My good friend (CONGRATULATIONS R!) just had her baby last week. She called me desperate for a Lactation Consultant’s phone number. Since our Directory is not quite finished (cross your fingers for this week!), she… Read More »Our favorite lactation consultants in Brooklyn
Yes, it’s true. James Bond (if he ever settled down….) would have this stroller. Abiie, a new stroller company, has just released a G2G stroller with a “Baby Deck”- a built-in changing table. With a… Read More »James Bond Stroller with Changing Table
Sibling Survival by Alice Kaltman Why is it some siblings behave like playmate-angels, sharing and cooperating without a hint of rivalry while others act like annihilator-devils, hell-bent on destroying each other at every opportunity? When… Read More »How To Help Siblings Get Along
Please note, this story is from 2009 and outdated, but still somewhat correct. The Park Slope Tribeca Pediatrics office is still there and still has a similar look. I think they have in-house parent education… Read More »What the New Tribeca Pediatrics Office In Park Slope Looks Like
I had heard Premier Pediatrics in Park Slope was moving. We go there ourselves. It is official now that it is on their website: After 10 years, we have lost our lease at our current… Read More »Premier Pediatrics is Moving
Are we eating enough dark greens? This is all the more surprising if you know that my son doesn’t like about half of the vegetables out there. But he loves spinach, kale and swiss chard… Read More »Kale Shake Recipe
Dr. Gilgoff, our blog pediatrician, tackles the “sleep issue” for us: when is it okay to sleep train? Should we sleep train? If so, what are the best methods? We sleep trained Birch at 10… Read More »When Can A Baby Sleep Through the Night?
Thanks to Papa Tree for this sensitive and informed review of a new CD for kids living in New York. Since he is a musician and has an ear (and I don’t) I am sending all music reviews his way from now on. Jeremy and Clare, the musicians of this album, have an upcoming gig at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. To find out where and when, scroll to the bottom of the review.
This Subway Ride is “Good”
by Tuey Connell
The children’s music industry seems to leap forward exponentially each year, as evidenced by the number of indie releases geared towards little people. While not yet a glut, as there will always be room for fun, thoughtfully composed, performed and recorded children’s music, there are equal parts ‘good’ and ‘not so good’ CDs directed towards little listeners and their charges.
Thankfully, from the first few notes of “Songs in the Key of New York with Clare and Jeremy”, this music presentation is clearly about gentle, melodic songs sung and performed by first-rate musicians. This is ‘good’ music. The first track, “Five Boroughs,” is lullaby-like, with a chorus that easily puts the listener in a peaceful mood with glockenspiel, chromatic harmonica, and dreamy vocals, suggesting that the five boroughs are harmonious and pleasant places in which to live – despite what we might read or hear in the news each day. The best children’s music should take us out of our daily grind with the elements and harsh realities, and this sweet but short CD does so persuasively.Read More »Songs for City Kids
The Dream Team: Advanced Preparation and Problem-Solving by Alice Kaltman It’s easy to love kids. However it’s not always so easy to get them to do what we want. At some point even the most… Read More »Can You Get Kids To Do What You Want?
This post isn’t about fighting over dinner with your kids…but with your partner. Do you and your partner have different ideas about mealtimes, what should be eaten and how much? Donna Fish counsels a couple over their issue of “clean your plate”. Luckily, they resolve it.
by Donna Fish
The other day I was counseling a couple who came to me over their own fighting over their kids’ food. He: “I think Karen defers to the kids too much. They should eat what is on their plate, and finish it all!” She: “I refuse to make my kid eat chicken if she doesn’t like chicken; she has great eating habits and was happy with the cantaloupe and salad.”
Sound familiar? Perhaps the genders are flipped in your household, but invariably, parents differ over leniency, or how to handle it when kids don’t want to eat what is given to them. Often it is related to how we as children were raised around food. As this Dad said to me plainly: “I had to eat what was there for dinner, or I didn’t get food. I just want Karen to respect my position and not fight me in front of the kids.”
Then he sheepishly shared a story of how he had a standoff once with his Dad over being forced to eat something he didn’t like. He stayed at the table all day.
Feeding our kids, and feeding ourselves, often can raise lots of issues. Unfortunately in their case, this couple came for help because they were in a stalemate over how to handle their differing perspectives and were fighting in front of the kids. Like any couple issue, the ghosts of others are lurking there in the room as we are playing out the current scenes. Add to the mix the stakes of teaching kids good eating habits, and you have a perfect storm of tension, anger and polarization.
A few tips:
1) Think carefully Read More »Parents…Fighting Over Dinner?