Nanny Poppinz Blog

Small Town/Big City

2009-06-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our first of the many summer events in our very small town. It was called the Superior Street Fair [that's our 3 block long main street]. It had crafts, games for the children, our local radio station providing music while it broadcast from Superior Street, food and very importantly, all our local organizations promoting what they do. My husband and I manned the Three Lakes School/Community Arts Association promoting our upcoming 2009/2010 series. We talked to many "locals" but being this is a tourist area too because of all the lakes, I met many "big" city vacationers.

Because we were a military family we lived alot of places, even Washington D. C. and London which I consider pretty big city stuff. So what's the best? I can't answer that because I like them both but now that we are retired I sure do think that living in a small town and then visiting the big cities is not a bad way to go. I can accomplish that just by visiting my kids! This way I can get clothes that are "different" from what is sold here.

But back to the advantages of small towns. Being a big library user I get the biggest kick out of not having to use my card because they know me! Next comes the pharmacy where you can keep a running account if you want. And did you know you can write out a check when you go out to dinner? This blew my husband away when we first moved here after coming fromn Washington D. C., a check for dinner, You have got to be kidding!

But there is no doubt the best thing about yesterday was how many people we know here. The other thing is how proud everyone is about our little town and how much there is to do here. I am really tired of our big city friends asking WHAT DO
you do in the winter. My answer is absolutely everything you do in the Big CITY and I can back that up with the facts too. Do we have "culture" here? Well yes that is what the Performing Arts is all about. Does the library put on many cultural events? You bet. Bridge is rampant here even the Duplicate kind! I bet we have EVERY kind of club the big city does, we even have The Great Books of the Northwoods here in Three Lakes. You can name it and I think we have it. Well I think I just came down on the side of the small town but don 't worry if you are still of the working population you can always look forward to your retirement!

Watch a Child's Movie

2009-06-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

This morning, by accident, I watched a children's/teen movie. I turned on HBO and starting watching the movie that was already on not knowing the name. Turned out to be this movie about Kit Kitteridge and I think it also has American girl in the title. It took place during the Depression in Cincinati, Ohio and told the story of the struggle of one American family. The dad goes off to look for work in Chicago and the mother and Kit, who is 10, stay home, turn the home into a boarding house which then attracts all sorts of colorful characters with stories of their own. It also brings in the "ho-bo's" and their plight. Boy we think times are tough now that is good to be reminded of the Depression. I also found the movie interesting seeing the 1930's appliances, clothes and cars. I loved how everyone read, planned little plays and amusements for the evening hours, and the creative ways they made money. Kit even turns wearing a "flour sack" dress to school into a moneymaker.

So here is a movie I never would have gone to see at the theater nor even ordered from Netflex that I thoroughly enjoyed and I recommend it to all ages. How nice to have a good story, no explicit sex and a happy ending.

Memorial Day

2009-05-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

What did Memorial Day mean to you? Was it the start of summer, your first Bar-B-Que, or an extra day off of work? I hope it meant remembering the veterans, the reason the day was established in the first place. I have an easy way to remember - I am married to a veteran.

This year he was the featured speaker at the Rhinelander (a town of about 15,000) Memorial Day ceremonies. Our grandson, who is in NROTC at Marquette and will be commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the Marines when he graduates, also attended and sat up on the stage with me. His speech was good, It always is.In it he mentioned our grandson John and he had to pause because everyone there applauded which surprised me, him and John.

I was impressed because there were two WWII veterans there who were also POW's. One was in the Battle of the Bulge and the other paratrooped into Normandy. I was able to talk to them after the ceremony and hear their stories. You see movies about the war but it's much more amazing to hear someone tell you about it and THEY HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN THERE! I wish I could have spent an hour with them.

I told this all to my son who I am now visiting in Tampa and he reminded me to be equally impressed with the job the guys are doing now in Iraq and Afghanistan. He, by the way is a Commander in the Navy and his new job here in Tampa has something to do with Afghanistan.

I'm glad we remember the veterans at least once a year. Freedom isn't free.

