going back to work after having a baby?

This is a very emotional moment and those feelings are captured so well in this post from NewParent.com.

Returning to Work After Maternity Leave | New Parent.

What was your experience when you returned to work after having a baby? How did you deal with your feelings?

 

 

What’s for Lunch?

School Lunch Dilemma

School is fast approaching and that means school lunches will be back in the kitchen routine. Hmmmm!

I have been reading about healthy ideas for kids lunches and recently had a discussion concerning family food ideas with a dietician colleague. She has the same issues with kids lunches…how do you make the interesting and tasty?

So much time goes into meal planning at my house and always has. Good healthy meals have forever been a priority of mine. It was handed down to me by my own grandmother. She made a delicious dinner every night. My mother was a single mom and worked full-time. Since my grandmother lived with us she took over cooking. Most nights, we all would have dinner together. It was an important time for us to catch up with each other and one that I looked forward to.

This fall, I am going to help prepare daily lunches for pre-school…the challenge begins and I am up to it! I think…

Creativity in lunch preparation has long gone from my food prep repertoire . Personally, I take my own lunch to work…it suits me…although it is far from creative… it is usually healthy.

Recently, on my trips to Whole Foods, I find myself looking at Bento boxes and flipping through Parents Magazine for hints as to how to be creative. I want to fix something healthy and interesting….food that a four-year old will enjoy at lunch time.

Our school is a nut free environment, which is of concern to our family, because our little preschooler has a nut allergy. As you probably know, nut allergies can be life threatening. So along with lunch goes the EpiPen, which is kept at school in case of a severe reaction.

I have decided to try the Bento Box…mainly to keep things interesting and organized for our little one and ourselves. The small containers will allow for a few little snack type foods like veggies, dips and grapes (cut in half) to avoid choking, another concern of mine as a pediatric nurse.

Kids have very small “windpipes 

they can easily be occluded by

a food as tiny as a grape, nut

or a chunk of hot dog.

The larger containers will be great for a sandwich, salad or something like a shish-ka-bob without the stick.

I am also purchasing a lunch bag to carry the bento box… that will make it easier to put some “blue ice” inside, keeping food cool and protected from bacteria growth.

A soup thermos also caught my eye…so, we have that as well. It allows us to change-up the menu and include some favorite soups with noodles and some veggies.

So far the food thing is coming together…now for the drinks. Milk really turns me off…no matter what, milk gets warm and there is nothing more distasteful! Water is really perfect with a squirt of juice or even a little mint. Our little one likes juice so a 50-50 juice-sparkling water is a nice variation. One suggestion from Parents Magazine suggests freezing the juice overnight so that it is slushy by lunchtime…great idea.

Parents Magazine, September 2012 issue has some wonderful top chef choices for the lunch box routine. None of them are too difficult…I give this particular article two thumbs up.

What are some of your suggestions for the lunch box dilemma every morning?

Note: I am a grandmother, whose daughter lets me get involved in the food/lunch dilemma because I really enjoy it… we do all of it together and fortunately we have the same dietary concerns for children. It is my pleasure to share with you as we navigate this together.

Related links:

Upgrade Your Lunch Box: Tips For Packing A Creative Lunch – Parenthood.com.

http://www.genconnect.com/health/top-chef-susan-feniger-ming-tsai-on-healthy-back-to-school-foods/

“Week in Review” from Parenting in the Loop

A Day at the Beach…Martha’s Vineyard

Here are my Friday suggestions.

Motherload has an amusing post especially for me because I spend a fair amount of time in Rhode Island and am also amazed at all the Native American historical names of rivers and towns. One Massachusetts town always brings about a funny banter between me and my husband when we see its road sign…guess which one it is?

On the brink of my eighth year of marriage I’ve discovered the key component of successful matrimony: that both parties find stupid, ongoing jokes hi-larious.This is what it is like in my marriage.

There are things that are so horrendously obtuse–absurd things that we’ve joked about for years—that we still laugh wine out of our noses about. Yes, it’s the spewing of wine from our nasal cavities–a sort of pinot noir neti pot cleansing—that keeps our love alive.

