SID THE SCIENCE KID: SID’S BACKYARD CAMP OUT
Not rated. On DVD 5/15. Ok for kids 3+. 4 out of 5 Reels. It’s never too early to get kids geeked about science, and Sid is here to help. With summer starting, it’s also a great time for a campout. This DVD finds Sid, Gerald, and Dad setting up a tent in the backyard, cooking their own dinner, checking out the stars, roasting marshmallows and singing songs around the campfire.... Read More
FRANKLIN DVD COLLECTION
Not rated. On DVD 5/08. Ok for kids 3+. 5 out of 5 Reels. Based on the best-selling books by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark, Franklin is a young turtle with whom kids can easily identify. Sometimes he fibs, acts bossy and makes mistakes, but Franklin always learns something along the way – and has fun in the process. This DVD includes 44 episodes of the little guy and his... Read More
A Mom Under Pressure!
Combating high blood pressure for health and family “I was barely 30 years old and already pre-hypertensive,” says 35-year-old Orlando resident, Ilene Sakal. “My doctor told me that I needed to immediately focus on lowering my blood pressure, or I’d be facing a medication regimen. It was a scary wake-up call. I needed to take control of my health for me, as well as for my... Read More
Difficult or Delightful: Six reasons to appreciate your mother-in-law
Immediately upon walking out of the church on my wedding day, my mother-in-law burst into tears. While she claimed they were “tears of joy,” I know it was very hard for her to hand over her son to another woman. Mothers-in-law often get a bad rap. Mother-in-law jokes abound and somewhere right now there’s a group of women chatting over coffee with at least one of them complaining... Read More
Frozen Planet
Show: Frozen Planet Airtime: Sun., 8 pm on Discovery Rating: TV-PG Genre: Nature, Documentary Cast: Narrated by Alec Baldwin Ok for Ages: 7+ Parents Should Know: Frozen Planet doesn’t shy away from the grim realities of life and death in the Polar regions. It shows animals killing and being killed, freezing, starving, and battling over territory and mating rights. Mating habits... Read More
BIG ELMO FUN
Rated G. On DVD 4/03. Ok for kids 3+ 4 out of 5 Reels. Who doesn’t love Elmo? Last year, I had the opportunity to meet Kevin Clash, who voices the little red guy, and he’s just as fun and upbeat as his alter-ego. This DVD finds Elmo accidentally turning big and towering over Sesame Street. While Abby figures out how to return him to his normal size, kids learn all about measuring... Read More
Making Sense of Facebook’s “Timeline”
By now, everyone knows that Facebook is introducing a new feature called Timeline. The redesign turns each Facebook page into a virtual scrapbook that includes everything a person has ever said or on Facebook. Timeline encourages visitors to review each other’s lives year by year and automatically highlights items that received a lot of comments. Not surprisingly, many teens... Read More
Protect Your Young Athlete’s Vision
Every 13 minutes, a child goes to the emergency room for a sports-related eye injury, accounting for 42,000 sports related eye injuries each year. While playing sports is an important and enjoyable part of a child’s life that helps to improve and develop motor, visual and social skills, it’s very important that parents ensure their children’s eyes are protected when they are... Read More
Pregnancy and Fifth Disease
Mommies-to-be: learn about an infection that could hurt your unborn baby As any Kindergarten teacher can attest, a day at work involves being exposed to perfect little petri dishes (students) who are blissfully unaware that they are sharing a multitude of germs and bacteria: Little hands reach out regularly to be held, frequently after rubbing their mouths and noses. Faces often... Read More
Compounding Medications – Caters to Individual Needs
In the early years of medicine, prescriptions were individualized potions usually prepared for each patient by the town’s apothecary. Today, doctor-prescribed medications are primarily purchased in the one-size-fits-all category from the local chain pharmacy. Taking a cue from a growing demand for personalized customer service, savvy independent pharmacies are going back to “compounding,”... Read More
Alternative Medicine
The phrase “alternative medicine” might make you think of pungent herbal teas, poultices, chanting, or meditation. In fact, both herbal remedies and meditation, as well as dozens of other treatments, fall under the heading of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Although there is no strict definition of alternative medicine, it generally includes any healing... Read More
Toddlers & Tiaras
Top 5 Lessons Normal Parents Can Glean from this Disturbing TV Show As parents, the television program Toddlers & Tiaras is so offensive that we can hardly watch it, let alone relate to it. After all, this is a show depicting the horrifying phenomenon of children’s beauty pageants. Crazed, crown-obsessed parents who dress up their children like “living dolls” complete... Read More
Dental Health Month – What Parents Want To Know…
The good news is that parents today are increasingly interested in promoting good dental health for their children. The bad news is there are so many things to worry about, from what’s the best toothpaste to when to expect the first baby tooth, that it can be overwhelming. Let’s take a look at a couple of hot topics that parents frequently ask about when it comes to their child’s... Read More
Time to Tango with the Tooth Fairy?
