Film Review : A Plumm Summer

Since my son is a little older now, we allow him to watch videos on weekends. We’re still a no TV family but, he and my husband particularly enjoy watching movies. I enjoy the fact that I can control what he watches.

Though we have rented newer movies from time to time, I find that in general…I don’t like them! This keeps us from movie theaters but expands our horizons in the area of video viewing.

How? Well, rather than search for the latest movie- we look back to older movies, particularly those made before the totally arbitrary date of 1975.

Why? Because, in general, I find that newer movies encourage disrespectful behavior. That is, the children and/or animated figures use words and behavior that is well…not what I’m trying to teach my child.

So, it was with some hesitation I agreed to review A Plumm Summer directed by Caroline Zelderfor Mothertalk. Actors William Baldwin and Henry Winkler star and the story is based on a true event that happened in the life of the screenwriter, T.J. Lynch.

The story revolves around a family of children who set up to help rescue a kidnapped puppet – “Froggy Doo” the star of a local children’s show. The premise of course, brings back memories of the local shows produced in my home town which, included Mr. Roger’s neighborhood – so I had a positive feeling before turning on the DVD.

I very much enjoyed the movie as it harks back to the feel-good family movies with which I grew up. I laughed and smiled and was impressed with the simple story line and believable characters.

On the other hand, I won’t take my six-year-old to see this movie yet. Rated PG, it is, I believe more suited for older children. The story revolves around a 13-year old boy his 5-year-old brother and the girl next door. So, there’s some “young love” some typical 13-year-old behavior and a little more “examples of bad behavior” than I would really like my son to see yet.

This is perhaps an “oldest child” issue. Had he an older sibling I’m sure he would already have learned a wide variety of ways to be mildly disrespectful.

But for older children this is a great movie. It has enough suspense and action to entertain and has some nice scenes of a family over coming their unique problems. So, definitely take your tween to go see this movie and perhaps a younger sibling but, save it for later if your oldest is under 9.

The movie opens in theatres in California, Minnesota and Alabama this weekend. It’s well worth a trip so check your local listings!

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Decorating with Fish

Though I grew up with a variety of pets, mostly furry ones, I had the misfortune lack of foresight to marry someone with allergies to most types of "companion animals". And so I've blundered along for a number of years sans pets.

Until now.

Though I may eventually explore the wide world of reptiles and amphibians, I've started by buying a fish. A Betta fish. Yes, yes, I know - a fish is a far cry from a cuddly cat or dog but, a Betta fish has other qualities.

It makes a great household decor item!

Rather than buy a fish bowl, my fish's home is a rarely used "floating candle bowl"( a relic of the time before I had kids when I could actually consider using floating candles without worrying about the house burning down). You can just as easily use a large vase, a glass ice bowl or even an old spaghetti sauce jar since Betta fish actually prefer small spaces.

Our bowl is tastefully decorated with colored glass stones and a tiny castle for our fish, Atlantis. Artfully arranged in a grouping of fresh flowers and a crystal decanter, I think even Martha Stewert would be proud.


For more great Works for me Wednesday ideas visit Rocks in My Dryer


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Top 5 Reasons to Turn On The Tube - Just Not During TV Turnoff Week

Since my regular readers know that we don’t have broadcast television and allow our son to only watch occasional videos, you might expect me to give a list of reasons to not watch TV. Been there; done that…

You can read a summary of some of the (negative) side effects of watching too much TV here.

Or – you can read some of the (positive) side effects of not watching TV at all here.

Or you can visit a hundred other websites this week to find out things to do instead of watching TV. I really can’t think of too many more projects…there are always lots of things to do instead of TV and lots of places to find them. That’s why last week, in preparation for The TV Turnoff fest, I wrote a step by step plan for vanquishing TV:

TV Turn-OFF Week – Cutting Back is Good Enough

Since this weekend, my son, for various reasons spent far too much time in front of the tube watching videos (we allow watching on weekends) I started thinking about WHY we “plug our kids in”. I mean, it starts in infancy or early childhood. They don’t just jump up one day and start whining about watching TV. It is WE parents who first place them in front of the TV. We watch them clap and smile over Sesame Street.

