Entries Tagged 'Teaching kids' ↓

Even larger than life and clocking in at the 97th percentile for his size, my sweet 4 year old isn’t exactly a risk taker. Sure, sure, he’ll jump on my couches until I holler at him not to. But when he finally does get off the couch, he doesn’t jump off – he sits carefully and then stands before running off to cause havoc elsewhere.

He doesn’t like fast slides. He doesn’t jump from most heights. He never wants me to push him too high on the swing. And he certainly won’t get on any semi-fast rides at Busch Gardens.

No way.

He thinks the hill we drive up and down on the drive home from school is a roller coaster. I’m not joking. He even puts his hands up and yells “Weeeeeeeee!!!!!….” So thrilling. Clearly.

My wild child.

So when I signed him up for gymnastics, I assumed this would be a challenge for him. He would have to jump off things. He would have to tumble and feel a little rush of adrenaline and trust that he was safe. He would have to consider the risks of falling and get past them. And when he saw the facility, he was excited to do it. But when I saw the height he’d have to jump off or the slide he would need to go down, I wasn’t so sure.

Yeah, well, with me locked up on an observation deck, behind a glass pane – he did it. He did it fearlessly. He did it proudly. He did without any of my coaxing at all.

I was shocked. And proud. So proud.

And then later introspective.

What is with that? What is with my kids not doing things for me? What is with their nerves and demands that they can’t do it, no way, and that was final.

And then doing it for someone else?

It was his first teacher who finally sealed the deal with potty training. Not me.

It was his father who finally got him to put his face in the water and keep it there. Not me.

It was this gymnastic teacher, who he knew for 15 minutes, who got him to jump off a big red square and balance himself high up on a bar with his arms locked. Not me.

No way.

And it is moments like these which remind me of the importance, the sheer significance, the enormous value other adults, teachers and family members have on my children’s lives.

Because here’s a news flash: No matter how much I think I know best as their mother, I can NOT teach them everything. Not by myself.

No way.

They respond differently to other adults. They have different expectations of themselves. They become different kids with other people. I am their mother and they can be my little babies when they are with me. I am their safe place. Its ok to show vulnerability with me. But for new people, interesting people, different people, challenging people – my children see something new. And they suddenly expect greatness from themselves.

I can love them so completely and entirely – but I can’t fulfill their learning to it’s entirety.

No way.

And I know this might be very obvious to most readers. I know this is a naive realisation. And if its any comfort, its not the first time I’ve realized this. But its just another reminder to let them go. Shove them out of that nest and let them fall and fall and be a little scared and even if I don’t think they will be brave enough to land on their feet, everyone else does. And they do. And I am left amazed once again.

I adore and thank every teacher, adult, coach and family member who has more confidence in my children than I do. You are changing my children. You are making them more than I could ever make them.

Thank you.

Mothering is a mind-blowing experience. Kind of like that hill I drive up and down on the way home from school. Weeeeeee!!!!!!

But will I be any less surprised the next time my children do something for another adult with confidence and flair – something that they swore they could never do, would never ever do, for me?

No way.

My kids love Schoolhouse Rock.

Do you remember watching that? On Saturday mornings in between cartoons? I adored Schoolhouse Rock. And (convinced as most parents are that their children should experience everything they did) when I saw the DVD on sale about a year ago I bought it and put it away for a rainy day. Of course, I promptly forgot all about it.

But a month or so ago my three year old’s teacher brought it up. She thought that since my kids are so into educational music, they might really learn from and enjoy Schoolhouse Rock. And wouldn’t you know it? They can’t get enough of it. So we “Conjunction Junction” and “Lolly Lolly” all around our house these days. Because Schoolhouse Rock…well, rocks. Truly.

Anyway, while watching it one afternoon with my boys piled onto my lap, we happened to be watching “Sufferin’ Till Suffrage” (a catchy little ditty all about the 19th Amendment, because Schoolhouse Rock actually has the skillz to make a song about such an amendment “catchy”.).

And my three year old turns to me and says: “That’s YOU Mommy!”

Oh. The little cartoon feminist within me blushed. And sat up a little straighter with chin held high. And thanked him profusely. What a compliment. My sweet boy sees me as someone jumping around, hollering, celebrating and singing about women’s rights in patriotic flare pants and a half shirt. With LOTS of hair.

(He wasn’t there with me in college but wow. I have to wonder.)

Love it.

Check it out and enjoy.

