Sunday, September 21, 2008

Muppets Making a Comeback?

by Teresa

We have some DVDs of the old Muppet Show that, perhaps, many other parents remember like I do, from childhood.
There’s something really great about watching my kids laugh at the Muppets’ antics with guests like Steve Martin, Carol Burnett, and Gilda Radner.
Recently, after the death of Jim Henson, ownership of Kermit and Miss Piggy and Gonzo and all the rest changed hands several times, ending up in Disney’s possession.
Now, according to this New York Times article, Disney’s planning a big marketing push to lead up to a new bunch of specials and movies.
I’ll be honest; I’m not really encouraged by the fact that Disney plans to launch the comeback by having the Muppets appear with High School Musical stars and the Jonas Brothers.  But I’m still holding out hope they may be able to ressurect some of the goofy, old magic of the original shows.
I guess we’ll have to wait, and watch to see what happens! 

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Another Round Fired in the Autism/Vaccine Debate

by Teresa

A new editorial in the New York Times evaluates the newest evidence (or lack thereof) in an effort by scientists, to reproduce the results of a study that suggested a link between vaccines and autism.  Researchers can’t validate or replicate the findings of that study.  Quoting the editorial: “The new study adds weight to a growing body of epidemiological studies and reviews that have debunked the notion that childhood vaccines cause autism. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the C.D.C. and the World Health Organization have found no evidence of a causal link between vaccines and autism.” (I added the italics.)

I don’t have much to add, except this: parents who do NOT intend to vaccinate their kids should read this report from the Centers for Disease Control and give it some serious thought.  As I always say when I write about vaccines, the answer’s not the same for every kid; do talk to your own pediatrician.

But there’s no denying reality, here: In increasing numbers, kids are being hospitalized for measles--a fully preventable, possibly fatal disease.

Unvaccinated kids. 

Right here.  Right now. 

In the United States.  In the year 2008.

And I’ll leave it at that.

A Storm of Fun?

by Kelly

I am awesome! I am truly, utterly and awesomely awesome! I am so awesome, in fact, that I must share my awesomeness with you. Last Saturday when Tropical Storm Hanna came through, I ruled the universe. At least to my kids.

You see, my young sons were less then enthusiastic about the prospect of losing power to the storm. My superhero husband and I tried to assure the boys that there wasn’t really anything to be nervous about. We explained the reality that we may indeed lose power but that they would be fine. It would just be dark, but we were going to survive a night in darkness. It went well and the fellas calmed down. We had a wonderful dinner. We played the Spiderman 3 version of Sorry! (why am I always assigned to be Sandman?). The kids’ favorite pajamas were fresh from the dryer. It was a truly great family night. The boys were feeling confident, secure and sleepy.

Then it happened.

The power blinked.

In an instant, our peaceful environment was shattered by screaming. It blinked! It didn’t go out! Blinked! But still they freaked out, big time. My husband scooped the boys into a bear hug and I struggled to find the solution to this issue, fast.

Transcript of my thoughts:

OK. OK. OK.

Think, Mommy.

Something batter-powered? Flashlights! Aha!

But we only have one! NO!!!!

Give flashlight to 5-year-old who is still screaming.

What else makes light?

Then it hit me - the stroke of genius that created an “Awesome Mommy Moment.” You know, those moments of parental clarity that will solve the problem at hand, and be a fun memory-making experience for your kids? They’re rare (for me at least), but when they happen, there’s nothing like it. It’s like a runner’s high for parents.

The magic answer: glow sticks. GLOW STICKS!!!!! Beautiful in its simplicity isn’t it? ?

We stock up on these every May and replenish the supply in July. You see, we use them in the kids’ birthday party guest gift bags. With so many little guests, and some with allergies, glow sticks are perfect. We use them through the summer at night. We attach string to the loop and the kids swing them around for hours.

Glow sticks make the dark fun!

Glow sticks were the answer.

We strung them up and turned off almost every light. With the lights almost totally out, the absence of the rest would hardly be noticeable. The boys were over the moon with delight. The house looked so cool too! Like the first time you turn on the lights on the Christmas tree. It was beautiful.

Needless to say, this experience has taught me a couple of things, like I should actually pack an Emergency Supply Kit.

The most important thing I learned was that the boys need to see certain situations as an adventure of sorts, rather than a really scary, uncontrollable event. We can control how we, as parents, react to things. As long as we are out of physical harm’s way, it’s ok to make riding out the storm a fun event. And we did.

