UrbanBaby Buzz

If you never imagined that your little baby could leap over tall buildings, soar across the sky in a hot air balloon, or surf a gnarly wave…you haven’t met Adele Enerson. When her newborn Mila was asleep, she would take a few minutes and create a whimsical “scene” around the baby and snap a picture. She created the blog milasdaydreams.blogspot.com to share the enchanting pictures and it has since attracted millions of viewers worldwide.

Like many unique and creative forces online, her blog has been turned into a book, When My Baby Dreams, available this month. With a new baby on the way, we can’t wait to see what Adele might have in store for us next.

Available at Amazon.com

* Mila’s Daydreams on YouTube

* Adele shares her story and book publication on the Today show on January 17th.

* Follow Mila’s Daydreams on Facebook

Getting kids to practice their writing can be a real chore for parents, particularly after a long day of school. Few kids really feel like doing homework, and getting them to pick up the pencil for some more writing probably won’t appeal.

What would: sneakily getting in writing practice through a fun pre-writing game like an old-fashioned Spirograph. Most of us had these Kenner toys growing up. Remember, the round and football-shaped clear plastic gears that fit inside circles? You’d push your pen through and create weird, unearthly shapes and drawings.

It’s still just as fun as it used to be, but the set marketed as a Spirograph these days is simply sad it’s so cheap. Do yourself and your kids a favor and either find a vintage set, or shell out $15 for the Hypotrochoid Art Set. It’s smaller than your old Spirograph, and not quite as exciting. But it’s the closest you’ll get these days.

Hypotrochoid Art Set, $15

Highlights from the boards for the week of Jan 12th – Jan 18th:

I’m Petrified My Kids are Going to be Drug Addicts... (23 Replies)
My kids are 4 and 6 - I am petrified they are going to be drug addicts. I wasn’t into drugs, DH not into drugs and we have a relatively normal good life but this is my biggest fear. Way more worried about this then what college they will get into.

Can Men Develop Fertility Issues?… (30 Replies)
Fertility question. Can a man with non fertility issues in the past develop them a few years later? We want DC#3 but I’m not getting pregnant and I don’t want him to go through all the stress of sperm testing,etc. My blood work came back normal and we are both 37yo.

Naming Babies in Utero and Sharing with Everyone... (46 Replies)
I don’t understand why people name their babies while they are still in utero and broadcast the name on facebook as soon as they get the ultrasound results. You still have like 4 months to go! Are they ‘calling’ the name so no one else can use it? I just find it weird, and I find myself secretly hoping they tech got the gender wrong.

Miscellany

Can Autism Really be “Cured” Through Diet and Nutrition? (18 Replies)

What’s a Fair Allowance for a SAHM? (63 Replies)

Do You Identify More with People of the Same Gender or Same Race? (58 Replies)

Am I the Only Parent Who Doesn’t Really Let Her Child Eat Without Permission? (22 Replies)

As parents who have done it will tell you, getting a child diagnosed with a special need is an uphill battle. You’ll fight with doctors, insurance companies, family members, and anyone else in your life who has an opinion (and everyone has an opinion). But getting the diagnosis only the first step in a long road.

How do you find the right school for your child? Do you need to apply for an IEP? What on earth is that, anyway? Do you need to get a lawyer? Should you seek a second opinion? Are you getting all you should from the state? How can you convince your insurance company to cover some of this stuff?

To answer all these questions, and the many others that will come up, it sure is helpful to have an advocate. If you live in New York City, New York Special Needs Support will be that advocate. Founder Sarah Birnbaum is herself a special needs mom, and it was her experience navigating the special needs morass that convinced her there was a need for people like her. People, that is, who can accompany parents to meetings, and ask for the right things, and fill out the paperwork in the right way.

A hand to hold, in other words. Just when parents are feeling terrified and confused, a guide to lead them out.

Want more information? Ms. Birnbaum is giving a free talk in Manhattan on February 8, “Life After EI.” See the website for details.

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Illustrated by Jon Klassen

From the author of Mustache! comes an enchanting winter tale of what appears to be an ordinary box of yarn but is instead rather exceptional. Readers might recognize the soft and stunning style and recurring characters from illustrator John Klassen who also gave us I Want My Hat Back.

In a dark, drab, and cold little town, Annabelle finds an endless box of yarn in gorgeous colors. She spins sweaters, hats, and covers for friends, townspeople, animals, and homesteads. Everyone is transformed and things began to change in the little town.

We wholeheartedly agree with the fantastic Lane Smith when he says of this new book, “There’s only one thing to say: ‘perfect.’ “

Available at Amazon.com and Independent Booksellers

About the Author
Mac Barnett is the author of several picture books, including Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, Guess Again!, and Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World. He also writes the Brixton Brothers series of mysteries. Mac is the founder of the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers, and serves on the board of 826LA, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center.

Inspired to Knit?
We recommend: Cool Knits for Kids by Kate Gunn
Available at Amazon.com

Everyone, kids and parents alike, love balance bikes like the Skuut. No chains or gears to hurt or pinch, no training wheels to get a young child used to leaning on the back wheels, no pedals to power small children far away, faster than Mom can run.

The drag is that Skuut is short and non-adjustable. Once your child gets much beyond 3 (if he’s really tall) or 4 (if he’s not), you really will see some dragging: His feet dragging on the sidewalk. The Skuut is great, but only for a year or two of your child’s life before she outgrows it.

