Good Kids Bad Habits Round-Up: Common Sense Reference and Reminders

“Common sense is not so common.”  – Voltaire

We know what we should and shouldn’t do, both for ourselves and for our children.  That doesn’t mean we always do it, but I’d bet that most of us make the effort most of the time.

Good Kids Bad Habits is about making the effort.  It’s not about achieving perfection, nor is it intended to tear down or guilt-trip parents whose habits – and by extension, their kids’ habits – need improvement.  There’s no “supersecret way…to get [kids] to eat a bite of fruits and vegetables now and again” and “nothing in [the book] is rocket science, but that’s okay. I don’t need to know how to build a rocket; I just want a healthy kid.”

While most of us are making the effort, we may not know exactly how well we’re doing – how healthy (or not) our kids truly are.  Good Kids Bad Habits begins with “a test to help you determine what you can and should do to have healthier children.”  Based on the results, you can see not only where you’re doing well, but also where you might have ”some room for improvement in some important areas” – areas that you may not have realized were quite so important.

What really struck me as I read the blogger reviews was that each one took away different lessons – different areas for improvement that reflected each individual blogger’s personal situation.  Some had a toddler, others had a pre-schooler, some had a child in elementary school, and some had a combination of these ages.  Different concerns surfaced in different age ranges, which lends further support to the conclusion reached by many of our bloggers:  Good Kids Bad Habits is “a reference book that I will most likely go back to as my daughter’s life renders new chapters more and more relevant.”

Nutrition was a biggie across the board, regardless of age.  Toddler moms “liked the “Keep Your Family’s Diet Colorful” chart, which lists a variety of foods according to color and suggests that you buy at least two items from each color category on every shopping trip.”  Parents of older children were a bit more jaded (and as the parent of a picky eater, I understand why), commenting that setting a good example “sounds pretty easy, but we’ve been doing that pretty much for the last seven years, and there are few signs of it working.”  Doing the right thing doesn’t always bring short-term results, but in the long run, these kids are establishing good nutrition habits.

Safety was one of the surprises for a few bloggers – what children should know that they were never taught (“Sure, [she] wears a bike helmet, but did I ever teach her the Universal Choking Signal?”) and what parents should do to protect children even when it no longer seems necessary (“putting in a new medicine cabinet, cabinet locks and re-fitting the girls’ bike helmets“).

Another favorite section – one that’s often overlooked as we assume kids will just figure it out – is the one concerning self-esteem, stress, and relationships with parents and peers.  “This book has some good, solid reminders about getting down on their level, looking children in the eye, using their names to make sure they’re focusing and talking calmly” – strategies we know but sometimes forget to employ in the heat of the moment.  And when it comes to self-image and confidence, “we’d all like to be able to say that our kids are pillars of strength, molded in our image, but the truth is, many of us are walking around with insecurities and issues that began in childhood.”  Finally, this section also describes “how children show stress at different ages.  That is useful, unless your child always shows stress by piercing howls and the throwing of nutritious foods” (yep, I can relate to that too).

Good Kids Bad Habits is about much more than pushing the green vegetables and scaling back on TV time.  It covers a broad spectrum of challenges that parents and children will face throughout the course of childhood.  Obviously, parents with children at different stages will find different sections more relevant than others, but that’s what makes this book such an excellent reference tool for years to come.

For more information about Good Kids Bad Habits,please visit the RealAge Parenting Center.  And to win your own copy (we’ve got two), leave us a comment by March 16, 2007 and let us know why you need this book!

CleanWell Natural Hand Sanitizer: What They’re Saying So Far

Sure. Pick up that raisin and eat it — it’s only been on the ground for four seconds!

Works for me.  After all, isn’t it the FIVE-second rule?

While I’d like to credit my older daughter’s exceptional health to all the instances in which we’ve strengthened her immune system through the consumption of food that has spent less than five seconds on the floor (of our home, of Nordstrom, of Terminal A at Newark Liberty Airport…), I’m realizing that anti-bac is not just hype.  Especially when it’s safe, effective, tidy, and thyme-scented.  In other words, when it’s CleanWell.

