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Across the Universe and NCLB
2007-10-23 09:38:17
I recently went to see the movie “Across the Universe .”  If anyone needs proof that music and the visual arts can transport your state of consciousness to another realm, one should see this movie.  Some critics have given the movie a low rating, stating that the pieces don’t fit together, that the music seems out of place, and that the story is disjointed.  And if you view the movie analytically, as critics tend to do, then maybe I would agree with their assessment.  However, if you go to this movie for an experience, and not to “understand” it, I believe it can be as good as a two hour meditation. When I reflected later on my experience and my interpretation of this experience, I began to recall again the meaning of art to our culture, how music becomes the soundtrack of our lives, how art can quickly evoke emotions and states of being, that the role of art and teaching its importance to our children is extremely important. At times one can get caugh


We HAVE to be smarter than them
2007-10-22 08:53:24
As if parents don’t have enough to worry about with identity theives… Parents Getting Burned by What Their Kids Spill Online Every parent of children old enough to have a Facebook or MySpace page needs to have one as well and needs to be a friend of their child and all their child’s friends so you can monitor their discussions.  Not only do you need to know what they are saying about you, but this is a way to teach them proper web-etiquette.  Any other tips or ways you have found to monitor your kids online?  What are your favorite browsing filters for each age?


Depression in first-time fathers
2007-10-19 09:29:17
“Up to 10 per cent of first-time fathers suffer postnatal depression but in most cases their symptoms go untreated, a university researcher says.”  according to the an Autrailian study. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4242537a7144.html Mothers get most of the attention in postpartum care.  But there seems to be a significant number of first-time fathers that also experience “depression, anxiety, stress and psychological distress” as well. This can have an important impact on the family if gone untreated or addressed is some fashion.  It’s been over 6 years now, but as I recall there is a “natural” shock factor during the first couple of months.  I think the problem would arise if that feeling doesn’t begin to decrease but rather intensifies during the next 4-6 months.  That would be an indication that some intervention might be in order.  Hopefully the daddy bloggers can be of some assistance. Did you experience any depression as a fi


Stages of Development
2007-10-18 13:57:57
I have added a new page to the site.  It presents the stages of ego development by psychology researcher Jane Loevinger.  It’s been extremely helpful when trying to determine what’s appropriate behavior; what concepts can they reasonably understand; am I being too demanding in my expectations, etc.  The list also incorporates Kolberg’s stages of moral development, to show that different developmental researchers have developed similar stages but with different emphases. What is fascinating to me is that “It is also not possible to ‘jump’ forward stages; each stage provides a new yet necessary perspective, and is more comprehensive, differentiated, and integrated than its predecessors.”  Each stage “transcends and includes” the prior stages.
Read more: Stages , Development

Welcome to Dad Camp
2007-10-16 19:17:54
Welcome to Dad Camp.  This is my first foray into blogging.  My plan is to post news, information, thoughts and ideas about fatherhood that I have learned along the way and welcome your comments and ideas from your experience.  Please ask questions and send me ideas for topics you would like to have covered.  Once we get going here, I will also be adding a podcast/talkcast via Talkshoe to compliment our discussions.  Take a look at the About page to learn a little bit about me. Welcome to Dad Camp!!


Toy Recalls for Lead Paint
2007-10-25 21:44:56
I keep having a gut reaction that there is bit of over reaction to the violations of the lead paint standards leading to the toy recalls.  So to either confirm or contradict this reaction I decided to do a bit of research. Upon reading the EPAs fact sheet on lead and children’s health, I notice there is a marked absence of any mention of toys as a leading cause of lead poisoning among children.  Rather, the primary environmental means of lead poisoning in children mentioned are paint dust from deteriorating paint in homes and schools older than 1978, paint dust during remodeling of houses and schools of the same age, contaminated soil, and drinking water distributed to houses via lead pipes.  Even under the rare causes, toys are not mentioned. I found another EPA booklet addressing lead in the home.  This booklet does mention toys, but only if put in the mouth.  The booklet specifically says that lead is not absorbed through the skin.  So is it safe to conclude that an
Read more: Paint

Perfectionism and Gifted Children
2007-10-25 11:50:26
I just finished listening to the following podcast: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases?id=37935 Although they have yet to be tested, our children show classic signs of giftedness.  Believe me, this can be both a blessing and curse.  We are always looking for resources to assist us on this journey. Although I think the presentation by Ms. Stambaugh of the College of William and Mary’s Center for Gifted Education was good, I think that some of the symptoms attributed to perfectionism  may actually be a normal aspect of a particular stage of development.  For example, the tendency to see the world in black and white is part of the Conformist stage of development.  And the tendency to externalize blame is a normal characteristic of the Self-Protective stage (our son is in this stage right now and nothing is his fault even when presented with concrete evidence to the contrary). The problem would arise if this tendency persists past the normal and expected stage and becom
Read more: Children

