LilSugar

How Do Your Children Get to School?

LilSugar — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:30:55 -0700

What child hasn't heard the story of their parents hiking five miles to school, uphill (in both directions) during a blizzard? Such tall tales may seem even more foreign to kids as fewer moms are allowing their lil ones to walk to school on their own. According to the National Household Travel Survey, child abductions, unsafe traffic conditions, and neighborhood conditions can be blamed for the decline in the number of walkers from 41 percent in 1969 to 13 percent in 2001.

Following the discovery of Jaycee Duggard, the New York Times looked into the dwindling number of school kids who walked to school and found there is a heated debate over the matter. While helicopter parents may escort their wee ones the one or two blocks to class, free-range parents feel the need to cut the cord. Mamas who allow their offspring to walk alone often face the wrath of neighbors and school administrators who scold them for their decisions and require them to sign permission slips that explain their decision to allow solo journeys.

How does your child get to school each day?

Parents Use Their Wallets and Opinions to Influence Education

LilSugar — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:00:00 -0700

How much say should parents have in their children's education? In an age where adults are known to begin educating babies in the womb, obsess over their tots' preschool admissions, and sign them up for dozens of activities, it's no wonder that some parents try and control their child's class placement. Whether it's mom asking that her son not be placed in the same class as his nemesis, or dad requesting a specific teacher based on reports from PTA members, principals deal with a legion of requests. And many helicopter parents are used to getting their way - even paying to push their opinions on the institution. In some private establishments, mothers and fathers have pooled their funds to buy members of the faculty out of their contracts. Is this appropriate - what's your opinion on the issue?

Do You Keep Your Kids in Sight While at the Park?

LilSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:00:13 -0800

My jaw dropped the other day when I heard one mother tell another that she lost track of the woman's son (a kindergartner) earlier in the day (while he was in her care) at the packed park. She found him after a few minutes, but then the two laughed about it as they ate lunch while their tots played clear across the park and out of sight.
Do you keep your eyes on your kids at all times in crowded places?

Source

Mommy Dearest: Should I Trust the Other Parents?

babysugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:30:58 -0800

Mommy Dearest,

I am entering new territory and could use some advice. My preschool son is starting to make new friends of his own from his classroom. A few of his little buddies have asked him to come over for a playdate, which is exciting and scary at the same time. Thrilled that he is advancing socially, I am nervous to let him go over to a friend's house where I don't know the parents at all. I could care less about snacks or sugary drinks but I wonder what the mom's disciplinary style may be or how she deals with her children. Heaven forbid she's a closet drinker like that woman who drove drunk and killed all of those innocent children. I don't want to be a helicopter parent but I don't want to regret anything, either.

- Scared to Be Helicopter Mom

To see the response from Mommy Dearest, just read more.

Scared to Be Helicopter Mom,

Your concerns are natural and admirable - you are looking out for your child's best interest. An easy way to solve your problem is to have an initial mommy and child playdate where the boys can play together, and you can get to know the other mother. During that time, you can chat and try to figure out where she stands on some issues. If she talks a big game of drinking or partying, it may be an indicator that you need a few more dual-parent supervised dates or that you need to host the playdates. Another idea is to organize a social event for a group of the moms so you can get to know them outside of your children. It will help you feel better about leaving them in their care and vice versa. More than anything, you should trust your intuition. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

- Mommy Dearest

Submit a question for this feature at the Mommy Dearest Group on our new community page.

Jennie Garth Gives LilSugar the Scoop on Her Parenting Style

babysugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:45 -0800

Before there was Summer on the The OC or Blair on Gossip Girl, there was Kelly Taylor of 90210. For many modern mamas, Kelly Taylor was the girl next door. High school girls related to her and tried to emulate her every move. And much like the actress who played her, Jennie Garth is the envy of many a mother. The bubbly blond recaptured America's hearts on Dancing With the Stars and is reprising her role on the old teen fave, 90210. As a counselor on the show, it is fitting that the famous mum has words of wisdom for other mommies. The adorable mama took the time to answer our four lil questions:

1. Why didn't anybody tell me ... about motherhood?

Why didn't anybody tell me it would be so hard? That it would be the hardest job ever.

2. You know you're a mother when ...

When you have a little bit of throw up on you and it's okay and you just keep on going.

3. What's the best trick your mama taught you?

It doesn't matter if the dishes are clean. It just matters that my kids are happy.

