Today we listened to Beethoven to help with Matteo's (5 months) "brain" development, Giancarlo (3 yrs) wasn't crazy about until I turned it into an opera, about bad men stealing our horses, then he couldn't get enough, i had to keep it up for like 40 minutes.
Then he recognized a piece that Schroeder plays on a Charlie Brown cartoon and he asked if Schroeder played this, I said yes, but then he thought that he was actually playing the piece that we were listening to.
So due to these factors Giancarlo ended up enjoying classical, which usually doesn't happen.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Save PBS
Click here to take action: http://pfaw.kintera.org/pbs Here's some information on Thursday's House vote to cut funding for PBS and NPR: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/06/17/house_panel_oks_cutting_100m_of_pbs_budget?mode=PFClick this link to take action now!!******************************************************************************
Here's a copy of their form letter, plus what I added to it.
I am writing to request that you oppose politically motivated attacks on public broadcasting. Attempts to abolish the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and kill public funding for PBS and NPR are unacceptable.
Public broadcasting represents quality journalism and an independent voice not available among private media. It is a public asset worth preserving and I expect you to ensure that funding for this valuable public institution continues.
I was born in the 1969, the year that Sesame Street debuted, and ever since then my favorite shows have always been on PBS. There shows are always educational and informative. Being from a family of modest means, growing up I did not have the opportunity to travel and experience the far off places first hand or to go to the symphony, ballet or opera, but through PBS I was exposed to American and world history, nature and science, balanced news and the arts through educational and dramatic shows that have always been of the utmost quality. This helped me to see that it is okay for people to view and experience things differently than I do, and I know that this is one of the main reasons that PBS’ funding is coming under attack.
Now that I have a family I have passed on my love of PBS to two young children, it is truly great to see them learning while being entertained, and to know that the creators of PBS Kids shows are more interested in the development of my children then selling them action figure versions of their shows’ characters.
PBS’ budget has been shrinking since the budget cuts of the 1980s, and I fear that it is nearing a point of no return so far as its quality and ability to inform and educate in an independent manner. My guess is that the majority of those in congress who are planning to vote to cut PBS’ funding can afford to expose their children first hand to the best in education, travel and the arts, so crippling PBS will have very little effect on their families. However, for the majority of the citizenry who either do not live near centers of education and the arts or do not have the means to expose their families to environments that to foster and stimulate enlightened thought, the lost of PBS’ current format is potentially devastating, because it would create an America where dreams are limited to only what a child can see in front of him, and an America where balanced discourse takes a back seat to the agenda of which ever party is in power at the time, and that is bad for people on all sides of the political spectrum.
Here's a copy of their form letter, plus what I added to it.
I am writing to request that you oppose politically motivated attacks on public broadcasting. Attempts to abolish the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and kill public funding for PBS and NPR are unacceptable.
Public broadcasting represents quality journalism and an independent voice not available among private media. It is a public asset worth preserving and I expect you to ensure that funding for this valuable public institution continues.
I was born in the 1969, the year that Sesame Street debuted, and ever since then my favorite shows have always been on PBS. There shows are always educational and informative. Being from a family of modest means, growing up I did not have the opportunity to travel and experience the far off places first hand or to go to the symphony, ballet or opera, but through PBS I was exposed to American and world history, nature and science, balanced news and the arts through educational and dramatic shows that have always been of the utmost quality. This helped me to see that it is okay for people to view and experience things differently than I do, and I know that this is one of the main reasons that PBS’ funding is coming under attack.
Now that I have a family I have passed on my love of PBS to two young children, it is truly great to see them learning while being entertained, and to know that the creators of PBS Kids shows are more interested in the development of my children then selling them action figure versions of their shows’ characters.
PBS’ budget has been shrinking since the budget cuts of the 1980s, and I fear that it is nearing a point of no return so far as its quality and ability to inform and educate in an independent manner. My guess is that the majority of those in congress who are planning to vote to cut PBS’ funding can afford to expose their children first hand to the best in education, travel and the arts, so crippling PBS will have very little effect on their families. However, for the majority of the citizenry who either do not live near centers of education and the arts or do not have the means to expose their families to environments that to foster and stimulate enlightened thought, the lost of PBS’ current format is potentially devastating, because it would create an America where dreams are limited to only what a child can see in front of him, and an America where balanced discourse takes a back seat to the agenda of which ever party is in power at the time, and that is bad for people on all sides of the political spectrum.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Is My Child on Drugs?
An interesting dilemma for people who have progressive views on drugs. I personally view drugs like alcohol and don't think children should be using them. Depending on their maturity, sometime between 18 -24 they may be ready to try alcohol and drugs (like weed nothing physiologically addictive), that is if they are ever actually mature enough, I honestly think that a large portion of the population isn't mature enough to use drugs or alcohol for that matter.