And, of course, these things have a tendency to get out of hand. Before you know it, we’re flipping on that set for reasons we would have never considered ….had we thought about it. Which we don’t. Or at least I don’t very often.

Today I thought I would. Because we have strict limits on TV, not a “no TV” policy, I have to be on my guard. I actually DO think about why plopping him in front of the TV. I DO mentally add up the amount of time he’s watched. I DO try to figure out if my reason is good enough.

I’ve found that they vary but, here are my top 5.

When I’m packing for a trip

1. To get some paid work done
2. When I’ve been with him, by myself, for 48 hours straight and need a break
3. When he is sick and I’ve occupied him for 5 hours straight.
4. When I need to have a “discussion” with my spouse

And, I’ve decided this is a useful list. Rather than wonder endlessly what my reason is to plop him in front of the TV, if it doesn’t fall on this list, I won’t.

I’ll surely find plenty of other activities for him to do, or us to do or the whole family to do. And I’ll remember that childhood is so short I surely won’t want to miss much.

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The Dangers of Being Crafty – Toes, Tetanus and Timing

I’ve been offline for quite awhile this week…recuperating. Why? Well, in an attempt to avoid junky party favors for my son’s birthday party last month, I made capes for the guests…using a needle and thread. One of the needles was a looong embroidery needle.

It ended up in my foot. Five weeks later! Broken off and removed from the top as opposed to the bottom where it went in. (No more details…too gory!)

Sigh. Note to self: Keep sewing supplies out of the bedroom.

It was interesting for me to note that, all of my crunchy friends urged a quick visit to the emergency room and a tetanus shot…ASAP. These are my friends who do not vaccinate their children and avoid medications as much as possible.

But, this time, no waffling around, “Get that shot!” they said.

So, of course, now I need to check out what exactly is in a tetanus shot.(I did get it, incidentally so my analysis is a little after the fact.)

To my dismay, I read here that a tetanus shot doesn’t guarantee that I won’t get tetanus. And, of course, a deep puncture wound

(which is what I managed to acquire) is the type of wound most likely to develop tetanus. Sigh.

It is an article of faith, widely accepted by doctors and patients alike, that tetanus is almost invariably fatal, especially if the person is not vaccinated. Before I knew better, and because the "standard of care" dictates that every cut gets a tetanus shot, I handed these shots out like candy, believing it was better to "over protect" than to risk the development of a "fatal" case of tetanus.

Hmmm…I’m not sure of the credentials of the author but this sure sounds like modern medicine.So, I checked out what the FDA had to say.

Tetanus is an acute, often fatal disease that occurs worldwide. It affects the central nervous system, producing both … stiffness or muscular rigidity …and convulsive muscle spasm.

Yikes!

But then I found a little more interesting information that makes me wonder why I bothered.

1) Scientific evidence shows that too frequent tetanus boosters actually may interfere with the immune reaction.

2) There has been a gradual retreat of even the most conservative authorities from giving tetanus boosters every one year to every two years to every five years to every 10 years (as now recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics), and according to some, every 20 years. All these numbers are based on guesses rather than on hard scientific evidence.

3) There has been a growing recognition that no controlled scientific study (in which half the patients were given the vaccine and the other half were given injections of sterile water) has ever been carried out to prove the safety and effectiveness of the tetanus vaccine. Evidence for the vaccine comes from epidemiologic studies which are by nature controversial and which do not satisfy the criteria for scientific proof.

4) The tetanus vaccine over the decades has been progressively weakened in order to reduce the considerable reaction (fever and swelling) it used to cause. Accompanying this reduction in reactivity has been a concomitant reduction in antigenicity (the ability to confer protection). Therefore, there is a good chance that today’s tetanus vaccine is about as effective as tap water.

Why do I bother looking this stuff up!

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Assorted Product Reviews

I have a few product reviews up on my review blog that you may want to check out.

Book Review: Only Child

The Senseo Coffee Maker

Baby Jamz microphone

It's an interesting selection of products- One of which I really liked....
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Tips on Spacing Vaccinations

I actually wrote about this first over at EcoChild's Play but, some of the comments piqued my interest and I thought I would write about it again.

Many of us never give a thought as to whether to vaccinate or not but, more and more we know people who don''t vaccinate and so begin to wonder.

I would be one of those people who wonder.

