Helicopter Parents Need to Land

Kids with more freedom get more exercise, according to a study conducted in the U.K. Can this be done in a city environment? You betcha.  Stay turned for ParentZing! tips on how this can be accomplished… and feel free to submit your own ideas!
♦♦♦♦
Click here to see Reuters link to article, copied in its entirety below.
♦♦♦♦

Research has shown that children with more independent mobility interact more with other children and their environments, while lower levels of independent mobility could “negatively influence children’s emotional, social and cognitive development,” and may lead to more sedentary behaviours, putting them at risk of obesity.

Children whose parents give them more free rein to roam are also more physically active, new research from the United Kingdom shows.

Parents are becoming less and less likely to allow their children this kind of independence, Dr. Angie Page and her colleagues from the University of Bristol point out, and more research is needed on how to change the social and physical environment to allow parents to feel more comfortable giving their children more autonomy.

Page and her team looked at the independent mobility — the degree to which the children were allowed to move around without adult supervision. An example would be allowing children to walk to school or to a friend’s house without being accompanied by an adult.

Parents may be becoming increasingly reluctant to let their children wander on their own due to concerns about traffic dangers or the threat that their child might be molested, the researchers note, or they may also want to spend more time interacting with their children.

Breathe Easy

Is the city bad for kids with asthma? Or is a week vacationing in the Italian countryside simply good for everyone? (Or both?!) You decide, after reading the article below. ParentZing! wants to share many types of information with our readers; not just the nuggets that support our theme of “urban. style. parenting.” (Ok, well…99% of the time we post things that overtly support our mission and love for all things city. But at least we’re honest about it!)

♦♦♦♦

Mild Asthma Symptoms Fall After Just a Week Away, Study Finds

Click here for original post at US News & World Report
Posted March 2, 2009

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) — After a week away from urban air pollution, children with mild persistent asthma begin to show dramatic changes in their respiratory health.A study in the March issue of Pediatrics reports that just seven days after a group of school-age children left the city for a rural area, airway inflammation went down and lung function increased.

“I was quite surprised by our findings,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Giovanni Piedimonte, professor and chairman of the pediatrics department at the West Virginia School of Medicine. “I thought we would see a difference, but I didn’t think we’d have such statistically significant changes. What I was particularly surprised by was that the most statistically significant change was in pulmonary function. Virtually every single child more or less increased pulmonary function.”

Tennis, Everyone?

Tennis isn’t just for the country club.  It’s also part of the city scene. Our guest poster, Esther, is a tennis enthusiast based in New York City. She firmly believes that “getting your child interested in activities will help them manage their time better, make more friends and succeed in school.” We firmly believe that some day your little budding tennis star will be able to score you Wimbeldon tickets!  So consider the investment a good one, all the way around.

♦♦♦♦

Do you live in NYC? Did you watch the US Open? Are your children eager to learn tennis?  Do they play with a racquet even in your cramped apartment every chance that they get? If so, you may want to consider giving your child tennis lessons. 

The bad news is that in NYC tennis options are scarce. The good news is that I am here to your rescue. I realized the need for tennis classes for young children and started a tennis program.  I rent space at a facility in Murray Hill and I also give classes at Ys, JCCs, and schools. I am able to do this because my business is portable. I have portable nets that I set up within minutes. We use lightweight racquets and nerf balls.   

Here are some activities that kids can look forward to in my class. We teach kids the fundamentals of tennis: forehands, backhands, volleys, and overheads. To keep the tennis class lively we often play games. We often partake in the game Graduation, where kids get to move up a grade each time they are able to connect with the ball. We play in which  kids are able to run and dodge balls when they hit a certain number of balls, Does this sound like fun to you? If so you should check out Elf Tennis! 

I Heart Philly

Each month ParentZing! highlights a different city and a guest poster raves about why it’s great to raise a family there. This time ’round it’s Philadelphia. You know, the largest city in the US… in 1800. ParentZing! reader Kaitlyn Bowers tells us why she loves the City of Brotherly Love…

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Philadelphia suffers from city envy.  A few miles one way you have NYC. A smidgen more another way you have Washington, DC. But it’s a great town in it’s own respect, really! Here are 10 reasons why I love living and raising my kids in Philly.

I Heart Chicago

Each month ParentZing! highlights a different city; this time around City “X” is Chicago. Our guest writer is “T.J.”, a transplant to the Windy City from LA. Along with three kids under 10, a spouse and a “very naughty chocolate Lab,” T.J. loves living in The Second City. Here are 10 reasons why their whole family thinks it’s first rate. 

♦♦♦♦

There are many reasons Chicago is such a great city to raise a family, so it’ll be hard to list only 10. I hope my fellow Chicagoans will offer their insights in the comments section so that readers can learn even more.