Call me an animal freak. It’s OK. I don’t mind at all. In fact, I’m hoping that my animal obsession adoration will be passed along to my children. I’m hoping that they might learn to crawl through the grass following a spotted frog or “oh” and “ah” over animal prints in the mud or bird watch with genuine, honest enthusiasm. Somehow.

So when Busch Gardens contacted me a few weeks back and asked if my three year old and I would like to attend their new series for preschoolers called “Busch Babies”, I enthusiastically agreed. Busch Babies is a described as a 45 minute, three part “educational program” which “combines crafts, story time, and of course up-close and personal visits from special animal friends.”

Yes, please. Sign us up.

We finished our program this past week – and I am so sad it is already over. My son and I had a terrific time. Here’s my take on our experience with a list of pros and cons. And if you don’t feel up to all this reading, scroll to the bottom for a video taken at our third class. It’s pretty darling and certainly speaks for itself.

What We Loved

• The staff. Ms. Amber and Ms. Cherish were wonderful and extraordinarily patient. They seem very well trained as educators – especially with this tricky, slightly unfocused age. They were also very well informed about each animal and made every effort to teach the kids at their speed and in their language. And clearly, they were having fun too. (I’ll miss seeing them every week!)
• The program. Each class offered a combination of crafts, play, sensory interaction and learning. We sang songs, we touched cool things, we colored and glued and glittered. We even had a small snack during story time. And the best part was – of course – meeting a new animal at each class.
• The location. The room we met in was perfect. It was close to the entrance of the park so we didn’t have to trek too far. It was close to the Safari of Fun so that we could head there right afterwards. It was held in a small, comfortable, intimate room with cozy carpets, low lighting and brown papered kiddie tables. Perfect.

Constructive Criticism

• One more class. In a perfect world, I would love to see one more class or so added. It took the first one or two classes for the kids to finally get comfortable and used to this new experience. Would it be worth adding more classes even if it cost more? I think so. I should add that they offer a “playgroup” show at the Safari of Fun stage the week following the last class of each session that anyone can attend. We went today and my son loved seeing the staff again.
• It’s a time commitment. After driving there, parking, getting to the program, peeling your wee one away from the park, catching the train back to your car, getting back on the highway and home – well, expect a long morning. The good news is that your child will be exhausted. The bad news is you will be too.

Tips for Parents

• Be a Busch Gardens pass holder. This program is designed for local parents who are already pass holders and expect to make multiple trips to the park over the course of the year. Be sure to have your parking already included and paid for with your pass or else you will pay an additional $12.00 a day for parking.
• Get there early. Trust me, plan for traffic and accidents and who knows what else. (The day I was impossibly late due to an accident, they were very accommodating. Thanks Amber and Cherish for letting me attend the next class!) Also get to the gate early too. Our class was at 10:30am so I tried to be at the gate by 10:00am so that we would have plenty of time to park, take the tram and walk to our class. (Three year olds tend to get distracted while walking through Busch Gardens!

Cost

One adult and one child combination costs $50 for each three part series. $30 is charged per each additional child or adult who joins you. Also this program is designed for season pass holders who have parking included in their annual ticket already. These cost (at minimum) $99.95.

The Next Series

Be sure to check here for upcoming program dates. There are three more planned for the months of May, August and September.

See For Yourself!

Here is a video of our last day of class. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Busch Gardens paid for our Busch Babies attendance. I paid for all other costs (seasonal park passes, parking, food, etc.).

I declared Sunday a Pajama Day. It was pouring rain, we didn’t need groceries, so we stayed in. And while cuddled together on the couch under a blanket in our pajamas, my six year old and I played on my husband’s iphone. He has an app on there that is something like Boggle. A random collection of letters are displayed on a grid and the player taps connected letters to make as many words as they can in a limited amount of time. He’s as good as I am: Dog. God. Wet. Stew. Scold. Cold. Weep. Pew. We kept making words and racking up the points. A fun innocent use of a Sunday afternoon, no?

During one particular round, he found a word first. He tapped out three connected letters:

S…E…X.

…..!!!!!

Insert my garbled, surprised laugh here.

“Um hon, do you even know what that means???”

He just giggled back at me. And kept punching out words.

And what did this very brilliant, oh so intuitive mother do? Nothing. I kept on playing too. And I stuck to a favorite parenting standby: ignore the obvious and maybe it will go away.

But of course I haven’t stopped thinking about it. He knows the word “sex”.

Granted, knowing the word and understanding the word are two different things. But he’s SIX! How does he know this word!?

What, was I born on the moon? He can read. Sex and the word sex is woven into our mainstream culture everywhere we go. And my kid happens to have one of those steel trap minds for words. He read very early, he aces spelling tests, he has always soaked in much more around him than he lets on.

