Parents Precinct

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Parents Precinct

Early Sesame Street not suitable for children

July 1st 2008 05:28

Exciting news for all of us who were brought up watching Sesame Street, the early episodes have just been released on DVD. However, all you Gen Xers with young children who are about to run out and buy these icons of your childhood be warned. These episodes are not suitable for children, according to a warning sticker on the side of the box. ‘What? I hear you saying ‘I thought it was a children’s programme’.

So what is the problem with these early episodes? Well according to Seame Street producer Carole Parente in an interview for the New York Times:

Cookie Monster for a start, not because he is a monster but because all he does is stuff his face with cookies. If anyone is on the fast track to childhood obesity and diabetes, it has to be cookie monster. Interesting though, childhood obesity was not a problem for us Gen Xers who were brought up thinking cookie monster was hilarious.

As for Cookie Monsters alter ego Alistair Cooke, who appeared with a pipe, that he later ate, that was deemed completely inappropriate! Then there was the homeless depressed grouch that lived in a trash can.

Remember Snuffleupagus only visible to Big Bird? Well since 1985 he has been made visible to everyone! Because according to Carol Parente:

“Big Bird’s old protestations that he was not hallucinating came to seem a little creepy, not to mention somewhat strained”.

How about Ernie and Bert sleeping in the same bed then? As a child, I just thought they were friends, for all those who think there is gay connotations get your mind out of the gutter. Preschoolers do not even think in that way.

As a Generation X’er, I am starting to wonder how our generation grew up to be moderately well balanced individuals. Are the latest generation of children so soft that they cannot just enjoy a programme at a simplistic level in the way we did?

Sometimes kids are grouchy, sometimes they scoff cookies, and sometimes they have imaginary friends – big deal.

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Ad Removed after Outrage over Gay Kiss

June 27th 2008 09:15

Heinz UK removed a TV ad which showed two men kissing after receiving over 200 complaints from viewers who felt it was ‘inappropriate, and ‘unsuitable to be seen by children’.

Many parents complained that they had to explain same sex relationships to their children, after they were asked why the two men were kissing.

Not only has Heinz managed to offend their conservative customers, they have offended gay groups who are threatening to boycott Heinz products, for bowing to public pressure, and removing the ad.

With so many same sex couples raising children nowadays, surely this advertisement is just a reflection of the way society has changed.

You can remove ads from TV but eventually kids will come into contact with someone with two mummies or two daddies and you will have to explain it then, it’s just the way society is.
Have a look see what you think.

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Stop using that F*#%ing Language

June 25th 2008 23:00

“Oh come on hurry up,” I shouted at an annoying Sunday driver in the car in front of me who seemed to be a bit unsure about the road rules on a round a bout. “What’s your bloody problem?” At the time I did not have any children of my own, so I was still in that it’s all about me phase of my life. Shouting at irritating drivers that could not even hear me was second nature; I seemed to do it unconsciously even though I had my two nieces in the car.

About a week later, my sister in law complained that when she was at a round a bout and there was a “Sunday” driver who was a bit unsure about the road rules one of her girls who was only three at the time shouted, “Oh come on hurry up what’s your bloody problem.”

There is the problem, young kids suck everything in and start imitating you. They use words you use even if they do not know what it means. I think there is nothing worse than hearing a toddler swearing. So I am trying to quit before Samantha starts talking and imitating me.

So do you think we should try to curb our swearing in front of our children? Or do you think that you might as well swear in front of your children because they are going to hear that language anyway? Tori Spelling takes the attitude that swearing is OK if it is done correctly. That would be “in a child like way that shows vulnerability.”
Really Long Link

Last week I stubbed my toe on the corner of our couch and it hurt so much that the word “fluff” just didn’t do the trick when it came to letting of a bit of steam. So it is probably quite hypocritical of me to frown on Tori Spellings and others attitudes to swearing in front of children. I do think children are going to hear that kind of language any way but it is the parents’ role to set the example and lay down the boundaries, so they cannot tell their child not to use that language when they are using it themselves.
What do you think?