4. Free-range mom or helicopter mom?

Free-range mom. I let them run free.

Come back tomorrow to see what the celebmama has to say about wanting more babies and how she and Twilight star Peter Facinelli keep bringing the sexy back to their home life and much, much more!

Lil Links: Honor Warren Is a Little Swiss Miss

babysugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:30:17 -0700

Honor Warren is a Swiss miss - Celebrity Baby Scoop
Mama Obama does the hula at the White House - ParentDish
Angie Harmon's family has got milk - Celebrity Baby Blog
115 teens pregnant at a Chicago high school - TrésSugar
Natural remedies for the cold and flu - CafeMom
A helicopter mom charged with child abuse - The Mommy Files
Plates to mark birthdays - Cool Mom Picks
Butter up butternut squash - Momologie
20 toys that make you go "ouch!" - Momversation
Cupcake cars... really - Alpha Mom

Expectant Mamas Can Fly High Without Worry

LilSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:00:12 -0700

Flying the friendly skies just got a bit less burdensome for expectant women. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has revised its recommendations regarding pregnancy and travel by air, deeming it safe for women who are not considered high-risk. According to the new recommendations:

Since 2001, "a number of observational studies have been published confirming that air travel is generally safe during an uncomplicated pregnancy. These new studies have made our previous recommendations stronger and more detailed . . . When a patient with an uncomplicated pregnancy asks about occasional flying, we should feel comfortable saying, 'It's safe.'"

That's great news for women whose work requires them to travel and for those looking to squeeze in a relaxing babymoon or trip to visit distant friends prior to the lil one's arrival. The new recommendations should also ease the minds of moms-to-be who like to fly themselves, like Angelina Jolie who was piloting her own plane while pregnant with Vivienne and Knox and Gisele Bundchen who recently took up helicopter lessons. How far into your pregnancy did you continue to travel by air?

Toddler Pageants: Enchanting or Creepy?

babysugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Time to bust out the candy and popcorn... or is it? Toddlers and Tiaras is back for season two on TLC. While 43 percent said you would tune into the show's first season, how many of you will return for round two? Child beauty pageants are like a train wreck - it's near impossible to tear one's eyes away from the mama drama. One might be hard pressed to believe these competitions and lifestyles still exist in today's world, but thanks to reality television, viewers can sit back and soak up the painful hairdos, masked makeup, and helicopter moms. Tell me, do you find these types of toddler pageants enchanting or creepy? To check out the sneak peek from the season premiere read more.

Lil Loves of Our Lives: Charlene Prince Birkeland of Yahoo! Shine Parenting

LilSugar — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:00:18 -0800

As part of our Valentine's Day coverage, we've asked fellow mom (and dad) bloggers and writers to share their thoughts on parenthood and the lil loves of their lives - their children - with us.

Today's mama is Charlene Prince Birkeland of Yahoo! Shine Parenting, and crazedparent. Her two boys, Nolan, 7, and Quin, 3-1/2, keep her busy!

lilsugar: Why didn’t anybody tell me (fill in the blank) about motherhood?
Charlene Prince Birkeland: Why didn’t anybody tell me that my teeth would go into a dental tailspin after being pregnant.

lilsugar: You know you’re a mother when (fill in the blank)?
Charlene Prince Birkeland: You know you’re a mother when your kid throws up on you and you don’t dry heave at the smell. But if another kid did it, you'd run to the nearest bathroom.

lilsugar: The best trick my mama taught me was (fill in the blank)?
Charlene Prince Birkeland: The best trick my mama taught me was how to swear in Spanish so the kids don’t know what I’m saying.

lilsugar: Helicopter mom or free-range kids?
Charlene Prince Birkeland: Helicopter mom or free range kids? A slight mix of both, but I lean more towards the helicopter-mom side. (Something else I got from my mom . . . and dad.)

Interview With Alex McCord: Real Housewife Talks Children

LilSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:00:11 -0700

Made famous by her family's everyday antics on Bravo's show, The Real Housewives of New York City, Alex McCord has written a parenting book that will hit bookstore shelves at the end of this year or the beginning of next. Rather than an instructional read, the text will be a he said, she said penned by Alex and her hubby, Simon, about raising their young sons - Francois, 5, and Johan, 3, - in an urban environment. And, since they don't always agree, Alex said it makes for an interesting read.

