Entries Tagged 'Teaching kids' ↓

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.

As you all know, sometimes Blogging has its benefits. And while I hardly blog for those few and far between benefits alone, I love ‘em when I get ‘em. And what perk came my way this weekend? A free afternoon at the Florida Aquarium for Tampa bloggers, tweeters and social media folk alike.

And you know how much I love where the wild things are.

So with a gleeful kick of my heels, I packed my two boys and willing husband into the car spouting promises of lots and lots of fishies. “It will be better than the fishies in the aquariums at Walmart!” Oh. Ok. Now THAT got their attention. Better than Walmart fishies? They were IN.

When we were arrived, we were escorted into a conference room filled with fellow social media peeps. They too had brought their families, so we milled about and kept our kids from reaching into the lone fishtank found at the front of the room. After some welcomes and introductions, the Florida Aquarium staff brought out a few beasties to check out: one snake and one small gator. I felt right at home while my 6 year old waited patiently to pet each.

Next we walked out into the Aquarium and spent well over an hour walking from tank to tank. I appreciate how they have laid out the Aquarium. Visitors start in the Wetlands and meet the sort of wildlife you might find in your own Florida back yard (alligators, turtles, otters, birds and the rest). And as you walk through each exhibit and move through various stages of water, you experience the underwater wildlife you might find in mangrove swamps off the Florida coast or in the deep waters of the gulf.

My children were besides themselves with glee. They ran from tank to tank to tank to tank. “Look at this one Mommy!” “WHOA! Mommy, Daddy, look at THIIIIS!!!” They got to touch star fish, climb on displays, interact with educational technology, step over sharks and play under schools of fish. We all came to a screeching halt and were mesmerized by the floor to ceiling panoramic window displaying an enormous tank full of fish. The kids loved watching a diver interact with and take questions from visitors.

A highlight was certainly the penguin encounter. While I had to hold back my two year old by the scruff of his shirt (“I wub it mommy, I wub penguin, I wanna huuuugggg!!!”), my 6 yo listened intently to the Penguin handler. He promptly reported back to me what he learned later too: “Did you know penguins can poop 4 ft. away!?!” That’s great, babe.

We had a wonderful visit. The staff there were phenomenal. The vibe was child-friendly and relaxing. (That being said even though we never even made it out to the Caribbean Cantina tiki bar or splash park for kids set up out back.)

My only frustration? It is expensive to go very often unless you invest in a pass. Adults are $20.00 and children are $14.95 each. However, an annual pass is $140 (which includes parking) and is probably worth the investment if you and your children do love underwater wildlife and think you might like to visit the aquarium and their splash park more often.

Many thanks to Tampa Bloggers and the Florida Aquarium (on twitter at @floridaaquarium) for a fabulous family afternoon with Florida wildlife!

It was a balmy, temperate, pretty much perfect Florida evening tonight. And so, after dinner, I let my boys run around in the backyard. I may have mentioned before that I am in the throes of potty training (still ), so my youngest spends most of his time pantsless while at home – and with his pot by his side. So while they chased and screamed and expelled the final breaths of their boy crazies into the evening air, my two year old’s potty was set by the backdoor, waiting for him.

While I was inside, I heard their screams and laughter die down and switch to more serious conversation. I peeked out. And luckily, I had my camera right there to catch the moment. This is what I caught almost word for word.

“Ok so. You have to sit on the potty when you gotta go. You know. When you gotta go pee or poop. You gotta put it in there, not on the floor or anything.”

“OH-TAY! On da poddy!!!”

(My two year old does a killer Buckwheat impression, let me tell you…)

“And then you gotta like PUSH it out. Ok? Like sit like this and really puuuuuuush!” (Insert illustrative grunt here. Note the red face. Academy award material, let me TELL you.)

“OH-TAAAY!!!!”

Some may argue that brothers develop very dynamic and complex relationships. Sure. Ok. Maybe. But there is one very simple fact about my sons’ relationship so far: whatever my 5 year old says, goes. Literally. Go get my light saber, go jump off that chair, go stick your finger in that red ant pile – if my five year old demands it, my two year old obeys.  And so, after his well thought out potty training lesson had concluded, the wise, 3 years experienced at managing his own bodily waste, older one stepped back to observe. He nodded encouragingly – but with authority. And my two-year took direction very well.

“TAH DAH!!! I did it! See!?!!?!!! See??? Oh-tay!! Yay! I did it!!!! HOOORRAAAAYYYY!!!”

At this point my 5 year old peered in to observe his brother’s work. He nodded his head in approval.

“Ok. Cool.

………..MOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!! HE MADE A REALLY STINKY GROSS POOP THATS SHAPED LIKE A BANANA SO YOU BETTER COME GET IT AND FLUSH IT CAUSE ITS REALLY STINKY AND GROSS!!!!”

