Archive for September, 2009

Even after your kid’s been out of diapers for a while, there are probably dozens still hanging around the house, in sizes newborn to pull-up. Unless an entire incontinent nursery school class comes for a visit, there’s little chance you’ll use them up, and you certainly don’t want to put them in trash. A better alternative: dropping them at one of the Bay Area pickup locations for the Give Cheeks a Chance diaper drive.

Launched by the nonprofit Help a Mother Out, which collects and hands out donations for homeless and low-income families, the Give Cheeks a Chance drive has already collected thousands of diapers. At about a quarter a pop, diapers can be truly hard to come by for low-income families–and it’s tough to get out to discount stores like Target to buy the giant packs unless you have a car.

The Give Cheeks a Chance drive is over after tomorrow; hurry up and get those diapers in. Drop-off locations include Sadiedey’s Cafe, 4210 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland; Natural Resources, 1367 Valencia Street in San Francisco; and Baby Buzz, 1314 Lincoln Avenue, #1A in San Jose. If you’d like to help out another way, you can find out how to buy and donate online. Give Cheeks a Chance is looking for diapers of any size and unopened boxes of baby wipes; visit helpamotherout.org.

There’s a sudden chill in the air, but some of the best weather of the year means outdoor festivals and fun proliferate.

Victorian Days

Lots of people in eye-candy costumes and a family rotunda with crafts, a scavenger hunt, and kid-oriented tales about local personages.

When: Sat., 9/26, noon-4pm; Age 3+; Free.

Where: San Mateo County History Museum, 2200 Broadway Street (at Middlefield Road), Redwood City; 650-299-0104; historysmc.org.

Kidsfaire

Fifteen acres of loud & shiny stuff of interest to parents and kids, including live stage shows (Barney, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), kids’ pavilions such as a princess pavilion and an ice skating rink, rides, and TV/movie characters in costume.

When: Sat.-Sun., 9/6-7, 10am-5pm; All ages; $5-8.

Where: Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Avenue (at Valley Avenue), Pleasanton, 925-426-7559, thekidsfaire.com.

Salsa Festival

Four stages with live music and dancers, free dance lessons for kids and adults, and lots of bounce houses.

When: Sat., 9/26, noon-8pm; Age 2+; Free.

Where: Downtown Redwood City, Broadway & Marshall; 831-457-1141; redwoodcity.org.

Mega Gay Dads BBQ and Picnic at Crissy Field

Meet every gay dad in town at this giant multi-group picnic. Bring food to share and participate in face-painting and parachute games.

When: Sat., 9/26, 11am-4pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Crissy Field, 983 Marin Street (at Illinois Street), San Francisco; dadspicniceventbrite.com.

Citing recent research that shows a link between soda, obesity, and soaring health care costs, Gavin Newsom announced last week that he intends to introduce legislation that will charge stores a fee for selling soda. How much? What drinks exactly will be targeted? Where will the money go? No one knows all that stuff for sure; the San Francisco Chronicle reports that when Newsom first breathed of the idea in 2007, the money was supposed to go to his Shape Up San Francisco program. Now, who knows? May we suggest using it to fund more Sunday Streets days?

The beverage industry traditionally fights like a tiger against taxes; we’ll see what ends up coming of Newsom’s plan. Meanwhile, potent evidence on the side of cutting down on the soda suckage was uncovered by the UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research that convinced Newsom to take a stand: adults who drink a soda or more a day are 27 percent more likely to be obese than those who don’t, and 41 percent of kids under 12 and 62 percent of teens drink at least one soda every day. Yoinks!

Incidentally, Newsom is right in the zeitgeist: President Obama himself is in favor of taking a look at a tax on sweet drinks.

Three sweet ways to enjoy life with the kiddies this weekend.

Strega Nona

Strega Nona tells Big Anthony to lay off her pasta pot. Big Anthony doesn’t listen in this Commedia dell’arte-style adaptation of Tommie DePaola’s classic children’s tale.

When: Sat. & Sun. 9/19-10/4 (the production also runs in San Ramon 10/10-18), check website for times; Age 2+; $18 adults, $14 children.

Where: Julia Morgan Center, 2460 College Avenue (at Claremont Avenue), Berkeley; 510-296-4433; activeartstheatre.org.

International Coastal Cleanup Day

Spend a day cleaning up the coast, and empower a generation of non-litterbugs.

When: Sat., 9/19, Age 2+; Free.

Where: Various coastal sites in the Bay Area, see website for locations including Ocean Beach and Candlestick Point in San Francisco and the Port of Oakland Estuary.

Film Night in the Park: The Dark Knight in Dolores Park

Take advantage of what’s supposed to be a pleasant evening in the warmest part of San Francisco and watch this gripping update of the Batman tale.

When: Sat., 9/19, 8pm; Age 8+; $6 adults, $3 children.

Where: Dolores Park, Dolores Street (at 20th Street), San Francisco, filmnight.org.

September and October are two of the most luscious Northern California months, prompting many to crave some camping time in our still-open-for-now parks. But who wants to come home from work on Friday and set to packing up all the gear you need to take a family on a camping trip? Potrero Hill’s Lost Campers offers a unique service: for about $80 a day, they rent tricked-out vans with camping gear and an internal bed. Everything you need is there: a tent if you decide to not sleep in the van, a table and chairs, propane cooking gear, maps. For an extra fee, you can rent sleeping bags, towels, even a portable heater for the van. All you have to do is get in and drive.

The bed inside the van is either a double or a full bed, and it’s surprisingly comfy, but it’ll only fit a couple of adults and maybe one tiny kid. Stash a few of you inside the van and others in the tent outside (Mom and Dad get privacy, yay!). For much less than a single hotel room, you have a place to stay, a place to hold your stuff, and a way to get from here to there, particularly if the there is one of our magnificent outdoor spaces.

