Archive for April, 2010
Apr
24
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
The Associated Press
HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. — Bobby Fraker is taking a stand against what she perceives to be a sinister threat from across the Pacific, right here in her suburban Southern California community of tree-lined streets and stucco homes.
At a recent school-board meeting, Fraker and a dozen or more older, mostly white opponents of a Chinese government program that will fund a middle-school language class delivered fist-shaking denunciations.
“These children have young brains that are very malleable and they can be indoctrinated with things that America would not like,” Fraker, a diminutive woman with tight auburn curls, implored board members, who approved the plan in January.
Communities across the United States, from...
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Apr
23
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Ann Bibby, 50-Something Moms Blog
Recent studies found that drinking and smoking pot is on the rise again among teenagers after a decline of nearly a decade. The annual survey conducted by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that the number of teens from grade 9 to grade 12 who reported using alcohol in the previous month had risen 11 percent to a total of 39 percent of teens or 6.5 million, and 25 percent of teens admitted to marijuana use, up from 19 percent in 2008.
The study also discovered that the use of Ecstasy had risen from 4 percent to 6 percent.
Perhaps many adults will not find this alarming. I don’t know how many friends, family and acquaintances I have who personally recount fondly their own drinking and pot smoking youths...
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Apr
23
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Priscilla J. Dunstan, McClatchy-Tribune
Learning to read isn’t as simple as knowing ones letters, it involves a great many different skills and various mental processing milestones.
An understanding of sequences, pattern recognition, symbols and how sounds interchange to create new words, are important for children to understand what they read. By catering to your child’s dominant sense, you can ensure that those skills are mastered, making learning to read, easier, quicker and more solid.
For tactile children using letters they can pick up and handle, in many differing fabrics and materials will help them associate more personally with each letter. Getting them to physically spell out their name, favorite food or activity will help them...
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Apr
22
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Marla Jo Fisher, The Orange County Register
One useful side effect of bad luck is that it helps you distinguish your real friends from the rest of the pack.
You’ve likely noticed this yourself: How misfortune or trouble makes your true friends rally round you, while your ersatz friends suddenly lose your phone number and forget where you live.
There are several times I can think of when you have the chance to hoe out those weeds, or weed out those hoes, as the case may be:
- When you move to a new house
- When you get sick
- When you lose your job
- When your car breaks down
- When you need a ride to the airport
- When you have a bad breakup
Regarding moving, I’ve been told by...
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Apr
22
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
nameberry.com
There’s an entire generation of new baby names that are moving rapidly up the popularity list. They distinguish themselves by being recently minted — and by the fact that grandparents do a double take the first time they hear them. For even if they existed as surnames or place names or occupations, they’ve rarely been used before as first names. Many of these new baby names are morphed versions of names that were used in another form earlier, while others have been spun from thin air.
Some are clearly celebrity-sourced — as when Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale gave their son a name inspired by their own personal associations with the island of Jamaica — and it wasn’t long before the name Kingston jumped onto the list....
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Apr
21
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
McClatchy-Tribune
The preschool channel Sprout will launch on Earth Day “Dirtgirlworld,” the first green living series for preschoolers.
“Sprout’s Dig into Earth Day with ‘Dirtgirlworld’ ” marathon will air on Sprout from noon-3 p.m. ET on Earth Day, April 22. The three-hour block will showcase the new eco-friendly series that was designed to introduce preschoolers to the joys of outdoor play and sustainable, green living.
“Dirtgirlworld” was created by Australian writer/producer Cate McQuillen and composer/writer Hewey Eustace, who developed the series from their home near the “rainbow country” of northern New South Wales. This music-centric series has an other-worldly feel — a blend of...
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Apr
21
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Working mothers belong to a cult. It’s the cult of busy: frenetic, time-starved and always juggling long lists of things to do.
And along comes University of Maryland sociology professor John Robinson to tell us that we actually have 30 hours of unrealized leisure time a week. A week. I feel accomplished when I can spare five hours a week to go to the gym.
Washington Post reporter Brigid Schulte, a busy working mother, described it beautifully in a story she wrote last month: “My days are chopped up like little bits of time confetti.”
She is a much braver woman than most of us. Schulte attempted to figure out exactly where all her time was going. She recorded her activities in a time diary...
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Apr
20
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Latoya Burgess, McClatchy Newspapers
Raising kids is never an easy job. But for the parents of adopted children, the job can sometimes be even harder.
Cherish Adoptive Families, a Coral Gables, Fla.,-based nonprofit group, tries to help these families by offering support and advice.
The group was started 20 years ago by an infertility support group of parents who ultimately chose to adopt.
Cherish President Jeanne Becker, who has an adopted 13-year old son, has some tips to offer other parents of adopted teens.
“The best advice I can give as a mother is to be open and honest with your teen,” Becker said. “The questions could be about school, growing up or adoption. You never know, so be ready and be patient.”
Becker...
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Apr
20
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
McClatchy-Tribune
Elizabeth Stein is a leading midwife in New York City and, in addition to educating and coaching moms through pregnancies and deliveries in person, she gives out advice to expectant moms on her Web site, askyourmidwife.com.
As a leading expert and practitioner of modern midwifery with master’s degrees in nursing and public health, Stein said she is concerned with giving moms the information they need to make the best decisions for their families. In that spirit, Stein has released her top 10 tips for expectant mothers:
- Vitamins: Take prenatal vitamins with folic acid and essential fatty acids, starting 2-3 months before conception (when you start having unprotected sex in order to get pregnant). Take at least...
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Apr
19
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Marlene F. Byrne, Disney FamilyFun magazine
“Run!” An excited group of girls, including my 9-year-old daughter, Maggie, shout encouragement to their softball teammate Ashley as she sprints to third base and sits on a balloon, laughing the entire way.
“Wow, what a contrast from the last game,” remarks a fellow mom, Maureen, whose daughter, Ellie, is currently bounding toward second base wearing oversize clown shoes.
I nod in agreement, marveling at the team’s enthusiasm.
Maureen is right. As their coach for the past two months, I’ve seen the girls have fun together, but this game is unlike any other.
The truth is, it hadn’t been as fun a season as I had hoped. After losing all but two games and...
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