We kicked off our CleanWell review campaign at “the Germiest Place on Earth – Disney World.  What better place to test it than there?“  Sure, Disney World is both happy and germy, but “consider how many sneezed-on, germ-encrusted fingertips touch elevator buttons, stair railings, children’s toys in waiting rooms, shopping cart handles, exercise equipment at the gym…“  And while adults usually remember to keep their dirty fingers out of their mouths, kids don’t – especially while they’re eating: “Greasy fries are one thing; germy greasy fries, not so much.“

So far, our reviewers have given CleanWell a unanimous thumbs-up.  From the design and packaging - ”the spray pump has a hinged lid, one less thing to lose, and is the perfect purse or briefcase size” – to the scent – “the main note in the fragrance is thyme…it’s fresh, clean, and doesn’t have a heavy floral scent“, they’re sold on the aesthetics as much as the efficacy and ease of use of the product: ”Two pumps, rub dry, and my hands felt wonderfully clean.“

Unlike other alcohol-based sanitizers, there’s “no weird gelly feeling that makes you want to go wash your hands (sort of defeats the purpose of the product).”  Plus, since there’s no alcohol, it’s “gentle on the skin“, eliminating that “cracked, scaly skin on your hands” caused by the drying effects of alcohol.

But here’s the kicker:  Kids like it too, which means they won’t fight you when you’re trying to clean them up.  In fact, they might beat you to it: ”One of the mini spray bottles was stolen from me, by my daughter, who keeps it in the front pocket of her lunch cooler. She has become Sanitizer Girl and all the kids gather round for a super squirt before lunch. When the kids want to use it, it’s a gooood thing.”

A very good thing indeed.

Stay tuned for the rest of the CleanWell reviews coming up this week:

Monday, 3/5 – Three Kid Circus
Tuesday, 3/6 – Karianna
Wednesday, 3/7 – Do as I say…and no one gets hurt
Thursday, 3/8 – Mommy’s Must Haves
Friday, 3/9 – GingaJoy

Good Kids Bad Habits: Here’s what they’re saying so far

The twenty-first century has brought all sorts of wonderful advances to aid in our efforts to keep ourselves healthy and to heal us when we are sick.  While such new developments are invaluable, there’s still no substitute for getting back to basics – and that’s exactly what Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg does in her book Good Kids Bad Habits:  “The advice here is not gimmicky or instant-fix. It’s solid, straightforward, and sane.”

So far, five of our parent bloggers have read and reviewed Good Kids Bad Habits, and their consensus is that it’s “a good common sense guide for understanding how what kids learn today sticks with them for the long run.”  Good Kids Bad Habits “covers it all — from stressing the benefits of healthy eating, good hygiene and lots of exercise to the virtues of establishing effective homework habits and safety-proofing your home.”  It’s not the type of book you read once and put away; instead “it’s a reference book…something you could pull off the shelf to use as a reminder and a benchmark throughout your child’s life.”  But parents shouldn’t feel overwhelmed or guilty as they read and re-read, because “the focus is on tackling issues one small goal at a time…Even if your child is already a teenager, it’s never too late to help them make small changes to their eating, exercise, learning, hygiene, and self-esteem that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.”

Even though Good Kids Bad Habits contains guidance that “you already know—you just need a kick in the butt to remind you to work on it,” there were still a few revelations.  One reviewer commented that she was “surprised to learn that one of the areas where we need the most work is safety.”  Another reviewer was pleased to see that the book covers “how to help children socialize and how to choose healthy friendships.”  Dr. Trachtenberg’s common-sense approach to eating – “try to meet weekly nutrition goals, and not stress over the importance of having every meal be a balanced meal” – is especially palatable to parents of toddlers.  But while we know what we should be doing – for ourselves and our kids – that doesn’t mean we’re doing it as consistently as we should.  As another reviewer put it: “I just turned 36 over the weekend, and this is stuff I’m still learning.”

