Momania: A Blog for Busy Moms

I ran across a very interesting column on The Root about racial etiquette and ethics.  The first installment addresses whether it’s insulting to tell a family that their biracial child is adorable and maybe even the cutest. Here’s the question and part of the explanation. (I wish I could pull more but check out the full column at the link

The Root:

“I’m a Caucasian woman with a biracial child (her father is black). I live in a predominantly white community. Why is it that whenever people discover that I have a ‘mixed’ child, they always say things like, ‘Oh, he/she must be so cute/gorgeous/adorable, those kids are always the best looking. You are so lucky.’ …

“You’re right to be bothered by the remarks from the Biracial Babies Fan Club. Here’s why: These people aren’t pulling an arbitrary appreciation for almond-colored skin and curls from the ether. Instead — even if they are not aware of this — they’re both reflecting and perpetuating troubling beliefs that are …

Continue reading Racial manners: Is it rude to call biracial kids ‘the cutest?’ »

Mattel’s “Dolls of the World” line, which was introduced 30 years ago is being criticized for Mexico Barble. All of the Dolls of the World Barbies are dressed in traditional garb and carry a passport.

From Today.com:

“Poor Mexico Barbie. She just wants to teach girls “about the culture, traditions and ancestral dress of Mexico,” according to her online description. Little did she know her two possessions, a passport and a Chihuahua, would stir up an argument over cultural diversity.”

“China Barbie, for example, wears a red silk embroidered gown and comes packaged with a panda tucked under her arm. India Barbie wears a sari and has a pet monkey. The beret-capped French Barbie does not come with an animal, but can offer buyers a basket of baguettes instead.

“Mexico Barbie has long, black wavy hair, tied back in a purple bow, and is “dressed for a fabulous fiesta” in a pink dress with ruffles, ribbons and lace. However, her accessories of a Chihuahua dog and a …

Continue reading Is Mexico Barbie a stereotype or just celebrating international heritage? »

Non-mom and former Atlanta resident Blair Koenig created a blog and now a book about the things she says parents are oversharing on Facebook. The book is called “STFU, Parents: The Jaw-Dropping, Self-Indulgent, and Occasionally Rage-Inducing World of Parent Overshare.”

From the AJC story:

“To write the book, Koenig borrowed heavily from her “STFU, Parents” blog, which she started in 2009 after noticing her own Facebook newsfeed becoming cluttered with even the most mundane photos and stories about her friends’ children.”

“The blog, which now attracts more than 1.5 million readers a month, asks readers to submit the most egregious overshares they see on Facebook, which Koenig separates into categories, including “Woe is Mom” (Mothers who complain about being mothers), “Mommyjacking (Mothers who use friends’ unrelated status updates to share news about their children) and, in Koenig’s opinion, the most noxious of the group – Sanctimommies …

Continue reading Hey non-parents, you think we’re oversharing? »

About a year ago I met a woman in Phoenix who specializes in occupational therapy for children.  Aimee Piller and her husband run the Piller Child Development centers around Phoenix.

Occupational therapy is a rapidly growing field (Bureau of Labor expects a 33 percent growth between 2010 to 2020) that can help children who have Autism, Asperger Syndrome, ADHD, sensory issues and many other conditions. Occupational therapy has become recognized as not only a way to treat motor skill issues, such as writing or balance, but also executive function skills and behavior, such as regulating their bodies and impulse control.

Aimee has an awesome Pinterest site with all kinds of ideas for kids with special needs. She has ideas to help develop:

Fine Motor Skills

Handwriting

Coordination

Sensory Activities

Sensory Places

Visual Skills

Feeding issues (such as extremely picky eaters.)

Oral Motor development

Self-care skills

Social skills

Language Skills

One of my favorite boards has posts …

Continue reading Occupational therapy growing as way to help kids with Autism, Asperger’s, ADHD, sensory issues »

I have been reading stories about J.C. Penney’s CEO Ron Johnson’s strategy for the company and why he was fired this week.  The article said he cut coupons and deals and instead offered everyday low prices. It said he introduced little “boutique” areas into the big store and developed relationships with new brands, such as Sephora.

From USA Today:

“(Ron) Johnson turned off long-time customers who were used to seeing markdowns to know they were getting a good deal. Now, interim CEO Mike Ullman — who headed Penney from 2004 to 2011 — is faced with the task of getting them back. “

“Driving traffic should be the company’s No. 1 goal, says Barbara Kahn, director of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school. Yes, Johnson dropped sales, but getting rid of coupons also turned customers off, she says….”