Lost Campers is located at 2955 Third Street (at 25th Street), San Francisco; call 415-386-2693 or visit lostcampersusa.com.

Festivals, movies, and more ways to take up your time.

Old Time Music Convention

All manner of non-electric instruments making old-fashioned music.

When: Ongoing through Sun. 9/13; Check website for times; All ages; Free-$20.

Where: Various venues in Berkeley including Civic Center Park, Center Street (at MLK, Jr. Way), Berkeley; 510-548-3333; berkeleyoldtimemusic.org.

Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival

Local patisseries and candy-makers bring the goodies, you bring your appetite. There’s a children’s area for when the tykes go sugar-nuts.

When: Sat. & Sun., 9/12-13, noon-5pm; Age 2+; Free admission, $20 for 15 tastings of chocolate samples.

Where: Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point (at Polk Street), San Francisco; ghirardellisq.com.

Movie Day with Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)

Handler presents his favorite family movie, Young Frankenstein, in this benefit for SF libraries.

When: Sat., 9/13, movie at noon, reception at 11am; Age 4+; movie is free (but reservations required), reception $25 for adults, free for kids under 12.

Where: Balboa Theater, 3630 Balboa Street (at 38th Avenue), San Francisco; 415-626-7512, x106 or sara.bassett@friendssfpl.org; friendssfpl.org.

The Plastiki - Mission Control

Use interactive exhibits to learn about a 10,000 nautical mile voyage across the Pacific Ocean on a boat made almost entirely out of reclaimed plastic soda bottles.

When: Wednesdays through Sundays, ongoing through December 31, 11am-4pm; Age 3+; Free.

Where: Pier 45, Embarcadero (at Taylor Street), San Francisco; plastiki.com.

Everyone catch hometown boy Po Bronson on NPR last week? He’s written a new book (with writing partner Ashley Merryman) that’s sort of like the Freakonomics of parenting. NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children takes a hard look at research on child-rearing, synthesizing decades of studies into one fascinating book that covers infancy, kids and race, kids and sleep, education, and other topics of interest to parents.

Bronson’s intent was not solely to debunk myths, but it happens anyway. Toppled sacred cows include: why praising kids too much can actually devalue them, why all kids lie to their parents, why going to a diverse school decreases the chance a kid will have a friend of another race, and why teens arguing over rules is actually a sign of respect.

NPR’s interview with Bronson is kinda all over the place; it veers quickly from talking about over-praising children to why teens lie to Mom and Dad. Better is the excerpted chapter from NurtureShock that NPR provides: “Why Kids Lie.” Here’s a lovely snippet:

“Consider how we expect a child to act when he opens a gift he doesn’t like. We expect him to swallow all his honest reactions — anger, disappointment, frustration — and put on a polite smile. [Lying expert Dr. Victoria] Talwar runs an experiment where children play various games to win a present, but when they finally receive the present, it’s a lousy bar of soap. After giving the kids a moment to overcome the shock, a researcher asks them how they like it. Talwar is testing their ability to offer a white lie, verbally, and also to control the disappointment in their body language. About a quarter of preschoolers can lie that they like the gift — by elementary school, about half. Telling this lie makes them extremely uncomfortable, especially when pressed to offer a few reasons for why they like the bar of soap. They frown; they stare at the soap and can’t bring themselves to look the researcher in the eye. Kids who shouted with glee when they won the peeking game suddenly mumble quietly and fidget.”

The kids are back at school, hurray! Celebrate the absence that’s made you grow fonder with a weekend full of fun.

Saturday Morning Rock Out’s Fall Session

Little kids learn to bang on an instrument, write songs, appreciate music, and jam at this multi-week course that ends in a performance and a CD release party.

When: Saturdays, 9/5-10/10; Early class 9:30am-11am, Late class 11:30am-1pm; Age 4-7; $225.

Where: Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa Street (at Potrero Avenue), San Francisco; 415-861-9199; owies.org.

Great Train Robberies

Hail back to the days of train bandits and lawmen at this annual ride-on spectacle.

When: Sat. & Sun., 9/5-6; See website for times; Age 4+; $20.

Where: Roaring Camp Railroad, Graham Hill Road (at Mt. Hermon Road), Felton; 866-468-3399; roaringcamprr.com.

Sunday Streets

The last Sunday Streets of the year! Streets from Golden Gate Park to the zoo are closed to traffic, and fitness activities from skating to cycling to yoga are offered free along the route.

When: Sun., 9/6, 10am-2pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Great Highway between Golden Gate Park and the San Francisco Zoo, JFK between Great Highway and Stanyan Street, San Francisco; sundaystreetssf.com.

No parent likes to imagine the specter of disposable diapers piling up in the landfills when she chucks another used one into the Diaper Champ, but the eco-friendly options are so unappealing. Washing cloth diapers at home necessitates the touching of lots of nasty things (and probably a malodorous diaper pail in the bathroom); gDiapers aren’t as flushable in antique Bay Area plumbing as they could be; diaper-free can be a full-time job.

Sunnyvale’s Earth-Baby is a nice halfway alternative for the parent who wants to lower her carbon footprint without stress. For $29.99 a month the company delivers compostable disposables, and picks them up weekly when they’re um, full. You still have to pay for the corn-based diapers (about $12 for a pack of 22-44, depending on size) and wipes, but it still works out to be a bit cheaper than cloth diaper services. And everything you hand back to the company is either composted, recycled, or reused.

Earth-Baby serves San Francisco and South Bay/Peninsula cities as far down as Santa Cruz. Call 650-641-0975 or visit earth-baby.com.