I would bet if I asked him to spell the word tampon he’d get it right.

But would he know what it is? …Would he???

I’m thinking.

I don’t know. They’re sitting right there in my bathroom. They come with instructions after all…

Oh dear Lord. I am not ready for this. He’s SIX!

There is a part of me that wants to say something. You know, something very cool and collected like “If you ever want to know what the word sex means, let me know and we can talk about it.”

Ugh, no. NO! He’s six! Just because he knows this word, doesn’t mean he wants to understand its intricacies or all of its “ins and outs”. So to speak. He’s too young still. He just knew the word, that’s all. I mean I know we’re supposed to talk to our kids about sex early and – don’t get me wrong – I WOULD talk to him about it if he asked. I just feel like… he’s a wee innocent boy. He really isn’t ready for this, no more than I am.

*wringing my hands*

Yep. I’ll leave it be. For now. Just a couple more years. We’ll revisit this topic no later than eight. Yeah that’s about when you should kind of sort of know where a baby comes from right? That’s about when kids should have more than a vague idea that “mommies and daddies make them”. …I think.

(Cue flashback sequence: I was eight years old and over at a friend’s house. She and I were innocently playing Barbies on her bedroom floor when her older sister pranced in. Her sister had just started menstruating and, deeming herself a new expert on all topics below the belt, she decided to tell us allll about it. Later that afternoon, I remember walking home in stupefied haze, kicking stones, shaking my head the whole way. Of course I had to come face to face with those guilty of such deeds: my parents. So when I sat at dinner and they passed me the peas, what was my reaction? I let them have it. I spat at them “How could you??? How could you do… that???? That’s just… DISGUSTING!” Granted, I’m still not entirely convinced that they actually did do that. The stork was most likely involved with my brother and I – just in this one instance. But I digress.)

The lesson learned here is that these six year old eyes and ears are absorbing the world around them. (A shocking realization, I know.) And we can’t take for granted what they are sifting out or what they deem as “must know information” vs. “stuff grown ups worry about”. We can’t expect them to make that distinction. I have to be ready and I have to do what I can to introduce this crazy world at an appropriate speed.

That sounds responsible and about what a parent should do, right?

Now to actually apply that practically. To make sure my kid learns and sees and hears just about what he can handle without being cut off from the world or without protecting him too much…

Um. Yeah.

Is there an app for that?

The First Lady has taken on the fight against childhood obesity in her most recent initiative called the Let’s Move Campaign. I got an email yesterday from a journalist at Bay News 9 asking for my thoughts. And as I was reading the link he provided, I saw that the First Lady was speaking live about this initiative on MSNBC. So I stopped, read, listened and sent him my thoughts.

This is basically what I emailed him.

There can be no argument against that fact that we have a severe childhood obesity issue in our country. McDonald’s chains are often more common than supermarkets in some areas. One third of our nation’s children are overweight or obese. Junk food is stuffed into beautiful, fun packaging. Sugar tastes so damn good and its deliciously addictive. We eat big portions in this country – most of which is just a lot of nothing, filling the hole, cheap and easy. It’s here, it’s there, it’s everywhere, nom, nom, nom.

Bottom line? Our bad eating habits are so effusive that they have become a culture issue. My friends and I ate junk growing up, and now my kids and their friends want it too. And unless we want to continue seeing more children facing health issues and obesity before they even get to high school, we need to change our culture’s ideals about fast food fast.

I have to point out that the First Lady made a great point about obesity before she launched into the points of her program. She made it clear that this is not about how someone looks. Its about how children feel. Both in reference to their own body image and how they feel medically.

There is a huge issue of fat-ism (for lack of a better word) and body image in this country – and this initiative can’t and should not be about that. I am hoping that healthier habits change attitudes on many levels but never single out anyone for not fitting some expectation of “model thin” beauty. We are what we are, but let’s be the best we can be. Just saying.

So back to the Let’s Move Campaign. We have to change the culture of our country. So that means we need support. Parents need support from schools, schools need to actively educate children and funding will be needed to really push a campaign of healthy eating habits forward. Sugar has too strong a pull on us not to come back at the causes of obesity with guns blazing.

So will kids actually be able to learn how to eat better? I don’t think it is ever too early to start educating and empowering children about food. My six year old has a peanut allergy and has been reading food labels for as long as he has been able to read. And more recently, we’ve been taking steps to read the entire label. He knows to look for sugar, sodium, trans fat, protein and vitamins. And now that he generally understands what reasonable amounts of each should be in his food, he knows we need to pick Cheerios over Fruit Loops. He may not be happy about it, but at least he now knows why.