Halloween: the Good and Bad
2007-10-31 14:37:03
The twins will dress up as Harry and Hermine from Harry Potter tonight.  They have Hogwarts robes and wands to complete their costumes.  We will make the rounds in the neighborhood and collect scads of candy.  That’s the good part, so to speak. The bad part is that one has a nut allergy and the other has a corn allergy.  Tell me what candy doesn’t have either a nut or corn product in it? So most of the night’s take will go with me to work to share with coworkers, and we will need to have something fun to replace the candy we’ll need to take away. Thankfully we don’t have to go to too many houses, because they told us they would like to hurry home and give candy to others and see costumes that others are wearing.  Hmmm…maybe we ARE doing something right.
Read more: Halloween

Stages of Development
2007-10-28 15:11:26
I have added a new page to the site.  It presents the stages of ego development by psychology researcher Jane Loevinger.  It’s been extremely helpful when trying to determine what’s appropriate behavior; what concepts can they reasonably understand; am I being too demanding in my expectations, etc.  The list also incorporates Kolberg’s stages of moral development, to show that different developmental researchers have developed similar stages but with different emphases. What is fascinating to me is that “It is also not possible to ‘jump’ forward stages; each stage provides a new yet necessary perspective, and is more comprehensive, differentiated, and integrated than its predecessors.”  Each stage “transcends and includes” the prior stages.
Read more: Stages , Development

Toy Recalls for Lead Paint
2007-10-25 21:44:56
I keep having a gut reaction that there is bit of over reaction to the violations of the lead paint standards leading to the toy recalls.  So to either confirm or contradict this reaction I decided to do a bit of research. Upon reading the EPAs fact sheet on lead and children’s health, I notice there is a marked absence of any mention of toys as a leading cause of lead poisoning among children.  Rather, the primary environmental means of lead poisoning in children mentioned are paint dust from deteriorating paint in homes and schools older than 1978, paint dust during remodeling of houses and schools of the same age, contaminated soil, and drinking water distributed to houses via lead pipes.  Even under the rare causes, toys are not mentioned. I found another EPA booklet addressing lead in the home.  This booklet does mention toys, but only if put in the mouth.  The booklet specifically says that lead is not absorbed through the skin.  So is it safe to conclude that an
Read more: Paint

Perfectionism and Gifted Children
2007-10-25 11:50:26
I just finished listening to the following podcast: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases?id=37935 Although they have yet to be tested, our children show classic signs of giftedness.  Believe me, this can be both a blessing and curse.  We are always looking for resources to assist us on this journey. Although I think the presentation by Ms. Stambaugh of the College of William and Mary’s Center for Gifted Education was good, I think that some of the symptoms attributed to perfectionism  may actually be a normal aspect of a particular stage of development.  For example, the tendency to see the world in black and white is part of the Conformist stage of development.  And the tendency to externalize blame is a normal characteristic of the Self-Protective stage (our son is in this stage right now and nothing is his fault even when presented with concrete evidence to the contrary). The problem would arise if this tendency persists past the normal and expected stage and becom
Read more: Children

Across the Universe and NCLB
2007-10-23 09:38:17
I recently went to see the movie “Across the Universe .”  If anyone needs proof that music and the visual arts can transport your state of consciousness to another realm, one should see this movie.  Some critics have given the movie a low rating, stating that the pieces don’t fit together, that the music seems out of place, and that the story is disjointed.  And if you view the movie analytically, as critics tend to do, then maybe I would agree with their assessment.  However, if you go to this movie for an experience, and not to “understand” it, I believe it can be as good as a two hour meditation. When I reflected later on my experience and my interpretation of this experience, I began to recall again the meaning of art to our culture, how music becomes the soundtrack of our lives, how art can quickly evoke emotions and states of being, that the role of art and teaching its importance to our children is extremely important. At times one can get caugh


We HAVE to be smarter than them
2007-10-22 08:53:24
As if parents don’t have enough to worry about with identity theives… Parents Getting Burned by What Their Kids Spill Online Every parent of children old enough to have a Facebook or MySpace page needs to have one as well and needs to be a friend of their child and all their child’s friends so you can monitor their discussions.  Not only do you need to know what they are saying about you, but this is a way to teach them proper web-etiquette.  Any other tips or ways you have found to monitor your kids online?  What are your favorite browsing filters for each age?


