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

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!

Here We Go Again

I AM NOT AN ANIMAL PERSON

... in case you didn't know. If we hadn't lived in three different houses in the last nine years we would have quite a pet cemetery accumulated. Why do I keep getting animals that I know I will struggle with? Well, you see, my child LOVES ANIMALS.

She reads about them, watches them on TV, pet-sits, and dreams about them at night. She would love a house full of animals, and a backyard full too. So we try... and try... and try again.

It's been over a year since we lost Callie Cat, so I guess it's time to try again

Allow me to introduce Rosie

We know where Rosie came from and that she loves kids and that she's a sweetie. Of course, Gwen

LOVES HER

and of course, I think she's adorable, but annoying when I'm trying to sleep, or walk, or type.

 

I have a really good feeling about this little lady and all signs point to us having found a third member of our little family.

Hello Again

I feel like I should tell you the truth right now. The truth is- I have stopped myself from Blogging for the past couple months. It was one of the restrictions I put on myself during a time when I had nothing good to say, but it was because of my attitude, not my situation that I had nothing good to say.

I don't care what is going on in my life, if I can feed and house us and if we are healthy, I should not have nothing good to say. (Did you follow that?) I succumbed to a bad attitude. I was ungrateful and bitter and sad and angry when I could be, because it meant I didn't have to be sad. I have still not completely smacked myself back into place yet, but I feel I have earned the right to continue my blog through my good behavior on facebook :)

So what did I read when I needed to escape from myself? What else but Harry Potter?

  

The first four in paperback and the last three in hardcover. By the time the last three were published I was one of those crazy people at the midnight release... therefore, I had to splurge for hardcover.

We also discovered this adorable young readers series called Seekers. They are a series of books about the travels and adventures of four bears. Two grizzly bears, a polar bear, and a black bear that start out in totally different situations and locations and end up united in purpose and traveling together.

     

They are told from the point of view of the bears, which is exactly what Gwen loves! Barnes and Noble.com says they are for ages 10-12... what kind of age range is that?? Honestly! Who comes up with that stuff anyway?

What have you been reading?