It seems like just days ago that I waited patiently for my son’s first little biters to erupt in his infant mouth. Those days somehow melted magically into years and before I knew it, I could hear the Tooth Fairy fluttering about. So I wondered: what is developmentally normal when it comes to baby tooth loss, how does the tooth-obsessed fairy collect her pearly prizes, and what... Read More
THE RIVER
(ABC, premieres Feb. 7 @ 9 p.m.). Too edgy for kids younger than 13. Take one part Lost, blend with one part Heart of Darkness (check out the 1993 movie starring Tim Roth and John Malkovich), and sprinkle in a pinch of Jurassic Park. What you get is The River, a show about famed explorer Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), who goes looking for magic deep in the Amazon and never returns.... Read More
SMASH
Show: Smash Airtime: Mon., 10/9c on NBC Rating: TV-14 (language, sexual references) Genre: Drama, Musical Cast: Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee, Christian Borle, Megan Hilty, Raza Jaffrey, Brian d’Arcy James, Jaime Cepero, Angelica Houston Ok for Ages: 14+ Parents Should Know: The main concern here is sexual content, which begins with a casting... Read More
ALCATRAZ
(Fox, premieres Jan. 16 @ 8 p.m.). Violence and criminal themes: Not for kids younger than 12. I cannot wait to see more of this show. It’s one of those twisty-turny-don’t-know-what’s-coming shows that I hope will gain momentum and stay on the air for at least five years (and I say this after having watched only the pilot). Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia and Sam Neill... Read More
THE FINDER
(FOX, premieres Jan. 12 @ 8 p.m.). Ok for kids 12 and older. I’ve only watched a few episodes of Bones, from which this series spins, so take my notes with a grain of salt. The story revolves around Walter Sherman (Geoff Stults), a guy with the remarkable ability to find anything or anyone. That offers plenty of story possibilities, but the most intriguing thing about this... Read More
WORK IT
(ABC, premieres Jan. 3 @ 8:30 p.m.). OK for kids 13 and older. The last time guys in drag were funny was Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari in Bosom Buddies, and before that, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot. Needless to say, I don’t have high hopes for this show, but we’ll see how it shakes out. Ben Koldyke and Amaury Nolasco star as unemployed car salesmen... Read More
Relief for Colicky Babies and Stressed-out Parents
If your newborn’s colic makes you want to scream, try these five calming techniques In many ways newborns are not quite ready for the world at birth. They need a “fourth trimester” of gentle holding, stroking, shushing and wrapping, according to Harvey Karp, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine. Colicky babies are particularly in need of such... Read More
Cord for Life: A Cord Blood Bank with a Mission to Save Lives
Each year thousands of people are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia and sickle cell disease, which can be treated with the stem cells extracted from the blood contained in the umbilical cord of newborns. As with bone marrow transplants, doctors can match cord blood to a patient and then transplant it to potentially save his or her life. If not suitable... Read More
