When talking about parenting I think it is important to point out that the idea of the conventional nuclear family is pretty blurry in this day and age, so for the sake of argument I would like to expand it’s classic definition of father to include either biological father, step-father, uncle, grandfather or any close and/or active male family member that provides constant and compassionate care to the child. This child is less likely to have behavioral or psychological problems and is more likely to thrive academically according to a review that looked at 24 papers published between 1987 and 2007, covering 22,300 individual sets of data from 16 studies.

…we found various studies that showed that children who had positively involved father figures were less likely to smoke and get into trouble with the police, achieved better levels of education and developed good friendships with children of both sexes.” ~ Dr Anna Sarkadi, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at Uppsala University, Sweden

The overriding message being sent by these studies is that positive fathering has a profound impact on society as a whole. Things like state sponsored paternal leaves and other influential legislation will only help promote active fathering in society which in turn has the potential of helping us all in producing more well-adjusted children and reducing major problems like crime and antisocial behavior. Not to say this is a golden bullet by any means, but with our national prisons bursting at the seams it may be prudent for us to consider all options. Interestingly enough, there are also studies that have concluded active fathering is a big influence on a child’s risk of becoming obese and less likely to smoke.

Another interesting point is that the studies determined it is not possible to tell whether this positive outcome is because the father figure is more involved or whether the mother is able to be a better parent if she has more support at home. The flip-side to this study is there is no conclusive framework or road map to follow or what type of engagement the father figure needs to provide to produce positive effects.

Sited Links:
Science Daily | Children Who Have An Active Father…
Science Daily | Fathers Have Great Impact On Their Children’s Lives…

   

The thing I am trying to do this Mother’s Day is get away from buying at all the big franchise stores and try to support the small local retailer who are either making unique and beautiful stuff.

Now that I am a full fledged dad with a couple kids and another on the way, it has me thinking of keepsakes. I never really thought about them before but the thought of have a few cherished heirlooms to add to the family tree, sounds - well it sounds nice.

A piece that I’ve been drawn too was recently highlighted in Life & Style Magazine on the original Material Girl, Madonna. It’s the Nashelle Cherished Engraved Necklace from an Indie Jewelry retailer, Penelope Poet. This piece is designed by Heather Beeson, the creative mind behind Nashelle Jewelry. From her studio on the gorgeous Oregon Coast, Heather and her team of talented artists create exceptional jewelry by hand. Penelope Poet makes an effort to support female artists and moms. So I guess if you buy from them you’re building positive karma points, too.

I recently got it for my wife (don’t tell her) with the two boys names engraved on it and with the third on the way, I was assured I can call in a few months or a few years and add more charms to it. What more can you ask for - a keepsake that grows with the family.

(Via Penelope Poet)

   

We all know that parents who give their kids fast food are going to hell in a hand-basket, right? Sometimes you just don’t feel like making them lunch - again. Maybe, you’re craving one of those $6 burgers, yourself. There are many reasons we use to convince ourselves that it’s okay to splurge every once and awhile and get your kids one of those little kid’s meals.

Fast food restaurants do a good job straddling the line when it comes to proper disclosure of nutritional information for their menu items, some don’t disclose the amount of trans-fats in their menu items, others don’t break-out the nutritional value of their beverages or condiments. Yes, condiments - check out the nutritional value of the condiments at Carl’s Jr. - mind-boggling numbers [House Dressing 320 calories, 34g fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 25g cholesterol, 480g sodium, 2g sugar].

Here’s a snapshot of what your kid is consuming when he or she gets a kid’s meal compared to the recommended daily allowance as dictated by the USDA. I will base this on a four year old boy (will call him “Timmy”), weighing thirty nine pounds and is forty two inches high and is expected to have an average of sixty minutes of exercise activity a day (follow the link below for a daily nutrition calculator based on age). Based on this profile, this kid should eat 1,400 calories a day - basically a bit more than half of what I eat (average adult male; between 2400-2700 calories/day). That means Timmy should have the following per day;

• 1,150mg sodium (about half a teaspoon)
• 150mg cholesterol (Keep total fat intake between 30 to 35 percent of calories for children 2 to 3 years of age and between 25 to 35 percent of calories for children and adolescents 4 to 18 years of age, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.)
• Kids this age should be eating 1.5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. This will account for proper amounts of natural fiber, carbohydrates and sugar (as well as important vitamins and minerals)

