Archive for June, 2011
Jun
30
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Priscilla J. Dunstan, McClatchy-Tribune
As part of my research for my last book, I conducted a study about drawing and the senses. It involved children between the ages of 2-5 years, in a controlled setting who were given free rein to simply draw.
I found it a fascinating study because I was able to classify children into their dominant sensory modes, simply by their drawings. We then moved the study into the preschool classroom and found that based simply on a child’s drawing, a teacher could discover a child’s dominant sense.
Tactile children, preferring to stand, would survey the blank piece of paper quickly, grab one or more pencils in one hand and vigorously scribble across the page. Whilst they were aware of the edges of the paper,...
Read more
Jun
30
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Hannah Dreier, Contra Costa Times
RICHMOND, CALIF. — The first rays of sunlight are touching the iron fence outside Larry Cook’s home, but his day started hours ago.
He laid out his daughter’s clothes before leaving for work, shuttling teens to a construction apprenticeship program, and is now circling back.
His 4-year-old greets him at the door. A niece has brushed Marianna’s teeth and dressed her, but there is still the matter of a book for show-and-tell. Cook chooses a nursery rhyme anthology.
“Leave it up to her and she’ll bring Curious George every time,” he explains, hustling the preschooler into a fluffy jacket. She giggles, falling against his knees, and then they’re out the door. Cook is due back at...
Read more
Jun
29
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Here’s a little quiz for the breakfast table:
What is the most popular cereal brand in American grocery stores?
Hint: It’s been General Mills’ top name since 1951.
Another hint: If you’re a parent, you’ve vacuumed it from the minivan and under the high-chair cushion by the cupful.
The answer, of course, is Cheerios.
The iconic cereal, known by its distinctive yellow box, is 70 years old this year and still a force on the breakfast cereal market. One out of every eight boxes of cereal to leave the shelf in America carries the Cheerios name.
“They’ve been around since the beginning of man, right?” said Kathy Scott in Cape Coral, Fla....
Read more
Jun
29
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By LEANNE ITALIE, Associated Press
NEW YORK — Mom Stacey Udell couldn’t wait for visitors day when her daughter first went to sleepaway camp at age 9.
“About two hours in she said to me, ‘I think you better leave now. You don’t want to get stuck in traffic.’ We had just sat down to lunch.”
Six summers later, Udell thinks the traditional day for parents, grandparents and siblings to check out what their campers are up to is definitely more about the grown-ups than the kids.
“It sets many kids back,” said Udell, whose daughter is now 15 and will return to camp this year with her 13-year-old brother. “I see a lot of kids crying at the end of visiting day.”
The day isn’t only long and hot. Routines for the kids...
Read more
Jun
28
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — It’s one of the biggest purchases for soon-to-be parents: a crib for baby. Beginning Tuesday, a new generation of cribs, designed to be safer, will be the only ones approved for sale — in stores, online, and even at neighborhood yard sales.
Ushering in one of the most significant changes in child safety in decades, the rule taking effect this week bans the manufacture, sale and resale of drop-side cribs. Drop-sides have a side rail that can be raised and lowered to allow parents to more easily place or lift a baby, but they have been blamed in the deaths of several dozen children.
Another significant part of the new federal standard mandates more rigorous safety tests for children’s cribs...
Read more
Jun
28
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that it is unconstitutional to bar children from buying or renting violent video games, saying government doesn’t have the authority to “restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed” despite complaints that the popular and fast-changing technology allows the young to simulate acts of brutality.
On a 7-2 vote, the high court upheld a federal appeals court decision to throw out California’s ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento had ruled that the law violated minors’ rights under the First Amendment, and the high court agreed.
“No doubt a state possesses legitimate power to...
Read more
Jun
27
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA — A new study shows one in four high school students drink soda every day — a sign fewer teens are downing the sugary drinks.
The study also found teens drink water, milk and fruit juices most often — a pleasant surprise, because researchers weren’t certain that was the case.
“We were very pleased to see that,” said the study’s lead author, Nancy Bener of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Still, a quarter have at least one soda each day. And when other sugary drinks like Gatorade are also counted, the figure is closer to two-thirds of high school students drinking a sweetened beverage every day.
That’s less than in the past. In the 1990s and early...
Read more
Jun
27
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — If a proposed law passes, California teens under 18 will need a fake ID to “fake and bake” themselves to a golden brown.
Citing skin cancer risks, legislators have joined lawmakers in at least 21 other states who have debated bills this year to ban or restrict tanning bed use by minors.
Teens under the age of 14 are already banned from tanning beds in California, and older teens need parental permission. But lawmakers in the Golden State are considering banning anyone under age 18 from using tanning beds, even if a parent says it’s OK.
Sen. Ted Lieu, who proposed the more stringent legislation, says the parent signatures on permission forms are often forged, and tanning salons...
Read more
Jun
26
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By NANCY BENAC, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama dropped in on lunch and circle time at a Washington child care center last week and used the occasion to announce a new national initiative to encourage child care centers to promote healthy eating and exercise habits starting with the littlest Americans.
The first lady watched as toddlers ate a healthy lunch of fish, fruit and salad greens, did the bunny hop with youngsters in a P.E. class and clapped along with singing time at CentroNia, a bilingual child care center that stresses just the kinds of healthy practices that Mrs. Obama is trying to encourage.
The first lady said instilling good health habits through child care centers and home-based care can be “a real building block for an entire...
Read more
Jun
25
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Jenny Schafe, Celebritybabyscoop.com
Sean Kanan plays the role of bad boy Deacon Sharpe on TV’s popular soap opera “The Young and the Restless.” The 44-year-old father of five has been heavily involved with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) this past year, lobbying on the topics of anti-bullying and sexual orientation inclusion.
The soap star opens up to Celebrity Baby Scoop about his 9-year-old daughter and 4 stepkids, the “similarities” with fatherhood in Hollywood and middle America, and his best tips on maintaining a strong partnership amidst 5 children: “we want to maintain our identity as adults as opposed to caretakers of children.”
Celebrity Baby Scoop: Tell us about your 9-year-old daughter Simone.
Sean Kanan: She’s...
Read more
