Busy Parents Club

Tips For Homeschooling, Working From Home, organizing, and easy family meals

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Why Does Cookie Monster Have to Eat Vegetables? Relying on Media to teach Important Messages

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I know that Sesame Street’s loveable blue furry critter, Cookie Monster, has been a vegetable convert for a while. Gone are the days of day- long cookie benders ( I wish someone would have told me that yesterday while I chipped away at a massive piece of chocolate cake all day in the grips of PMS…). The fact that cookies are a “sometimes food” should have had time to sink in by now. But you know what? I don’t think he’s really comfortable with it. And you know what else? Neither am I.

When I first heard that this switch was happening it was years ago, and I hadn’t even begun to think about becoming a parent yet. But it really annoyed me. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the late ‘70’s, early ‘80’s and cookie monster was such a big part of my childhood (I was just as annoyed, if not more, when everyone on Sesame Street could see Snuffleupagus as of 1985. Way to kill the excitement Sesame Street…)

My son has just started to watch Sesame Street in the morning, so I was reminded of Cookie’s change all over again. I asked myself why I was so annoyed. The answer has a few parts to it:

First, as a society we constantly tell parents not to let children watch too much T.V.. Yet, often times it seems we rely on television and media alone to convey important messages, like eating healthy, to our children. Many experts will tell you that the problem is not television itself; it is the vapid, blank, non-interactive-ness that children get after staring at it all day. If you watch a show now and then with your children, and help them understand the messages they are seeing, it becomes an interactive activity that can actually be educational.

Here’s where Cookie Monster comes in: I don’t believe it is PBS’s responsibility to teach my child healthy eating. That is my responsibility. As a society, we have fallen into a trap of ‘yes-ing’ our children to a point of detriment. Why are we afraid to tell our children ‘no?’  Or, even better than no, offer a healthier option. I don’t need cookie monster to help me out here.

I, as the parent, want to be the one who helps my children learn and understand how to make choices, and make sense of the world around him. This is why I need Cookie to be a cookie monster who over-indulges. Why? Because this fictional character becomes a learning tool that I can use. Imaginary creatures who do all kinds of crazy things are not there to set examples for children for every little thing. They are there as a tool to help parents explain things to children and to give parents an opportunity to teach their children the difference between fantasy and reality. Classic fairytales are often not examples of what children should do, quite the opposite. Most  provide examples of what not to do.

Now here comes the second part of the answer to the question I asked myself: Research shows that many young children are having an increasingly difficult time telling the difference between fantasy and reality. This comes down to interaction again. The age appropriate media we expose our children to is only damaging (for the most part) if we plop them in front of it and they are left to interpret it completely on their own. The more media children are exposed to, the more time parents have to take to explain everything they are seeing. I don’t know about you but I’m not looking for any extra work here in this department.

Don’t get me wrong. I have enlisted Curious George and that good old Cat in The Hat many a time to act as a distraction while I scramble to get something done. This is not a no T.V. household. It’s just limited. Mostly, it is limited by my son. He only asks or it here and there and there is no way he would sit all day in front of it of his own accord.

So, to conclude my protest of this “cookies are a sometimes food” situation (it even sounds ridiculous), I will leave you with this. What about the imagination and fun of being a kid?   What about just teaching our kids moderation?

I miss the times when a kid could get an ice cream cone and it didn’t have to become a topic of a national discussion about whether or not he would know that he couldn’t eat ice cream for every meal. I miss the days when kids played outside and had to be told at least three times to get in this house!

Slowly I am watching as these fond memories of childhood livin’ are being replaced by a world devoid of the occasional ice cream cone and filled with cartoons that have to tell children how to exercise.

I know I can’t turn back time and make Cookie Monster the way he used to be. But, I can try to remember that one of the most important things I will teach my son is moderation. It’s my job to teach him this so that he can do his job of being a silly toddler who loves to laugh at imaginary puppets as they call upon sock fairies to solve the latest laundry mystery , play in blanket forts, and even eat the occasional cookie…after he finishes his vegetables, of course .

We Love ya Little Buddy, stay strong.