Mother's Day Presents

2009-05-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you about the clever gifts I received for Mother's Day from my kids(2 of them are Nanny Poppinz owners) Susan got me a book bag with great quotes for readers on it. Then in it she had the latest book by T.C. Boyle who is one of my favorites. This one is "The Women "which is about Frank Lloyd Wright who is someone I have researched extensively. She was so on the mark I thought she was a mind reader as this was a book I've been trying to get and couldn't as it's too new for my library to find. Sara sent me tiny Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I am a Snow White fan so again I was thrilled. Michael sent me via email this whole video where I am declared Mother of the Year by all these famous people and newscasters. It was hilarious. Before I give him too much credit, I do think his very considerate wife was really behind this. So I am proud of my children and it's nice to be remembered.

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs

2009-05-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

I like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I even received a new set for Mother's Day from the Arizona daughter. Nice she took time from her busy Nanny Poppinz franchise!

Snow White. Friend to all the forest animals. They sense she is good and kind and so they love her too. They help her clean, they help her make beds and cook. They keep her company as she is way out in the woods where they are no people. They try to warn her not to eat the apple and when she does even Grumpy is sad but we all know it ends happily. My heroine, Snow White!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a mother 4 times over so I can blog (I love that word) about mothers and their day. Somebody asked me if I thought Mother's Day was mostly for young mothers with young children. Nope, don't think so. Once a mother always a mother and we should get our due! I love being remembered on MY day, maybe even more than my birthday, tho it is not a good idea to forget me then either.

I remember one Mother's Day when my oldest son, then a teenager, called me into his room, put on a Jimmy Dean "What is a Mother" record and I bawled my eyes out. What a tearjerker of a song that was and it so took me by surprise. Pretty thoughtful wouldn't you say. I would.

But all us mothers want is to be remembered!!!!!! Now that mine are grown and gone, a phone call or card is enough, though flowers, presents, money are appreciated. Just kidding, kids.

The Library

2009-05-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

I love libraries. Because of that and because I'm cheap I used to take the kids there as our regular outing. As soon as they could walk, we would go and they would pick out their own books. I would try to grab something for myself but with 4 kids under 5 that didn't always happen. I would give young parents my piece of advice which is count how many books total leave with you to go home! Then there is none of this "now how many did each of you pick out?" I think it's a bit of a thrill for kids to do this on their own and yes it usually seems to foster reading. Obviously you go through periods in your life when you have more reading time. When the kids are small you might even have zero time for books but at least you can read to them.

Maybe the best thing about being retired is there is almost no limit to your reading time. You can EVEN read during the day. [Sleeping til you wake up is a close second]There are tons of good books out there. It's really a case of can I get these all read before you know.

We have a great library here in a very small town (no stoplight). Any book I read a review about and want to get is able to be ordered from the library. They get it, call me and, get this ,I pick it up by walking in and they hand it to me. I don't need my card anymore. This has got to be a small town thing. It certainly is my thrill for the day.

We have Great Books Discussion Group here that meets every Thursday and we are sloughing through all the Great Books. Sometimes they are hard to read and stick with but the discussions which are 2 hours long, are always stimulating.

Back to the advice thing that I previously wrote about...If my now grown kids asked me for just one piece of advice on raising their kids, I would say "Take them to your local library."

Dear Abby/Oma

2009-05-05T15:35:00.001-07:00

What do YOU do when your children ask for advice? I don't know what to do when mine do? You might be thinking Wow, that's so great they ask you! I agree, because you can't even consider giving any TIL they ask you. But not so fast, they ask and then you know what you would like to say but if you say it they will never talk to you again! So you try to phrase it in such a way that they might get the gist of what you would like to see them do but still continue to like you and maybe even ask again. Sometimes their problems are so "modern" that I can't relate and can just say "I can't relate". Other times I can relate alright but I don't want them to do what I did in that situation. Alright I'm no good in the Advice business.

Are you rich?

