Archive for February, 2010

When was the last time you thought about your own creative pursuits? Whether it’s tickling the ivories, attempting a Van Gogh reproduction, a kitchen waltz, creating a new menu, sketching or sewing, most parents might consider themselves too time-starved to even contemplate these “leisure activities.” But Amanda Soule of SouleMama.com calls it one of our job responsibilities.

“Nurturing your own creative spirit will not only bring more peace, satisfaction, and joy into your life and the lives of those around you, but it will also serve as a guide and model to your children on finding their creative selves. It’s required. There.”

In her book The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections, she shares her inspirations, creative projects and photographs that help guide her life in Maine with her husband and children.

Is your household overrun with toys? Amanda suggests that before bringing new toys into the house, ask: “Is it beautiful?” “Is it simple?” “What is it made of?” “Is there too much?”

Understanding that most parents might find challenge with time, energy and space when it comes to cultivating creativity in the household, simplicity dictates most ideas found in the book making it workable for almost any family.

Additionally, check out Amanda’s Mama to Mama project. Mama to Mama seeks to find ways to connect handcrafters with mothers, children and families in need of a little bit of handmade love. Last year they worked with Kobit Sante where caps were handmade for babies in Haiti.

“Let your child be the guide, director, and teacher, while you try to be the student. “

Available at Amazon

An ongoing controversy over regulating strollers on buses in Ottawa has brought public attention to a issue all-too-familiar to stroller-wielding parents: people hate strollers, and those who push them.

Typical rants leveled against strollers and parents can be found in this Boston-centric blog, where riders of the T (Boston’s train system) sounded off: “snottiest parent with the spongiest little sedentary brat in the hugest entitlementmobile stroller,” raved one reader. Another said: “It infuriates me when people bring mega-strollers on buses. and mystifies me when the kid in the stroller looks like they are 2.5 to 3 years old.” And another: “I see kids who clearly are old enough to walk being pushed around the city; the strollers are huge and the parents act as if everyone else is obligated to get out of their way. And why do they insist on bringing the stroller into small, crowded stores? And onto the T?”

On the UB boards, strollers get a bad rap, particularly if parents are using them after age two or so: “‘I’d rather have children that are physically fit and can walk without getting tired easily than overweight children who I strap in a stroller so they will stop whining,” goes a typical rant. Stroller parents are lazy, argue the walkers. You don’t get it, I have to walk miles every day and my preschooler can’t keep up, cries the other side.

So which side do you fall on?

It’s 6 p.m. and the kids are screaming they’re hungry before you even throw your keys on the counter. What, oh what are you going to be able to whip up in a just a few minutes that they’ll eat and won’t fill you with a paroxysm of guilt? Note: a bowl of cold cereal, now matter how vitamin-fortified, need not apply.

The new Greenie Tots line of frozen meals are custom-made for the occasion. The meals come in three flavors: Stage One, purees for the bitty ones, Stage Two, self-feeding faves for toddlers, and Stage Three, heartier and more challenging meals for older kids (up to age 12). The meals are meatless, minimally processed, and contain no hormones, pesticides, or high-fructose corn syrup. And they’re good: we tried the apple and pear purees for infants. Both have strong, clear, natural fruit flavors. We also tried a Stage Two meal, a “chicken” (really Quorn), cheese, and spinach quesadilla with carrot ‘n’ pea-centric mixed vegetables on the side. The Quorn tasted like chicken, the spinach flavor was masked by the high-quality cheese, and the vegetables are fresh and zingy.

As of yet, Greenie Tots aren’t available in stores. Mail-order packages of six meals are available for $24-30 a pop, plus shipping, which is steep at about $20 and up. They have to stay frozen, you see. Visit greenietots.com for more information.

Uber-chic baby gear and the umpteen parenting websites and apps have done little to lessen the schlep factor that’s par for the course when traveling with a bambino. As we head into spring break and then summer travel season, you still need to be smart about what you pack.

