All posts by Kirsetin

The Top 8 Things You Can Do Now to Help Your Child Develop Media Literacy

March 3, 2009media, ParentingKirsetin

This morning, you won’t find me at home. Nope. Not gonna be here.

This morning I’ll be a bit north of here, speaking to a group of moms about media literacy, something I’m passionate about. It’s so crucial for us, as parents, to help our kids understand that there is a message behind all forms of media, from TV to music to movies to this blog. Helping our kids learn to ascertain what that message is, who’s behind it, and to think through whether or not they agree with it is a powerful gift we can give them. I strongly suggest starting now!

With that in mind, here’s my list of the Top 8 Things You Can Do Now to Help Your Child Develop Media Literacy:

Take the time to articulate your family’s values & beliefs. Display them in a prominent place in your home. Teach your kids to base their decisions on these values.
If there’s a TV in your child’s bedroom, take it out. If not, keep it that way! This isn’t just me—it’s a recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Watch TV or listen to music with your child. Talk about what you see and hear. Keep them actively thinking, rather than passively watching or listening.
Encourage your kids to learn more about who and what is behind the shows or music they enjoy.
Allow older kids more input and let them make mistakes. If you permit them to watch or listen to something you disagree with, discuss it afterwards. Respect your children’s opinion. Sometimes we need to agree to disagree. But, as parents, we also have the right to insist that kids respect our family’s values.
Watch movies together that spark discussions. Nell Minow suggests some in her book, The Movie Mom’s Guide to Family Movies. So does Bob Smithouser in Movie Nights: 25 Movies to Spark Spiritual Discussions With Your Teen. Find one you like & use it – we’re not on our own here.
Put your computer in a prominent spot in your home. Use a good parental filter.
Be a good role model. Our kids know what we read and watch, and how much time we spend online or on the couch gazing at the TV. They know when we live our family values, too.

Reading to Your Kids

March 2, 2009booksKirsetin

Break out the children’s books, people, because today—March 2, the birthday of the beloved Dr. Seuss—is the day for the National Education Association’s Read Across America. Never heard of it before? Me either. Apparently, as a reader, a writer, and a parent, I’ve had my head in the sand because this celebration has been going on since 1998. Where in the heck have I been? Oh, sorry, I’ve been kind of busy. I’ve been reading to my kids.

Okay, okay, maybe that was uncalled for. (I do know that March is Reading Month. Does that count for something? Anything? Come on, I haven’t been totally clueless.)

Here’s the idea behind Read Across America: The NEA would like “every child to be reading in the company of a caring adult” on this day.

Pro: Reading with a child is a great idea. Fantastic. Totally support it. Kudos NEA!

Con: One day? Seriously? One day isn’t going to motivate the kids to love reading. Sorry guys, it just isn’t.

Perhaps I’ve been watching a little too much Idol. It feels like I’m channeling Simon with my bad attitude. And, please, please, please understand that I fully support reading to kids. I understand that the idea here is to generate some excitement. It’s like a pep rally for reading. I get that.

But does it really work that way? When you have a pep rally for football, you don’t have to know a single thing about the game. I am fairly certain that I made it all the way through high school and college, attending plenty of pep rallies and football games, without ever knowing, exactly, what it is that a Tight End does. In fact, I’m quite sure I was much more concerned with the tight end on our high school quarterback than I was with anything else in the game. Enough said.

But to get excited about reading takes time. It’s not the same thing at all. Learning to read comes slowly for most kids, over time, after seeing lots and lots of letters strung together on a page, again and again and again. It can be hard work. But when we read to them, regularly, those words take our kids places. They take them on adventures, they help them solve mysteries, they make them laugh. It’s not the reading itself that’s exciting, it’s the story. Reading is simply the means to the end. And, given enough time and practice, our kids will pore over the pages and put the words together. They’ll take themselves to these enchanted places.

So go ahead and Read Across America. It’s a good start, and, like many programs, it’s well intentioned. But if you really want to help those other kids—the ones who aren’t being read to on a regular basis—you’ve got to up the ante. Would you consider volunteering at their schools? They could use you. Really use you. Last year, I spent one Tuesday every month in a 2^nd grade classroom at a school my children will never attend. I worked with one child at a time, listening, encouraging, and reading. At my own children’s school, parents line up to help. If you want to volunteer, they’re glad to have you, but you’ll have to take your turn. At this other school, only 15 miles west of ours, it’s an entirely different world. They could use us every day, not just on March 2nd.

photo credits: mikefats and zawezome

What’s Really in the Food We Eat?

February 28, 2009foodKirsetin

So you guys know that I like Diet Pepsi, even though I think Michael Pollan is right on the money. You know that vegetables are my least favorite food group, even though I know they should be first. You know that I think a lot about ways to help my kids have a healthy relationship with food.

But what you don’t know is that my friend, Janet, knows the exact calorie and fat count of every food ever produced. Okay, that might be a teensy, beensy bit of exaggeration, but if I’m not sure about something food-related, she’s on my speed dial. (Also for any fashion questions, but that’s a post for another time.)

So when Janet said she learned stuff she didn’t know when she read Eat This, Not That, I couldn’t believe it! She learned stuff? I knew I had to get my hands on that book. What could it possible contain that she didn’t know? So I popped on over to the library and took a look. And chock-full of information, it is. I must admit that there are some interesting tidbits, like the fact that one Original Glazed doughnut from Krispy Kreme has less fat (11 grams) and less calories (190) than one Wild Blueberry muffin by Otis Spunkmeyer (22 grams, 420 calories). Who knew?!

All in all, I’m not a big fan of the book but I can certainly see the appeal. It’s a very practical guide for middle-of-the-store grocery shoppers. But most weeks I try to avoid both Krispy Kreme and Otis Spunkmeyer—those are some fat grams I’d rather save for a rainy day.

By far, the grossest part of the book was page 6, which took me right back to high school English class, the one where we read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Perhaps I’m naïve, but I left all of those disgusting thoughts about food processing back in the 80’s and I was very disturbed to find them resurrected by the little chart called “The Wrong Kind of Protein; The little ‘bonus’ ingredients the FDA allows in your food.” Here’s a sample:

“Canned tomatoes: Can contain up to 5 fly eggs or 2 maggots per 500 grams.”

Maggots? Do I really need to say more?

“Peanut Butter: Can contain up to 30 insect framents or 1 rodent hair per 100 grams.”

30 insect fragments??

“Popcorn: Can contain up to 1 rodent pellet in one sample or 2 rodent hairs per pound.”

A rodent pellet? IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS??

Alright, Mr. President. As long as you’re overhauling everything else, what about the FDA? As if the peanut recall weren’t bad enough, now I have to worry about rat crap in my popcorn? Puh-lease!

This is the best argument ever for participating in CSAs and buying local. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to enjoy canned tomatoes again. Uggh. Please, please don’t tell me what you know about Diet Pepsi. Let a girl enjoy her vice in ignorance, would you?

Enjoy the weekend everybody. And for goodness sakes, be wary of your popcorn!

photo credits: asplosh