Advice

Mind Your Table Manners—It May Matter Later

Advice, Experiences / By

When it came to table manners, I grew up in a very strict home. I mean, really strict. My brothers and I were constantly corrected about which fork to pick up, how to hold the flatware, where to put the napkin, how to chew and so forth. It was a constant battle for my parents with four rowdy boys who thought the height of hilarity was flinging a roll across the table when one said, “Please pass…” Or that peas or lima beans (ick) could be effective weapons when catapulted with a spoon. Still, mom and dad were tireless, saying we’d thank them later.

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Summer Brain Drain

Advice, Experiences, Opinions / By

I’ve sat through three parent sessions this week at my daughter’s school that dealt with “summer brain drain” and how to keep kids from losing 30% of what teachers worked hard all year to cram into their little brains. And while some of the information was useful, very little of it took into account that kids actually need and deserve some time off. I was also struck by “fun activity” recommendations they offered parents for keeping kids’ minds engaged all summer. I’m pretty sure that my daughter would not, in fact, enjoy me dumping her LEGOs all over the floor so that she can count them as she cleans them up.

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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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Make Sure “Happy Birthday” is Happy for All

Advice, Gifts, Opinions / By

I don’t know whether it’s good, bad or just plain scary that my wife and I have thrown almost 50 birthday parties over the years for our kids. While you want to create memories that can last a lifetime, you do not empty your bank account. As a Birthday Vet, I’ve seen everything from disasters, to great parties on a budget to some that were nicer than my wedding, no kidding.

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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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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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What to do if the hot toy is unavailable?

Advice, Gifts, Holidays / By

When a child makes out their holiday wish list, there are often one or two toys at the top that are the ones they “gotta get”. Often a parent hopes to wait for this item to go on sale, unaware that it’s hot, and then gets shocked when it’s unavailable anywhere. What’s a parent to do? Years ago, a friend of mine went into a store and asked for the Furby aisle and was laughed at thinking she’d just walk down the aisle and pick one out. Don’t let this be you!

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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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TTPM.com Introduces Family Film Toy Reviews

Advice, Experiences / By

As a parent of three children, one of our favorite family activities is going to the movies. When the kids were younger, choosing what movies to see was pretty easy; we only took them to G-rated films. As our kids got a little older, things became a little more complicated. We introduced PG films into the repertoire, but we wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be any nightmares after seeing a film.

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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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