Also, it is my hope that some of the funding will make healthier foods more accessible to families in need. Feeding a family off a dollar menu is a hell of a lot cheaper than cashing out at a grocery store. Healthy eating should be something everyone can afford to do.

Finally, there has been some crabbing about this campaign banning certain foods in school. While I think banning food is never a good idea, teaching kids about better choices certainly is. And then, we would hope, kids will learn to pick better food choices and drive the market to provide healthier alternatives in vending machines which kids feel OK about buying.

“No way, dude. I don’t want that lame Ho-Ho. I want that bag of sliced apples! AWESOME!”

Er. Here’s hoping at least.

And if my son’s PTO votes to remove all sodas and cupcakes and sugary crap from the schools vending machines, so be it and good riddance. But that’s the schools collective choice. I’m just hoping that with focused education and better access to healthier foods, it will be my children’s choice someday too.

Oh and be sure to check out my friend Apryl’s post about this too: First Lady Michelle Obama takes a Bite Out of Childhood Obesity. Apryl, who writes at About.com, was in on a conference call to the White House as the President signed the executive order to fight childhood obesity.

I was a Barbie freeeak when I was younger. I’m not sure what it was exactly about those dolls. It certainly was not about the whole fashion, try her in a million outfits thing. Sporting some outrageously colored, polyestered, peter pan collared hand me downs and tinted glasses – while a victim of it, I was not very concerned with fashion. For me, I think my obsession was having a little adult that I could put into made up situations. It was about wondering what it would like to be a grown woman someday. And so I created these elaborate story lines about going on trips and meeting people and having a job with a real computer (a novelty back then) and doing grown-upish things.

Did I yearn to be the blond, unrealistically proportioned bean pole that she represented? Well. Not consciously. Do I think Barbie sets unrealistic body image ideals in girls minds? Um, yeah I do.

But I still loved playing with them. And the glorious imaginary world I created (and escaped into) with them was worth whatever mind melding she did to me. Yeah, I hate my baby belly and wished I could tighten up some and my chest is so far from the example she set for me… but whatever. Barbie was a blast!

And back then, my Barbie came something like this.

The other day I gathered my courage and braved Toys R Us. I rarely set foot in there. It gives me a headache. Too much plastic. Maybe its a BPA thing.

But it’s that time of year again (you know – the most wonderful time of the year?), so I headed in during a rare child-free moment. And. I will admit something. When I walked past all those aisles in Toys R Us, I slowed right down when I saw all the pink.

The Barbie Aisle.

I remember all of those wistful moments spent in the pink aisle of Toys R Us as a little girl, day dreaming about all the cool Barbies and extras and houses and cars and horses and fun I could have. So I couldn’t help but sneak a peak and see whats in there. Yes, even with the stupid body image crap that I so wish Barbie didn’t perpetuate, I would have bought Barbies for my daughter if I had one.

So there I was the other day. Checking out the goods, slightly wistful, at the ripe old age of 36.

And that’s when I saw this new Barbie being sold.

Um.

What the hell?

(And please note. She has been turned demurely here for the pic. The plunge is much “plungier” when seen full frontal, so to speak.)

Ok, so I could forgive the big boobs and wasp like waist before because Barbie was wearing clothes that actually covered up those distorted parts. For the most part. But this one? Wearing “a striking black dress with plunging neckline”???

Oh no. Not ok. Sorry Barbie. A dress cut down to your navel is not part of the Barbie world I come from. Nor should it be for any little girl. I just can’t push my feminist tendancies aside for this (must crack horrid holiday pun here… wait for it…) “Ho Ho Ho” look.

Just bad.

And so is the slightly oversized, Brat doll-esque head that gives the illusion that her strangely disproportionate body is even tinier than it was before. Yep, Barbie has slimmed down so much, her head – with hardly much substance to hold onto – may loll off its own body and roll away.

Don’t call this fashion. Don’t call this keeping up with your market. Don’t call this anything but a reeeeally bad idea. Oh. And you know what else I’d call this doll.

Ho Ho Ho.

Merry Christmas.

I had no idea. But I guess I shouldn’t blame myself for being so naive. It seems that many parents don’t have any idea either. We generally assume that the drugs we need to worry about our children abusing are such party favorites as alcohol, ecstasy, pot, cocaine or even heroin. I never thought a popular drug of choice these days was dextromethorphan – a key component in cough medicine.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a firm representing the CHPA (Consumer Healthcare Products Association) and asked to attend a two day event in Washington DC covering the Five Moms. (Three of the Five Moms are pictured to the right.)