Check out the rest of our blogger reviews over the rest of this week, followed by our round-up review on March 9.

Tuesday 2/27 – PunditMom

Wednesday 2/28 – 24/7

Thursday 3/1 – Surrender Dorothy

Friday 3/2 – Mommy Needs Coffee

Monday 3/5 – Cape Buffalo

If you’d like to purchase your own copy, click here!

CleanWell Natural Hand Sanitizer Campaign Launch

Puddy: “Oh, germ-o-phobe. I know what that’s about.”
Elaine: “Huh?”
Puddy, showing her his necklace: “I’m a recovering germ-o-phobe. Ten years.”
Elaine: “What is this symbol?”
Puddy: “It’s a germ.”

From Seinfeld, Season 9, Episode 9, “The Apology”

Maybe we’re not all card-carrying germ-o-phobes like David Puddy, but I’d bet that most parents want to minimize unnecessary exposure.  I remember visiting amusement parks as a child, where my parents would routinely hiss: “Don’t touch that!  Don’t touch that either!  Do NOT put your hands in your mouth!”

We didn’t have hand sanitizer.  We washed our hands when we had the opportunity and used wet wipes in the interim.

Now hand sanitizer is everywhere – public restrooms, supplied by management at workplaces, in our handbags and diaper bags – but there’s a new worry:  Development of highly-resistant bacteria that are immune to the antiseptic chemicals used in hand sanitizer.

CleanWell is a company dedicated to finding a better way to clean.  Ingenium(TM) is the active ingredient in their hand sanitizer, and it’s created from essential plant oils – most notably thyme, which is a natural antiseptic.  CleanWell’s Chief Technology Officer is Dr. Larry Weiss – a Stanford Medical School graduate and a former NIH (National Institutes of Health) fellow.  On the CleanWell web site, he explains in detail the benefits of Ingenium(TM) over traditional alcohol-based sanitizers.  He also has a blog – A Better Way To Clean – which functions as a consumer forum.

For the next two weeks, the Parent Bloggers Network will put CleanWell hand sanitizer to the test – or rather, our children will.  We’ve got a family heading to Disney World, another family that’s so high and dry they refuse to use alcohol-based sanitizer in the winter, and a couple others who have newborns and pre-schoolers in close contact.  Check in daily to see how well CleanWell is working for our parents!

Monday, 2/26 – Builder Mama
Tuesday, 2/27 – Ruth Dynamite
Wednesday, 2/28 – Motherhood Uncensored
Thursday, 3/1 – Mother May I
Friday, 3/2 – Bananas and Toddlers
Monday, 3/5 – Three Kid Circus
Tuesday, 3/6 – Karianna
Wednesday, 3/7 – Do as I say…and no one gets hurt
Thursday, 3/8 – Mommy’s Must Haves
Friday, 3/9 – GingaJoy

Good Kids Bad Habits Campaign Launch

Are your kids developing habits now that could ruin their health later?

That’s the question posed by author and pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg, and unfortunately, this question is far from alarmist.  Children are now being diagnosed with what used to be adult diseases like atherosclerosis (commonly known as hardening of the arteries), hypertension (high blood pressure), and diabetes.  In most cases, unhealthy habits are the root cause – not genetics or environmental factors.  Socioeconomics puts some children at greater risk than others, but unhealthy habits are fast becoming a national problem regardless of how educated you are and how comfortably you live.

In Good Kids Bad Habits, Dr. Trachtenberg addresses the whole package – from physical health to emotional health to making healthy living a priority for the entire family, from babies to teens.  Each chapter is geared toward gradually changing existing bad habits and establishing new good habits in areas such as healthy eating, physical activity, personal hygiene, studying and learning, self-esteem, and preventative measures.  Icons – rattle, bear, and backpack – are used to identify which individual sections are applicable to a particular age group.

