Saturday, December 15, 2012
Does watching the news foster learning or fear in our children?
This article was originally published on Sept. 26, 2012, and has been republished here. Following dinner, my husband and I try to watch the nightly news; sometimes it's my only daily connection to the world outside my bubble. (I suppose Facebook doesn't count.) Monday night's national news lineup had my four- and seven-year-old discussing the specifics of "What is breast cancer?", "Why don't they like Obama?", and "Do babies that die grow up or stay babies forever?" (Heartbreaking: The heightened coverage of the National Zoo's baby panda's birth only worsened the blow of its death.) I'm torn. Does watching the news with my children provides opportunities for good discussion about important issues, or expose them to world problems that they…
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Don't let a time of Halloween spooks become too overwhelming for your child.
I took my kids into Party City to find some Halloween costume accessories, where we were greeted at the door by an employee in a frightful mask, and to get to the costumes we had to walk down an aisle of gory (and motion-sensored) skeletons, ghouls and goblins, that cackled and screamed as we sped-walked past. We were all traumatized, and did I find my costume needs? Of course not. My kids are scared of bugs, villains in Disney movies, germs, the neighbor's small dog, our basement at night, shots, and trucks driving down our street. The commercials for the new movie "Frankenweenie" illicit particularly horrible beckoning whines of terror from them, and to my dismay, we still haven't seen the movie "Brave" due to reports of a "giant scary …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
For lack of a laundry fairy, Keri searches for a remedy to her laundry problems.
This morning, I put a load of laundry in the washing machine. Will it be A) folded and back in their drawers by bedtime, B) discovered three days later, still wet with a distinctive soured sock odor, or C) cleaned and returned to my bed where it will live as a wrinkly mountain from which we pick our outfits for the rest of the week? Well, your guess is as good as mine, but if I were a betting woman, I wouldn't pick choice A. While doing laundry is a necessary EVIL, it has yet to become a habit in my life. After doing my own laundry for about 20 years, you'd think such a mundane chore wouldn't be problematic, but here I sit, fully knowing none of my family members have clean socks, and rather make a trip to Target for new socks than work …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Does watching the news foster learning or fear in our children?
Following dinner, my husband and I try to watch the nightly news; sometimes it's my only daily connection to the world outside my bubble. (I suppose Facebook doesn't count.) Monday night's national news lineup had my four and seven year old discussing the specifics of "What is breast cancer?", "Why don't they like Obama?", and "Do babies that die grow up or stay babies forever?" (Heartbreaking: The heightened coverage of the National Zoo's baby panda's birth only worsened the blow of its death.) I'm torn. Does watching the news with my children provides opportunities for good discussion about important issues, or expose them to world problems that they are far to young to comprehend and handle? Whether I present the news in my home, or …
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Eight ways to make the most of a special relationship.
A bundle of joy comes into your world, and you have the option as to whether you change the dirty diaper; enter grandchildren, with so much of the joys of parenthood, without all the other stuff. I certainly couldn't see my parents as grandparents, until they were, and then it was as if the role was made for them. I am blessed to have had wonderful grandparents in my life, and love watching my parents take on the role with my children. While it's an organic transformation, grandparenting isn't as simple as always having a piece of candy for your grandkids (though it helps). Here are some tips about how to make the relationship even more special for you, your child, and your grandchild. 1. Talk to your kids about their parenting guidelines…
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Easy ideas for the great getaway, night out, or simple night at home.
My husband and I have been together since we were teenagers. During our "courting years," our Friday nights consisted of going out to dinner and a movie. Our Friday date night was our weekly ritual, and I looked forward to it every time. Flash forward 15-plus years, two kids, a home, and a D.C. commute, our Friday date nights have been altered radically. After getting children to bed, we crash on the couch, or more likely the bed, and look forward to three hours of "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." While I'm not knocking "Triple D" or our many trips to "flavor town," and my hubby's Guy Fieri impression is getting really good, I miss the days of actual dates. I know it will likely cost us the same amount of money to pay our babysitter as …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Three ways to preserve memories with creative organizing projects.
I am my family's sole memory keeper. I am the one who remembers the camera at family events. I record events, milestones, the children's height and teeth lost, and save everything. If I don't, no one will, and our memories will be lost. It's a lot of pressure. I have drawers packed with old birthday cards, letters to Santa, ticket stubs, children's artwork, and the list goes on. I admit it's a problem and I'm a pack rat. I have the best of intentions to do something with what I see as precious mementos of our life, but time keeps passing me by, and someday I'll get a visit either from the "Hoarding: Buried Alive" camera crew or the Fire Marshal if I don't do something about it soon. In effort to contain some of our family's memories, and …
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Has substance abuse become socially acceptable among moms?
Since a young age, the message that motherhood is stressful was clearly communicated. I recall with clarity the Calgon water softener commercial where a mother behind a locked door is ignoring the chaos of her life while taking a luxurious bath. "Calgon, take me away!" Well, times have changed, and it's not Calgon that mothers are calling for. This week, a Today's Moms article piqued my interest about how moms who smoke pot to unwind at the end of the day are tired of the criticism directed at them by wine-drinking moms who imbibe for the same reasons. “Being judged for doing something nontoxic and totally organic, enjoying a god-given plant, by moms who suck back two bottles of Chardonnay like sports drinks feels like s---,” complained …
Monday, July 2, 2012
Keri battles lice.
Two heads, 22 inches of silky fine hair, seven hours of combing, 18 loads of laundry, 78 eggs, and six of the worst creatures on earth: Yep, L-I-C-E, a word so scary, we dare not say it in our household. This is how I have spent the past 72 hours, and while I dare not torture you with an article on the details of de-lousing a household (You're itching already, right?), I will say that above-mentioned experience has brought to light some aspects of motherhood. Mothers go to great extremes to protect the health and well-being of our children. Something about the whole "I made you" business makes us highly invested in making sure our children come to no harm, so when disease, parasites, or injury threatens those we have born, we take it …
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Why the most popular book in the country has me hiding.
This summer, as I sit by the pool, I may look a little pink in the face, but it won't be for the lack of sunscreen. My current reading material has me blushing regularly, so much so that I'm not sure I can read it in public. The books that have me flustered are E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey series. With women nationwide going bonkers over these books, curiosity got the best of me, and I had to see what the fuss was about. The first in the series, Fifty Shades of Grey, starts in similar fashion to the Twilight series, another book series that has women riveted. The protagonist, a young woman, Anastasia "Ana" Steele in Fifty Shades/ Isabella "Bella" Swan in Twilight, though beautiful and intelligent, lacking in self-esteem, but full of …
Erick Blackwelder
11:23 am on Thursday, October 25, 2012
We kept a spray bottle filled with water, and a splash of perfume in it for nights when the kids were afraid of monsters. We called it Monster Spray. We would spray under their beds and in their closets so they would know that we heard their concern, and took action to take away their fears. - Erick Blackwelder more ›