This Monday, I arrived at the lovely, historic Hotel Lombardy curious about what the next two days would bring me. While I settled down in my room over-looking Pennsylvania Avenue, I reviewed the materials that were left for me.

The Problem

A study from the Partnership for a Drug Free America has shown that about one in ten teens (roughly 2.4 million kids) ages 12-17  have reported to have intentionally abused over the counter cough medicine. And about 28% of teens know someone who has abused it. But only 4% of parents believe their children would actually abuse cough medicine. The Partnership for Drug Free America also reports that “41 percent of teens mistakenly believe that abuse of medicines is less dangerous than abuse of illegal street drugs.” And when teens do abuse dextromethorphan, it has been found that they take 20 – 50 times the recommended dosage which equates to consuming multiple bottles of cough medicine at one time.

The Five Moms

On behalf of StopMedicineAbuse.org, five dynamic mothers have currently become the faces of cough medicine abuse. And this week they arrived in Washington DC with the CHPA to meet with Congress people on Capitol Hill to lobby for their support. They had three goals:

1. Urge the importance of parental education about cough medicine abuse by promoting the StopMedicineAbuse.org site. The Five Moms believe education about the abuse of this common place medication will do more to curb it’s use rather than simply restricting purchase since these medications are found in every home. As one of the Five Moms noted during our meetings on Capitol Hill, “You can’t protect your family from something you don’t know about.”
2. Gain support for the dextromethorphan Abuse Prevention Act of 2009 (s. 1383) which would amend the Controlled Substances Act and prevent the sale of cough medicine (or any products with dextromethorphan) to those under 18 years of age.
3. Gain support for the dextromethorphan Distribution Act of 2009 (H.R. 1259) which if enacted would limit who may purchase bulk amounts of raw dextromethorphan. There are no current limits at this time.

During our time in DC, I got to know four of these mothers (the fifth wasn’t able to come due to an illness in the family) and was truly touched by their stories. Misty Fetko shares a powerful and upsetting story about her son Carl who passed away due to a lethal mix and overdose of drugs including dextromethorphan.  Blaise Brooks, a strong mother, speaker and mentor, educates her community about over the counter medication abuse. Hilda Morales-Roybal took on this cause after becoming informed about the abuse of over the counter medication in her own community. And finally Cristy Crandell currently has a son serving a 13 year prison sentence for crimes he committed while under the influence of dextromethorphan. Each amazing, each examples, each changing lives in their communities and now each delivering their message to Capitol Hill.

Dr. Drew

And so now you’re probably wondering how Dr. Drew fit in to all of this. Well, the night before we all went to Capitol Hill, we sat down to a lovely dinner with the Five Moms, the CHPA, the PR firm who organized all of our comings and goings, and we bloggers: Jenn, Janice and myself. While chatting with the mothers and considering our menus, an announcement was made that we would have another guest. Dr. Drew Pinsky was able to come to DC also to support this entire initiative and he would be joining us for dinner in a few minutes as well as coming to Capitol Hill with us the following day. After a few blogger (ahem) gasps (to put it subtly), Dr. Drew arrived soon there after and ate a delicious meal with us.

(And in case you’ve been living under a rock, here is where you might find Dr. Drew.)

Let me add a quick sidebar here to share something about Dr. Drew. He sat down at our table and graciously, patiently, wonderfully took question after question about addiction, abuse and even discussed our own personal stories. He didn’t have to do that. But he did. He truly cares about the work he is doing and obviously goes above and beyond to help others on a daily basis. I would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Dr. Drew for a fascinating dinner discussion.

CHPA

I have mentioned the CHPA before but should do so again now. Who are they? The Consumer Healthcare Products Association is a non for profit group representing the makers of over the counter medications. And yes, they brought me to this event because they wanted their message heard here. But during my brief time with the CHPA folks, I was impressed by and truly connected with this very committed group of people. And then we were lucky enough to have Alan, a CHPA representative and our valiant leader on the Hill, as part of our group too. With two children of his own and a clear dedication to this message, he fearlessly guided us through our day with humor and tact.

