Well, many smart bloggers have me thinking about the holidays. Mom Unplugged has really been posting great, thought-provoking stuff that asks us to reconsider what holidays are and what they can be (Man, does she make some good points I’d rather not hear, remincent of Candace’s post on bloggy guilt). I know she’s right and it hurts a little. And the Not Quite Crunchy Parent has several posts addressing toys toys toys and good buying for smart, healthy, creative play.
I’d like to add to the discussion a little by highlighting a few goodies we can all take under advisement. The first is that the teachers’ org. TRUCE has released their annual toy guide. It’s a nice resource for parents and also a gentle nudge we can forward to well intentioned relatives who are filling your house with things you don’t really care for.
Some of you might want to get into the a healthier consumption mindset by checking out What Would Jesus Buy. At least we can laugh at the insanity. I can’t wait to see it. I heart me some Reverend Billy - I tip my hat to him and all the other culture jamming activists out there who make us smile and keep dissent fun and photogenic. Read the complete Post.
In preparation for my upcoming meeting with Thing 1’s preschool about Scholastic, I started sniffing out additional information. I couldn’t find nearly as much as I would like on preschool commercialism, but then I was magically referred to Rebekah Cohen and voila, paydirt! Cohen has a Master’s in Child Development from Tufts University (where she specialized in children and media) and formerly worked as a research assistant with Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. Her Master’s research focused on (drumroll) commercialism in preschools. She now lives and works in San Francisco. Cohen was gracious enough to let me interview her a few days ago. Her insights follow:
So, okay, tell us, how bad is commercialism in preschool? Read the complete Post.
Today I took Thing 1 and Thing 2 to a women’s soccer game on campus, with friends (hi SA!) and it wasn’t exactly the perfect outing - it was extremely hot, there was no shade, we had a long walk each way, and because we had to get back for swimming, we were tight on time. Non-optimal. Significant whining ensued and we didn’t see very much of the game, but you know what, I’m still glad we went, because it reminded me about what an antidote women’s collegiate sports are for so many of the things that fry me. Read the complete Post.
This weekend, Alison asked some advice (on the Caveats Page, above), she wrote:
“Need advice: I’m not completely opposed to my kids doning online social networking and gameplaying, but the most popular sites are all about shopping (Webkinz, Club Penguin). I’d love to know if there are any cool, fun sites that aren’t so blatantly trying to turn my kids into little shoppers
Read the complete Post.
I don’t know about you, but when I was in middle school we called it two-faced. Can Mattel really claim to its customers here in the US that they were unaware that lead paint was being used because the production was outsourced (which also conveniently keeps them “unaware” that their toys are being assembled by 11 year olds. Mmmmm, nothing like an order of toxic fumes with a side of berating for breakfast, dee-licious!) in one breath and then in the next apologize to China for making Chinese manufacturers look bad when the “real” problem was their “design flaw”? Read the complete Post.
Well, I watched WordGirl with Thing 1, dh, and a good friend this morning. The 30-somethings in the room enjoyed the embedded adult humor (e.g., when resident bad guy, “the butcher” –who rather hilariously hurls meat products at victims– is debilitated in a vegetarian restaurant after being pelted with tofu.) Thing 1 laughed a lot and was excited for the screening. This is the only tv show she’s seen other than Sesame Street (well, Read the complete Post.
Three months ago when dh mentioned for a second or third time that he thought we should enroll Thing 1 in gymnastics to help build her confidence (she’s the poster child for risk-aversion), I lost it. Read the complete Post.
Wheeee. Feeling playful on this holiday weekend. Maybe it’s because I had to work most of the day (alas, the tenure clock offers no days off, vacation has me behind on my self-imposed schedule) and felt robbed. I did leave at 3:30 though and went with dh and the kids to our fave park, which is oh so much more than a park - playground, bike path, pond for sailing, swimming, geese honking. It’s really lovely. Not that it matters much to Thing1, who would be happy playing in a landfill if there were swings and monkey bars, or Read the complete Post.
We’re still in vacationing at the lake house — ahhh. Today dh, dd, and I went out in kayaks for a paddle – a loon landed near us, we saw lilypads, fish jumping, it was great. Sunny, peaceful…I was so happy even the waterbugs seemed cute. And I’m no nature-queen, believe me. Thing 1 has been having a ball — miss formerly-petrified-at-swimming Read the complete Post.
We’re in Maine right now, vacationing at a lake house - stealing the very last week of summer. Here we are with a dock for swimming, kayaks, a canoe, fishing gear, woods for exploring, and from a kid’s POV, there is essentially an indoor playground too — lofts and bunkbeds that make cool hiding fort-like spaces, a zillion unfamiliar books and toys, and an indoor play tent (we brought it with us, along with some crawling tunnels in case it was rainy). Considering the surroundings I was fairly perplexed that Thing 1 kept asking me, “what can I do?” this morning — our first full day here. I mean, really, if all that kid friendly fodder weren’t enough, I also packed large bags of toys for both her and the baby. And as it turns out, “Are you kidding? What can’t you do?” did not seem to work to send her on her merry way. Read the complete Post.