2009-04-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

What does it take to make you feel like you have enough money, to make you feel like you've arrived? When I was first married it was an entire case of coke, yes a whole case. You see when I was still at home, coke was rationed. I was lucky to not have to share a bottle! My sweet husband brought home a case for me and I can still remember the feeling that gave me. Yes I had married a rich man. All my troubles were over. Now I feel rich when I can go into ANY department store, head straight for the clearance rack and feel like I can buy absolutely anything on that rack. I doubt I'll EVER get to the stage where I pay full price. There's too many fantastic bargains out there. My best seem to be after holidays, Halloween being my favorite. You can get good tablecloths after Easter too and you hardly notice the bunnies on them. Christmas is good if your house is done in either a red or green color scheme, So if I have enough money to buy anything on sale, I'm rich.

You know how your kids or in my case, my grandkids try to get you to buy them something when you are out shopping with them? Well I did have to laugh when one didn't say "Buy this for me Oma" but instead said "Is this on sale?"

Spring?

2009-04-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

"Spring has sprung, The grass has ris, I wonder where the flowers is?" I'll tell you where the flowers is or are----under 10 inches of snow! We had a surprise storm night before last and we woke up to a Winter Wonderland. It was gorgeous but heavy snow so of course, we promptly lost power which means no electricity, no heat, no water, no phones and even no toilets! We started a fire in the fireplace where I attempted to heat soup which boiled over and the pot is now a nice mess. We played "Sorry", worked a puzzle, TALKED and played cards. My husband was truly lost as he loves his computer and was lost without it. We got power back last night and then lost it again this morning. This wasn't really a hardship just an inconveience but it makes one appreciate the things we take for granted. Now if I could just get a shower! By the way it's amazing the things you can do with snow, ie. make coffee, flush toilets, put in dog's bowl!

Parents' sacrifices in WWII

2009-04-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

I just finished another book on WWII and this one got me to thinking. Could you give up your kids for what would be indeterminate time to keep them safe? That’s what so many on Guernsey Island, part of the Channel Islands, as well as many Londoners had to do during the war. (There are probably other places where they had to do this as well but I haven’t read about that yet) Many times they had as little notice as 24 hours. This was the case on Guernsey as the Germans had bombed and now were going to come and occupy the island for what turned into 5 years. The majority sent their children off on the one and only ship going to England where they would be farmed out to families in the countryside hoping that was safer than the big city or an occupied island. It’s hard to put yourself into their places, I know, but imagine what a huge sacrifice that was. WWII had many hardships but this one has got to rank near the top.

Reflections on Easter

2009-04-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is referring to the Easter Bunny Easter not the religious Easter. It's no fun without kids or grand kids! Yesterday may be the first Holiday I've spent with just my husband! This is going to take some getting used to. We were so desperate that we even dyed eggs on Saturday. By the way when I had the solution ready to begin coloring the eggs, I called Opa in to the dining room to dye. He didn't think that was at all funny. We even got the Easter decorations and put them all out. So the house looked very festive and I suppose that helped some. But the thing is you think to all the family traditions you have. We always hid the 4 kid's baskets not just the eggs. Believe me you have to get inventive after you've used the dryer and the oven. Fortunately being a Navy family, we kept moving houses so there were always new nooks and crannies.

Also we carried on my dad's tradition of dressing up in new clothes for THE EASTER PARADE. He was affected by the Judy Garland movie, The Easter Parade. One year I even knit a yellow dress for Susan ( VP now of Nanny Poppinz} to wear. It was a masterpiece of cable and popcorn stitches. I also inherited a stuffed bunny that was hollow inside that my dad filled with jelly beans. He was brought out every Easter.
The bunny is pretty bedraggled these days as my dad got it from his dad and we think he got him from Germany. This year we had no jelly beans, peeps or chocolate bunnies because Opa is on a diet. Maybe that's why I am depressed! Yep you definitely need some kids around on these Holidays!