This is a meeting that I would love to have attended this year…a very large group of bloggers from many diverse areas…mostly women….along with a ton of wonderful sponsors. Ah…maybe next year!

BlogHer’s 8th Annual Conference is headed back to New York City in 2012. Thousands of bloggers will come together to connect, learn and inspire. Join us!

On Thursday, August 2, President Barack Obama addressed the BlogHer ’12 conference live, via video. Watch this clip now, and come back soon for the entire address!

A very thought provoking topic…the development and health of our children and grandchildren related to stress. This is a topic all of us can relate to our own lives but what about the next generation…What can we teach them?

 The future of any society depends on its ability to foster the healthy development of the next generation. Extensive research on the biology of stress now shows that healthy development can be derailed by excessive or prolonged activation of stress response systems in the body (especially the brain), with damaging effects on learning, behavior, and health across the lifespan.

Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

Bloomberg on Breastfeeding.

Rant on the Politics of Breastfeeding:

Another breastfeeding issue…Mayor Bloomberg of NYC has initiated a program in his City which is supposed to promote healthy breast feeding.

Do we really need politicians to get on this “bandwagon”….Are not mothers, moms enough to decide on their own, how they want to feed their baby?

Women who stop breastfeeding do so because they are miserable and so are their infants…it is not because they did not want to breastfeed to begin with…it is because they were not initially successful or after trying and trying with good support systems they still were not successful and their babies were not getting nourished nor sleeping.

Any mother knows this can lead to a vicious cycle of crying and sleep deprivation on the part of the newborn and the mom. It is horrible when it happens ….Where is Mayor Bloomberg after mom goes home from the hospital?

I am all for breastfeeding and am aware of all the benefits of it…but I am not in favor of a Mayor getting involved in a choice that is personal and has nothing to do with him.

Politicians should stick to kissing babies on the campaign trail and stay out of the feeding frenzy.

Kara Spak: N.Y. Mayor Bloomberg is wrong on breast-feeding – Chicago Sun-Times.

Reasons to Breastfeed Anywhere!

Good Monday morning…

Once again, there has been an incident where someone went up to a breastfeeding mother and told her she had to cover up or leave. Once again, the media feels to need to create a breeding ground for ignorance by asking questions like “should there be any restrictions on breastfeeding in public?” The answer to that stupid question and yes…there are stupid questions, is simply NO. There should not be any restrictions. There is a myriad of reasons why women should and are able to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.

via 50 Reasons for Breastfeeding Anytime, Anywhere | PhD in Parenting.

Whenever, I read posts like this one I wonder just how far we have come in our thinking. Why, oh why, are people still offended by breastfeeding in public? Why does a mother have to go to a Ladies’ Room to feed her child or cover their infant’s face with a blanket? In my opinion this is ridiculous!

Where and when to breastfeed a baby should not be an issue, yet it is …personally if I were breastfeeding I would enjoy a nice quiet space where I could relax with my baby…I would enjoy a quiet place if I were bottle feeding as well.

Who does not like a quiet relaxing meal?

If a soft chair or quiet private space was not available I think I would try to make do and find a comfortable alternative. It would not be on a floor of a store or an airport unless I was desperate. I am not that relaxed a person to chill out in public on a floor but there are those moms, who are…more power to them.

Here are my reasons for breastfeeding anytime, anywhere…

  1. Your baby is hungry.
  2. Your baby is hungry.
  3. Your baby is hungry.
  4. Your baby is hungry.
  5. YOUR BABY IS HUNGRY.

Toast Tuesday

Toast Tuesday!

This week, I would like to feature Melinda Tripp on my blog.

She is devoted to the safety of children and most importantly teaching children to be safe.

Take a look at her blog and give two thumbs up to PROJECT SAFE!

 

About the Author and PROJECT SAFE:

If you want every child as I do to grow up safely, make good choices, be  confident, empowered and success-filled, welcome aboard the express train to safe kids across the nation.

A plan tailored by parents and teachers for their child, their family and their class.

Welcome to my world, the one where we strive together to grow the safest next generation.

I am calling it PROJECT SAFE.

via About the Author and PROJECT SAFE « Teachsafety.