To quote my sons, “It was AWESOME!”

Oh! And we never lost power. Go figure.

Monday, September 08, 2008

New Trend in Parenting?

by Teresa

More single men, straight and gay, are choosing to become parents, according to this new article in the New York Times.

The men in the article say they sometimes get dubious reactions to their decisions, or face a lot of extra questions from friends, strangers, or family members.
I say, bravo to them for taking it all on.  Children need loving homes, whether the home has one parent or two, straight or gay, grandparents, moms or dads, or one of each. 

It’s all about the love.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

What do you MEAN, we’re neurotic?!?

by Teresa

In the latest issue of Newsweek, science columnist Sharon Begley has a piece entitled, “The Geography of Personality.”
In it, she discusses studies that looked at some general personality types, and the regions in which those types tend to gather.  In other words, what kind of person lives in Alaska?  Or in Wisconsin?  Or Utah?
And wouldn’t you know it: our tiny little Ocean State merits a mention.
So, what type of people are we?  What are Rhode Islanders like?
Quoting now: “...West Virginians and Rhode Islanders rank highest on neuroticism.”
The article got me thinking about what, exactly, “neurotic” means.  I found that thinking about the word brought me a mental picture of Woody Allen, and a vague idea of a person who’s nervous, or tense.  But I couldn’t really settle on a precise definition for the term, so I did what most of you would probably do: I Googled it.
Here are some of the definitions I found:
From Wikipedia: “NEUROTICISM is a fundamental personality trait in the study of psychology… defined as an enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states. Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than the average to experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, guilt, and clinical depression.”
From Merriam-Webster: “NEUROSIS: : a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances (as visceral symptoms, anxieties, or phobias).”
From The Free Dictionary: “NEUROTICISM- a mental or personality disturbance not attributable to any known neurological or organic dysfunction.”
Hmm.  Those definitions seem a bit more ominous, and a little less “Woody Allen,” don’t they?
Then, Google found an article from the The Boston Globe, from earlier this year, which touches on the same theme. 
This article was accompanied by five helpful and interesting maps! 
It’s all fun reading, actually, but for what my two cents are worth here… I’ve lived in five different states—in all, nine different cities or towns, although it bears mentioning that four of those were in Rhode Island.  And I really can’t tell you whether more neurotic people live here, or not.  I don’t think so.  I’ve found people to be much the same in most places I’ve lived; the accents changed, but personality types?  I don’t know if I am buying the theory.  As a professor of mine used to tell me, there are heroes and scoundrels alike, in every group.  And there’s no use trying to force everyone into one category or the other.  I believe people are far too complicated to fit into such neat and tidy boxes; complex individuals can’t be explained by such basic labels.

Then again, maybe I just don’t like being called “neurotic.”

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

View from Town Beach, 8-8-08

by Teresa

Here’s a photo I took on August 8th down in Narragansett. 
Some surfers were out in the waves, and there was a light, misting rain. 
Then, we spotted this rainbow. 
I just think it looks amazing there, with the clouds, over the water. 

Cool RI Story in the New York Times

by Teresa

There have been several stories in the New York Times recently that focus on subjects right here in Rhode Island!  I always enjoy finding something about our little state in the nation’s greatest paper.  One of the articles that caught my attention is called “The Old House and the Sea.” It’s about Clingstone… a mansion on a rock in Narragansett Bay that’s more than a century old.  The owner maintains the home by allowing people to stay there during the summer while they make repairs and help out according to their special skills; some do plumbing or wiring, and others clean, cook, or paint, to earn the right to stay there.  There are some great photos, and it’s a really interesting article about a landmark in our area; I have to confess I hadn’t known any of the history behind this fascinating home, until I read about it in the NYT.  It makes me wish that I had some sort of valuable contracting skills just so I could stay there for a while and check out the old mansion for myself! 