Dogs, Cats and Crows

2009-04-09T12:08:00.002-07:00

How many things can you do that bring joy to BOTH you and your children? I can tell you of one. Get a Pet! Okay, okay I know that pets are time, trouble and expense. Let's get that out of the way first. I am not denying that but I also know how much you can get back.
Dogs are probably my personal favorite and I have had many. Nobody can look at you with such love in their eyes like a dog can. Nobody can beg with such sincerity either. I used to have one dog at a time but now we have 3. For sure I would always have two and if they are fairly close in age, they will be buddies that are hilarious to watch. They can play with their toys in a tug of war endlessly. It's nice to think of them having somebody when we are off without them too. We always board them together in the same pen then they have each other. It's cheaper that way too!

We have had our share of cats too. One stands out because he thought he was a dog. He always barked instead of mewing and he was fearless. I suppose you had to see it to believe it.

Then there were the days we had our pet crow, Sparky. We were in southern Maryland at the time and some farmers actually paid someone to go up to get the crow eggs before they hatched. Well sometime they had already hatched and then they were distributed to anyone who wanted to try having a pet crow. We were one of those. You have to raise them by stuffing scrambled eggs down their throat til they can eat on their own. Sparky survived and from then on he thought we were his family not other crows. He was smart. He was mischievous. He was loving. We have more stories about him then any other pet we have had all demonstrating his intelligence.
I'll only tell you one. If we came out our back door bouncing the basketball, he immediately flew (as the crow flies) to the basketball court and was waiting there ON THE RIM of the hoop when we got there. We took lots longer as we had to follow the road not cutting through the woods as he could. He only did this if he saw the basketball

I can't imagine life without a dog. They love you so unreservedly. They don't even care if you have makeup on!

Weight Lifting for Women

2009-04-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

Have you tried every kind of exercise and found you can’t stick with any of them? That was me till my grandsons started me on weight lifting. I think it’s actually called strength training but all I know is there are weights and I lift them. I have been doing it for over a year and I love it. Part of it is I know my program by heart and I just go through it, never cheating even though I am often alone at the weight room {small town high school weight room not commonly used till after school} . Another thing is you are never rushed. You stop after 1 set of reps, walk around and then do another set. You set your own pace and as long as you get all your reps in, you’re fine. I do 3 sets of 10 on all the muscles except for sit ups at the end and then I do 3 sets of 15. This usually takes about 40 minutes. I love that I can see some definition on my arms! Maybe eventually I might see a muscle. However the main thing is I can stick with this and one thing leads to another so my cardio is also picking up.

Josh, my grandson, competed on the state level last year when he was a senior in High school and I was amazed at how many girls competed and how much weight they could lift. Seems this is a “new” sport in high school complete with coaches and teams. This was certainly new to me.

I think I also get a kick out of doing this because I used to be a real weakling when I was in school.

My son tells me that this will keep my joints from tightening up. Whatever it is doing, I feel great and so I highly recommend it.

The Importance of CPR

2009-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

EVERYBODY should know CPR. I was totally oblivious to the importance of CPR until my recent trip to Florida. My daughter Susan, the VP of Nanny Poppinz, teaches free CPR classes for her Nannies as well as the community. She invited me to come to her Saturday morning class. At first I turned her down as it started at 9 A.M. but then she threw in lunch so I decided to go. It was 4 intensive but fun hours. We practiced on dummies and each other and at the end we were all CPR certified.

Well the next night I went to a spring training game, Red Sox vs. the Yankees. It doesn't get any better than that! In the 8th inning a line drive ball came our way and hit the lady directly behind us. My daughter-in-law who is CPR trained sprung into action. She did all the stuff I had just learned! If she hadn't done it I would have, honest!

My point being - You can save a life, IF you know what to do!

My other daughter Sara, who owns a Nanny Poppinz in Arizona, also teaches CPR classes. I can't think of a better public service.

What Really is a Blog?

2009-03-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my daughter Susan, Vice President of Nanny Poppinz asked me to blog for their website. She had been doing it but with the company growing in leaps and bounds she needed help. Fine but what exactly is blogging? This is NOT a silly question if you are in my age group which is somewhere between not remembering The Great Depression and remembering who Charlie Chan is. My dog's name was Trigger. I asked my best friend if she knew what blogging was and her answer was that it had something to do with computers. I got out my trusty dictionary and you know what, you can't look up a new word in an old dictionary. What is it with these new words? Who gets to decide to make up new words?

