Archive for October, 2010

The other day, my friend was yelling at her fourth-grader to “stop playing with those matches.” I asked where on earth did he get matches? She said her parents had given him a bunch of matches the last time he was over. She said when he visits they let him burn up leaves on their back patio. (Huh? What? Are they not afraid the kid will burn down their house?)

Then she added she’d rather her parents let him play with matches than shoot their guns!

Of course, I was little surprised that she hadn’t put her foot down on these particular grandparent forms of fun, but do grandparents get to choose questionable play and gifts when your kids visit their house?

The only time my parents have given my kids anything questionable was when my dad gave Walsh a bunch of long nails and two boards of wood to hammer things together. I didn’t mind when they were working on them together, but then when my dad was ready to head home they just plopped the boards with long nails poking out …

Continue reading Grandpa gave you What?! »

One of our moms sent me this note yesterday after she made an interesting discovery about her 7-year-old. Read and see what you would advise.

“My little guy (7) has started hanging out with the little girl across the street (7).  He informed me the other day that they were “dating”.  I’m thinking, “cute”.  Wellll…I was cleaning up the kitchen and found a piece of paper they had been writing on.  The first statement that caught my eye was “I want to make out”!  WTHECK!!  They are SEVEN!  OK…it gets better, below that is the word sex with yes circled underneath it!  There were also a couple of other sentences saying, “I love you and want to date you” and “I want to have a sleepover at my house tonight.”  Those, I’m not too worried about.”

“Now I’m starting to get a little worried, so I call the little guy over and ask him if they’ve been making out.  He says, “no.”  I then asked him to tell me what it means to make out.  He has no clue…same with sex and wonders why …

Continue reading Do you inform a mom her 7-year-old is talking sexy? »

Ruff Ruffman and his assistant Blossom!

There are so many bad kid shows on TV that I always want to share with other parents when I find a show that is really worth watching.

For the last four seasons my kids have followed the adventures of kid contestants on “FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman!” and the fifth season started this week! (I am kicking myself that I am one day late on this but your kids can catch up on what happened yesterday on Ruff’s web site!)

The PBS Kids Go show (airs on Georgia Public Television at 4) is game show where live kids compete in challenges for the host Ruff Ruffman, who happens to be a cartoon dog.

The show is funded by the National Science Foundation and the kids explore real word science in their challenges by asking questions, conducting experiments and investigating the world around them. The kids also learn about history, thinking through problems and team building.

My kids can’t wait until they are old enough to audition to be on show. (I …

Continue reading Best kids’ show: ‘FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman’ »

A friend posted an apology note to her 1-year-old on Facebook. She was sorry for putting her into a long sleeve jacket. She promised her daughter that it wasn’t a torture device. It was just finally Fall!

Another mom was bemoaning having to give her up sandals for the year. She acknowledged her feet were cold but was bummed to have to wear shoes again.

I had to wear tennis shoes the other day and felt very constricted putting those puppies on. I couldn’t wait to slip back on my flip-flops. I do think you get used to having lots of toe wiggle room.

We talked last year about how teens never seem to recognize the change of seasons. They just stand out at the bus stop in their shorts, and maybe a sweatshirt, if you’re lucky, freezing.

How are your kids adjusting to long sleeves, pants, actual shoes after such a long hot summer? Are they still trying to sneak out in shorts? Do your teens still want to wear their sandals? Do you?

Continue reading Fall is here but can kids (and parents) give up their flip-flops? »

I know this is a terrible thing to say but I am jealous of my childfree friends.

I think this is a development caused by Facebook. Without Facebook I wouldn’t hear about and see all the fun, carefree things they spend their days doing – such as brunch, going to bars to watch games, traveling to Europe, eating at restaurants each night, running with their spouses, and taking weekend trips.

I have one cousin sailing with her husband all the time and eating these amazing meals at restaurants all over her city. I have another cousin taking fantastic weekend getaways to New England. Her husband is an incredible photographer so his great photos just make it worse.

I love my kids, but it would be nice to have more time to simply do nothing and the energy to want to do fun things. Maybe this is part of feeling down or do other people feel this way?

Are you jealous of your childfree friends? Do you wish you had more time to be carefree? Does this time come as your kids get older or …

Continue reading Are you jealous of your childfree friends? »