Kid Snacks

A list of the 20 Best Snacks for Kids can be found on parents.com. The list includes: quesadillas, peanut butter, eggs, smoothies, and more. Children vary immensely in terms of taste preference, but try to experiment and see what the kid will accept. Some will be a hit, and others, well... you can't win them all (my brother still remarks about the nasty tofu "hotdogs" my mom used to try to serve us--and he's 23).

Kids say crazy things

Kids always find a way to crack you up, whether they mispronounce a word or repeat something they heard. Here's my favorite youtube clip of a little girl defending herself against "monsters."

My little sister and I have much different tastes in pretty much everything, given that she is five years old. I have come up of a list of ten things that my sister and I enjoy doing together and you can do with your little sibling, cousin, niece, or any little kid you may get stuck watching for the day:

Things to do with children in the San Francisco Area:

1) Go to the park (it's what kids know and love, I recommend Golden Gate Park)

2) Take them for a treat (ice cream, candy store, hot chocolate, McDonald's, whatever). You get to enjoy the treat as well and have some time to chat with your little friend, who is bound to say some funny/interesting things.

3) Go to a movie (movies are quite the excursion for children)

4) Take them to a crafty place (painting pottery) or go to a toy or crafts store and pick up a project you can do at home

5) Bake a fun cake, cookies, make jell-o cut outs

6) Go to a museum geared towards kids (Exploratorium, Zeum, Discovery Center)

7) Take them to the zoo or aquarium (avoid the tiger exhibit)

8) Go to the beach (look for sand crabs, run from the waves, sand castles, the works)

9) Have a day of amusement (Great America, Raging Waters, Marine World, mini golf, bowling)

10)Show them a city (give the kid a sense of metropolitan life, avoid sheltered children)

Big sister Caroline

I started to write down my interview with my friend Caroline, 22, who is a big sister to two boys, Pat (20) and Nick (15). She gives some insight to her life with the next generations. Here's Caroline.

"Siblings are peers that happen to be related to you"

This quote from Laurence Steinberg, a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, holds close to me, and to others I'm sure. If you have siblings, it's highly likely that most of your childhood memories are not kept uniquely to you. Most of my childhood memories include my brother in them. As kids, we all grow up together and of course influence each other for the better--or worse. A came upon an old article in USA Today that proposes merely having an older sibling can be a bad influence.

Not sure if I agree being an older sibling myself.

Sexy resources

Sex can be a "taboo" and awkward subject to discuss for kids and their parents. For girls (or guys) in need of medical advice, testing, or contraception, Planned Parenthood, is a great resource with several locations for everyone, and the good news is they keep your information confidential and can work to accommodate all financial and health plan situations. When it comes to STDs and pregnancy, please don't be passive.

Keeping the family together one dinner at a time

An article written by Jennifer Hahn titled, "The Family that Eats Together, Stays Together," discusses the results of a study done on adolescents' to test the relation between family connection, self-esteem, substance abuse, and other things in relation to the frequency that a family eats their meals together. The study found that both boys and girls who frequently eat meals with their families are shown to have less problems with substance use and less depression.

I can attest to these results, as my family would always have six o'clock dinner. If you weren't there, it was your loss, but it really was the only time our family could all sit together and talk about anything going on in our lives. You never knew what was going to come up at family dinner, (especially when my very vulgar and inappropriate brother was present).

"When I was your age"

Watching my sister grow up, I've noticed myself stuck in many nostalgic moments. Taking her to the park takes me back to swinging with my friends and flying down the slides. Eating Mitchell's ice cream in the summer, having play dates, and getting so excited to eat fast food. But I've also noticed the child times they have-a changed. I am constantly saying to my sister, "When I was your age, we didn't get to have sleepovers"...."When I was your age, we didn't have a lap top"..."When I was your age, I couldn't fill my closet"....And the thing that I've mostly noticed is how much television has changed for the youth.

image from fanpop.com

When I was growing up, it was all about "Full House", "Family Matters", "Step by Step", "Are You Afraid of the Dark?", "Mister Rogers Neighborhood"....Nowadays, you've got the diva corner of "Hannah Montana" the recent pregnant Jamie Lynn Spears in "Zoe 101", "Wizards of Waverly Place" (and I'm sad that I know these) and 10 yr old kids talking like they have full time jobs and potential spouses. Kids are learning to have too much attitude and maturity from these money-making shows....If we can, please bring our children back to their youth.


Thank you.

Advice for the youngest sibling

Mike Albertini (20), experienced youngest sibling shares his insight and advice about how to be the baby of the family (see entire interview below):

What would be your best advice for the youngest sibling of a family?

Not to be afraid to do your own thing. I don’t think older siblings can understand that they only show their way of doing things. It’s hard not to do the same because you want to end up like the person you admire. I tried to do that for a long time. No matter how good it feels; you’re not doing anything new. Older siblings should tell their younger siblings not to be afraid to do things completely different from how they did it. For me, I think things could’ve been easier if I was told that. I used to think if I listen to this music (like my sibling), then I’ll have these kinds of friends, and have this kind of life. It’s just stupid.