Moms Storm Capitol Hill

On Tuesday morning, the Five Moms, the bloggers, the CHPA folks, and PR peeps piled into cabs and found ourselves on Capitol Hill. Where was was Dr. Drew? He and Misty had already been up taping 39 segments for local television that morning to support this cause and we would meet up with them later. Check one of the segments out here:

However for the rest of us, our first stop that morning was the Rayburn building, home to Representative offices located directly across from the Capitol building. As we filed out of the cab, we stared up at this building’s grandeur considering what our day had in store for us. But we only took a moment and then continued up the steps. There was work to be done.

We met a lot of people that day. A lot. We criss-crossed Capitol Hill, tromped up and down the steps into and out of both the Rayburn Building and the Hart Building (where most Senator offices are located). While our fancy shoes silently tortured us with every step we hardly noticed because we were lucky enough to have appointments with:

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

We didn’t meet every congress person. In fact, my group usually met with Legislative Assistants. But Dr. Drew and Misty, along with the President and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug Free America, arrived in time for our face to face meetings with both Rep. Fred Upton and Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Every office was welcoming and wholeheartedly interested in the Five Mom’s message. They listened, they gave us time, and they promised further consideration. And as Hilda Morales-Roybal so correctly put forward to each member of her audience: “we are simply asking for you to support common sense”.

Common sense. Yep, that is exactly it. So it would seem these bills are obvious shoe-ins, something every member of congress could get behind – wouldn’t you think? Not so fast. I came to realize that while open to the Five Moms’ message, even the most straight forward, bi-partisan issues won’t be immediately resolved without some behind the scenes work. Call it horse-trading, call it prioritizing, call it plain old politics but these bills have run into a couple brick walls in the Senate. I know, I don’t get it either, but they have.

What Can You Do?

First of all, every parent should educate themselves. Go to StopMedicineAbuse.org to learn more about the risks, the facts, how dextromethorphan is abused and what signs to look for.

Secondly (and probably MOST importantly) you need to discuss this drug and its risks with your teens. Don’t find yourself assuming your sweet innocent child would never do this. Don’t find yourself dealing with a future overdose just like Misty Fetko did.

Thirdly, read medicine labels, look for the educational icon (see at right) and keep careful tabs on what you have in your medicine cabinets. If you see this icon on a medicine label, you should be aware that it has the potential to be abused and may contain dextromethorphan.

Finally, email or write your Representatives and Senators about this issue. Because you know what? They asked me to tell you that. In fact, Senator Grassley had statistics right at his fingertips about how many letters or emails his office receives and how many they respond to. And then after our meeting, his assistant came up to the bloggers and urged us to tell our readers the same. WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS. Because they are listening and they will support what you feel strongly about. No really, they will.

My Afterglow

And so, readers of mine, I will wrap up this lengthy post to say that I was officially blown away by my Capitol Hill experience. You see, I got to experience first hand the influence that moms have on their communities and country at large. And it has left me awed and inspired. Because I often flashback a few years to when my children were very young, when I thought I had no affect on very much any longer apart from raising my boys. I was simply a mom not doing too much of consequence apart from wiping bums, washing bottles and watching Ellen from time to time. No no. Actually, we have a voice. An important one. One that is heard on Capitol Hill – whether it be in face to face meetings or via letters and blog posts. We can make an important difference if we get busy, get talking, get writing and get organizing. Don’t forget what we have the potential to accomplish. Thanks to my time with the Five Moms, I know I never will.

Disclosure note: While my trip and hotel expenses were covered by the CHPA, the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. This is an extremely important initiative and I was proud to be there to offer my support.

I found out last night that there are four confirmed cases of H1N1 – aka the “Swine Flu” – at my son’s elementary school right now. One child is in my son’s “cluster”, another is in his teacher’s son’s class. Four days into the school year and it has already begun. What do I do? Should I keep him home from school? Or am I over-reacting?

While I considered what I was going to do, his teacher called me last night. She assured me that they are taking every precaution they can to sanitize the school. Children each have their own supply cases and are told not to share. They use hand sanitizer regularly, they wipe tables down between every “station” change or class change. They are encouraging children to change clothes and even bathe as soon as they get home. They are asking parents not to send children to school with any flu like symptoms. They are doing everything they can. (So many props to his teacher by the way, I can’t imagine how much work it is to try and keep 20 six year olds germ free.)

And I also should repeat what my wonderful mother in law (an experienced nurse and mother of four children herself) has been telling me since this flu began getting so much press months ago: “H1N1 is just another strain of the flu. It is NOT dangerous to those without compromised immune systems. Everyone is over-reacting entirely too much.”

Well, considering how fast this strain spreads, I am very grateful it is not as dangerous because it is impossible to protect children from germ exchange. My son’s teacher can sani-wipe those tables every five minutes but its all for nil if one kid (my kid?) picks his nose and high fives his best friend, right?