That resulted in my dithering around trying to figure out what to do and a lot of research. What I found was that many of the vaccines that babies and young children receive are given at that time for diseases to which they will not be exposed for oh say 10 years.

It's convenience for the state really. Parents are most likely to take a baby religiously to the pediatrician and, more frequently than one would guess turn into slackers as the years pass. ( I admit, I have been guilty of missing an annual check up.)

And so, they inundate you with vaccines early on.

But, you can resist. Yup, I did. We did vaccinate but, not on schedule...we're still a little behind 6 years later. ( In my state and in most, you can fill out a form to avoid submitting proof of vaccinations before entering kindergarten.) All we had to do was ask our pediatrician to wait on each shot...sometimes things are simpler than they seem.

OK- so this may be old news to many of you. What is new, for me anyway is that you can also split out vaccines that are typically given as one shot...like the MMR but, it's not that easy.

Dr. Bob Sears, the author of The Vaccine Book in the Sears Parenting Library Series, says:

Many parents now want to split up the MMR vaccine into separate components and give them separated each by a year. However, a doctor can’t order just single doses of each shot through the regular channels. but, fortunately he has some recommendations too!

1. Go to a vaccine clinic at a large university hospital.
2. Go to a travel clinic where people usually go to get unusual travel vaccines prior to international travel. Some of these carry the separate M, M, and R.
3. Ask your doctor to write you a prescription for each shot and try to get it filled through a pharmacy. You would bring the shot back to your doctor’s office (making sure you keep it a refrigerator temperature 36 to 46 degrees F or 2 to 8 degrees Celsius) for the nurse to administer.
4. Ask for a prescription, but get it filled through an online medical supply company or online pharmacy. They can ship it directly to your doctor’s office (shipping isn’t cheap though). One such company that I know of is American Medicine, Inc. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You can find them on Google.
5. Check out our Vaccine-Friendly Doctor’s list to see if there’s anyone within driving distance for you. They typically would need you to become a patient and get checkups there in order to provide you with vaccines.
6. If you can’t find the separate shots anywhere, ask your doctor to start a list of like-minded patients and just skip the full MMR for now. Chances are over the next year or two the list will grow to include 10 patients. Delaying your baby’s protection for a year wouldn’t be too risky since the diseases are very rare.

For more great Works For Me Wednesday ideas visit Rocks in My Dryer.


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Photo courtesy: State of Florida Dept. of Health.

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The Summer Camp Issue - As In “Issue”!

Still grappling with the realities of no longer having a toddler content to wander around with me all day, I’ve been trying to figure out: “What to do with my child for the summer”.

Now, given my druthers, (Druthers appeared in my “Word-of-The-Day” last week…just had to use it!) I’d keep him home with me all day or plan a variety of activities which we could do together. But, I have an only child and children, not surprisingly, like to play with other children…as I have found.

And so, I’m looking into camps to keep my kindergartener occupied during summer vacation - just for a week or two. Now, I KNOW I wrote a long post about organized sports and activities for young children a year or so ago. But, hey, you know, he’s six…I think this time he’s ready! Really.

But am I? Unlike last year, when I was abysmally late signing up for anything – (h\How was I to know you needed to you needed to plan 6 months in advance and be waiting by the mailbox for the flyer to get a spot?) I’m on it!

I carefully perused our local parenting magazines, which all have their camp issues this month. Sixty six tabloid size pages in the local Kids Guide http://www.kidsguide.info/ ! Does this seem excessive to you? Highlighter in hand I marked the pages and started checking out the costs.

Two hundred and sixty five dollars a week? For day camp? For 5 hours per day? (And yes, my husband had a somewhat louder and more colorful reaction when he heard about the cost.) Scratch that one.

One hundred fifty per week? That sounds better. No wait, that only sounds better in comparison. Let me see. So, I consult with my friend, Tan, who knows these sorts of things.

“Well,” she says. “I always compare it to babysitting costs. Does it average out to $10.00 per hour? Then it’s right in line.”

Oh.

It could be an expensive summer. Sometimes I’m glad I have an only child.

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TV Turn-Off Week - Cutting Back is Good Enough!

