The Longest Day of the Year

When you're 8 years old. The longest day of the year comes not in June, but on December the 24th.

Fun In The Kitchen

We have had great fun in our house teaching the kids to cook. It's a great way to pass along education about nutrition, not to mention family recipes and the stories that accompany them. It's also affected each of our boys in other, unique ways. TJ, the finicky eater, takes a greater interest in the food that is served to him at dinner if he had a hand in preparing it. Through careful menu selection, we have been able to slowly expand his food repertoire, making him more willing to try new and different foods with much less anxiety than if he had not participated in the meal's preparation.

Jason, the more adventurous eater, has become quite interested in cooking. We've encouraged his interest by selecting new recipes and cooking them together. The rest of the family has gotten in to the act by requesting that he make desserts for family functions and even buying him an apron with his name on it.
One of the various kid cookbooks that we have had good luck with is One Bite Won't Kill You.

Unplugged Journey

Just returned from a Maui after a family vacation/family wedding. It was our first time in Maui and the boys first trip to Hawaii. I've been replaying once scene from our trip over and over in my mind. While visiting a pizza place in Kihei (recommendation: Shaka Pizza. A NY-worthy pizza.) a family of 6 enters the restaurant and sits a few tables away from us. The family consists of a mom, dad, 3 girls (triplets, around 6-years old) and a grandma. Immediately after sitting, the girls each break out their personal electronic games, dad opens the paper and mom and grandma sit quietly with their hands in their laps. This scene was played out again, with a mom and 3-year old son at the wedding we attended later in the week.

There is no greater parenting faux pas than allowing your kids to tune out with a screen during family time, whether in private or public. For those that choose this option, shame on you.

1. You are wasting one of the last available parts of your day for connecting with your kids.
2. Regardless of the situation, by allowing kids to disconnect themselves from those around them by flipping on a screen your implicit message to them is clear: "Other people around you don't matter. Do what makes you happy." and worst of all "Mommy and/or Daddy don't want/need to talk to you."

I'm not one to rail against technology. I love technology. But as is the case with grownup technology (e.g. cell phones, pda's and ipods) etiquette and social norms have lagged far behind the adoption of mobile games such as the Gameboy and personal DVD players. There are suitable times to enjoys these devices such as long trips or downtime on a rainy day, but limits need to be set.

More importantly, from a parenting perspective, why waste an opportunity for uninterrupted conversation with your kids? There are so many distractions during a typical day that distract us and disconnect us from our families. Even if the kids are sitting quietly and coloring while their parents talk, their minds are tuned into the conversation and they are learning lessons about their parents and their values as well as the acceptable social norms of grownups.

The same can be said when the roles are reversed and mom or day have their face buried in their blackberry during dinner or some similar family time.

Those who chose to pacify with the screen are setting themselves up for a fall.