One item you’ll want to have at the top of your diaper bag is the Pipila. It’s a portable pacifier sterilizer. This gadget uses a UV/ozone lamp that penetrates and kills 99.9% of germs. Developed in Australia, the Pipila is powered by two AAA batteries and doesn’t distort the shape, taste or smell of the pacifier nipple. It takes six minutes to sanitize a paci so it’s best to have a spare for interim sucking. And if you subscribe to the “three-second rule,” consider what a pacifier can collect in the three seconds it’s on a train platform, city sidewalk or supermarket floor.

Would you eat your ____ (fill in the blank with your fave food) if it came into contact with any of the abovementioned surfaces?

Now available at target.com and pipilausa.com.

We’re a society that prizes performance, (IQ) points and percentiles (as in the top one on G&T and other school admissions tests). As parents, we spend an incredible amount of time, money and energy helping our kids maximize these p’s. And, yet, there is something even more basic we can teach our children that will bring success throughout life: how to be happy.

Christine Carter, Ph.D., is the author of Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents and the executive director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Carter writes that happiness is “much more than a mood or a cheerful disposition.” It’s about lots of positive emotions: gratitude, forgiveness, appreciation, optimism and confidence. Her goal is to make the “psychology, sociology and neuroscience of raising happy children approachable to real people.” To that end, Carter gives us simple do’s and don’ts in Raising Happiness. Below are some examples of the fab advice she dispenses in her book:

1) “Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First” - Time and again, research suggests that a depressed parent can negatively affect her child and lead to behavioral problems, increased anxiety, etc. Parents need to model happiness and do things to make themselves happy (i.e. hang out with friends, carve out personal time, exercise, work on your relationship with DH).

2) “Expect Effort and Enjoyment, Not Perfection” - Carter emphasizes the importance of “embracing failure” and hard work and not overpraising Junior for his achievements. She also points out the value of knowing when to quit and realizing when “the cost of reaching a goal is outstripping the benefit.”

3) “Choose Gratitude, Foregiveness and Optimism” - Entitlement is a word that often comes to mind when describing kids today. But they can learn gratitude and ways to express what they’re thankful for. Scientists have discovered that people who “practice gratitude” are 25% happier, more determined and sleep better!

4) “Raise Their Emotional Intelligence” - Carter calls emotional intelligence “emotional literacy” and notes that it is a learned skill, which can help kids read not only their own feelings but also those of others. Emotional literacy stems from the parent-child bond, referred to in academic circles as parent-child attachment. Raising securely-attached DCs entails being sensitive, consistently responsive to their needs and emotionally available and accessible to them.

5) “Teach Self-Discipline” - A series of experiments done in the 1940s (asking kids to stand still!) and replicated in 2001 show that kids these days are less disciplined. Helping kids develop self-control involves:
*Not being a pushover.
*Setting and effectively reinforcing boundaries.
*Being consistent with limit setting.
*Allowing kids the freedom to make mistakes “so they can learn that they are capable of picking themselves up after falling.”

Raising Happiness is available at amazon.com.

Because baby play clothes can be so much more than discount-store duckie dresses, two stylish options for the modern infant.

Built for super-soft scooting, Paige Lauren’s Classic Shortpant Shortsleeve Romper is made from organic cotton, grown without any pesticides. It snaps at the crotch for easy diapering, and it’s so buttery soft that you’ll practically want to eat it. It comes in sizes from 0 to 12 months. It holds its shape beautifully through washings, and there will be a lot of them, because once you feel how soft it is, you’re going to be snapping this one on Baby several times a week. $48.

The You’re Such a Baby Cowboy Guitar Slinger Snapsuit goes in a different direction, with a charming vintage graphic on a classic white onesie. The front is a li’l cowboy singing his heart out, the back is a campfire sending up whorls of smoke. Put this one on your little cowpoke for a guaranteed yee-haw. It comes in sizes 0 to 12 months, and in short and long-sleeve versions. $20.

A sickening majority of children’s movies have male leads, and many have exclusively male casts (I’m looking at you, Pixar!) A young girl might just conclude that her doings and adventures are of no interest to anyone. Cast that misperception aside with films where girls are in the center of the action.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Like many of Miyazaki’s films, a young girl is the main character: Kiki, a 13-year-old witch in training, who begins a delivery service that takes advantage of her ability to fly.