Exploring Sounds, Color, and Texture: DIY Shake & Sort Activity

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A few weeks ago I discovered the magic of creating discovery baskets for my little guy. The first Discovery Basket  took about 10 minutes to put together, cost nothing, and my 13 month old son played with it for hours. 

Inspired by the more engaging style of play that these hand-made exploring toys evoked, I decided to make another activity that would focus on sounds, colors, and sorting.

Here’s what I used to make these

Small plastic containers with lids

glue gun and glue sticks

assorted beads, google eyes, stones, glitter, pony beads, pom-pons

All of my materials came from the dollar store again (I always wondered who bought the random useless stuff in the dollar store…now that mystery is solved). I filled each container with a variety of different items depending on what sound they would make, light they would reflect, ect. I added water and glitter to some for a snow globe effect. Then, I put a ring of hot glue on the lid edge and sealed the cups shut, allowed them to cool, then test-drove then by chucking them around the room a few times and banging them on things.

***Be sure to check for cracks in the plastic after each play session (after about a week of smashing and banging, a few of the containers that had hard materials inside, like stones, developed cracks. I just threw them out, they only  cost $1!) and make sure to supervise with this activity incase anything cracks during play***

I put the cups in a muffin tin, the cups acted like little sorting containers, and my little guy loved sorting them and shaking them…and banging them, and throwing them, and hiding them in the laundry basket.

This shake and sort activity is really fun and these DIY shakers are really versatile for play. We used them as noise makers when we did music and sound play later in the day. The most fun part of this type of play is seeing what your little one does as he’s exploring the items. You’ll be amazed at what kids come up with and you’ll probably find yourself saying, Huh. I never thought of that.  I know I did.

Have Fun!

What the Heck am I Going to Feed You?: Baby & Toddler Cookbook Review

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Hi there! As I mentioned last week I was waiting for my copy of “The BIG Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers, and Children.”

It arrived on Tuesday and I dove right in to check out if it was a solution to the nights I like to call, “mommy’s in a hurry to make dinner and can’t think of anything because all she really wants to do is sit down.” Here we go.

First, the copy I received is spiral bound, which I appreciate in a cookbook. The set up is very straight forward with introduction sections covering basic nutrition, tips for dealing with feeding problems, and discussions about creating healthy eating habits from an early age that discusses the importance of how we eat in addition to what we eat (huge fan of that).

The book is broken down into sections by age: Weaning and first foods, 1-2 year olds, 3-6 year olds. It then finishes with a section on meal planning that highlights what to stock up on, healthy snacks, and food safety and storage.

Each recipe in the book has a notation next to it that lets you know if it has to be served immediately, can be refrigerated, or frozen, and for what specific amounts of time for each (I really appreciate this part of the cookbook as I love to batch cook for our little man.)

Here’s a  few cons I found:

-The age 1-3 section is kind of small and this, I feel, is the most difficult age to feed because babies don’t have all of their teeth yet so you can’t always just give them what you are having for dinner. However, I found the recipes in the other sections could be adjusted for this age group if the texture is softened or cut up and the portions are smaller (the authors do note this as well).

-A lot of the recipes are classics and I have seen them many times before. Of course this is really the deal with most recipe collections (even my own food blog.) There are always classics thrown in with new twists. That’s just the way it is. Some things will never change (If you are not old like me you may not have sung those last two lines because you don’t realize they are from a song. Sorry about the joke lost in time).

-The menu section seems a little small. But, it does still give good ideas to branch off of when preparing meals for the day.

In general, the book succeeds in what it is trying to do: be a quick reference guide for busy moms who want to feed their family fresh, home-cooked foods, and would like a little help with an idea or two throughout the day… that somehow seems to consists of  a limitless amount of meals and snacks.

Now what am I going to eat…

The Book: The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers, & Children: 365 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Dishes.

The authors: Judy More and Bridget Wardley

Awesome Fine Art for Little Guys & Gals

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Good Evening! As I was out and about in the interwebs this evening I came across this artist. His name is Adam Record. And, as his ‘about’ page says, he likes to draw. I think maybe he loves to draw-sometimes you can just tell. He  creates these super fantastic pieces of art for little guys and gals. Click on the Fall Down Tree Logo to check more stuff out!

