Giveaway….”Back to School” from Hallmark

 

Back to School Giveaway on Parenting in the Loop’s new blog site!

Join me at my “new” site and see what you can win from Hallmark!

 

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Parenting…’Hunger Games’ style…

Although ‘Hunger Games‘ is a movie…in my opinion, it is much more than a big box office hit.

It is a commentary on the fierceness with which we approach certain parts of our lives.

It is very popular with our teenagers…why?

Why is it that they love the type of competition that ‘Hunger Games’ portrays?

At dinner with friends the other night, I tried to initiate a discussion about ‘Hunger Games’…I asked what they thought of the violence in the movie?

Now, I have to admit that none of us have even seen the movie. So I probably had no business even starting a discussion in the the first place.

But my friend popped up and said …”it really isn’t that violent”…which is what she had heard somewhere in a review…she did not get a chance to go on, because the men at the table changed the subject.

So I am turning to you …to see what you think about this Op-ed piece in the New York Times?

What is this movie saying to kids and parents?…

Are some kids being raised with a ‘Hunger Games’ mentality?

To answer all my questions, I may even have to go see ‘Hunger Games’ in the theatre instead of waiting for the DVD  …but then haven’t I just fallen into the media hype pit?

Please click the link and read the cartoon segments that precede this quote in the ‘OP-ED’ New York Times. 

‘Hunger Games’ Parenting – NYTimes.com.

Amy Chua’s best-seller, “The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” trumpeted the benefits of raising children with draconian strictness in the Chinese fashion (or allegedly so). Pamela Druckerman’s “Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting” made the case for a more casual, laissez-faire approach. But each mode has something to offer! Thus, cruelty and indifference combine to perfect effect in the philosophies of the “Hunger Games” Mother. Who better to help parents navigate the brutal, futuristic dystopia that is contemporary childhood? A primer, above.

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Week in Review….Parenting in the Loop

Friday the 13th…are you superstitious?

Interesting reads of my week….enjoy.

Alicia Silverstone has defiantly defended her practice of re-feeding her 11-month-old baby son.

Ms Silverstone said she has no regrets about publicly portraying how she feeds Bear, her son with rock musician husband Chris Jarecki, even though many medical practitioners say it is unhygienic and can cause bacteria and viruses to be passed from mother to baby.

•   Alicia Silverstone defends controversial practice of pre-chewing baby sons food | Mail Online.

“The Good Wife” of the Master’s Golf Tournament!  The dad dilemma over diapers and divots tournament…guess which of these won that match.

Interesting discussion about how sport celebs deal with parenthood and tournament schedules…their feelings on the subject of daddy dilemmas.

On March 28, Watson and his wife, Angie, announced that they had adopted a 1-month-old baby named Caleb. Suddenly, Watson found himself far, far more interested in being a new father than in returning to Augusta National. He told Angie that he wanted to come here later in the week, but she quickly shut that down. He said that she told him, “No, you need to come in here and practice like normal.”

• 2012 Masters — Fathers Playing at Augusta Juggle Golf and Family – NYTimes.com.

How many habits can you say this about?

The habit of meditation is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever learned.Amazingly, it’s also one of the most simple habits to do — you can do it anywhere, any time, and it will always have immediate benefits.

•  How to Meditate Daily :zenhabits.

Have a great weekend and if reading this in the U.S. don’t forget Monday is April 15th…taxes!

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Are you a Blog Bully???

http://thefeministbreeder.com/judging-moms-may-be-good-for-your-traffic-but-its-bad-for-your-feminism/

Titles are everything in the blogosphere …it can make a major difference in whether your post gets a “click” or not.

I had to click on the above post…the title caught me and here is what I thought about what I read…

The post was about feminism and the judging of moms which is rampant in the mom blogger arena. The mom judging is sometimes beyond a discussion…it can be an assault which in my opinion is very unprofessional, in addition to being unpleasant to read. This type of post puts me on the defensive…even to the point of wanting to defend the person or persons being attacked. I literally have to stop reading and refocus at times to not take sides until after finishing a post.

In the end, The Feminist Breeder certainly shredded a fellow writer’s post to make her point…I am not sure that her harshness was absolutely necessary to create a discussion on the hot topic. Her points were valid but focusing primarily on one feminist blogger did nothing for me coming over to her viewpoint.

I do not see any of this going away soon…in general, it seems that readers and watchers like cat fighting, it is like blog bullying with no real reasons behind the assaults or criticisms.

Here is the link to the post in this discussion…http://thefeministbreeder.com/judging-moms-may-be-good-for-your-traffic-but-its-bad-for-your-feminism/

I would love to know what you think about blog bullying, assaults and attacks on bloggers by fellow bloggers.

Do you think assaults are necessary in some cases?

OR

Are critical evaluations enough to generate good discussion?

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Dads and Delivery…

Dads and Delivery…

When I read this dad’s post I felt kind of conflicted as to why he would not want to “cut the cord”. I thought it was because he was squeamish…but soon realized it had an all together different meaning to him after he watched his child being born.

What was your experience with your partner?

What do you think?

My second child, a daughter, was born two months ago. As my wife prepared to deliver the baby and the doctor readied the room, there was only one thing for me to do: remind everyone, once again, that I would not be cutting the umbilical cord.

via Dude Week: Why Should Dads Cut the Cord? | Raising Kvell.

