The Story of ChopChop

ChopChop is a new food magazine for kids.

The story of how it came to be is at TheAtlantic: Secret Weapon Against Childhood Obesity: A Magazine

Sleeping Babies

I know of parents who would not let their baby sleep more than 15 minutes at a time during the day in the belief that it would promote better night time sleeping. No, that isn't how it works. Sleep begets sleep.

And it is accepted that good sleeping promotes overall health. New research indicates babies can also learn while sleeping.

See PhysOrg: Study shows newborns learn while asleep

So do whatever it takes to get your baby to sleep. If it means driving around or walking in the stroll for two hours then that's what you do.

Recent Parenting Reads At The New York Times That I Found Interesting

INCONCEIVABLE! Exercise is good for kids: Phys Ed: Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter?

An Explanation For Why Dads Toss Their Babies: Why Mothers and Fathers Play Differently

Re-defining Maslow’s Hierarchy: Living to Be a Parent

Amazon Mom

It just isn't for moms.

Site: Amazon.com/mom

Amazon Mom is a free membership program aimed at helping parents and caregivers, from the prenatal days through the toddler years, use Amazon to find all the products their family needs

Fishy Kids

My 11 month old had her first whitefish recently. I completely support the idea of having kids eat plenty of fish. I've even read that there are old-timers in the nordic countries who attribute their mental acuity in their advanced age to the amount of fish they ate as youngsters

See PhysOrg: Salmon baby food? Babies need omega-3s and a taste for fish, scientist says

Play Is Not The Same As Violence

There have been studies showing that physical play with kids stimulates the release of beneficial brain chemicals.

Last week I was fortunate to have a lot of play time with a 4 year old boy which was much different than play time with a 4 year old girl. But they both seemed to benefit and enjoy what we called "wrestle time", or as they liked to say "wrastle".

The boy and girl were clearly different in how they spent this wrestle time. The boy appeared to want to test the limits and the girl in pinning me and getting pinned back.

What is clear to me that the time I give my girls for roughhousing would be inadequate for a boy - if I had a boy I'd want to dedicate periods of time where he could have physical play (with rules to keep it from being violent) and get out his aggression with the understanding that outside of "wrestle time" physical play was not appropriate.

And so it seems like fortuitous timing when returning to civilization I came across this in the news. Via MSNBC: Bring it: Boys may benefit from aggressive play

IIHS Booster Seats Test Results

Booster evaluations for 2010

Also includes which booster seats to avoid.

On Breastfeeding - Do Your Best

The benefits of breastfeeding are well documented but mothers who try yet still can't get it to work need to understand that is okay too.

See NYT Motherlode: A Breast-Feeding Guru Who Uses Formula

“Did you hear the one about the woman who wrote the book about breastfeeding who isn’t breastfeeding?” she asks.

Yes. And I admire her — as an example of a mother who is doing the best she can.

Barefoot Kids

I remember when I was a kid I preferred going barefoot because I felt like I was faster without shoes.

Now on the heels of the barefoot running movement comes a story from the GuardianUK: Why barefoot is best for children

[Via Rebecca]

Where To Focus Your Resources

Yes, The Children's House may cost more than the parents' college did. See NYT: Child Care Costs More Than College

But, as reported in the CS Monitor: Why kindergarten is key to financial success in life and other studies indicate the importance of the first six years in a child's life in getting them on the right footing for later in life.

So I have no problem putting resources into child care as I want my kids to be with a professional staff in an environment tailored to their own self-discovery.

A Feeding Three Way

Not at Skyline


But a three-way interaction between mother, infant, and microbes. And another reason as to why there's no real susbstitute for breast-feeding. Or to quote from the article - “So for God’s sake, please breast-feed".

See NYT: Breast Milk Sugars Give Infants a Protective Coat

CR Lists The Easiest Cars For Child Seats

See: What cars make it easiest to securely install a child seat?

When I went shopping to replace a car with 200,000+ miles one of the things I checked on my overnight test drive was getting the car seats in and out and how much room was there with those installed? I also checked that the kids could see out of the side windows as some of the new car designs block the side view for kids.

