Just Another Day In Paradise- With Pretty Toes

Spiritual Sunday- With Pi

1. 
   
2. Adult Pi Patel: Faith is a house with many rooms.
3. 
   
4. Writer: But no room for doubt?
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6. Adult Pi Patel: Oh plenty, on every floor. Doubt is useful, it keeps faith a living thing. After all, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it is tested.

Unplugged Part 2

So after reading Unplugged Part 1 you’re probably thinking: OK, so it's more serious then I knew and I want my child to be healthy and socially appropriate and do well in school and sleep well at night etc... How am I supposed to do this when our culture is telling us to watch watch watch and buy buy buy??

(Or maybe you’re not and you think the AAP and I are full of crap, in which case you might just want to stop reading now. Don’t waste your time. Just so you know, I plan to continue spouting this ‘crap’ for the next couple of posts as well. Come back in a couple weeks.)

Well, for those of you still reading, I will be my usual blunt self and ask you the same question I had to ask myself: Do you want to let the big money-making companies decide what is best for your child(ren) and make your parenting decisions for you?

Not consciously, but is that what you're doing? We need to keep in mind what is best for our kids as we look at some of the products and commercials out there.

There are so many products aimed towards our young children that look awesome and are durable to resist accidents and are advertised as being educational. I am not saying that they’re not awesome, durable and educational, but I am falling back on one of my favorite sayings

Everything in moderation.

Just because it is designed for your 3 year old does not mean it is good for them to use all the time. Just because your 8 year old is the target audience for that product does not mean they checked with parents, pediatricians, teachers or other specialists to see if it is something that will be detrimental to them or not.

Example: Fruit snacks. They are really neither a fruit nor a snack. They contain high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, food coloring (See my post about that here) and dextrose. All of those ingredients have been proven to have negative effects on children and yet the fruit snack boxes have popular cartoon characters on them.  I am certain I am not the only parent to buy them for my child without even thinking about how they will effect her behavior and academic performance.

Did I stop buying fruit snacks completely when I realized what they were doing to her mind and body? Of course not, but I do not buy them regularly or even semi-regularly anymore. They are classified as candy and treated as such. 

Everything in moderation.

So, how? How do we make this work? Peer pressure from kid to kid and parent to parent is not encouraging this moderation. I have realized this week though, that I cannot let other parents decisions for their children pressure me into making those same choices. As parents we each must make the best choices for our family and child(ren) that we can.

Of course, I have more opinions and ideas on this topic. Stay tuned

A Line In The Sand

Have you ever been in the room with me when there is a discussion going on and suddenly realize that I have not said a word for 20 minutes or more? Ever wonder what I was thinking? I’ll tell you. I was thinking this:

Don’t say a word, Don’t Say A Word, Don’t SAY A Word, Don’t SAY A WORD, DON’T SAY A WORD, DON’TSAYAWORDDON’TSAYAWORDDON’TSAYAWORDDON’TSAYAWORD!!!!

I’m not a debater. I don’t enjoy a good argument. My opinions are almost always a little ‘out there’. Perhaps I was born in the wrong decade, because I would've made a great hippie.

I digress.

My point is that the ‘Don’t say a word’ mantra is playing in my head as I type and I am determinedly ignoring it. Don’t worry, I don’t ignore it often.

My silence has been disturbed by the recent equal marriage unrest. Seems like everyone has a strong opinion and it has led to some ugliness between friends and families. Well, I am not here to start a fight. I am here to express my opinion. If you have a different opinion; get your own blog and share it.

As a follower of the example Jesus set for me I refuse to throw stones. I am not going to beat anyone up for their opinions, actions, or lifestyle.

As a follower of the example Jesus set for me I will try to be an example of what I know to be right.

As a follower of the example Jesus set for me I will Love, cherish, hang out, walk, talk, and eat with you whether you are doing what I think you should or not.

As a follower or the example Jesus set for me I look into the past and around at the present and weep for Christians who are persecuted, those who were not and/or are not free to worship God.

As a follower of the example Jesus set for me I can therefore sympathize with people being mistreated for their beliefs and lifestyle.

Many people came to America  for religious freedom.

Wikipedia says: Freedom of religion or Freedom of belief is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion.[1] The freedom to leave or discontinue membership in a religion or religious group.

I am afraid. I fear that by beginning to be hardhearted and to mistreat a group of people as a government we take the first step towards becoming a nation of persecution and fear, because these things don’t happen overnight. They are gradual. It's a slope that can get steeper with every decision. Many people don't see what they are becoming until it is out of control.

Will we become just as bad as the countries our ancestors fled from? Will we become what we try so hard to prevent in other countries where my fellow Christians are being mistreated?

I fervently pray that we don’t. I believe now is the time to prevent it.

Just Another Day In Paradise- At The Outdoor Theater

Now I just need a cute little sign that says 'Kids Theater' or something cute like that!

Unplugged Part 1

Unplugged is a term that is becoming more and more common these days. You hear it from teachers, child specialists, TV (ironically!!), American Academy of Pediatrics, and in books. We all smile and nod when we hear it, ‘oh yes’ we say ‘that’s very important for our children’.

However, no matter how good our intentions are, once reality sets in the electronics get plugged back in… along with our children. When Gwen was younger, I really didn’t know why it was so important. I love TV. I want to share the things I love with my kid. What’s the big deal?

I have found, over the years, that it actually is a big deal and I have discovered that ‘screen time’ covers more than just TV.

Screen time includes computer, wii/play station/DS/etc.. video games, apps on a phone, ipad or ipod. The hard truth I have had to accept is that even if it’s ‘educational’ it’s still screen time.

According to Nemours.org in an article for health professionals and parentingtodayskids.com;

-Children who have more than 2 hours each day of screen time are more likely to suffer from obesity.

-Research has shown that increased screen time is linked to emotional and behavioral problems in children, including difficulties focusing and paying attention to strings of tasks.

-Children who have televisions in their bedrooms are more likely to have poor academic scores.

-Sleep patterns are affected by too much screen time, resulting in kids who resist going to sleep and those who are unable to sleep soundly through the night.

-Each hour spent in front of a screen is an hour lost on active play time. Imagination, exploration, and creativity are reduced when television viewing and video games are increased.

So how much is the ‘right’ amount for children? Well The American Academy of Pediatrics highly recommends that children under 2 watch no television at all!

 Media — both foreground and background — have potentially negative effects and no known positive effects for children younger than 2 years. Thus, the AAP reaffirms its recommendation to discourage media use in this age group. This statement also discourages the use of background television intended for adults when a young child is in the room

That’s an extremely strong and potentially unpopular stance for them to take and I applaud their boldness.

Even past age 2 the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends only 1-2 hours a day and says parents should continue to avoid “background media” that is intended for someone else, even if the child seems to be not paying attention.

So, as parents, grandparents and caregivers how do we apply this to the reality of our lives and family schedule?

Honestly, I have so much to say on this topic that I will have to continue another day, but rest in the knowledge that I have an abundance of opinions and ideas to share with you!