“Penney has already started bringing back discounts after an abysmal year that ended with a 32% decrease in sales …

Continue reading Are you shopping at J.C. Penney? »

April is Autism Awareness month, and Babble has recently a launched a new Autism section with articles and reference material for parents.

One of my favorite articles on the page is a slide show of 10 things your kids should know about kids with Autism.

I can only pull a couple but here are my favorite items that I think are most important. Please check out the article on Babble for all of them and share them with your kids.

From Babble:

“Everybody’s brain works differently.

Everyone’s brain works a little differently. There are probably kids in your class who are really good at reading, but have to work harder in math. There’s probably a kid who is really good at art, but not so good at reading. Or a kid who is really good at every sport, but is afraid of public speaking. Everyone has things they’re good at, and things they have to work harder at. One way that brains can be different is that some people have an autism spectrum disorder. Just like every other kid, most kids …

Continue reading 10 things your kids should know about kids with Autism »

According to Time.com, 75 percent of Americans will receive a tax refund this year, but they aren’t always helpful to your bottom line.

According to Time.com:

“Most of the nation’s 100 million or so individual filers of federal tax returns will get a refund this year—an estimated 75%, in fact—and for those lucky souls we have a message: Be careful; windfall monetary gifts can be dangerous to your financial health.The culprit is one of the most common decision making biases identified in the past four decades of research in the field of behavioral economics. It’s called “mental accounting,” and it’s a subject visited frequently in this blog. Mental accounting is the process by which the human brain, consciously or otherwise, labels and prioritizes money differently depending on where it comes from (paycheck vs. gift from grandma), where it’s kept (savings account vs. stock market), how it’s spent (home repairs vs. vacation cruise), or  size of transaction …

Continue reading Do tax refunds actually cause you to overspend? »

A mom sent me a note looking for advice. She has a fifth-grade girl who was diagnosed three years ago with ADHD. They are having trouble in the afternoons transitioning from school to homework and activities. She is looking for advise on how to handle this. Here’s what she wrote:

“How do you make a (somewhat) smooth transition with your kiddo with ADHD from after school to after school activities and homework? Especially for GIRLS, what do you find works best? More/different med, meditation, exercise, what? We have tried so many different things over the years…some work a while then stop, some 2 days then stop. And, readers, this is a genuine question, not one seeking snarky answers or mean spirited advice! I love my oldest more than words can say, more than she can understand…but there are days (usually after school) that it is so, so hard…ugh. My sweet girl is 11, 5th grade, in Scouts and dance (1day), and was diagnosed with ADHD 3 years ago. Thanks …

Continue reading Mom asks: How do you help kids with ADHD transition in the afternoon? »

Five –year-old Georgia Braithwaite wanted a Barbie party for her birthday complete with Barbie plates, cups and napkins. However, there was a catch. Georgia is African American and when her mother Karen Greene Braithwaite searched on the internet for black Barbie party supplies she found none.

From Time.com:

“The first African-American doll, Christie, strutted onto the scene in 1968, and Mattel, Barbie’s manufacturer, features Barbies representing more than 45 nationalities. Were they leaving these dozens of groups out of its Barbie-themed party supplies, which seem to focus only on the classic blue-eyed, buxum blonde?

Braithwaite found herself telling a white lie to Georgia, proud owner of at least six black Barbie dolls. “It was a little embarrassing for Mommy,” says Braithwaite, a human-resources manager who lives in Harlem. “I said, ‘Oh, Mommy clicked on the wrong thing.’ She was starting to get upset. I told her that I’d find it, but I started realizing …

Continue reading Mom mounts campaign for ‘Barbies of color’ party supplies »

A Princeton graduate sent a letter to current women students at the school advising them to find their husbands while they are at an Ivy League school.

From NJ.com:

“Here’s what nobody is telling you,” wrote [Susan] Patton, who graduated in 1977 and whose son is a current Princeton student. “Find a husband on campus before you graduate.”

“The letter was prompted by Patton’s recent speaking engagement at Princeton during a women and leadership conference, according to an interview she gave to the New York Daily News….”

“Patton said the letter was meant specifically for the Princeton community because of the unique nature of the students gathered to study at the Ivy League school. Princeton announced last week its class of 2017 admission acceptance is the school’s most selective ever with 7.3 percent of the 26,498 applicants being offered a chance to attend. “

“This letter was intended for a very small audience,” Patton told CNN. “Take a good look on campus now for a …

Continue reading Is college really the best time to find a mate? »