The vehicle I chose is on the Consumer Reports list.

2010 Sunscreen Safety Report

I wrote about sunscreens in 2009: Sunscreen Safety

The Environmental Working Group has released their 2010 Sunscreen Guide

They only recommend 39 out of 500 tested sunscreens. Those are:

All Terrain
Aquasport Performance Sunscreen, SPF 30
TerraSport Performance Sunscreen, SPF 30
KidSport Performance Sunscreen, SPF 30

Badger
Sunscreen for Face and Body, Unscented, SPF 30
Sunscreen for Face and Body, SPF 30 Lightly Scented
Sunscreen for Face and Body, SPF 15 Lightly Scented

Beyond Coastal
Lip and Face Screen, SPF 30

California Baby
Sunblock Stick No Fragrance, SPF 30+
Sunscreen Lotion No Fragrance, SPF 30+
Sunscreen Lotion Everyday/Year-Round, SPF 30+
Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30+, Citronella
Sunblock Stick Everyday/Year-Round, SPF 30+

Caribbean Solutions
Natural/Biodegradable SolGuard, SPF 25
Sol Kid Kare Natural Sunscreen, SPF 25

Desert Essence
Age Reversal SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen

Episencial
Sunny Sunscreen, SPF 35

Estion
Sunscreen with Zinc, SPF 38

Jason Natural Cosmetics
Sunbrellas: Mineral Based Physical Sunblock, SPF 30+
Sunbrellas: Chemical Free Sunblock, SPF 30+
Earth’s Best: Sunblock Mineral Based, SPF 30+

Kabana Skin Care
Green Screen Organic Sunscreen Fragrance Free, SPF 20
Green Screen Organic Sunscreen, SPF 22, Skin Tone Tinted

L’uvalla Certified Organic
SPF 20 Sunscreen Face/Body

La Roche-Posay
Anthelios 40 Sunscreen Cream

Little Forest
Sunscreen Lotion For Babies and Kids, SPF 30+

Loving Naturals
Sunscreen, SPF 30+

Miessence
Reflect Outdoor Balm, SPF 15
Purple Prairie Botanicals
SunStuff, SPF 30
Sun Stick, SPF 30
SunStuff, SPF 15

Soleo Organics
All Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+
Soleo Organics/Wyland Organics All Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+
Soleo Organics/Atlantis Resort All Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+

thinkbaby and thinksport
Sunscreen, SPF 30+

Trukid
Sunny Days Face and Body Stick, SPF 30+

UV Natural
Baby Sunscreen, SPF 30+
Sunscreen Sport, SPF 30+
Sunscreen, SPF 30+

Vanicream
Sunscreen Sport, SPF 35

Not Just Good For Babies

Scientific American reports How Breastfeeding Benefits Mothers' Health

...researchers think that by not engaging in the process that the body prepares for during pregnancy, many crucial systems can go out of whack. And the effects can last for decades after children are weaned.

This Seems Wrong. And Delicious.

Via The Atlantic: Chocolate Baby Formula: From Cradle to Grave?

A Profile Of The Children's House Head Of School

Via the Record-Eagle: Snowboarder is head of school

Peers And Parents And Teen Behavior

It appears that even good parents will have kids who experiment with drugs, but drug addicts can be predicted by the teenager's peer group.

See PsyToday: Do parents cause drug addictions in teens?

Happy children who enjoy a supportive relationship with their parents may occasionally use drugs, or have drug-using friends, but rarely get identified with drug-using cliques.

A School Is Trying To Work With The Teenage Brain

We all remember how difficult it was to wake up to get to school on time or rouse ourselves up for the 8 AM college class.

Now a school in the U.K. is starting classes 1 hr later and is seeing success with absenteeism rates. If this experiment is successful hopefully other schools will try it too.

See FastCompany: Why Sleeping In an Extra Hour Spelled Success for One UK School

Breastfeeding Saves Lifes?

Via CNN: Study: Lack of breastfeeding costs lives, billions of dollars

More On A Little Crying Is Better Than Not Sleeping

Via Salon: The battle over "cry it out" sleep training