I’m not sure how this happened but, TV Turnoff Week, coming up April 21-27 this year has turned into 3 weeks of “get ready for TV turn-off week”; 1 week of TV Turnoff Week and most likely a few weeks of wrap-up. Which is really my way of saying that there are already, here in early April, quite a few articles out on the web giving advice on what to do during TV Turn-off week…instead of watching TV.

So I’m not going to do that.

If you want some ideas for activities, check out Unplug Your Kids, and Verda Vivo. Though collecting old copies of just about any parenting magazine will do just as well.

If you want reasons to cut back on TV, you can find them here, though most of them you’ve already heard and…if you’re really a TV addict, have worried about incessantly (or maybe not).

If you want books about the trials and tribulations of parents who did read reviews of two of my favorites, Living Outside The Box and The Big Turn-off: Confessions of a TV Addicted Mom Trying to Raise a TV Free Kid.

Now, if you want my personal opinion on the whole issue, well…just keep on reading!

Here it is. Cutting back on TV is tough. It can’t be done in a week. It’s harder if someone in your family is a sports fanatic. It’s harder if you have children who have been watching TV for a number of years. It’s harder if your children hang out with kids who watch a lot of TV. It’s harder if you hang out with people who watch a lot of TV. It’s harder if your water cooler talk at the office is all about TV.

It’s a lifestyle change that will impact your family your friends and your buying habits. This is true. Really.

So, I don’t think trying to cut back on TV with 5 TVs in the house and 250 channels is going to work. It’s too easy to slip back into bad habits. We don’t even have TV reception anymore, so don’t watch TV. But, we watch DVDs and find ourselves overdoing the DVDs from time to time!

So here’s my recommendation. Take it slow but take it all the way – step by step.

#1. Get rid of all your old TVs except one. All those old bulky analog TVs aren’t going to be worth much in a few years anyway, when everything goes digital. Use that as an excuse. (If you already have 5 flat screen TVs you’ll have to find your own excuse.)

#2. Cut back on your cable. Get basic service only. Hey, we’re in a recession. Food prices are skyrocketing. Gas in $3.00 a gallon. We all need to save money. What better excuse do you need?

#3. Next report card, whine about your kid’s grades and declare that there will be no TV on school nights. Stick to it despite the complaining, which will be fierce. (Actually it will be fierce every step of the way.)

#5 Sign your kids up for lots of weekend activities. Rent a bunch of DVDs for weekend viewing.

#4. Disconnect your cable. (See # 2 for rationale.)

You did it!

OK- this takes quite a few months and you, your kids and your significant other will find yourselves overdosing on DVDs, sneaking over to other people’s houses for a fix, gorging on in-flight movies and spending your vacation glued to the hotel TV set. But, that’s OK. Really.

Here’s some statistics:

• The total average time a household had a TV set tuned during the 2006-2007 television year was 8 hours and 14 minutes per day. source: Neilsen Media
• The average American watched 4 hours and 34 minutes of television each day during the 2006-2007 television year. source: Neilsen Media

I bet after you’ve completed these 4 steps you’re not watching nearly as much as the average family. That’s good.

Actually, that’s good enough!

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Growing Green Kids - Unabashed Plug

OK, since I'm embarking on career number 3 (or is it 4?) I guess I should do what any hard charging, ladder climbing, gung ho person does - self-promote. Hmmm...I may be a bit too tired to do the gung ho part.

Anyway, though I've wanted to be a writer since I was in elementary school, I just now have had my first article published. Yes, I've been blogging for awhile now and have posts scattered across the blogsphere. Yes, I have written numerous articles on marketing for trade publications. Yes, I've written so much copy for ads, packages and displays I couldn't begin to name them.


But this particular piece appeared in a real live consumer magazine. I'm so proud. Hey Dad, I always said I wanted to be a writer...I just didn't say when!

So take a peek at my piece, Growing Green Kids - How to Raise Children Who Care For The Earth. If you live in Orange County, California you can pick up a copy and check out their other articles too!

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The Non Violent Piñata

Since I forgot to pull these out and display them as giant Easter eggs, I'm going to re-run this post to remind myself about a few other reasons I like these Treasure Balls.

There’s something wrong with a Piñata? Oh for goodness sakes…hmm, well, OK. I do subscribe to non-violent parenting after all....

