I want my preschooler to eat a good breakfast, but all he wants are Froot Loops
I don’t get it. Why are so many parents reluctant to be in charge of what goes into their kids’ mouths? I see tots of two at the grocery store, dictating the family budget. “I want Little Debbies!” and wham, Little Debbie goes flying right into the cart.
My kids were great. They never had hissy fits when I set out food they didn’t like. Instead, they found ways to distract me. And while I was checking out the cat, or the parakeet—or an Continue reading
If Richard Paul Evans’ The Walk is a bestseller, you’d better start reading your children real books
I just had my first review published on Amazon yesterday. Yippee! But if you’re a big fan of Richard Paul Evans and The Walk series, I’ll warn you that I cut him no slack. The popular author’s style breaches kept this reader gritting her teeth, and more importantly, from focusing on the story – easy to do, considering the book has no real plot.
Here’s the link. Scroll down to “Bad Writing Makes a Best Seller?” Continue reading
Parents need to wake up and smell the Gardasil
Gardasil is not safe, says watchdog group SaneVax (www.sanevax.org). But safe and effective vaccine advocates in the U.S. aren’t the only nay-sayers of the HPV vaccine. Merck, the vaccine’s manufacturer, is receiving criticism from around the globe. I only hope politicians stop throwing vital young women into the lion’s den before any more die or become disabled.
It seems California Governor Jerry Brown hasn’t checked out the latest list of Gardasil’s victims. On Oct. 12, he signed into law a bill that will give children 12 and older the right to get the vaccine without parental consent. At that age, my kids weren’t even allowed to decide what video they could rent, let alone what shots Continue reading
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Baby!
I wore my babies, back in the day. I even have my origninal red corduroy Snugli to prove it. People said, “It’ll hurt your posture.” “He can’t move in there.” “He’ll freeze.” You name it, they slung it. I think they were jealous. My babies were very contented and I never tired of wearing them.
Here’s a picture of me, wearing my first-born and my Vasque hiking boots.
Today there are way more babywearing moms around. Even so, I’m just as likely to see the mom with the plastic carrier, bumping her baby back and forth against her hip as she walks through the grocery store parking lot. If I were in that carrier, I’d be puking. (My kids know better than to take me to an amusement park – I always lose it on the rides that go upside-down and backwards.)
October is National Babywearing Month, so why not ditch the plastic and switch to soft, huggable cloth? My babies always felt more secure when I held them. It helped them relax. I figured they were used to being carried in the womb, the snuggest place of all. Keeping my babies close turned me into a mellow mama with lots of patience. The reason is oxytocin, the “mothering hormone.” Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not what you would call the mellow type. More like the “gotta do something” type. But natural mothering, including babywearing, pushed me into the laid back category.
With my baby in the Snugli, not only could I vacuum and cook dinner, I had two hands free to grocery shop, bake bread, whatever. Even in winter I felt totally comfortable hiking with the baby snug in his pouch.
Our oldest was born in September, and that Christmas, friends invited us to cut a tree on their property near Johnson’s Mesa in northern New Mexico. We drove into the mountains for what seemed like forever, and then headed on foot into the woods. Snow lined the forest floor, and the quiet overwhelmed us. Then out of the Snugli came the cry of our three-month-old child. It echoed through the tall pine trees in a way that I could not have imagined, and at that moment, it was the only sound in the world.
Those days are gone, but now my new granddaughter gets to ride in the same red Snugli. And that is a huge thrill. Another generation of babies, worn by their mama. Don’t you think it makes the world a more peaceful, loving place? FFG
