Kids’ Toys from the Hardware Store: Paint Roller

Every young child I know loves to smear things on walls, whether food, paint, or merely dirty hands. Channel that impulse with a three- or four-inch paint roller. It’s not for children who like to bludgeon with such objects, but for others, it can provide a surprising amount of amusement, indoors and out. “Paint the house like Bob the Builder,” you can direct, while doing yard work or preparing dinner. Don’t let your child use real paint, of course, but rather moisten the roller just enough to leave a damp streak and create the sense of painting. Do set the requirement that younger siblings and pets are off limits.

(Read the rest of the series.)

Shakespeare and Lesbianism

While we’re on the subject of April observances, I’ll note that today is the traditional (though perhaps incorrect) celebration of Shakespeare’s birthday.

In honor of the Bard, therefore, yet in keeping with the theme of this site, I give you two quotes. The first is from his gender-mix-up comedy Twelfth Night. Viola, disguised as a man, comments upon the Countess Olivia:

She made good view of me; indeed, so much
That methought her eyes had lost her tongue,
For she did speak in starts distractedly.
She loves me, sure . . . .

Next, from his little-known Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music:

Were kisses all the joys in bed,
One woman would another wed.

(Don’t respond to that one too explicitly in the comments, please.)

Since some of my best friends are Actual Shakespeare Scholars, I hasten to add that all this proves is that Shakespeare is quotable enough to be used for any purpose, however anachronistic or out of context. Shakespeare himself played fast and loose with history, though, so I don’t feel too much remorse.

Think I’ll catch a repeat of this week’s The Tudors later so I can wallow in the drama of history and the history of drama all day.

April Observances

April seems to have more than its fair share of awareness-raising observances. I’ve already written about National Poetry Month, the Day of Silence, Global Youth Service Day, and Earth Day.

Coming up, we have:

• April 22-28: the Week of the Young Child, “an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) . . . to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.
• April 22-28: Small Business Week, to “celebrate the accomplishments of small business owners and their employees and encourage the development of new small businesses.”
• April 23-29: TV Turnoff Week, “dedicated to the belief that we all have the power to determine the role that television plays in our own lives. Rather than waiting for others to make ‘better’ TV, we can turn it off and reclaim time for our families, our friends, and for ourselves.”
• April 26: the 15th annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, “designed to expand opportunities for girls and boys, expose them to what adults in their lives do during the work day, show them the value of their education, and give them an opportunity to share how they envision their future.”
• The entire month is also Cancer Control Month, “an opportunity to educate all Americans about cancer, to raise awareness about treatments, and to renew our commitment to fighting this deadly disease.” (The Cancer Blog, however, points out the irony in President Bush proclaiming this month after he cut millions from the National Cancer Institute budget.)

There are probably a few others I’ve missed.

While there’s some justification for saying these celebrations are merely lip-service—shouldn’t every day be the day of the young child?—I do think they have value as long as we use them as jumping-off points and not as ends unto themselves. I also think any observance that focuses on a specific, visible action, like the Day of Silence or Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, stands a better chance of raising awareness and driving change than the ones that are more free-form about their activities.

It’s too much for anyone to observe all of these occasions, in any case. I urge you, however, to pick one about which you know little, and read up on it. Follow the links above, or Google the name to find more.

Earth-Friendly Parenting

Earth Day 2007 is tomorrow, so I thought I’d start a thread on things we do as parents to protect the environment and save energy. From carpooling to soccer practice to favoring toys with minimal packaging, how do you take care of our planet? How do you teach your children to do so? Where do you compromise for convenience?

I’ll also point out the excellent 2004 article, The Poop on Eco-Friendly Diapers, by Elisa Batista, which demonstrates how tricky some of our environmental choices become when we take time to dig behind the marketing hype and consider all the factors involved.