I set my camera down (I’m sure you are relieved to hear that I never had any intention of taking any further pictures of this process) and went out back. But before I rid that little potty of said stinky gross banana shaped poop, I stopped to gather my boys up in a big “squeeze the life out of them” (but hopefully nothing else) hug. Maybe its only a moment a mother would appreciate, but I was filled with pride and boatloads of love for both of my wonderful boys. The trained leading the trainee through life. Isn’t this what having a sibling is all about? Well, kind of anyway? I love my boys.

I am guessing that by now you are fairly familiar with my perspective as a liberal mom. Well, how about a father’s perspective? What is it like to be a liberal father raising children today? Wouldn’t you know it, my husband just happens to be a liberal father. So I sat him down tonight and asked him what his thoughts were on freedom of speech, equality, stereotypes about white men and the future of the Supreme Court. Come see what he has to say, his answers may surprise you.

Now to give you some background about my husband, he is a 6 ft, 4” white college athletics coach. He grew up in a privileged town in Connecticut; he just completed his MBA and might be one of the smartest people I know. We’ll call him B. for the sake of this interview.

Caroline: As a liberal father, what issues are most important to you?

B: I am pretty straightforward about my values. I believe in civil rights, civil liberties, freedom of speech and every citizen having an equal opportunity to succeed.

C: And what about how your values relate to raising our children?

B: Well, our sons are part of a privileged class as two white males. I just hope I can raise them to have the same values I do.

C: So what about being a white male? What are your thoughts on affirmative action and our son’s future’s as white males?

B: It’s a topic I struggle with. I mean, why am I the bad guy? I know my race and gender give me a certain privilege but I wrestle with legislated equality sometimes. I realize sometimes we have to manufacture equal opportunity – and I get it – but I’ll admit that I struggle with this issue.

C: What have been some challenges for you as a liberal father?

B: I think I am most frustrated with the assumptions people make about me. I am a white, male coach – stereotypes are immediately drawn up. I mean, come on, even on the most progressive college campus, the Athletic department is assumed to be the last conservative bastion. As a result, comments are made around me since folks may presume I may have a certain value system which I don’t.

C: So how do you deal with that?

B: If I am at work and someone says something that I disagree with, I usually walk away or say nothing. I’ve got work to do and I am not going to start something then, but my silence usually clues them in. If I am outside of a work environment though, I do usually say something or try to start a constructive conversation about the topic. I make no apologies for my politics, take them or leave them.

C: With the new administration, what is the most important issue for you as a liberal father?

B: Apart from the obvious issues of establishing economic and global security for this country (and in turn, for our family), the appointment of the next Supreme Court justices is an extremely important issue for me. The current liberal appointments are not getting any younger. Whoever Obama chooses will leave a lasting impression on this country – probably longer than his own administration will. Do you know what kind of Supreme Court justices I want in there next?

C (smiling because I already know – and love – this answer): Tell me.

B: I want a purple haired, pierced nosed, extremely bright, straight talking lesbian from Northampton, Massachusetts appointed next. In fact, I want three of them in there!

I paused here to give him a big ol’ kiss. I love this guy.

C: Ok well gay adoption is illegal here in Florida. And you’ve heard all the threats about how legalizing gay marriage would ruin our marriage. What are your thoughts as a liberal father?

B: What in the world does my marriage have to do with two gay individuals who decide to be married? The success or failure of our marriage is strictly our responsibility. I have yet to hear one good cognizant argument against gay marriage. It is an equal rights issue that needs to be granted finally. If my sons grow up and decide that they want to love and marry another man, that is their right and I think it should be recognized, supported and protected.

C: Any final thoughts about being a liberal dad?

B: Florida is an interesting place. As far as I can tell in our area, I would say that being a liberal father is not particularly common. One morning a few days after the election, I was sitting at a red light. I mean, here I am, a white guy, with my kid in his car seat, on the way to kindergarten drop off with an HRC and Obama sticker on my bumper. I just don’t see that too often around here. All of the sudden, a guy in the car next to me (with his own collection of Obama stickers) started waving and honking at me, giving me the thumbs up. I saw that he too had kids in car seats in his backseat. I think it was a unique moment to see another guy like me so fired about this election. It was an interesting moment for me.

Cross posted at Type A Moms.

If you have small children and you are potty training, perhaps even trying to explain the normalcy of bowel movements, it’s likely then that you have the book “Everyone Poops”. While it guarantees gales of giggles with every read, it also teaches children that everyone and every living thing, well, poops.

It’s really no big deal, right?

Of course with two boys it is no surprise that “Everyone Poops” is a bedtime favorite around here. However. My husband has brought this book to life a bit, and I am sure he is not the only husband who has. My husband likes to add certain sound effects while reading “Everyone Poops”. I have never made said sound effects while reading it myself (yeah, I’m such a lady) but thats ok. My boys will make the sounds for me. With sprays of spit and rattling raspberries, all three of them have become very talented at poop sounds while hopefully learning that yes, in fact, everyone poops. Maybe the youngest will finally be inspired enough to someday put his poop in the potty. Maybe.

In the meantime, here is a quick video I made of my husband and the example he has set for our children with the book ”Everyone Poops”. Never underestimate what complexities a father can pass on to his children.

Enjoy.