Then I started getting advice about what to blog about. My daughter sent articles from the Washington Post. My husband said to keep it about families, children, parents. After all it is for the Nanny Poppinz website! Does that mean I can't get rid of my angst about Brett Favre? Apparently I should be writing about topics that will cause discussion. Hopefully I will be able to do that. This should be fun.

New blogger in town

2009-03-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I'm the new blogger. You can call me Oma, German for Grandma. This makes me Susan's mom, your former blogger. I am visiting her now in Florida and as soon as I get back to Wisconsin I'll be anxious to get started. Look for a new column in a couple of weeks.
All for now,
Oma

Recall of cribs

2008-12-08T06:09:00.000-08:00

2nd Nature Built to Grow cribs, made in Slovenia by Stanley Furniture and sold from March 2006 through December 2007. The crib with the model No. 353-14-220 is natural maple. The space between the mattress and the crib could be too wide posing an entrapment hazard. Call 888-839-6822 or go to www.youngamerica.com or www.cpsc.gov

Teach children civics and current events

2008-11-26T03:22:00.000-08:00

PROBLEM:
A new report from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) on the nation's civic literacy finds that most Americans know very little about our government and how it works. Out of 2,500 American quiz-takers nearly 1,800 flunked a 33-question test on basic civics. Only 0.8 percent of all test-takers scored an "A."

This is very disturbing considering we have just had a populist-driven election. In what document do the words "government of the people, by the people, for the people" appear? More than twice as many people (56 percent) knew that Paula Abdul was a judge on "American Idol" than knew that those words come from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (21 percent). Only 17 percent of college grads understood the difference between free markets and centralized planning.

CAUSE:

Children are not being taught civics anymore. Civics courses, once a staple of junior and high school education, are no longer considered important in our quantitative, leave-no-child-behind world. And college adds little civic knowledge, the ISI study found. The average grade for those holding a bachelor's degree was just 57 percent -- only 13 points higher than the average score of those with only a high school diploma. Forty-three percent didn't know what the Electoral College does. And 46 percent didn't know that the Constitution gives Congress power to declare war.

CAUSE:

The ISI found that passive activities, such as watching television (including TV news) and talking on the phone, diminish civic literacy.

SOLUTION:

Actively pursuing information through print media and participating in high-level conversations makes one smarter. The ISI insists that higher-education reforms aimed at civic literacy are urgently needed. Reform needs to start in high school. Require students to read newspapers, and give college freshman weekly quizzes on current events. Give government subsidies for newspaper subscriptions, as well as federal tuition subsidies for students who perform well on civics tests.

One of the greatest things that ever happened to me and shaped my life was having a man named Lou Solomon be my parents' friend. When I was in high school, he purchased a subscription to Newsweek for me and my siblings and every time he visited he quizzed us on current events. Now at age 44 and the vice-president of a nation-wide franchise system of nanny agenies, I voraciously devour the Washington Post which I have delivered to my home in Florida to learn about the world we live in. I believe that what Lou did created a Phi Beta Kappa 4.0 college student who then went on to have a successful entreprenurial career. Let's give our students today the same opportunity or there is no telling where the future of our country will be.

Childhood obesity still a battle

2008-11-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

Parents turn off the TV and video games and find ways to get your kids moving. School boards do not cut physical education classes as this might be the only exercise kids receive in a given day. If anything we need to increase the time children spend in P.E. Regular exercise is known to fight fat.

About 9 million or 16 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight. This is three times the percentage in 1980 when I was in that age group. Times are different now. When I was a kid my parents didn't have to send us outside; we were always outside playing. We had a wooded area in Southern Maryland where we lived that we called "The Beautiful Land." My parents bought a bell to ring so that we would know it was time to come in for dinner. My sister and I rode bikes around a circle where a friend had a tray of rocks and we picked one up and the next time around dropped it off. Silly but we were active without prodding from our parents.