The following quote from this article Is My Child on Drugs? gives this doctor some more credibility in my eyes:
Until you know for sure why your son is coming in late, why he quit baseball, why he doesn't bring friends to your house, why his grades are slipping at bit, why he is angry, why he's breaking curfew, or why he's lost interest in college, don't jump to any conclusions. There could be many reasons for these behavior changes. You need to find out for sure what's going on with him and his adolescent life before accusing him of drug use.
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I had wanted to post much more frequently, but as I’ve said before the increase in stress, work and responsibility from one child to two is more of an exponential jump than a doubling of work. It may pay-off when they get older and can entertain each other but right now it’s bewildering.
Now, as every time I sit to post between the hours of 6 a.m. 9 p.m., my 5 month old is screaming and my 3 year old is climbing on me asking if he can help me type, can he watch TV, do I hear the baby crying, singing, etc.
So a higher level discourse is near impossible, the tougher part is that internally, while I’m catering to my kids needs, I do think about issues to discuss here and on my other blogs, but once I step away for a minute they spring into distraction, I mean action. I guess at these ages their only real job is to get their parents to take care of their needs so I can’t really get upset with them, just frustrated.
The following quote from this article Is My Child on Drugs? gives this doctor some more credibility in my eyes:
Until you know for sure why your son is coming in late, why he quit baseball, why he doesn't bring friends to your house, why his grades are slipping at bit, why he is angry, why he's breaking curfew, or why he's lost interest in college, don't jump to any conclusions. There could be many reasons for these behavior changes. You need to find out for sure what's going on with him and his adolescent life before accusing him of drug use.
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I had wanted to post much more frequently, but as I’ve said before the increase in stress, work and responsibility from one child to two is more of an exponential jump than a doubling of work. It may pay-off when they get older and can entertain each other but right now it’s bewildering.
Now, as every time I sit to post between the hours of 6 a.m. 9 p.m., my 5 month old is screaming and my 3 year old is climbing on me asking if he can help me type, can he watch TV, do I hear the baby crying, singing, etc.
So a higher level discourse is near impossible, the tougher part is that internally, while I’m catering to my kids needs, I do think about issues to discuss here and on my other blogs, but once I step away for a minute they spring into distraction, I mean action. I guess at these ages their only real job is to get their parents to take care of their needs so I can’t really get upset with them, just frustrated.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
depends on what you are calling media?
Classical music is suppose to be good for infants, we played a lot of Jazz for GianC.
So I don't think the local public Classical or Jazz station would have any harmful effects on an infant. I know that GianC. hated Metal, Noise and any extreme guitar music when he was an infant, now he likes punk though and some more crazy electronic music like drum n' bass and IDM, Aphex Twin in particular, I tend to believe that you should stick with Classical, Jazz and mellow music for infants.
Julieanne listens to Urban/hip-hop and R&B stations, which have tons of commercials and bad lyrics, I often wonder if that is good for little ones to hear, not the lyrics so much at a young age because they don't fully get them, but the commercials.
While watching TV, Julieanne mutes the volume on commercials just coz she doesn't like them, but I've read that it's a good thing to do when watching TV with children.
So I don't think the local public Classical or Jazz station would have any harmful effects on an infant. I know that GianC. hated Metal, Noise and any extreme guitar music when he was an infant, now he likes punk though and some more crazy electronic music like drum n' bass and IDM, Aphex Twin in particular, I tend to believe that you should stick with Classical, Jazz and mellow music for infants.
Julieanne listens to Urban/hip-hop and R&B stations, which have tons of commercials and bad lyrics, I often wonder if that is good for little ones to hear, not the lyrics so much at a young age because they don't fully get them, but the commercials.
While watching TV, Julieanne mutes the volume on commercials just coz she doesn't like them, but I've read that it's a good thing to do when watching TV with children.
Monday, May 23, 2005
TV = BAD -but- TV = INSTANT BABYSITTER?
TV is extremely bad for infants, studies show that it affects they their brains develop, it contributes to ADD (or whatever they are calling it now) children over one should only watch 20-30 minutes a day, A few people sent me emails about this study, if I ever come across it again I'll post it. I'm worried because with all the upheaval going on in my home, we've been letting GianC. watch a lot more TV, and I've noticed that Matteo will watch the TV as well when it is on. I've started to face his swing at where GianC. is sitting and away from the TV.
Julieanne and I definitely notice a change in GianC's behavior when he watches more than an hour a day, he plays less, is less imaginative, and more irritable when you don't let him watch TV. I've found that when we aren't allowing him to watch a lot of TV he still asks for it and gets mad when we don't turn it on, but within five minutes he'll be occupying himself with his toys.
