Christopher Byrne

Present Tense: Birthday Gifts Without The Stress

Advice, Gifts, Opinions / By

For something that’s supposed to be fun-a birthday party-lots of people can get pretty bent out of shape about them, especially when it comes to presents. If you’re the guest, questions as to what to spend or whether a parent is going to welcome something into the house are paramount. If you’re throwing the party, questions as to when to open presents and how to teach kids to be gracious are paramount.

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Happy Birthday, Barbie

Around the Web / By

On March 9, Barbie officially turned 51. Barbie is not the only toy brand to achieve this milestone—Play-Doh, Mr. Potato Head, Etch-A-Sketch, Erector Sets, Tinkertoy, LEGO and many others have demonstrated their ability to stand the test of time. What makes a toy brand last is that it becomes new for each generation that encounters it. Heck, it becomes new for each child that encounters it.

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Tweens, Teens and Body Image—It’s a Boy Thing

Advice, Opinions / By

Boys are freaking out about their bodies. As a parent or caregiver, you may be aware of how conscious girls are about their weight and appearance, but how about the boys? A recent article in the New York Times about boys and grooming (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/fashion/31smell.html?pagewanted=1) describes the increasing number of products sold to boys. What’s remarkable is how many of these boys cite “confidence” as a reason to douse themselves in cheap cologne. The wonderfully quirky ABC show “Modern Family” has an 11-year-old character who frequently bolsters his ego through liberal application of aftershave.

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The Toy Year Starts Again

Experiences, Industry News / By

Last week was Jim’s turn to be in Hong Kong, this week it’s mine. The trade show here is the second largest in the world, and it’s where the “toy year” officially starts. Many manufacturers started showing things privately in October, but here in Hong Kong at the amazing Convention Centre that juts magnificently into the harbor from Hong Kong Island, or in the hundreds of showrooms and hotel suites on the mainland, this is where the toys you’ll be trying to find ten short months from now start to take shape.

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Don’t Go Down Shore Without a Lifeguard

Advice, Around the Web, Internet, Opinions / By

If you’ve got teens, or even pre-teens in the house, it’s hard not to ignore the reality show “Jersey Shore” now on MTV. Kathy Griffin mentioned it on CNN New Year’s Eve with Anderson Cooper, who claimed to know nothing about the show. Though typically late to the party, the New York Times has become aware of the show’s popularity and its potential impact on the culture.

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Common Sense, Toy Safety and the Law

Advice, Opinions / By

This column was never intended to be political in nature. Yet, if we are going to raise our kids effectively, we need to instill in them both critical thinking and common sense. We have so little power over what happens outside our homes and our immediate spheres of influence, but what we can do is help our kids to deal with the world as they find it as rational, thinking adults. When we can bypass the emotionalism and focus on the facts, we make better choices.

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No Do-Overs

Advice / By

In the city neighborhood where I grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, there were more than 53 kids between the ages of 4 and 12 within the two-block area that was our “base.” There were no organized activities. No little league. The occasional Boy or Girl Scout. Our lives were defined by school, church and home, and though they were different for many of us, we all came together in the neighborhood. There were groups and cliques and subsets, but for the most part, though parents were never far away, we were on our own.

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Learn, Baby, Learn

Advice, Opinions / By

Alison Gopnik is a professor of psychology at Berkely in California, and she has a lot that’s important to say about learning. Last week, she wrote an insightful article for the New York Times.

What it boils down to is this: Children learn through play. No, it’s not stop-the-presses revelation, but it is important for parents, teachers and caregivers to recall. In essence, so much of our educational system is results oriented, and what Gopnik and her research show is that learning is a process. As children build mental capabilities through experimentation (aka play), they are putting in place the foundation of an ability to learn.

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Can You Hear Me Now?

Advice, Experiences, Opinions / By

“If the music is too loud, you’re too old.” Have you heard that? It’s a supposedly humorous comment reflecting the thoughts of young people regarding the, ahem, “elderly” (30-something and above). But it’s not funny: noise-induced hearing loss in children and youth is a serious problem—and getting worse.

iPods (and similar MP3 players) are everywhere today, and when not used safely, they contribute to noise induced hearing loss, the second most common form of hearing loss today. That’s very bad news. But there’s also good news: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is 100 percent preventabl

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To DVD or Not to DVD

Advice, Opinions / By

As the summer travel season kicks in, the issue of whether or not to have DVDs in the car is heating up. As with any conversation online these days, it can be polarizing. On the one side there are those who say they keep kids quiet and entertained on long car trips and what’s the problem? On the other side there are those who are equally convinced that DVDs in the car are part of what is contributing to the decline of the family.

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