But another class mom decided not to send her son today. It’s Friday, one day off (plus a weekend) can’t hurt. If you can avoid being exposed to the flu as much as possible, you would right?

However, this is only the beginning. I have a feeling we will be seeing many, MANY more cases of H1N1 at my son’s school this year. A local Tampa school reportedly has 30% of their student body out with H1N1 so far. Am I going to keep him home every time another case surfaces? First grade won’t get very far if I do. I don’t think this is something we can avoid. Shoot, we were in Target yesterday – how many H1N1 germs did we brush up against? And I didn’t sanitize my kids when we got back to the car either. Oops.

So, if it were your child, four days into the school year with four confirmed cases of H1N1 (*SO FAR*), would you keep your son home today?

Me being me, I did some research last night. I found the CDC’s “Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials and School Administrators for School (K-12) Responses to Influenza during the 2009-2010 School Year” document interesting. Basically? From the way it reads it seems as if the horse has already left the barn. The virus is out there and spreading fast. So how does a school decide when to send their kids home? Well. It’s up to them. If there is an increased severity of H1N1 as compared to the Spring of 2009 (um yeah, I’m thinking there will be…), they suggest the following regarding school dismissal:

“School and health officials should work closely to balance the risks of flu in their community with the disruption dismissals will cause in both education and the wider community. The length of time schools should be dismissed will vary depending on the type of dismissal as well as the severity and extent of illness. Schools that dismiss students should do so for five to seven calendar days and should reassess whether or not to resume classes after that period. Schools that dismiss students should remain open to teachers and staff so they can continue to provide instruction through other means.

Reactive dismissals might be appropriate when schools are not able to maintain normal functioning for example, when a significant number and proportion of students have documented fever while at school despite recommendations to keep ill children home.

Preemptive dismissals can be used proactively to decrease the spread of flu. CDC may recommend preemptive school dismissals if the flu starts to cause severe disease in a significantly larger proportion of those affected.”

And along with hand-washing and proactive germ war-fare they also do suggest (parents, pay close attention here) that:

“Those with flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. They should stay home even if they are using antiviral drugs.”

So after all this consideration, what did I do about my six year old going to school today? Well, I really wanted to talk to my pediatrician before I decided. But no go, they were closed when I found out last night and school starts before they opened this morning. So. As I lay in bed hemming and hawing this morning, I heard: “HACK, cough cough, HACK, HAAAACK.” Shocking. My six year old has developed a cold. Yeah but that’s all I needed to push my “on the fence-ness” over the side. It could be a cold, it could be a start of something else. So I’ve decided I am going to keep him home today.

However, I know I can’t keep him out every time I hear the word “H1N1″ so I am going to call his pediatrician (who tends to err on the side of caution usually) and follow their recommendations from here on out. I am waiting for their office to open now. So while I wait – we wait, really – please enjoy this  MUSICAL INTERLUDE.

(a blogger “on hold” if you will…)

(And I soooo love The Carpenters by the way so if you bust on Karen, you are going down….)

….Aaaaand we’re back.

I just spoke to a very helpful nurse at my son’s pediatrician’s office. She said the following:

• The Swine Flu (H1N1) is no different than any other flu and the preventative measures are the same: wash hands regularly, don’t share bottles, don’t drink from water fountains, use hand sanitizer, you know the routine.
• Stay home if you see any signs of the flu in your child. Symptoms at their office have included a very high fever, headache, very congested thick cough, runny nose, glassy eyes.
• If they do have this or any flu, they should stay home 5 days after the onset of the flu.
• So far H1N1 has been milder than the regular flu and they have not seen any serious cases at their practice yet.
• Those who should be especially concerned about exposure are those with young infants, pregnant women, elderly relatives or any folks with compromised immune systems.
• Be sure to get your child a flu shot this year since many strains are expected to be virilant. (I did some research on the H1N1 vaccine and here is what I found.)

So basically? Yeah, I am probably over-reacting by keeping him home today. Sure he has a cough but if its JUST a cough, it’s probably just a cold. She could not emphasize enough how important it is that we sanitize as much as possible everywhere we go – but these preventative measures go for ALL strains of the flu, not just the Swine Flu. The Swine Flu is just one of many kinds of strains going around this year – and it’s not even the most serious strain. But that strain just happened to get the most press.

If flu strains were actors, consider H1N1 the Lindsey Lohan strain. Not the most impressive of all the strains, but the one that gets the most paparazzi.