Books and story telling are the best combatants to a child's desire to watch TV. That being said GianC is watching TV right now, a Charlie Brown Video, and it makes him totally happy, but as I think I've said here before, our job is not to be our children's friend, but to be a responsible parent, who some times pisses them off for their own good.
I've made video's from his favorite EDUCATIONAL PBS shows, so if I ever need to crap out and use the TV as a temporary babysitter, I can put him in front of something that isn't going to be hyper-edited or have a bunch of commercials.
On a contrary note, a great bargain now-a-days is children's video's since everyone is switching over to DVD, you can find great deals in major chain record/video stores because they are all dumping video for DVD. We've gotten a slew of $15-20 videos for $2-5! We also just bought an dual VCR/DVD to have an extra VCR, because they are going the way of the 8-track player, so we don't want to be stuck with no way to watch our videos 10 years from now.
Julieanne and I definitely notice a change in GianC's behavior when he watches more than an hour a day, he plays less, is less imaginative, and more irritable when you don't let him watch TV. I've found that when we aren't allowing him to watch a lot of TV he still asks for it and gets mad when we don't turn it on, but within five minutes he'll be occupying himself with his toys.
Books and story telling are the best combatants to a child's desire to watch TV. That being said GianC is watching TV right now, a Charlie Brown Video, and it makes him totally happy, but as I think I've said here before, our job is not to be our children's friend, but to be a responsible parent, who some times pisses them off for their own good.
I've made video's from his favorite EDUCATIONAL PBS shows, so if I ever need to crap out and use the TV as a temporary babysitter, I can put him in front of something that isn't going to be hyper-edited or have a bunch of commercials.
On a contrary note, a great bargain now-a-days is children's video's since everyone is switching over to DVD, you can find great deals in major chain record/video stores because they are all dumping video for DVD. We've gotten a slew of $15-20 videos for $2-5! We also just bought an dual VCR/DVD to have an extra VCR, because they are going the way of the 8-track player, so we don't want to be stuck with no way to watch our videos 10 years from now.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Cousins & Brothers
We went to my niece’s first birthday party last night. My brother had it at his martial arts studio, so all the kids had plenty of open space to run around. The thing that was especially notable about the evening beyond the normal, “aren’t our kids so cute,” was seeing my 2.8-year-old son running around playing with my brother’s 1-year-old daughter, and repeatedly saying, “I love my cousin SOOO much.” My brother is seven years older than I, but started having kids 20 years before I did, so growing up and even recently I never thought about our children interacting at all.
I have to say seeing them playing together was pretty amazing, seeing your children love your sibling’s kids just reminds you of how much you love your siblings growing up, of course you still love them know that you’re grow, but it’s different.
I have to say seeing them playing together was pretty amazing, seeing your children love your sibling’s kids just reminds you of how much you love your siblings growing up, of course you still love them know that you’re grow, but it’s different.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
carlo, regarding household sounds, when zachery was about a month old, we discovered by accident that he would be very soothed by the sound of the kitchen sink running. in fact, that then became the only way we could get him to fall asleep (walking back and forth in front of the running sink), and has continued, almost to this day, to be our cue to him that a nap is coming.
it's basically stopped working just recently, but for the longest time, that was our little bedtime routine.
it's basically stopped working just recently, but for the longest time, that was our little bedtime routine.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
7 Steps to Protecting our Children from Sexual Abuse
Step 1: Learn the facts
Realities—not trust—should influence your decisions regarding your child.
Step 2: Minimize Opportunity
If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll
dramatically lower the risk of sexual abuse for your child.
Step 3: Talk about it
Children often keep abuse a secret, but barriers can be broken down by talking openly about it.
Step 4: Stay Alert
Don’t expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused.
Step 5: Make a Plan
Learn where to go, who to call and how to react.
Step 6: Act on Suspicions
The future well-being of a child is at stake.
Step 7: Get involved
Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy of child sexual abuse.
... Okay that 7th step seems a little weak, but check out the darkness2light.org website to raise your awareness about how to keep your children safe from one of the most scarring crimes that can happen to a child.
A few links for new and future moms
-post partum planning guide: http://newhealthinc.org
-hypno birthing: http://ezbirths.com, I never heard of this before but it sounds like it might work to make birthing easier if you already have the ability to meditate.
The Naked Truth on Family Nudity
An expert resolves one mom and dad's disagreement about being naked in front of their kids.
Some up tight dad asks why his wife thinks it's okay to bathe with his 1 & 3 year old boys, what an idiot.
Step 1: Learn the facts
Realities—not trust—should influence your decisions regarding your child.
Step 2: Minimize Opportunity
If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll
dramatically lower the risk of sexual abuse for your child.
Step 3: Talk about it
Children often keep abuse a secret, but barriers can be broken down by talking openly about it.
Step 4: Stay Alert
Don’t expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused.
Step 5: Make a Plan
Learn where to go, who to call and how to react.