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Online “Reading”

by Teresa

Like many children their age, my kids LOVE the computer.  They enjoy some popular kids’ websites, including PBSKIDS.COM and NOGGIN.COM —among others.  We try to stick to sites that are at least somewhat educational; the kids are certainly not allowed to use the computer without supervision.
My son & daughter also love books, thankfully.  I come from a family of avid readers ("avid" might not even be a strong enough word to describe our devotion to reading), and my kids seem to be following in their grandparents’ footsteps, in that way.
Right now, there’s an interesting article in the New York Times that asks whether reading online should be considered “real” reading… and whether too much computer time might actually HURT kids’ reading comprehension skills.
Click here to read the article.
It highlights the story of one child who doesn’t really like books, but she reads all the time-- online. 
So, is there such a thing as “good” reading, and “bad” reading?
The article also mentions studies that compare computer proficiency with reading comprehension test scores.
It’s something to think about, definitely.  Check out the article and feel free to share your comments.
Kelly and I would love to hear what NBC 10 viewers think about this issue.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Slowing Down at Age 13?

by Teresa

A new study adds up the minutes that kids spend being active.  As kids get older, they spend less and less time being active.
And the results show that around age 13, kids are active for less than an hour a day.
Where does that childhood energy go?  (Some days, it almost seems as though my children don’t STOP being active!  My daughter even tries to “swim” in the bathtub in the evenings.)
The drop in activity could be, partly, because kids at that age don’t have recess at school, anymore.
Of course, it could also be because they have more homework, or spend more time online, watching TV or playing video games.
I’ll have to try to remember this in about 10 years when my kids are teenagers.  I hope I’ll be able to find activities they like, that will keep them moving (this will be easier, I suppose, if they decide to play on a sports team or if it turns out that they love ballet or karate). 
Click here to read the article in the New York Times.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

What my Desk (Possibly) Says about Me.

by Teresa

An author named Sam Gosling has written a book about his tricks for “snooping” and figuring out things about someone’s personality, by looking at their stuff.
He looks at objects left out on desks and countertops… checks out preset radio stations… examines the contents of medicine cabinets or dresser drawers… and analyzes photos and artwork that’s framed on walls.  From those clues, he says, he can determine details about people including their gender, approximate age, and personalilty type.
(His book’s title: “Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You.") It might all sound a bit like carnival fortune-telling, but Gosling is an associate professor who says he bases his ideas on the basic principles of psychology.

Well, I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure a few things about me are fairly obvious to anyone who walks by my desk. 
There are photos of children (my son and daughter and niece) in frames, and lots of children’s artwork taped up beside my desk.  It shouldn’t escape anyone’s notice that I’m a mom. 
There are also photos of two coworkers who’ve passed away in recent years (I still miss them). 
Sometimes there’s a framed photo of me with Tom Brokaw (because he is the World’s Greatest Journalist Ever). 
And while my desk overall is wiped quite CLEAN (shared desk + germ phobia = I’m always using Clorox wipes); it’s not too cluttered and not too neat.  Since Gosling says messiness can indicate that someone’s extroverted, and neatness can mean someone’s introverted, I guess the appearance of my desk would suggest I fall somewhere in the middle. 

But, I’m oversimplifying his criteria.  If you’re interested in an entertaining little diversion, check out these pages I’ve found on the internet about Gosling and his ideas.
Click here to get to the NPR page where you can read an excerpt, and hear an interview with the author.  Callers describe their stuff over the phone and he tries to determine what sort of people they are.
Or, click here to read a brief Newsweek article about the book.
And for a profile of Gosling in the Winston-Salem Journal, click here .

Feeling Neighborly?

by Teresa

An Op-Ed piece in the New York Times this week talks about the concept of neighborhoods.  The author writes about what he did when he realized that he hardly knew many of his neighbors.  He went around knocking on doors and-- get this-- he asked some of them to have sleepovers.
Peter Lovenheim writes: “What would it take, I wondered, to penetrate the barriers between us? I thought about childhood sleepovers and the insight I used to get from waking up inside a friend’s home. Would my neighbors let me sleep over and write about their lives from inside their own houses?”
Click here to read the article in the NYT and find out about his experience.

I remember my family knowing virtually everyone, in every house, in my neighborhood growing up.  Of course, that was in a small town in the Midwest… not a city in the Northeast.  It was a much different place, and a much different time. In fact, many of us didn’t even knock on doors (which weren’t ever locked).  Smaller kids came over to our yard to swing on our swingset all the time.  My brother and I rode bikes with the other kids and played outside from morning ‘til night.  At trick-or-treating time, all the grown-ups knew all the children’s names. 

Things aren’t quite the same, of course, in the neighborhood where I live now.  My husband and I have lived there for several years and I’ll have to admit, we still don’t know the first names of everyone on our block.  This is partly because, well, it’s just the way things ARE, these days, I think.  And it’s partly because we both work full time, and we had two babies, so we’ve been quite busy for the past few years!