Weekly Political Roundup

• The Colorado State Senate voted to ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. The measure must pass one more Senate vote before going to the House.
• One of the motivating factors in the Connecticut Judiciary Committee’s passage of a bill in support of full marriage rights for same-sex couples (see last week’s update) was the impassioned testimony by out Representative Beth Bye. Bay Windows reports on her speech.
• Two Illinois legislators made mocking comments about sex changes while debating a bill to simplify the process of getting a new birth certificate after transitioning genders outside the U.S.
• New Hampshire Governor John Lynch said Thursday he will sign legislation to establish same-sex civil unions New Hampshire. The Senate has yet to approve the legislation, but Lynch believes they will pass it. Read the rest of this post »

Want Kids to Eat Vegetables? Plant a Garden

Preschoolers are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when the produce comes from their own garden rather than a supermarket, concludes a study by researchers at Saint Louis University. More specifically, preschool children from rural southeast Missouri were more than twice as likely to eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day if the food was homegrown. These children were also more likely to prefer the taste of fruits and vegetables to other foods, to see their parents eating fruits and vegetables, and to have a greater variety of fruits and vegetables in the home.

Want help getting started, or looking for ideas on how to include kids in your gardening efforts?

• Kidsgardening.com, run by the National Gardening Association (NGA), has lots of information, including a Parents’ Primer, classroom projects, and (through the associated NGA site), the handy Pest Control Library.
• From the UK comes Gardening with Children, full of project ideas and plant facts from the BBC and the Royal Horticultural Society.
• Parent Hacks lists a number of ways to create a kid-friendly garden, vegetable or otherwise; e.g., leave a small area that kids can plant themselves.

Welcome, GeekDad Visitors

A big Mombian welcome to the GeekDad visitors stopping by via Asha’s post about my PVC Pipe Construction Set. For the straight dads suddenly wondering what you’re doing on a blog about lesbian moms, I’ll note that part of my purpose is to show that many parenting topics cut across all genders and sexual orientations. (And yes, I realize some of you may not be straight; I’m just assuming this site won’t be quite as disorienting for gay dads.) The other part of my goal, of course, is to share and discuss the concerns more specific to lesbian moms. Whether you want to explore the commonalities (e.g., my hardware- store toys and kids’ activities) or learn about the differences (e.g., my posts on politics and law or family creation), I hope you’ll have a look around.

Book Review: Waiting for the Call: From Preacher’s Daughter to Lesbian Mom

Originally published in Bay Windows, April 19, 2007.

When I first read the title of Waiting for the Call: From Preacher’s Daughter to Lesbian Mom, I expected the tale of a woman rejecting her religious upbringing and denouncing her parents as she came out. Jacqueline Taylor’s memoir is thankfully not as simple as that. It is an insightful, compassionate story about coming out, motherhood, and faith, woven into a narrative that reveals the many layers of what we mean by “family.” It is less about rejection than transformation. Read the rest of this post »

Friday Is Global Youth Service Day

Today is the Day of Silence, a time when students bring attention to anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools. Friday, however, marks the start of Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), in actuality a three-day event that “highlights the amazing contributions youth make to their communities through year-round volunteering.” According to the GYSD Web site, over 100 countries join the event, with three million young people participating in the U.S alone. Volunteering helps the volunteers as well as their communities:

Research in the US demonstrates that young people involved in volunteering are more likely to become active citizens through voting, participating in civic groups, and giving philanthropically. In addition, young volunteers have been found to have higher educational and economic achievement rates. Likewise, young people who volunteer are 50% less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, become involved in delinquency, or drop out of school. Youth volunteering is an effective strategy for building strong youth and strong communities, while also reducing negative social behaviors.

To find GYSD projects your children can join, visit the Youth Service America site if you are in the U.S., or the GYSD Event Finder for other locations. Even if your children are too young, or otherwise engaged, take a look yourself to see the amazing number of initiatives young people are involved in, including community beautification, food drives, helping seniors, raising money for cancer research, and improving literacy. It’s enough to give me hope for the world.

Resources to Help Children Cope with Shootings and Other Disasters

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the American Association of Pediatrics has compiled a list of resources to help children cope with this and other disasters. In addition, they include more general information on violence prevention, school safety, and promoting mental health. ParentDish also has links to a few other resources to help parents and children discuss the terrible event.