The Wishbone Bike, on the other hand, morphs as your child develops. It starts as a three-wheeled push-trike, kind of like those little red-and-yellow cars toddlers pedal. Next, when your child has reached balance bike age, it changes into a configuration much like a Skuut. Your kid keeps growing and getting more confident, yet wants to stay with the balance bike concept? The entire frame flips over, and the bike keeps going until the rider rides right into kindergarten.

At $300, Wishbone is about three times more expensive than the Skuut. But it’ll last three times longer, too.

Wishbone Bike, $300

Highlights from the boards for the week of Jan 5th – Jan 11th:

What Exactly Does Supplemental Education Mean… (9 Replies)
When people say they “supplement” outside their children’s in-school learning, what exactly do they mean? Reading to them at night? Taking them to museums? Hiring outside tutors? I’m from a background where this was NOT done (middle class, public high school) so I’m curious what exactly all these parents are doing in their spare time.

Joint Custody but Need to Move Out of Expensive NYC… (146 Replies)
What is the likelihood that a judge will grant me joint custody and still allow me to move out of state with my child? I’m divorcing and I will no longer be able to afford my NYC lifestyle. I own a nice home in the south and plan on moving soon. Soon to be ex-DH is not having that and says that he will fight me in court. I am not trying to keep my child from him, I would allow him to visit, i want this to go as smoothly as possible.

Do You Pay Grandma because She Provides Childcare… (9 Replies)
for those of you who have or have had a parent provide childcare for your children (either full or part-time) do they get paid? Did they demand that they get paid or did you offer? Also, if/when the parent takes care of the child, and they run out of diapers or something, do they tell you you own them, like $12 or whatever it cost?

How Can I Tell My Wife Kids Noticing Her Stress When Home from Work… (20 Replies)
DH here: Wife has a very stressful job and works a lot of hours including nights and weekends. She makes about 60% of our total HHI. She is tired when she comes home and has much on her plate besides work. She is often irritable and quick to anger. Now our 10 year old is picking up on it and has mentioned to me several times how much better it is when we are home together and home much more stressful it is when mommy is home. I do everything I can to help my wife not stress. How do I talk with my wife about this without her losing it further?

Miscellany

Are NYC Kids More Intellectually and Culturally Mature Than Kids in Suburbs? (55 Replies)

Travelling to Hotels with Infants and Toddlers (20 Replies)

Baby Food: Make or Buy? (32 Replies)

When Did You Really “Grow up” / Acquire Wisdom and Maturity? (28 Replies)

Talk about disguising vegetables: the Organic Chocolate Dream Greens bars by natural snack food maker Betty Lou each disguises carrot, kale, broccoli sprouts, and spinach underneath a layer of dairy-free chocolate. Word is that the vegetables are undetectable, buried as they are beneath chocolate and mixed with dates, raisins, and bananas. Hey, it probably works better to throw one of these babies in your kid’s lunch than to try to hide that stuff in a smoothie.

There are three other flavors of Betty Lou’s Just Great Stuff bars. The other we find intriguing: The Organic Fruit and Veggie Bar, which conceals a half serving of fruit and a half serving of vegetables within its chocolate shell.

Just Great Stuff Bars, $26 for a box of 12

Another bedtime story! Another bedtime story! When you’re exhausted, the nighttime rallying-cry of the not-tired child can be brutal. Let someone else do the work for you instead. LibriVox offers thousands of public-domain books, read out by volunteers and available free online.

“Public domain” usually equals “old,” so don’t come here expecting the latest Louis Sachar or Suzanne Collins. Nevertheless, there are some delightful treasures here you may remember from your own childhood: Louisa May Alcott, Beatrix Potter, Hans Christian Anderson. And, best of all, the collected works of L. Frank Baum. His Wizard of Oz is so much more fun than the Judy Garland movie, and once you finish that book, you’ll want to immediately move on to the rest of the books in the Oz series.

You say you didn’t know there was an Oz series? Yep. And they’re all here! Plus more Baum; the man actually wrote quite a number of children’s books, though only the Oz books are popular today. Next-best after Oz: The Sea Fairies, an enchanting, imaginative, and funny mermaid tale sure to rope in the ocean-inclined.

It is not new or even shocking news that our young girls today are inundated with messages from media and society that can have a negative and lasting effect on their development and future. It sounds serious, and unfortunately it is. Consider this alarming information Dr. Jennifer L. Harstein PsyD shares in the introduction to her new book Princess Recovery: A How-to Guide to Raising Strong, Empowered Girls Who Can Create Their Own Happily Ever After :

“One recent study from the National Institute on Media and the Family showed that at age thirteen, 53 percent of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.”

“According to Medical News Today, a December 2010 study showed that the number of eating disorders in children under the age of twelve has risen 119 percent over the past few years, and children as young as four are being treated in hospitals and outpatient treatment centers for these issues.”

Dr. Jen offers parents a way to regain control over the things that influence their children and raise strong daughters who can:

* pursue their passions with industry and intelligence;
* establish high but realistic expectations of themselves and their future;
* provide context for problematic influences - from the media to prissy peers; and
* build a mutual trust that will withstand adolescent growing pains.

Princess Recovery encourages parents to work with their daughters on building important skills, such as: questioning the media, dressing appropriately, finding her voice, and learning that conformity is not required.

The world will most likely not make it an easy battle with its padded bikini tops for children, but our daughters are smart and we can arm them to rise above the ditzy-diva trap.

Available on Amazon.com and Independent Booksellers

More Resources

Dr. Jen on “Combating Princess Syndrome”

“Do We Need a Princess Recover System?” by Soraya Chemaly at Huffington Post

Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture” by Peggy Orenstein