 

Sunday Book Review: Resources for Notable Children’s Books

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‘Mornin. This Sunday’s book review is more like a list. Or a review of a list. Really of several lists. That’s enough now.

Notable Children’s Books from 2012 is a list of children’s lit comprised of titles that that the American Library Association along with the Association for Library Services to children has deemed to be notable:

As applied to children’s books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways. .

I dig it. If only we could keep these standards for adult books…

Next up! The Best Children’s Books of the Year from the Bankstreet College of Education children’s book committee.

THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COMMITTEE at the Bank Street College of Education strives to guide librarians, educators, parents, grandparents and other interested adults to the best books for children published each year. The all-volunteer committee includes educators, librarians, authors, parents and psychologists who share a passion for and expertise in the world of children’s literature. Young reviewers from all over the country, ages 2–18, read and evaluate many of our books as well.
In choosing books for the annual list, reviewers consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes. Nonfiction titles are further evaluated for accuracy and clarity. Each book accepted for the list is read and reviewed by at least two committee members and then discussed by the committee as a whole.

This list has tips for parents as well as book lists broken down by age categories. Very cool.

In January we have the John Newberry medal award coming up for the most new ground breaking children’s book. Last year’s was Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos. Definitely a cool selection.

Happy Reading!

Sunday Book Review: Therapeutic Children’s Fables

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Ahhhh, Sunday. Today’s plan: Jersey diner Breakfast (YES!) and a visit to the massive discount book warehouse (Double YES!) I love these two things. Seriously. Meat of the Gods, AKA bacon, followed by perusing the book warehouse. This book warehouse is packed to the gills with really cool books of all kinds, but has an especially large amount of children’s books. In all honesty it makes me want to run through the isles like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. I probably won’t because it would be weird, and I would most likely trip. But maybe I will. I guess it will depend on how excited I am after eating bacon.

Anywhoo, I digress. What I wanted to say before I was overcome with thoughts of books and bacon, is that I was looking up new children’s book releases to make a list for this bookstore trip and I came across this title that looked really interesting: Healing Hearts of Nature: Five Therapeutic Fables for Children. It’s from 2009, so it’s not exactly new-but it’s new to me.

Sunday Book Review

Turns out this book IS really interesting. Here’s the book description:

Healing Hearts of Nature: Five Therapeutic Fables for Children, is the first read-a-aloud book of a self-help series for parents and children. Through the use of funny, charismatic, and innocent characters that experience day-to-day situations such as being bullied, skipping school, experiencing low self-esteem, or being single parented, not only are the fables perfect as bedtimes stories, but are therapeutic in nature. The book is appropriate for children of ages 7-12, but the involvement of parents, mental health professionals, or teachers, is strongly recommended for the healing process to take place.

How cool does that sound? I especially like the way that the author, Marisol Blanco, discusses how to get the most out of the book:

Marisol Blanco wrote the book, Healing Hearts of Nature: Five Therapeutic Fables for Children, with the intention of assisting children in discussing some of their most commonly experienced problems. The fables have characters that go through experiences with which children can easily identify. Although children can read the fables on their own, the book will be the most helpful if adults such as parents, teachers, or other persons, who interact with children, can make the reading and discussion a playful and entertaining activity.
The Companion Guide for the book can be used as an additional resource for adults and children with possible topics for discussion and ways to address them. It can be used in a variety of settings such as daycare centers, home, or therapy sessions, and can be processed individually or in a group format.

More about this book HERE.

Using tools like this to help kids identify and express their emotions provides children with an invaluable skill that they will use for their entire lives. People (children and adults alike) that can express themselves in a safe and productive way have less tendency to be violent or depressed, generally have less anxiety, and connect better with others, creating more solid and healthy relationships. Sounds good to me.

I think this book would be a great addition to household, school, and therapists’ book shelves.

And now, I am off to the land of bacon (I know, “shut up about the bacon already lady!”) and the giant land of discount books. I’ll share any gems I find in my next post.