Over the next two weeks, ten of our reviewers with kids of varying ages will report on what they thought about Good Kids Bad HabitsIn the meantime, to assess the habits of your own children, take the RealAge Healthy Kids Test at the Good Kids Bad Habits website.

Good Kids Bad Habits review schedule:

Monday 2/19 – http://mayberrymom.blogspot.com
Tuesday 2/20 – http://mamamaven.blogspot.com
Wednesday 2/21 – http://mylifeasacliche.blogspot.com
Thursday 2/22 – http://capebuffalo.blogspot.com
Friday 2/23 – http://amommystoryreviews.blogspot.com
Monday 2/26 – http://roomconqueso.blogspot.com
Tuesday 2/27 – http://punditmom1reviews.blogspot.com
Wednesday 2/28 – http://24hoursaday7daysaweek.blogspot.com
Thursday 3/1 – http://www.surrenderdorothyblog.com
Friday 3/2 – http://www.mommyneedscoffee.com

athleticBaby Round-Up: Scoring a Goal With Parents and Kids

In many households, TV-watching is a necessary evil. There are rainy days, snowy days, and days when Mommy just may check herself into the nearest mental health facility if she doesn’t get some peace and quiet. We strive to fill all of our days with intellectually and physically stimulating activities, and yet there are times when we end up in front of the boob tube again in spite of ourselves.

And while we can read and play dress-up and do puzzles in inclement weather, it’s not all that easy to get out and about when there’s two feet of snow on the ground and a wind chill of twelve below.  We have to remind ourselves daily that winter won’t last forever and that we’ll be playing outside again in a few short months.

athleticBaby’s series of sports-themed DVDs were created by Karen Foster, a mother who shares the concerns of many parents, including our Parent Bloggers Network reviewers:  How to encourage a physically active, healthy lifestyle – right from the very beginning?  Their latest release – athleticBaby Soccer! – was enthusiastically reviewed by ten of our bloggers and their toddlers and pre-schoolers.

We had one reviewer who, although her daughter doesn’t watch TV, admitted there were days when “I’ve wished I had something worthwhile she could watch.”  Another reviewer noted “the irony of using a passive medium to encourage kids to be active.”  But across the board, our reviewers unanimously agreed that “athleticBaby’s mission was to get kids to appreciate sports and get active and they accomplished that with this DVD.”

Many reviewers were surprised by the content:  “This is not a “how to play soccer” movie. Rather, it is a sensory experience” “filled with energetic, fun music and…various scenes of children enthusiastically playing soccer.”  Parents and kids alike loved the “catchy, kid-friendly music that I find myself humming while making dinner and doing the dishes.”  Several reviewers commented that “kids of all ages from toddlers to teenagers were featured – and it was an excellent mix of boys and girls throughout the video.”  All the children paid attention, watching “many times and in a variety of ways including: while sitting quietly, while kicking foam balls around the house and most recently…while dancing like a crazy bunch of banshees with their elated Mommy!”  And everybody’s favorite part by far was “where a small dog in a uniform plays with a bunch of soccer balls and kids.”

One particularly analytical little guy watched and “asked why they didn’t explain soccer to him,” along with “a million questions about every scene that were never explained.”  Our resourceful reviewer then screened the DVD for a little boy whom she cares for during the day, and his exuberant reaction was “what I had expected from the video!”  In fact, he enjoyed it so much that his mother plans “to buy every video they make.”

Many parents reported that the “lessons on colors and numbers…felt forced and weren’t necessary,” and one kindergartener summed it up this way: “It’s too much like Circle Time, and I don’t like Circle Time.”   And while one reviewer agreed that young babies would “enjoy all the closeups of kids’ faces,” a few other parents weren’t convinced that their children “would have benefited from it much as an infant” (the DVD is geared to children as young as three months).  The general consensus seemed to be that the DVD made the biggest splash with children between 18 months and three years.