Kit Kittredge

A plucky young girl helps her mother run a boardinghouse in Cincinnati during the Great Depression, and through her resourcefulness, ends up writing for a big city paper and solving a mystery.

A Little Princess

When Sara’s diamond magnate father dies while she’s away at a girls’ school, her fortunes abruptly reverse themselves and she’s forced to become a scullery maid. Yet her kindly, princesslike nature never falters.

Annie

An orphan finds a family in a place she never expected in this classic musical set during the Depression. Warning: might ignite a passion for jazz hands.

The Parent Trap

A pair of separated twins meet by chance at a summer camp and decide to play a trick on their divorced parents. Both the 1960s version with Hayley Mills and the remake with Lindsay Lohan are charming.

In another month or so, you won’t need to spend the requisite 45 minutes wrestling Junior into multiple layers of clothing before “gracefully” (not) maneuvering him into the stroller sleeping bag. Spring/Spring Break shopping season is just around the corner. Get ready to lighten up, integrate color back into your family’s life and bring on the fun clothes.

Masala Baby can help you with all of the above. The collection blends a “modern, spirited, urban vibe” with the traditions of India. Palette-wise, think spice colors: saffron, clove brown, raani pink and curry yellow. In fact, Masala, transliterated, is a mixture of unique ingredients that creates a surprising result. Masala Baby’s collection includes bodysuits with traditional Indian motifs, festive-hued dresses and hoodies, and understated tunics with peacock feathers and camels. Company founder and president Dipali Patwa is a native of India and currently calls New York City home. Patwa, the mother of a three-year-old, also knows her way around the world of textiles and fashion; she’s designed home furnishings for Badgley Mischka, Martha Stewart, Laura Ashley and Bill Blass. Her Masala Baby pieces are made in India. Fabrics are woven on handlooms by artisans, and prints are hand-screened or block-printed.

A delicious way to dress. Hey, it is Fashion Week. Spice things up.

Available at masalababynyc.com.

Monday morning pop quiz -

Pigs in a blanket. Caviar and blinis. Chicken satay. Nachos. Bruschetta. Spring rolls. Quesadillas. What do these all have in common? They represent some of our most beloved finger foods.

Now Junior can sample the equivalent of these tasty morsels (sans the typical accompanying cocktail) with nutritious dishes that are appealing to teething tots, pose minimal choking hazards and put Cheerios to shame. Annabel Karmel, the cookbook goddess for parents of babies and toddlers, is out with Top 100 Finger Foods: 100 Recipes for a Healthy, Happy Child. Karmel’s newest book picks up where her Top 100 Baby Purees leaves off; the finger foods are for kids who are about nine-months-old and ready to start branching out from baby food. Top 100 Finger Foods includes recipes for Potato Pizzette Bites, Vegetable Tempura, Apricot-Dijon Drumsticks, Chicken/Turkey Sliders and Sweet Corn Pancakes. Best-selling author Karmel divides the book into categories for breakfast, veggies, fish, chicken, meat, snacks and, of course, dessert. So it’s easier for you to guide your little one on a road to healthy eating.

The first lady would be proud.

Available at amazon.com.

Snow, snow, and more snow. Many of our east coast readers have found themselves homebound with extreme weather this past week, and winter is not over. We dedicate UrbanBaby Reads this week to all of you that might need a new dose of inspiration on ways to keep busy with projects and planning for the year ahead - snow or no snow.

Create.
The Creative Family. By Amanda Blake Soule

Write.
How to Make a Journal of Your Life. By Dan Price

Organize.
Mom’s Ultimate Book of Lists, A: 100+ Lists to Save You Time, Money, and Sanity. By Michelle LaRowe

Plan.
Wanderlust and Lipstick: Traveling with Kids. By Michelle Duffy

Prepare.
One Magic Square: The Easy, Organic Way to Grow Your Own Food on a 3-Foot Square. By Lolo Houbein

Let’s Start the Discussion: How do you and your family pass long days indoors?