But luckily, we are good friends with our neighbors on both sides.  One family has a baby daughter who’s going to be a great playmate for my kids when she gets a little older.  The neighbor on the other side has a granddaughter who often stays with her, and she’s a great kid-- my children have been playing with her for a couple of years now.  There’s even a dog at each house on either side of us-- which has helped our kids learn how to behave around dogs. 
My kids’ school principal lives in our neighborhood too!  They get so excited if they see her outside, and her house was by FAR their favorite stop on trick-or-treating night.
We know some of the other neighbors well enough to stop and chat, but the neighbors on either side are really special.  We’ve shared big events with them (birthday parties, cookouts, baby showers, etc.); they’re great people, and we just enjoy having them around. 

All in all, it may not be the ideal “neighborhood” feeling of my childhood, but I feel pretty happy-- and lucky-- to have ended up with people we really like, so near to us.  I know many people aren’t as lucky. 
How about you?  Do you know your neighbors?  Are you friends?  Do you get along?

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Food (Allergies) for Thought

by Teresa

I can’t imagine what it must be like, to be a parent whose child has a potentially life-threatening food allergy.
One child in my daughter’s preschool class this year has a peanut allergy, and it made me nervous when I brought in food for the class… even if it the treats had been pre-approved. 
It’s just terrifying to think that one tiny bite of the wrong treat could send a child to the hospital, or worse.
I know there are parents out there who find it annoying that they can’t pack peanut butter sandwiches in their kid’s lunch because of a another child’s food allergy. 
There was a piece in Newsweek this week that expresses what it’s like to be a parent whose child faces danger, from food, every single day of his life. It’s well-written, seems very heartfelt, and I think reading it might help some parents feel a little more sympathetic, and a little less upset, when they can’t send their kids to school with Reese’s peanut butter cups.  Click here to read it.

Children’s Place Pajama Recall

by Teresa

We report quite a few recalls on NBC 10, and I don’t post all of them here, because it’s generally infomation that’s easy for interested parents to find with a quick “Google” search—and our web staff posts a ton of them on turnto10.com, as well.
But there’s one in particular that I want to mention today because I think the item was an especially popular purchase in our area: a pajama set from Children’s Place.  The recall was issued because the screen printing on the top has lead in it! 
Not one but TWO moms here at Channel 10 had to run home and pull these p.j.’s out of their dresser drawers, to take them back to the store for a full refund (one of them was Kelly!). 
Click here to see the page with all of the information from the CPSC. 

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Toys from your Childhood: New and Improved?

by Teresa

We all know, as parents, that we’re not supposed to try to force our own interests onto our children.

I will readily admit, however, that I did start giving My Little Pony toys to my daughter, when she was pretty little.
You know, just in case she happened to like them, as I did, when I was younger.
I will even admit, sheepishly, that I went on eBay and bought her a vintage one… an orange pony called “Applejack,” the same one I had when I was about 10 years old (with shipping, it cost at least twice what it would’ve cost to just buy a modern one in the toy store.  Yes, I paid extra to buy a piece of molded plastic with nylon hair… that was about 25 years old.  It’s the orange one on the left in the photo above.)

Apparently, in a tough economy, toy companies are banking on the fact that other parents are like me… that they’ll want to buy toys for their kids, that remind them, fondly, of the past.  But they are revamping the brands.  Click here to read an article in the New York times about the way Strawberry Shortcake characters, and others, are being updated for today’s kids.  Apparently some toy makers think familiar lines are a safer bet than new toys, in these economic times.

Incidentally, as it turns out, my daughter loves My Little Pony toys. 
But she prefers the new Ponyville line (the tiny ones in front, in the photo). 

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Reports of Oral Sex Epidemic May Have Been Greatly Exaggerated?

by Teresa

Here’s something for parents of teenagers to consider.

Newsweek is reporting on a new study that contradicts the idea that there’s an “epidemic” of teenagers having oral sex. 
The idea was brought into the spotlight, in part, by features on TV talk shows.  The theory was that many teens are deciding to have oral sex instead of intercourse, and that they are doing so with multiple partners, in a more casual way.  The new study contradicts all of those assumptions.

To read the whole article, and an interview with one of the authors of the study, click here and here.