I could go on here with a daily nutritional breakdown but, this sets the stage for the whole kid’s meal breakdown. Here are the nutritional numbers for some of the more popular kid’s meals out there (numbers based on information attained from company websites);

• McDonald’s Happy Meal [Chicken McNuggets (4pc). Small French Fries, 1% Low Fat Chocolate Milk Jug (8 fl oz)] - 520 calories, 25g fat, 6g saturated fat, 4.5g trans-fat, 35g cholesterol, 720g sodium, 12g sugar
• McDonald’s Happy Meal [Cheeseburger, Small French Fries, 1% Low Fat White Milk Jug (8 fl oz)] - 710 calories, 28g fat, 10g saturated fat, 4g trans-fat, 50g cholesterol, 1050g sodium, 26g sugar
• Carl’s Jr. [3-piece Chicken Breast Strip, Kid's French Fries, (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 780 calories, 37g fat, 6g saturated fat, 50g cholesterol, (no listing of trans-fat), 1360g sodium, 31g sugar
• Carl’s Jr. [Kid's Hamburger, Kid's French Fries, Small Coke (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 820 calories, 29g. fat, 8.5 saurated fat, 60g. cholesterol, (no listing for trans-fat), 1210g. sodium, 43g sugar
• Burger King [Chicken Tenders (4pc), Small Fry, Small Coke) - 530 calories, 24g fat, 6g saturated fat, 4.5g trans-fat, 820g. sodium, 31g sugar
• El Pollo Loco [Popcorn Chicken, Small Fries, Small Coke (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 551 calories, 23g fat, 4g saturated fat, 0g trans-fat, 1039g. sodium, 30g sugar

Lots of fat, lots of sodium and lots of sugar. I think in this post Fast-Food Nation age of enlightenment, this information comes as no surprise. But as a parent when you let these numbers soak in a bit, it’s kind of staggering. Much like their grown up counter-parts, these kid’s meals give our precious ones a full day’s supply of fat, cholesterol, sugar and sodium all in one sitting. And if your a family on the go or the kind of family that does drive-through on a regular basis, you can start to see the impact these meals are making on your kids.

Play around with some of the nutritional calculators and see what it will take to reverse the calorie count on some of these kids meals. I found that with the calculator listed (below), Timmy would have to exercise a full two hours a day to reverse a mere 400 calories, but it doesn’t reverse the long-term impact of taking in all those trans-fats, sodium and so forth.

Something to think about the next time you’re waiting in line at the drive-thru.

Sited Links;
McDonalds | Nutritional Info for Happy Meals
Carl’s Jr. | Nutrition
Burger King | Nutritional Brochure
El Pollo Loco | Nutritional Guide

Related Links;
USDA | Dietary Guidelines For Americans
Baylor College of Medicine | Healthy Eating Calculator

   

Blokus is an excellent spatial game for the whole family that has won awards around the world for Best Mind Game. In an effort to pull the kids (and maybe some of the adults) away from the different screens in the house (i.e. computer screen, television screen, et al.), my wife and I are constantly in search of different types of board games to bring the family together. Blokus falls into a nebulous board game genre of “abstract strategy” games since there are no soldiers or missiles to stockpile and attack with but there are plenty of “offenses” taking place as each player tries to command the board.

Each player begins the game with an assortment of geometric shapes. One player has all the red shapes, one has all the green shapes, etc. Players take turns deploying pieces to a grid-board in such a way that the piece touches a same-colored piece at one or more corners, but not along any edge. Once the board is mostly filled and no one can make a legal play, the game ends and the person whose remaining pieces have the smallest total area wins. Pretty simple, premise. Reminds me of a couple different ways you can play dominoes - which is another favorite game at our house.

In short, if your child understands what it means for two shapes to touch at a corner, and to touch along an edge, then your child will be able to grasp this game. Sure as the board shrinks you may need to help guide them as to what their options are - but I think it’s fair to say that happens with most board games (yeah, and before you know it they’re beating the pants of you!).

Games last about ten to fifteen minutes so even if you have young ones with limited attention spans you maybe able to go two out of three if they start beating the pants off you. This game offers ample opportunity for kids to learn and exercise strategic and tactical thinking skills. The game’s biggest drawback is that it plays best with four players, but you can play with two players by doubling up colors, or with three players by using a neutral color.