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When is it too old for the men’s locker room???

In honor of Leap Year!

I am digging into my archives this Wednesday and revisiting my most popular post. What do you think about this question? What has been your experience with a situation such as this? I would love to hear from you!

Noteworthy Wednesday!

via: Flickr: Heather Poole

I went swimming at the Y.M.C.A. Later, in the men’s locker room, a father walked in with his daughter. Occasionally, this happens with babies or toddlers, but the girl was 7 or 8. He put her in a shower stall while he showered, and left her there while he shaved and flossed. Then he brought her to the lockers, where they changed. I was appalled. What do you make of this?

via Too Old for the Men’s Locker Room – Social Q’s – NYTimes.com.

This question appeared in the Sunday NYTimes and it truly raised questions for me.

I have often thought about this dilemma especially when I see kids out for the day with their dads.

Interestingly, I don’t always think about this when I see kids with their moms!

But  back to dad and the “Y” locker room. This scene raises concerns for me…granted, I have not visited a men’s locker room but the women’s locker room is certainly an experience. Some women walk around naked, others cover-up as best they can…they usually do not spend any unnecessary time in the locker room…shower, change, pack up and leave. When young children are with their moms, from my observations, they get changed and leave in fairly short order most of the time.

For me, it seems this dad took entirely too much time while his daughter was hanging out in the men’s locker room.

My own “yuk” feeling is coming to the surface here. Exposing children to other naked adults, personally, makes me uncomfortable. I would have to think of another way of doing my toilette if I were in a similar situation.

• What do you do when your opposite-sex child has to use a public restroom?
• At what age should children be allowed to use the public restroom by themselves?
• What public restrooms would make you think twice about letting your child use it without accompaniment?
• More importantly…what do you teach them ahead of time to “protect” them.?
• Do you teach your boys the same as you teach your girls?
• Is this more of a “Dad Dilemma” than a “Mom Moment”?

Like I said, I used the “YUK” feeling factor to help me in these situations.

My feeling is by 7 or 8 years of age many kids have been in some type of locker room situation at school but “Y” locker rooms of the opposite sex seem to be an altogether different story.

It would be interesting to hear other responses to this issue and how parents deal with this common life situation.

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Are Toddlers and Sports a good fit???

“Toddlers and Tiaras“…”Toddlers and Sports“…personally, I would pick sports for my toddler.

But is this a smart idea? Is it a better choice or does it just sound better to me.

Toddlers are really still growing and their bones are not fully hardened which makes injuries more serious when they do happen. According to this post in Parenting.com orthopedists are not proponents of competitive sports for young kids. The reported childhood injuries have increased as more children compete in these sports.

So what are the options?

• Keep activities playful
• Change the activities that a child engages in so that the stress on his bones and muscles are changed as well
• Keep it non-competitive for the toddler…let them just have fun…there is nothing wrong with that.

It is just better not to push our kids…Balance is key.

Knowing what that balance is seems difficult these days.

What do you think about sports for toddlers? What choices have you made?

I would love to hear from you.

http://www.parenting.com/article/toddler-sports?src=soc&dom=tw

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Top 10 Parenting Bloggers on Twitter

• Top 10 Parenting Bloggers on Twitter | MyMediaInfo Blog.

Here is a list that I came across in my internet ‘travels’ this week. I found it so very interesting. These are bloggers who on the top of their mark. They are accomplished writers and give other parenting bloggers like myself a bar to measure themselves by.

I cannot lie…I would love to be on this list…I would even be happy if I were in the top 100 Parenting Bloggers on Twitter, if there is such a list.

For me:

• Blogging is a passion…it is away of sharing with others, which is what I have done professionally for my entire career as a maternal child nurse and clinical social worker.
• Blogging allows me to reach out farther than I ever imagined possible in my lifetime.
• Blogging is an opportunity to share the knowledge that I have gathered over a long career of helping others.
• Blogging is my way of thanking those who generously helped me along the way in nursing and social work, especially those who shared their professional knowledge freely so I could be better at what I do.

I am ever grateful for this wonderful opportunity and grateful for my followers and those that click on the ‘LIKE’ icon and those that comment.

Maybe someday I will have a ranking among those parenting bloggers that are listed above…I will keep on trying.

In that effort, please join me on Facebook (Parenting in the Loop) and Twitter  (@lorettelavine) if you are so inclined …I will try not to disappoint you.

Thank you all and please let me know what you want to read about.

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Week in Review…

I am going to begin something new.

Friday Link-Ups (title subject to change)

Each Friday I will post some interesting links (at least they were to me) that I found during my week.

Let me know what you are interested in and like to read.

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/19/are-obedient-children-a-good-thing

• http://www.parents.com/blogs/red-hot-parenting/2012/01/19/health/another-reason-to-interact-with-your-baby-and-turn-off-the-electronics/

• http://www.mommasgonecity.com/2012/01/the-honest-company-with-jessica-alba/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MommasGoneCity+%28Momma%27s+Gone+City%29

Note: Momma’s Gone City is one of my favorite blogs.

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Babies and manners…

This is an awesome video…watch this and see what children at a very young age are capable of doing together.

These little ones have had snack together 7 times before this video was done.

Enjoy!

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