While parents are more likely to select children’s DVDs that they will also enjoy themselves, it seems that the positive – and active – reactions of the kids were what drove the overwhelming approval of the reviewers.  athleticBaby Soccer! “emphasizes the joy of sport” and keeps kids “on their feet for most of the length of the show” – something that I’ve never heard about another DVD or TV show.  But perhaps the greatest recommendations from our reviewers can be found in comments such as these:  “It’s something that as a parent, I’d be pleased to give (or receive) as a gift” and “It arrived 2 weeks ago, and I’m positive we have watched it over 100 times. Really. I’ll be watching for more in this series.”

Any DVD that gets both parents and kids this excited has got to be worth seeing.

For more information on athleticBaby, its offerings and its history, please check out the athleticBaby website.

Baby Loves Disco Round-Up: Sunday Afternoon is the New Saturday Night

If you’re sick of the typical weekend offerings for families that, let’s face it, rarely include anything that sustains any child under the age of 4 and my husband, then you might consider taking your go-go boots and light sticks out of retirement and hitting the monthly parties offered by the fantastic mom and pop run business Baby Loves Disco – that is, if you’re lucky enough to live in or near one of the fifteen cities that host these events. In a nutshell, they overhaul a night club and turn it into a dancing baby/parent wonderland fit for even the pickiest of rug-cutters.

Our reviewers checked out Baby Loves Disco events from coast to coast – Hollywood, the Bay Area, Denver, and Boston – and even though each one had its own local flavor, they all had the same major elements: a club DJ and disco ball, bubble machines and balloons, egg shakers and hula hoops, great food and drinks, changing stations and chill-out areas, and super-cool swag on the way out. But best of all, there were happy kids and happy parents – all enjoying themselves immensely.

The chill-out area was a big hit with everyone, especially “those who had boogied their little hearts out and needed a breather from all the excitement”, and the food – catered by Trader Joes out west and by Wild Oats in Denver and Boston – included “broccoli with hummus, salsa and chips, vanilla cookies and pretzels”, and was proclaimed “healthful and tasty”. All the kids were delighted with the party favors, which included “a pair of Baby Legs legwarmers, an Avent sippy cup, and a board book about a schmoo-like creature called Boogaboo”.

Although the volume was a bit loud in Boston, in the other locations “it was loud enough and dark enough to make it cool but not too loud nor too dark”. And while most kids had to be dragged off the dance floor when it was time to go home, one little pumpkin was completely enamored with the chill-out area: “Yep, we’re at a club with a d.j. and a dance floor, and what does my girl want to do? Eat, read with mama, and play with foam letters, natch.”

What could be seen as a criticism by Meredith Vieira and Dr. Janet Taylor – you know, cocktails at kids’ events = bad parenting choice – was more like a welcome change from having to sip juice boxes and scary red fruit punch along with your 2-year-old.  In Hollywood, “moms expertly navigate the dancefloor with a baby in one arm and a tall glass of beer in the other,” and in Boston, our reviewer minced no words:  “Yes, Meredith Vieira, a bar. With alcohol. Around children. And yet I did not notice one parent acting inappropriately, or really acting as anything other than a doting, responsible parent. Go figure.” Perhaps it’s a good thing for kids to see their parents enjoying themselves and partaking in a healthy, appropriate manner? 

What amazed all our reviewers was how much genuine fun everyone was having – moms, dads, and kids alike. “There were very few children having tantrums or total sensory-overload induced meltdowns”, and “accidental nudges, falls, and running-into-each-other were greeted with smiles and apologies”. And the supposed incongruity of families taking over a dance club – “Skip Hop cardboard coasters sharing bar space with cocktail napkins emblazoned with Camel” – didn’t seem unnatural at all. Since “so many parents were out on the floor with their kids, not sitting back at the tables, watching from afar”, it was truly a family afternoon.

Check out the Baby Loves Disco website to see if your metro area is on the list.  But if not, don’t be discouraged – you can help get the party started!  Nothing like getting in on the ground floor, especially when – thanks to our reviewers – you already know what a fantastic time it’s going to be.

For more pictures, check out these Flickr photosets:  Hollywood and the Bay Area.