Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

Talking to Kids About Trump

Wednesday, November 9th, 2016
My Daughter's Whiteboard Crossed out: Equality, Diversity, Constitution, and Education

My Daughter’s Whiteboard
Crossed out: Equality, Diversity, Constitution, and Education

Well that didn’t go the way I’d hoped.  Welcome to a Trumpian world.  Or perhaps I should say dysTrumpian.  In case you hadn’t heard, Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States.

I’m sure there will be plenty of analysis about how this happened and what went wrong and who is to blame.  Personally, I blame those who underestimated the amount of racism and hatred that has been hiding and festering in this country for at least the last 150 years.  I also blame not only those who fought for Trump but also those who fought against Hillary Clinton.  Too many people went around saying that while Trump was a nightmare, they didn’t trust Clinton or believed she was dishonest or even simply didn’t like her.

But that’s not the issue I need to deal with right now.  What I need to figure out is what to tell my kids.

(more…)

As Long As They’re Healthy…

Wednesday, June 1st, 2016

Children holding handsFor most parents-to-be, once they find out they’re going to have a child, the biggest concern is that the child is healthy.  Sure, there may be a preference for one gender or the other, but there are so many other far more terrifying possibilities to worry about that no one in their right mind really gets upset about having a boy instead of a girl or vice versa.

But even if there are complications or issues, parents generally don’t say “Oh, my kid’s not perfect, so I’m going to toss him in the dumpster and start over”.  And if they did, they would be prosecuted, jailed, and vilified.  I know plenty of people who face challenges far more significant than trying to get their kids to eat broccoli — and it seems they love their kids even more for it.  Challenges that include dyslexia, autism, and even DIPG, a rare form of childhood brain cancer with a 0% survival rate.  Zero percent.  And I’ve known two sets of parents whose children have lost or will lose their battle with the disease.

(more…)

The Joys Of Being A Celiac Dad

Sunday, August 23rd, 2015

FlatwareThere’s more to being the father of a kid with celiac disease than being annoying at restaurants and crying in grocery stores.  There’s a lot of freaking out about the presence of gluten and cross-contamination as well.  And sometimes, it involves washing dishes.  Lots of dishes.

Last night, I went to the silverware drawer to get some forks and knives for dinner.  I pulled out a knife and realized that it was covered with Nutella.  “Who put a dirty knife back in the drawer?” I called out.  “It’s covered with food!”

(more…)

The Supermarket Blues

Monday, June 29th, 2015

SadCupcakeIt doesn’t happen every time, but it happens often enough.  There I am, six feet tall, and built like a tank, with a full beard and one lobotomy-covering American-flag headband away from a recurring role on Duck Dynasty, standing in the grocery store aisle crying like a baby.  It’s not because mommy won’t buy me Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs but because I won’t buy them for my daughter.  Or, more accurately, because I can’t buy them for my daughter. (more…)

Talking to Anti-Vaxxers

Friday, February 6th, 2015

With the sudden resurgence of a disease thought eradicated in the US, vaccines have come, once again, to the forefront of the news in general and the parenting world in particular.  Specifically, the measles vaccine is one of the (if not *the*) most successful vaccines in the history of, well, vaccines.  And yet, there have been 102 cases in 14 states in January of 2015 alone.  For reference, in the eleven years from 2002 to 2012, nine years saw fewer than 100 cases.

Recently, parenting website The Stir published an article outlining the “22 Things Never to Say to Moms Who Don’t Vaccinate.”  Needless to say, I take exception with a number of them.

(more…)

In Praise of the Plastic Wastebasket

Monday, February 13th, 2012

In my bedroom, we have a nice wooden wastebasket that, more-or-less, matches my parents’ antique dressers.  It was a good find at Costco some years ago.  For the kids, however, I’m not interested in anything other than an inexpensive plastic wastebasket.  Sure, it’s tacky and cheap looking and maybe even bad for the environment, but there’s a very good reason I wouldn’t have anything else.

(more…)

The Shallowness of Parenthood

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

Yes, like just about everyone else these days, it seems, I’m on Facebook.  Most of my Facebook “friends” are either family, parents of my kids’ friends, or fellow writers from the parenting world.  It’s a good way to keep in touch and share ideas, news, and information with them.  Sometimes, however, it becomes a source of revelation and insight as well.  Such was the case last evening as I was catching up on the day’s posts at bedtime.

(more…)

Too Much Information

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

There is a lot of information that can help a teacher figure out how best to help a student learn.  Seemingly irrelevant data such as who the child lives with, what language (or languages) are spoken at home, and if the child has any medical issues are all clues a teacher can use tailor lessons to a child’s specific situation.  There’s one bit of information, however, that I simply can’t imagine anyone at a child’s school needing to know — but that didn’t stop one school district from asking for it.

(more…)

The Nuggets Really Are That Good

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

About once a month, we let our kids buy the school lunch.  It’s a welcome break for my wife who normally puts together their midday repast and there are a few menu items they really enjoy.  More so than any other, their favorite meal is the chicken nuggets.  They really look forward to that.  Apparently, they’re not the only ones with a special fondness for school lunch nuggets; two men in Florida really, really like them as well.

(more…)

Restaurant Responsibilities

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

How much responsibility does a restaurant have to ensure that healthy options are available for kids and families? At some restaurants, the only healthy item available might be a glass of water and that’s okay, if that’s the sort of establishment they want to be. How about, though, restaurants that try to be “family-friendly” and that offer a “kid’s meal”? Do they have any obligation to make healthy options available, at least as part of the kid’s meals?

(more…)