Michelle Carchrae's Blog
Posted by Michelle Carchrae
So it turns out that Baby Einstein is just a clever marketing trick, and that the DVDs and videos are not only counter to the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that infants under 2 years old have no screen time, but they really don't make babies any smarter either.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is celebrating a victory following a years-long campaign to hold Disney accountable for the misleading marketing of their Baby Einstein products. For a limited time, parents who bought a Baby Einstein DVD or video in the last five years can get a full refund. If you bought a Baby Einstein DVD or video believing that it would help your child learn and you were disappointed to find out that it won't, be sure to make use of the full refund. This is a great way to show Disney that parents expect to be told the truth about products marketed to babies and children.
Posted by Michelle Carchrae
Today my just-turned-three year old daughter decided she wanted to use the money in her new piggy bank to buy an ice cream cone. After reading Barbara Coloroso's Kids Are Worth It! [Harper Paperbacks, 2002] I had started giving her a small weekly allowance, to help her understand the value of money by saving and purchasing things by herself.
It all sounded good on paper, this idea of letting a child decide what she wants to spend her money on. When the woman handed a $3 adult-sized strawberry waffle cone over the counter to my daughter, I had some second thoughts. It was her money, so she ate the whole thing herself, minus three or four small bites for mom. An adult-sized strawberry waffle cone has a rather considerable amount of sugar in it.
As the sugar high persisted through the afternoon, triggering several screaming fits and a whole lot of general uncooperativeness, I wondered whether I'd done the right thing. She does need to learn how to use, save and spend money wisely. Perhaps she just needs a smaller allowance.
Posted by Michelle Carchrae
Wondering what to do with your family over the next two weeks of holiday celebrations? Well, if you live in or near Vancouver, BC, I've got a few great suggestions for you.
Bright Nights, the Christmas train in Stanley Park, is a fun evening activity for families with children. The miniature train route has been decorated with millions of lights and lit displays, and there is a petting zoo and mini fair to walk through. If you decide to go, book your tickets ahead of time to minimize waiting times when you get there, and bundle everybody up with warm woolies. Waiting even a short time outside can feel very cold very quickly. But, if you're dressed for the weather and ready to meet your train, Bright Nights is a fun and festive activity for all ages.
If you're looking for a family activity for Christmas Day or New Year's Day, the Vancouver Aquarium is open 365 days a year and is accessable to family of all ages. It's a great place to go if it's feeling a little crowded inside the house after everyone's opened their presents. They are open from 10am to 4pm on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family and wish you the very best in the New Year!
Posted by Michelle Carchrae
I recently came across a parenting resource website called Enjoy Parenting. It's aimed at parents who embrace the ideas found in holistic, nonviolent and attachment parenting philosophies, and aren't afraid to parent with the idea that we are all capable of infinite love, joy and self-worth. Their daily email subscription service, the Daily Groove, offers a bite-sized snippet of parenting ideas related to finding your groove together as parent and child.
While some of the ideas might come across as being very new age or touchy-feely, lots of them really are grounded in truth. Most encourage you to question any parenting technique that doesn't respect the child as an independent human being. That sounds like a no-brainer, but when it comes to enforcing bedtime or safety-related discipline it can be a humbling experience to really evaluate how you're interacting with your child.
If you really click with the Daily Groove and the Enjoy Parenting website, author Scott Noelle also offers a paid subscription part of the website, with a forum where you can discuss parenting with other subscribers and get tips and feedback directly from Scott.
Posted by Michelle Carchrae
Even though I don't head out the door to work each morning, I still worry about what it will be like when I do decide to get back on the 'on-ramp' and re-enter the workforce in a serious way. I know lots of other women who work full time and raise their kids, keep their houses clean and even remember to send out birthday cards. Whether you work 5 hours a week or 50, sharing your expertise, trials and triumphs with other women who are juggling work and family helps to support working parents as a whole.
Mommy Track'd is a website that has essays about being a working mom, news, shopping resources, tips on how to maximize your time and fly through your to-do list efficiently, and a forum with a community of other working moms to commiserate with. Women today are contributing more to the workforce and striving for equality both at home and on the job, but all this doesn't come easily. Hearing about other women's experiences can reassure you when your own experience is challenging, and if you can shave 15 minutes off your weekly cleaning time by scrubbing the bathroom while the kids are in the tub, then your life just got a little easier thanks to the shared expertise of many other women working together and uploading their tips to Mommy Track'd.