Depression in first-time fathers
2007-10-19 09:29:17
“Up to 10 per cent of first-time fathers suffer postnatal depression but in most cases their symptoms go untreated, a university researcher says.”  according to the an Autrailian study. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4242537a7144.html Mothers get most of the attention in postpartum care.  But there seems to be a significant number of first-time fathers that also experience “depression, anxiety, stress and psychological distress” as well. This can have an important impact on the family if gone untreated or addressed is some fashion.  It’s been over 6 years now, but as I recall there is a “natural” shock factor during the first couple of months.  I think the problem would arise if that feeling doesn’t begin to decrease but rather intensifies during the next 4-6 months.  That would be an indication that some intervention might be in order.  Hopefully the daddy bloggers can be of some assistance. Did you experience any depression as a fi


Welcome to Dad Camp
2007-10-16 19:17:54
Welcome to Dad Camp.  This is my first foray into blogging.  My plan is to post news, information, thoughts and ideas about fatherhood that I have learned along the way and welcome your comments and ideas from your experience.  Please ask questions and send me ideas for topics you would like to have covered.  Once we get going here, I will also be adding a podcast/talkcast via Talkshoe to compliment our discussions.  Take a look at the About page to learn a little bit about me. Welcome to Dad Camp!!


Teaching your Child to Read
2007-11-07 13:29:15
The ability to read is basic to all other education.  We parents want to make sure that we are preparing our children for this all important skill.  A little about how we went about it.  The twins learned the alphabet pretty much on their own using alphabet blocks, educational videos, and just natural inquisitiveness.  We have read to them all along, but never asked them to read back to us or spent any time teaching them words.  Then they were reaching kindergarten age and we wanted to assess their abilities.  So we started teaching them simple two and three letter words.  They loved this “game” so we looked for a way to incorporate these words into actual reading.  We found a series of books that systematically starts with this concept and builds on it.  They are the BOB BOOKS.  The illustrations are simple and non-distracting, putting the emphasis on the reading.  We started with the Level 1 box and kept going through Level 3 (there are 5 levels), having them r


Only 7 Weeks ’til Christmas
2007-11-07 12:04:07
Christmas, Holidays, Toys, Commercialism, Frenzy, Stressed, Depressed, Food, Tax Deductions, … How many other descriptors is there for this time of year?  We are struggling with the question of what are the appropriate gifts this year.  The twins want several toys that can also double for educational uses with their home school studies, so those seem okay, not too much guilt there.  But which ones for Christmas and which ones do we save for birthday which is in February?  Which ones do they actually need? Purchased gifts…easy.  Homemade gifts…more time needed but more meaningful.  There’s only 7 weeks left, how much can I get done?  What to do?
Read more: Weeks , Christmas

Thanksgiving Idea
2007-11-16 09:46:36
We’ve been thinking about how to make the Thanksgiving Holiday more meaningful for the kids this year so that it’s more than just a big meal.  They’re now at an age they can begin to understand abstract concepts, take the perspective of another, and express themselves well both verbally and in writing.  So from now until Thanksgiving, we’re going to have them write down on slips of paper, one thing each day they are thankful for.  We’ll put the slips of paper in a jar, and then after our Thanksgiving meal, we will take turns pulling a slip of paper out of the jar and read it aloud. Do you have ideas that you have used to make holidays more meaningful for your kids?


Christmas wonderings…
2007-12-22 11:00:54
While watching the news about the last minute shoppers and pictures of Santa at the mall, I was reminded of the story earlier this season about the shopping centers banning Santa from saying Ho-Ho-Ho.  And then I began to wonder… Does Santa take Lipitor? In order to be good role model for children, should Santa be forced to go on a diet? (Will he need gastric bypass surgery to maintain a healthy weight?) Should we set out carrot sticks instead of cookies? Will a skinny Santa ruin Christmas ? Is the arctic ice cap melting because Santa has to produce more toys each year for the growing population of earth’s children?  Hmmmmmm…


Birthday Time
2008-02-13 08:34:29
The twins turned 7 this past weekend.  They opted for a family only party.  DS doesn’t care for lots of noise.  They wanted cupcakes so I found a chocolate gluten free mix which turned out great. I frosted them with a simple grenache.  They were quite good. They have grown three inches since fall, no wonder [...]
Read more: Birthday

A much too common experience by parents
2008-01-15 09:40:36
Blogs and podcasts are full of the experience expressed by the author of the following post: why-im-homeschooling-my-kid-in-science-next-year It is also why it is unlikely our children will ever be educated in a traditional school environment.  Our DD would do great at filling out her notebook perfectly and doing great in  the course work as well.  However, our [...]


Podcasts I Listen To
2008-05-13 23:34:11
I have a rather long commute and became bored with the available radio station offerings.  A few months ago I received an iPod Suffle free as a promotional item.  After searching around iTunes for a while, I came across the directory for Parenting podcasts.  One of the first to which I subcribed was The Croncast [...]
Read more: Podcasts , Listen

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