1. All the beaches and parks. We have something like over 550 parks. I forget the exact number, but it really doesn’t matter. Let’s just say it’s a crazy amount.

The largest, Lincoln Park, has a terrific and manageable zoo, cool statues like one of Shakespeare that the kids can climb and sit on, golf, basketball, tennis, public beaches, playgrounds, gardens, boating and a conservatory. During the summer there are theatre performances and concerts outdoors. There’s even more to do there, but you’ll have to come and check it out for yourself.

2. Sports. Even if you generally aren’t a sports fan, it’s fun to live in a city that is so intense about its teams. The anticipation and excitement is infectious. The Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, whatever. Families attend sporting events in droves. Okay, so it can be expensive. Watching on TV is good, too. We get together with other families, pop the popcorn, and have our own stadium-style experience. (P.S. It helps if you have friends with really big high def plasma screens.)

3. Chicago respects and kids and culture.  There is always something cool and cultural going on in the city. Coming up soon (October 23 – November 2) is the annual Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Yes, an international film festival just for children! And this isn’t just some politically correct thing someone just started. The festival’s been around for 25 years.

There are also many terrific museums. Our favorite is The Field Museum of natural history. There’s also live children’s theatre. Bottom line is there is no way you can get bored here.

The Backyardigans Bug Me

You’ve probably watched the Backyardigans a time or two. You’ve probably even walked around absent-mindedly humming one of their chorus-y tunes. If you haven’t yet experienced these, um, “pleasures,” once your babe gets old enough, you will.

Anyway, in each episode Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, Austin and Uniqua (yes, I said “Uniqua”) go into the backyards of their tract houses to play together. They use their imaginations to come up with wild adventures, such as being knights who have to guard a special egg that turns into a dragon. Or something like that.

I’m not really sure what the cast members are supposed to be: I think one of them is a penguin and another a moose. One looks like a polka-dotted hippo, but I could be wrong. Whatever, it doesn’t really matter.

What does matter is why the show bugs me. What’s wrong with a bunch of penguins/moose/whatever using their imaginations to play in their backyards? On the surface, nothing. It’s great that the show is encouraging kids to use their minds instead of watching TV (…except, wait, they ARE watching TV!).

Aside from this little bit of irony, the main problem as I see it is this: *ALL* they ever do is use their imaginations! They never have real experiences! They are stuck in their suburban homes — day in and day out — having nothing much else to do except congregate in their own backyards to make up bizarre stories.

Wouldn’t it be better if they occasionally left their backyards and saw, like, elements of the actual world?

Big Kid VrrrrrRoom!

You’ve checked out ParentZing!’s nursery and toddler room ideas. Now see what we’ve got on tap for bigger kids’ rooms. Once your growing creations see our options, they’ll be begging to clean up their place to make space. Maddox knows: Cool rooms rule.

 

 

 

 

If you have kids sharing space (which isn’t unlikely if you do live in the city, unless you’re Brad & Ang… who, by the way, just donated $2 million for an Ethiopian clinic) look to bunk beds as a solution. Today’s bunk beds are a far cry from the fugly ones of years past.  Great modern options are out there. Pricey, but this is one item you don’t want to skimp on. Whether you like it (or not), this’ll be the focal point of the room.  So make it a pleasing one, like this’un from Argington.

 

Take a poke at popular culture as well offering a space-saving place for your artiste to center his or her attention. Look at the cute Chalkals wall chalkboard decals for options. When your precious babe isn’t looking, you’ll be doodling episodes of the original 90210. Fer sure.

 

I Heart New York

We hope our loving, hip, giving readers will share with us why they heart raising their families in City “X” [fill in the blank].  First up is NYC. Our guest writer Jill Cornfield tells us the top 10 reasons she loves livin’ in the Big Apple with kids. Surburbs? Please. Read on and see why Jill and her family think the Apple is
soooo sweet…

♦♦♦♦

1. Museums. In the Metropolitan Museum of art alone, there’s Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, modern art, European masterpieces, arms and armor, enough weapons to outfit several regiments from most of the last millennium, cafes and gift shops galore.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg: There are many more museums to check out. The toy soldier museum. The transit museum. The Jewish museum. The Museum of the American Indian. The dinosaur museum (aka the Museum of Natural History). The Tenement Museum. The Skyscraper Museum. The Museum of Chinese in the Americas. The NY Food Museum has no home, but it does have an annual pickle festival. And guess what?! It’s *next* weekend! 
 

Prepping for Your Canadian Move

Some of our readers will entertain a move to Canada come November, depending on the outcome of the election.  Well, we’re here to help. Y’know, Canada has fabulous cities in which to raise your kids! 