Now that I think of it, I’m not really fond of the excessive air slashing that is an integral part of the piñata breaking process. Besides the obvious dangers of injury to nearby parties, it’s a wee bit violent and favors the bigger, stronger kids over the smaller ones – it would anyway if parental involvement wasn’t a given.

Of course, now “pull-string” piñatas are available, which address the non-violent part of the game but fail to consider the tears inherent when the first person “breaks” the piñata and no one else gets a turn.

Enter the non-violent, equal opportunity piñata.

My friend, Crystal, the who claims she isn’t creative but manages to make amazing crafts, told me about these papier-mâché balls and inspired me to attempt some. Besides their use as piñatas, they also make an excellent party game or Easter basket alternative.

Here’s how it works. Blow up a balloon. Papier-mâché it. Dry. Pop-it. Fill with little toys and presents. Let the children toss; kick; roll the ball back and forth until the "piñata" breaks and the presents fall out. No whacking involved and since it takes a while for the ball to break, most everyone gets a turn to touch the ball.

Popular with Waldorf and non-violent communication parents, treasure balls are easy to make.

Blow up a large balloon and using any popular papier-mâché recipe, coat the balloon with newsprint paper - (unprinted) or any semi-porous white paper- I used large easel paper. At that point you can either add a second coat of colored tissue paper, or wait for it to dry (a day or two depending on the weather) and paint it. Make sure you completely cover the balloon top so there are no holes.

Set it out to dry on a plate or a flower pot.

Once dry, stick a pin through the ball to pop the balloon; then cut a small “door” in the ball and insert prizes. Miniatures, handmade tiny dolls and polished rocks are standard Waldorf fair but, you can substitute any traditional piñata filling. Add one more coat of papier-mâché to close up the door again and cover any holes.

You can also purchase pre-made Treasure balls on E-bay from time to time or at local craft fairs.

For more great Works for me Wednesday ideas visit Rocks in My Dryer


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Green Toys At Toys R Us? Not So Fast

Yesterday Toys R Us announced they will be introducing a line of “green toys” on Earth Day, April 22, 2008. I wrote about that here .

Briefly, the line will consist of a variety of wooden and organic cotton and plush toys, targeting, it seems, infants and toddlers.

There is not much information out yet but, I’ll keep ya posted!

When I read the press release, duly reported by a variety of media outlets almost verbatim, I had a number of questions like…

Where’s this stuff made?

What is used to make it?

Is it Fair Trade?

The smart marketing folks over at Plan Toys, a toy company that built it’s reputation on producing green toys, of which we have a few, obviously had the same idea. Today they sent out a press release: How To Buy A Truly Green Toy.

Today's savvy toy shoppers know the color green has come a long way from being just another springtime color in the crayon box. Green is now synonymous with all that is safe for our children and the environment. Navigating through the abundance of green product claims, however, can be daunting for even the eco-enlightened consumer. The world's leading manufacturer of eco-friendly, recycled rubberwood toys since 1981, PlanToys, Inc. , offers the following tips when looking to purchase genuinely safe and environmentally sensitive toys.

Smart marketing, no? They must be shaking in their boots over there. If they aren’t careful the Green value of their products may be eroded by consumer perceptions – it says it’s green, doesn’t it?

So, Plan Toys has come out with a further list of things to consider:

Read Toy Packaging Labels Carefully: Scrutinize the manufacturer's labels on toy boxes as if you were buying for a child with an allergy. In essence, you are. Look for the language of true green toy materials such as:

-- 100% recycled woods; preservative-free and chemical free

-- Non-formaldehyde glue

-- Nontoxic, water-based paints

-- Soy based inks; Vegetable dyes

-- Organic cottons for clothing or accessories

-- Pure wool stuffing in plush

-- Natural rubber teething toys

-- Phthalate-free vinyl

-- Recyclable packaging

-- Sustainably harvested materials

Plan Toys, which produces many of their toys in Thailand is known for being a leader in the green movement. Toys R Us is known for, well, um, plastic, commercial toys, despite their brief flirtation with higher end, wooden toys with their Imaginarium line.

Since there is very little information out on the Toys R Us line yet, I can’t draw any conclusions but. I’m hoping they can answer the questions outlined above in a positive fashion. More choices for consumers can only be positive.

Well actually there is some news...some of the toys are made in China!

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