(Um, that’s my analogy, not the nurse’s.)

Oh and my mother in law? She was kind of right. Just for the record.

Happy three day weekend to my coughing (although it’s probably just a cold) six year old.

Update: My youngest did end up having Swine Flu very shortly after this post was written. Thankfully, after immediate treatment with Tamiflu, it really was no worse than any other flu experiences for us. And that has been the same for most friends and family members who’ve experienced it so far. But I do know that hasn’t been the case for everyone. It sounds as if this strain has had varied reactions depending on the person and the time it was caught. My best wishes for health and healing to everyone until this passes.

While the Lowry Park Zoo graciously offered me a day’s pass for my family to be guests at the Koala exhibit opening yesterday, I let them know I was planning to attend anyway. We love this zoo and happened to buy a family pass a few weeks ago anyway. We were thrilled to have another reason to roll in there.

The boys and I arrived at 10:30 that morning – fired up to meet Bundaleer the Koala . Honestly, though? Upon arrival, my kids took one look at the crowds gathered around the exhibit and then at the sprayground calling their name. Not surprisingly, their enthusiasm to see  Bundaleer faded a bit. But before I unleashed them into those fun fountains, I had them watch the ribbon cutting and check out the cool koala cake before I set them free. And then I did. It made sense to to wait for the crowds, news cameras and throngs of strollers to thin a bit before we went over to say hello. So they ran and jumped and sprayed and spun and giggled in the water while I listened to a wonderful diggeree doo player and watched various handlers introduce interesting animals to zoo goers wandering by.

We eventually made our way over to meet the sweet grey furry bundle of Bundaleer. He was very cute. But I don’t think he realized how much commotion was being made over him. Acting very “koala-ish”,  we found him sleeping off some of the 23 hours a day that they generally snooze, curled up behind a clump of eucalyptus. Luckily, a handler happened to go in right then so Bundaleer woke up a bit so I got a picture. They are adorable animals and Bundaleer makes a great addition to an already very fun Australian section of the zoo. Oh and check out his adoring crowds in the reflection!

After soaking themselves on the sprayground one more time, we spent the rest of the morning visiting animals. And finally wound up having snacks watching the rhinos in the “Africa” section before heading home. My boys cracked me up as they acted out the emotions of “grumpy” and “happy” for the camera (see below). It was a great day at the zoo for sure.

The other day I bought finger paints for my children. For the first time. Ever.

Yes. I know. After six years of parenting, how have I managed to deprive my boys of one the most basic forms of art expression for children? HOW have they not had the opportunity to get their hands goopy and messy in paints and smear it all over paper? I love art, I love it when kids are given the green light to get messy. This is the perfect combo of both.

Honestly, Caroline. Six years of parenting and the idea of finger paints flickers to life in your mind only NOW? My head hangs in shame.

Well. Better late than never, right?

So I turned to my kids. “Hey!! Finger paints! That sounds like fun! Right? Should we get some?” My three year old stared at me. He had NO idea what finger paints were. My six year old looked at me cautiously. “I think I did those once. In school once. A long time ago. Like in 2006.”

*Blink* Well. That was that. Into the cart they went along with a big pad of special finger paint paper. This mother was going to right this wrong.

Later that afternoon, we sat down to do some arts and crafts. Of course, I covered the table with newspaper and they were smocked from head to toe. While cleanliness was not really part of my agenda, it was part of my 6 ear old’s. He refused to start without a smock. “What if my shirt gets dirty?” You’ve got to be kidding me. This kid reeeally needs a good old fashioned afternoon of finger painting. It’s time to get messy and be completely ok with it.

So off they went. Tentative at first – dabbing the pads of their finger tips only barely in a color and then wiping it on the paper. But eventually they relaxed and started to let their entire fingers and then hands get nice and painty. The smooth texture fascinated them. They played, they giggled, they smeared.

What I found most blogworthy, however, was the end result. I am not sure if you’ve got my kids figured out yet but let me sum up their personalities quickly.

My 3 year old: Passionate – big – loud – extraordinarily sweet, giggling, social highs – dark, tantruming, stubborn and screaming lows. Very chatty but usually talks too fast for most to understand.

My 6 year old: Cautious – thinking – slightly framed – watches and waits – listens but without giving you a clue he’s paying attention – smart – calculated – cautious, shy smiles – a rule follower – sometimes very moody.

So back to the end results of the finger painting. Check them out below. Can you tell whose is whose? Their personalities in paint. It honestly blew me away. We HAVE to do more art around here I think. I can’t wait to see what they do next.