(Blokus Via FunAgainGames.Com)

   

These custom rings engraved with your children’s name on it are all hand fabricated by Artist, Christen Largent. This ring can be finished in many different ways — smooth finish (pictured), hammered finish, rough-sanded finish, oxidized, oxidized lightly and tumbled for a shine, distressed.

It’s a classy, clean, simple band made of very thick and durable sterling silver stock. It’s sanded smooth, even shine and then an added satin finish for a more rugged look.

If you’re like me, this is an excellent (and stylish) solution to that aged-old problem of remembering your kid’s name. Yes, “Daddy-Brain” exists.

(BD Designs @ Etsy.Com)

   

My wife and I have got burnt-out reading narrative stories to the boys and have started to work some poetry into the mix. If you haven’t read poetry aloud recently, it’s an interesting challenge and totally enjoyable.

The Caroline Kennedy compilation is beautifully illustrated with hand-painted watercolor paintings and includes everything from e.e.cummings and Robert Frost to Shakespeare.

Related Links:
Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems
A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children

   

Have you ever tried to make origami but could never understand the directions? Have you run out of cool ways to make a paper airplane? Or you want to see how the Pro’s do it? Or have you just run out of craft and activities and need some inspiration? The folks over at ActivityTV.Com have done a great job at creating a site filed with video tutorials for a number of great kid activities.

Find lots of fun activities for kids, with video instructions and printables. There’s a great selection of craft ideas including gifts, games, and holiday items. Learn easy magic tricks, or try the fun and easy kid-friendly cooking recipes. Check out the simple, safe and fun science experiments or very cool paper airplanes. Other categories include cartooning, cheerleading, juggling, origami, jewelry, puppets, and more. Just follow along with the step-by-step videos.

Some of my new favorites is LegoTV, where you can see some of your favorite lego characters in actions. Of all the Instructional Channels available I’d have to say puppets section is my personal favorite. Banana Buddies. Running Rabbit. Shoe Box Monster. Come on, we’re talking about a screaming good time here.

So the next time you wake up to one of those impenetrable raining spring mornings or you just run out of tricks to pull out of the proverbial mom/dad hat, check out Activity.TV and see if they help spark some kind of fun.

(Via ActivityTV.Com)

   

Dopamine makes us feel all fluttery and kissy and warm and buzzy. it’s the chemical that makes you feel euphoric when you first fall in love; that head-over-heels feeling that you spend the rest of your relationship trying to recapture. that giddiness - the very beginning, when you realize it’s love.

Here’s a Valentine’s card to express your inner chemistry.

(Nasty Paper Cut Via Etsy.Com)

   

Ever since my wife and I moved to a coastal area, she has had this funny fantasy that our boys will have fond memories of going to surf camp and will become wonderful surfers. I initially laughed because, well just because it sounded damn funny, especially coming from the east coast (northeast, that is) where the surf is - well - cold, very cold and not very high.

But on second though, and by second thought I mean - remembering my scary military-style “throw ‘em in the pool” and see if they can tread water swim lessons at the local YMCA - I think trying one of the nearby certified surf summer camps may be a good thing. Because unlike those community classes of yester-year there seems to be a concentrated effort on safety in these types of programs and most of the ones that I’ve seen have a very low student/teacher ratio.

We’ve looked into it a bit and it seems like quite an adventure for kids, teens or the whole family. A lot of these places also teach about rip currents, UV exposure, CPR, ocean safety, first aid, and life guard classes as well as a lot about local marine life. You know - all that stuff parents like to think their kids are soaking up.

   

Neighbor’s of ours, Ruth Kennison and David Hochman are having a very special launch of their new children’s book, The Potty Train - Chugga Chugga Poo Poo! this weekend in (Mar Vista) Los Angeles. As you can tell from the title of the book, it celebrates that transition from diapers to potty chair as illustrated by award-winning children’s book illustrator, Derek Anderson (of the Little Quack fame amongst many others).

B.Y.O.D. (Bring Your Own Diapers -or- Potty chair, of course) No seriously, bring unopened package of diapers - that will take care of admission. The diapers will benefit Baby2Baby. Follow the link for details.

Related Links;
The Potty Train - Chugga Chugga Poo Poo!
The Potty Train Book Launch Party Invite