What has contributed to this obesity epidemic amongst children: junk food being sold in schools, P.E. being cut or limited(fewer than 10% offer daily P.E. classes) are two reasons but before we blame schools note that children gain more weight during the summer than during the rest of the year. Once classes resume, children's body mass indexes fall.

We as parents are responsible for keeping our kids fit. Choose taking a walk over renting a movie as a family activity. Physical activity has an incredible by-product: it improves academic performance. So why are schools cutting P.E.??????? They are cutting P.E. because they need more class time to boost math and reading scores when if they kept the P.E. and exercise the academic scores would improve due to the exercise children receive. Stimulates the brain cells.

School boards shouldn't be worried about the cost of more P.E. After all what price can you put on good health? To win the battle of the bulge for our children, we as parents need to get mobilized. If we band together and demand more of P.E., schools will respond.

Physical exercise goes beyond weight control. It leads to overall physical and mental health energy and the ability to focus.

Politics in the classroom? Okay if teachers can remain impartial

2008-11-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

Uoung people today are more informed and civic-minded than any in recent memory. They came of age after 9/11, after all. But they're also less obsessed with race than their parents and more cynical about the world and the ability of government to change it for the better. The Internet has made them knowledgeable about many more things that are going on. Perhaps as many as half of the nation's 3.2 million high school seniors on Nov. 4 were eligible to vote, making discussions in high school classes more urgent.

So political discussions in the classroom isn't merely a civics lesson anymore. It is for real. As long as the teachers do not let their own political leanings be self-evident, I think this is healthy and should be done. The problem could come if the teacher can not stay objective. My two boys became Republican because of a middle school teacher they admired who would explain what Democrats believe and what Republicans believe in a way that said to the students the Republican point of view is the "correct" point of view. Whatever my own political leaning this was absolutely inappropriate in a public school and I thought many times of reporting him to the principal but didn't as my boys requested.

Track your child's GPA real time

2008-11-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

Parents and students can track fluctuations in a grade-point average from the nearest computer in real time. Programs including SchoolMAX and Edulink are pushing midterm progress reports into obsolescence. Prospective failure is no longer a bombshell dropped in a parent-teacher conference. A bad grade on a test can't be concealed by discarding the evidence. A student can log on at school, or a parent at work, to see the immediate impact of a missed assignment on the cumulative grade or to calculate what score on the next quiz might raise an 89.5 to a 90. Report cards hold little surprise.

These programs can reconnect you to the academic lives of your children; however, the negative is that such knowledge can also feed the controlling tendencies of a helicopter parent if you are one. An e-mail alert is sent each time a grade is posted.

These Internet-based classroom "portals" give parents and students the ability to review grades, download homework assignments and chat with teachers online. This is a great tool for students to know exactly how they are doing in each of their classes. Now there is no excuse because the grade book is open.

Financial and material inducements for students a bad idea

2008-11-11T03:32:00.000-08:00

Prepaid cellphones, MP3 players, gift certificates, and cash for completing periodic tests, for acing courses, and for improving scores on assessment tests. School officials who are desperate to raise test scores and close the achievement gap separating white and minority students are paying kids who put up good numbers. I do not agree with this. Why isn't their future enough incentive? I was self-motivated and didn't have to have my parents hound me to do my homework. Doing well in school was a given so that college also a given in my household would be an after-thought. Although I do admit my parents paid us for every "A" we received (a whopping dollar an "A") until my sister and I began making straight "A"s. I am sure the money is NOT what made me achieve in school. It was just a nice reward for my hardwork that set the stage for my future success: Phi Beta Kappa, Dean's List every semester in college, and other accolades. Because of my self-motivated achievements, I was able to enter the Federal Government under the Outstanding Scholar's program, a stream-lined hiring process becoming a Federal Agent. I didn't need inducements beyond my future and I don't think we should offer any to students today. It's like getting paid at home for every little thing the child does. Shouldn't being a part of the household mean the child should contribute by doing chores? They are not helping with the mortgage or utilities so helping as they can should be a given with no financial inducements. A nominal allowance to begin teaching that work equals pay is fine but no extra money should be paid for additional chores. If children complain, then some of their extras should cease and they will see being a part of the household means helping without getting paid for every little thing. Actually, I think it is the environment parents have created at home that has led to having to pay atudents to achieve. Children nowadays won't do anything unless they see a financial return from it. We need to stop the madness and it begins at home. Let us not continue the madness in school. Your future should be the driving force for your performance.