I recently had a chance to chat via phone with the reality star who wouldn't say who was the most maternal housewife or which castmates's parenting style she identified with, but was happy to dish on what really happened during last season's finale and the fact that she and Simon initially didn't plan to enter parenthood.

lilsugar: At a time in your children's lives when most parents are looking to purchase a parenting book, what made you feel equipped to write one?
Alex McCord: I remembered the books that resonated the most with me when I was pregnant and they were not how to books written by doctors and psychologists, but collections of stories about people living their lives with children and what happened - the good, the bad, the ugly - and by reading that you could see what they learned from it. I had started writing down stories myself in 2004 when I was a mom of one. And now that we have the show, we have the platform to do something like this. There's a huge demand for slice of life entertainment and that's the same viewpoint that we are approaching this book from. It's crazy, off the wall stories about something that happened when we were out with the kids, something that happened when we were at home and my take on it and Simon's take on it.

To see what Alex had to say about childcare and the construction hazards filmed in their home, read more.

lilsugar: What is unique about the way you and Simon are raising the boys?
Alex McCord: We share everything 50 percent. We are both so invested in giving our children a good experience. We live in a very liberal city and environment which we love and have a really strong family unit. We both lost our fathers at a very young age. Simon was 5 and I was 11 and you don't know how long you are going to get to be together. The relationships with your family are the primary thing that shapes your outlook on life. It's absolutely vital to make sure that it is high quality - it's the most important job you can do. We have an appreciation for that while having full lives that involve traveling, both of us working full time, though at the moment I am looking for work full time. We do a lot of things with our children that other people thought were strange. We traveled extensively with them since Francois was 13 days old. We also came into this not wanting to have children. When we first got together, as individuals we decided we did not want to be parents and then once we were married and had been together a while, we changed our minds and threw ourselves into the experience of being parents. We couldn't be happier the way things turned out.

lilsugar: On the show you had a live-in French speaking au pair. Is she still with you?
Alex McCord: The au pair program is just for a year so we had au pairs for three years and when we finished with our last au pair, we made the decision to bring on a full time nanny instead. She does not live with us, but is with us quite a lot. We were ready to have someone not live with us.

lilsugar: Can you speak to Francois's behavior in last season's finale? Was it just a long dinner and a restless child or is that the freedom of expression you want your children to have?
Alex McCord: Hardly. It was a bunch of things. It was our naivete about the way reality shows are put together. We had never watched reality shows before doing this show. It was a family dinner with all of the children expected to attend. Dinner ran two hours late because of late arrivals of the cast members. There's a lot that you didn't see that night. It's the job of the producers to create entertaining television and more often than not with children, no one wants to see beautiful children behaving beautifully. You don't see me taking for a time-out, you do see someone asking Simon if we let our children act this way, and he says, "Oh, yeah sure we do", but the sarcasm doesn't read. We were sorry to see that it came out the way it did.

lilsugar: Did you have any regret of allowing him to be filmed. Are you more protective as a result and is that why we see less of your sons this season?
Alex McCord: We wanted them to be involved to the extent that they wanted to be if that makes any sense. It's really difficult to film a show with children. There is a lot of waiting around and we need you to do this or that and that's not natural for kids. If you want to capture those moments that are real, then you really need to manage it so that they are in for a few minutes. If you get something great. It's not good TV for kids to be held in a room for hours. We tried to balance.

lilsugar: What about the safety hazards that were filmed in your home in both seasons? Or are those areas that were filmed, but are off limits to the boys?
Alex McCord: Completely. All the construction happened behind a dead bolted door that was sealed with plastic all over the entire doorway. For example, this season when we took Jill on a tour when we got home from St. Bart's, that was the first time they ever saw it.

lilsugar: Why didn't anyone tell me blank about motherhood?
Alex McCord: Why didn't anyone tell me how much a very jaded individual would love motherhood.

lilsugar: You know you're a mother when?
Alex McCord: You know you're a mother when you can have conversations with both your children at the same time while preparing dinner and tracing out a project for work.

lilsugar: What's the best trick your mother or father taught you?
Alex McCord: Don't condescend to your children.

lilsugar: Helicopter mom or free range kids?
Alex McCord: Neither. You never want to be a parental extreme, it's really a balance. There are times when you need to be right there with them and that can be construed as helicoptering and there are times when you really need to step back and let them do their own thing and make their own mistakes.

Everyone's got an opinion on this parenting book so don't forget anonymous comments are open.