Britain's National Children's Bureau recently issued a 366–page guide to play leaders and nursery teachers with guidelines to help them identify and expel racism in their learning environments. Clearly some behavior can be identified as hateful or xenophobic but this report spells out incidents that are more common to the everyday child yet less obvious to those surrounding them.

Some are taking the guidelines quite literally and claiming that if a child says, "yuck" to a certain cuisine, it can be construed as racist. Giving the NCB the benefit of doubt, I'm going to assume that one particular line is being blown out of context. The UK's Daily Telegraph reports:

The guidance by the NCB is designed to draw attention to potentially-racist attitudes in youngsters from a young age. . . The guide goes on to warn that children might also "react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying 'yuk'".

If a child finds a certain culture and its cuisine disdainful, then it makes sense that caretakers would try to intervene and educate that child about the positive offerings of that culture. If, however, a child says, "yuck" to a plate of curry chicken, I wouldn't immediately assume the NCB would call the tot racist. If the youngster genuinely hates the taste of curry, "yuck" may be appropriate. If, however, the child simply says "yuck" because the dish is associated with Indian food, there probably is a lesson to be taught and learned.
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Every child seems to go through a phase where he or she is afraid of the dark and restless before bedtime. There is often little a parent can do aside from creating a comfortable, cozy and calming bed space and reassuring lil ones there is no real "Boogie" man.

Of course, shining a little light on the subject always helps. I adore the Star Egg nightlight ($140), because it's pleasing to adult and child sensibilities. The Egg projects light through tiny openings on its ceramic surface, creating a soft light pattern on the ceiling. Nothing calls on sleep like counting stars.

Finding simple and thoughtful gifts for young children isn't always easy, but these Jeux Clic & Roll Toys ($20) provide a unique and winning option.

They're part art project, part roll toy. The toys ship as a little starter kit filled with laminated cardboard, wood, magnets, a colored illustration and outlined illustration to color. Really lil ones may need a helping hand to put the toys together, but the result is a sweet homemade toy that can be rolled all around the house.

The scores are even between the boys and girls for the Jolie–Pitts. People reports Angelina Jolie gave birth to a boy and girl yesterday at La Fondation Lenval hospital in Nice, France via Cesarean section. Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh now have a baby brother named Knox Leon and a sister named Vivienne Marcheline. Little Knox weighed 5.03 pounds and sister Vivienne was just a hair lighter at five pounds. As expected, baby daddy Brad Pitt was by her side as they welcomed the twins to the world.

Congratulations to the Jolie–Pitt family!
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