USDA Food Pyramid for Preschoolers can be customized for your child

2008-11-10T07:08:00.000-08:00

The USDA's Food Pyramid, with the foods we need most of pictured in its broad, solid base and those we should eat sparingly squeezed into the tiny tip, is a great visual aid for building a healthful diet. MyPyramid for Preschoolers is for children 2 to 5years of age. The website is http://www.mypyramid.gov/preschoolers/index.html. All you have to do to personalize the pyramid for your picky eater is to enter your child’s information for a customized MyPyramid Plan. The Plan will show what and how much your child should eat to meet his or her needs. It will also provide ideas to help you plan meals for your preschooler. Use the MyPyramid Plan as a guide to help you feed your preschool child. Do not be concerned if your preschooler does not eat the exact amounts suggested. Each child’s needs may differ from the average, and appetites can vary from day to day. While the amount eaten daily may vary, the average amounts over time should be similar to this plan. You are the most important influence on your child. You can do many things to help your children develop healthy eating habits for life. Explore ways to help your preschooler:
• Grow up healthy. Complete a growth chart especially for your child to find out more about normal development.
• Develop healthy eating habits. Raise a healthy eater by setting a good example and practicing positive habits.
• Try new foods. Help for picky eaters.
• Play actively every day. Add physical activity into your preschooler’s day.
• Follow food safety rules.

DNA tests on fetuses fine as long as it doesn't lead to an abortion

2008-11-05T04:35:00.000-08:00

Doctors have started using powerful new DNA tests to screen fetuses for a wider range of genetic abnormalities, spotting more problem pregnancies early but stirring fears that the results will increase abortions as well as confuse and needlessly alarm many couples. The tests, which use "gene chips" to detect much subtler chromosomal variations than standard prenatal testing can, have also triggered complaints that they mark another step toward a society that seeks to weed out aberrations in the quest for the perfect child.

These tests allow couples to harness the latest molecular technology to target the most devastating genetic syndromes, alleviating their worries in some cases and in others identifying abnormalities soon enough to help them prepare to care for an afflicted baby. These tests should NOT be used to find out information to abort the fetus. Misleading results will subject emotionally vulnerable couples to unnecessary anxiety perhaps prompting some to abort healthy pregnancies.

These tests are okay to find whether a person will have an increased risk for cancer, diabetes, mental illness, obesity, addiction and other conditions later in life. These tests would not be okay if they are used to find traits associated with beauty, personality or intelligence. How we use this powerful technology decides whether it's good or bad.

The tests, which cost about $1,600 and are not yet covered by insurance, can detect about 150 known genetic disorders that can cause physical deformities, mental retardation and a host of health and behavioral problems. The choice should not be to terminate a pregnancy when couples get a bad result. The choice should be to have the baby and get ready to care for the child. Once the child is born, there is already a diagnosis and they can get the care they need as soon as possible. That's the biggest advantage.

We want disabled children to be welcomed into the world. If we decide to use prenatal testing to eliminate gene-based disabilities that is unacceptable. The Nazis were trying to do this. We can not say that certain types of lives aren't worth living. My worry is that these tests will be expanded to search for genetic markers that simply predispose children to illnesses later in life, or will someday go further in the quest for "designer" babies, noting that prospective parents are already screening embryos so they can decide whether to have a boy or a girl. What if we decide to abort embryos that are pre-desposed to obesity? These tests could be a slippery slope that we do not want to go down. Again as long as the information is not used to abort children but to inform parents so they can prepare to provide the best possible care for their child, then I am okay with these tests. Otherwise, I think these tests need to be stopped or at least highly regulated.