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Eating tips for fussy toddlers

June 24th 2008 01:01

“MMMMMMMMMMMMM” is the terrible whining noise that Samantha makes with her mouth clamped firmly shut and her arms waving furiously pushing everything away.
I like any other parent is concerned about whether my child eats enough, just a few months back she loved eating. Now her eating patterns seem random to say the least. I spent many hours obsessively looking for information about how much she needs to eat, and how much she should weigh.
What I realised is, that there is no need to worry, it is a phase a most toddlers seem to go through. It turns out toddlers are clever little things, they are good at regulating their own appetite, they do not allow themselves to starve, and they are learning which foods they prefer to eat

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Childhood obesity. Whose problem is it?

June 17th 2008 23:45

A quarter of Australian children aged 7-16 years are now either overweight or obese. As a result, the NSW government will be spending $6.5 million on anti obesity initiatives to teach preschool and primary school children simple ways to stay healthy.

The Living Well at School program is designed to teach children about exercise, and healthy eating. For more information, see Really Long Link
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Do babies dream?

June 16th 2008 04:00

Yes, they do according to Dr Charles P Pollack from Centre for Sleep Medicine at New York-Presbyterian hospital. The reason he knows this is they have REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. This explanation seems a bit flimsy to me. When asked what a baby dreams about, he cannot tell you, because you cannot ask a baby to describe their dream.

I remember in the first few months after Samantha was born watching her grimacing wriggling around or smiling in her sleep and wondering, if she was having a dream, but I am still not convinced she was

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Living in a Nappy Free World

June 10th 2008 02:02

I have just been reading an article on the tree hugger website about a toilet training idea that is not only economical but good for the environment as well. It is called ‘elimination communication’, and the idea is that you read your baby’s body language and when they want to go, you just whip of their pants and hold them over the toilet. Apparently, some people have done this from when they first brought their baby home from hospital and, claim their child has been potty trained by nine months. For more information see: Really Long Link
It would seem that some of these children never wear a nappy. An article in the Sydney morning herald describes how some couples let their child go completely pant less. For me this conjures up images of finding little piles of excrement around the house or worse your visitors finding them. I hate housework and I certainly don’t want to create any more. Another mother whipped her child’s pants off and held them over the gutter if they need to go to the toilet when they were out. I don’t know about anyone else, but I think this is unhygienic, not to mention inconsiderate to other members of the public that may not want to be subjected to other peoples children’s waste.
Another thing I wondered about was what happens at night? Surely, your baby must wake up in a wet bed unless you are sitting up all night watching them. As if I wasn’t sleep deprived enough when I brought Samantha home without having to constantly take her to the toilet or change her bedding

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Imaginary Friends

June 5th 2008 04:08

When I was a child I had an imaginary friend, she was a witch, and called ‘Witchy’. It is quite common for children to have imaginary friends usually from about the age of two until around five years. Imaginary friends can take many different forms, from animals, to insects to other children or as in my case a witch.

Children may create these imaginary friends as a playmate or a confidante to discuss issues that are too sensitive to talk to their parents about. Sometimes they help children deal with stresses in their lives such as fear of the dark or monsters under the bed. Some parents may worry that if their child has an imaginary friend then they must be lonely, but this is not necessarily the case. It could mean your child is imaginative

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Surviving Childhood in the 80s

June 2nd 2008 23:02

The other day while watching children playing in the local playground with its enclosed slides, and rubber play areas, I started to wonder how I survived my own childhood relatively unscarred. I think my generation was one of the last to grow up in a time before safety guidelines sucked the fun out of childhood.

Playgrounds didn’t have the rubber play surfaces that we demand for our children nowadays, but it didn’t stop us hanging upside down from monkey bars shouting “Look mum, no hands” with nothing but the hard cement to break our fall

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Placebo Pills for Kids

May 31st 2008 06:39

There was an interesting article in the New York Times on 27 May 2008 about a woman named Jennifer Buettner who invented a placebo pill for children called Obecalp, (placebo spelt backwards). The idea came to her one day when she was looking after her seven-year-old niece. Her niece was suffering from a case of hypochondria and her mother in law suggested giving her a mortin tablet (which apparently does nothing). Ms Buettner decided instead of giving her any drug at all why not give her a placebo. With the help of her husband she started, a Placebo company called Efficacy Brands and designed the cherry flavoured dextrose tablet called Obecalp.

Research has shown that placebos can be effective in treating depression and minor pain, and some parents may feel it is an easy way to soothe an unsettled child

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