You may first want to bone up on process. And fancy this: All the work has been done for you with the book How to Move to Canada: A Primer for Americans.  

 

It’s also never too early to start preparing the rest of your family for the possible move. Begin with a firm knowledge of hockey trivia.

 

Me like cute bears! Me wanna go to Canada, Mama...NOW!!!

 

 

For the teeniest of tiniest expats-to-be, make the ABC of Canada required bedtime reading.

 

 

 

 

Putting “Time Out” in a Time Out

The September 2008 print issue of Time Out New York: Kids has a section entitled “Whining and Dining” which is, of course, about eating out with children. There are reviews of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens eateries.

The mag also offers tips for a successful restaurant visit.  Yeah, yeah… all well and good.  But they forgot to mention our recent similar post, No Fries with That: Upscale Restaurants with Kids.

Humph.

Shame on you, Time Out, for not taking the opportunity to point your cursor to ParentZing! Such naughty behavior warrants — dare we say it — a time out.

♦♦♦♦
ParentZing! Perk: The Children’s Place is offering 15% off all purchases with code FA78 (ends 9/2).

Transit Trek: The Next Generation

Today’s guest post by the Muni Ladies is a follow-up to our recent entry entitled, “Free Ride: Taking Public Transportation with Babies & Kids.”

Picking up where Ms. Manners leaves off, the Muni Ladies are the sassy duo behind Muni Manners, and they’ve given a face lift to mass transit etiquette. While inspired by San Francisco Bay Area transit, their etiquette rules apply to public transportation in any metro area. 

PS For Michael Phelps fans: See the video we just appended to our Phelps’ Mom Sez: “Where Did I Go RIGHT?“ post. You *will* find it funny!

♦♦♦♦

When it comes to parenting, there’s never a bad time to introduce etiquette and manners. As new riders and their families join the existing legions of the transit savvy, we at Muni Manners feel that simple and actionable etiquette rules resonate now more than ever – on public transportation, at home, or in school. 

Free Ride: Public Transportation with Babies & Kids

In many cities (not LA), there are great public transportation systems (not LA) that allow you to get to where you gotta go pretty efficiently (not LA).

Ok, LA…I’ll give you this: The weather IS undeniably fabulous. And there IS greater celeb-sighting potential. I guess it wouldn’t be so horrible running into, say, hunky dad David Boreanaz under warm, sunny skies.

Anyway, if you are lucky enough to be a resident of one of the pro-public transit cities or — even just visiting — buckle up ‘n enjoy the ride with your babies or kids. Need some convincing that it can actually work and be worth it? Read on…

First, children usually are free. Yup, it’s a free ride, baby. And for you? Given that gas prices mean a seven block drive costs approximately as much as an iPod, that $1.70 CharlieCard fare for the “T” in Boston is lookin’, well…pretty fair.

Eco-Zing! “Green” Gifts for Expecting or New Parents

I’m today’s guest blogger, typing this out at midnight after the kids are asleep. My ParentZing! bloggerista buddy is unplugged somewhere in North Carolina, and since I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill (go Heels!) I’m so glad she’s vacationing there.

♦♦♦♦

This list has been jotted down on napkins and post-it notes for years, whenever a non-parent says: “You have kids. So what should I get for someone who is about to have (or just had) a baby?”

I’m glad they ask. I’m glad you’ve asked. Well, maybe you haven’t technically asked…but haven’t you noticed all those baby bumps around? Clearly you need my help. So here it is: My Top 10 Eco-Friendly Gift List for Expecting or New urban. style. parents.

No Fries with That: Upscale Restaurants with the Kids

Just because you’ve got babies or kids in tow doesn’t mean that you have to end up unwrapping your dinner and eating with a plastic spork. 

There are plenty of strategies for upscale eating with the fam.  

 

Choose Carefully

Start out slow:  Pick places that have long lunch hours, early dinner times and/or outdoor space. Choose a couple for the test drive. These places should be those that are further down on your “must try” list.

Why, you ask?

Well, because, frankly, there is the distinct possibility that if your child decides to throw the butternut squash ravioli at the sommelier you may be politely (or not so politely) asked to never return.  

This also means that the restaurants you select for the trial run should NOT be ones that the celebs frequent.

I mean, you wouldn’t want to ruin your chances with Paul Rudd or Angelina should your princess decide to stand on the table declaring her intention to blow chunks if you don’t stop asking her to “just try” the duck two ways with red currant jus.

Time it Wisely

Obviously, the first move is to go during off-peak times.  

If you want to try lunch, give it a go as soon as they open or right before they are ready to close up to prepare for dinner.

If you are striving for dinner hours, make a reservation — even if you are going at the stroke of 5:00PM when the doors swing open. If you have infants or toddlers, when making the reservation ask if they have high chairs or boosters.