Step 6: Act on Suspicions
The future well-being of a child is at stake.
Step 7: Get involved
Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy of child sexual abuse.
... Okay that 7th step seems a little weak, but check out the darkness2light.org website to raise your awareness about how to keep your children safe from one of the most scarring crimes that can happen to a child.
A few links for new and future moms
-post partum planning guide: http://newhealthinc.org
-hypno birthing: http://ezbirths.com, I never heard of this before but it sounds like it might work to make birthing easier if you already have the ability to meditate.
The Naked Truth on Family Nudity
An expert resolves one mom and dad's disagreement about being naked in front of their kids.
Some up tight dad asks why his wife thinks it's okay to bathe with his 1 & 3 year old boys, what an idiot.
In reference to Seth's post about ambient music, household ambient sounds can work to sooth little ones as well. With my first son, as a part his daily evening passagiatta, I'd run the water in the bathroom and stop in there for a minute after each lap around the house. My new born likes finds the sound of main floor bathroom exhaust fan, I turn it on sit down on the throne and pull the hand towel over my should for him to hold, and he totally chills out.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Drone Zone on SomaFM
"Served best chilled, safe with most medications. Atmospheric textures with minimal beats."
I found that the ambient electronic music on this internet radio station has a tendency to sometimes soothe my fussy little guy.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Is grandma spoiling the kids?
When you see grandma once a month or less this isn't too bad of an issue, but when she plays a part in the upbringing of your child, it may be time for her to act more like a parent and play less of the spoiling grandparent role. I'll delve more into this issue later.
When you see grandma once a month or less this isn't too bad of an issue, but when she plays a part in the upbringing of your child, it may be time for her to act more like a parent and play less of the spoiling grandparent role. I'll delve more into this issue later.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
BE PREPARED
There's a veritable shitload of Daddy "How-to" books out there which exploit the daunting fears and insecurities we new fathers face. Many are unreadable pap, whilst others are good-intended, but better left as a sleeping aid then as a practical guide. This book for me was the most pleasant that I've come across, filled with all manner of practical wisdoms and advice presented in an engrossing and entertaining way. See also the companion website.
stay-at-home-dadaism's main foible
Of all the reasons that people come up with against the idea of a man staying home to do the bulk of the child rearing and the mother being the primary breadwinner, I, the proponent of stay-at-home-dadaism have discovered this family structures main foible, a second child. I can shoot down just about every anti-stay-at-home-dad theory but the fact that the woman bares the children and often physically needs to take time off from work is something that the stay-at-home-dad set-up doesn’t really account for.
Currently I’m two wake-ups away from starting a new job because my wife is taking four months off from work and we don’t have a large enough cash reserve to pay our mortgage, property taxes and other outwardly disseminations of cash.
This leaves our home in disarray, I have set up how our home runs, and now my wife has to adapt to working in the home under my old rules or set up new ones while dealing with an upset 33 month old, an ever hungry two week old and a slightly opened wound from her cesarean section.
All the parental books will tell you that the most important thing for children is consistency; it lets them know that they can depend on you. A new baby, temporary live-in mother-in-law, a cranky mommy and your primary care giver now being gone for 10 hours a day has to be a life rocking recipe for someone not yet three years old, and use to being the center of the universe to numerous people.
GUILT. "It’s my job to take care of my home. I should have planned better for this period of adjustment. We should have saved money or taken a loan so I wouldn’t have to work. A condom would have made the decision to have another child happen on a more manageable time frame. This is going to fuck up all the good parenting I’ve done over the past two years. Is my wife going to be able to handle two kids without the experience of taking care of one full-time…".I’m going to try to take a nap while son #2 sleeps.
Currently I’m two wake-ups away from starting a new job because my wife is taking four months off from work and we don’t have a large enough cash reserve to pay our mortgage, property taxes and other outwardly disseminations of cash.
This leaves our home in disarray, I have set up how our home runs, and now my wife has to adapt to working in the home under my old rules or set up new ones while dealing with an upset 33 month old, an ever hungry two week old and a slightly opened wound from her cesarean section.
All the parental books will tell you that the most important thing for children is consistency; it lets them know that they can depend on you. A new baby, temporary live-in mother-in-law, a cranky mommy and your primary care giver now being gone for 10 hours a day has to be a life rocking recipe for someone not yet three years old, and use to being the center of the universe to numerous people.
GUILT. "It’s my job to take care of my home. I should have planned better for this period of adjustment. We should have saved money or taken a loan so I wouldn’t have to work. A condom would have made the decision to have another child happen on a more manageable time frame. This is going to fuck up all the good parenting I’ve done over the past two years. Is my wife going to be able to handle two kids without the experience of taking care of one full-time…".I’m going to try to take a nap while son #2 sleeps.
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