The Lost (& Final) Basement Tape; Video #12

Actually filmed in the basement, this is the last of 12 videos that I filmed for promotion of my book, Creating Your Perfect Family Size. In all 12 videos, I altered the scenery and followed the directions of Noah, my son-in-law. He was specific: "Pops, if you want these videos to be watched, you can't just be gimmicky; you have to have content." And that is what I attempted to do with each promo. This last video urges couples not to be haphazard about their family size decisions....and I remind parents....As Many or as Few, as Long as You Think it Through! Thanks for watching these videos :)

Can Philharmonic-Bound Infants Sense Rhythm?

When my son-in-law Noah encouraged me to start this blog he insisted, “Pops, it has to be fun for you!” So in his honor and in honor of Blog post number 150, I picked a topic that makes life fun….Music. A study described by Liz Szabo in USA Today reveals just how early infants may have a sense of rhythm. How old? “Brain scans show that these 2 and 3 day olds could perceive musical patterns and even take note when a drummer missed a beat.”

Co-Author Henkjan Honing of the University of Amsterdam explained, “The new results suggest that rhythm could be an innate ability, hard-wired into the human brain.” He added, “It’s possible that babies are born with a musical sense because it helps communication.” You can read this interesting article by clicking here.

Dinner Time, Shminner Time, as Long as You Connect With Your Children

A recent NY Times Op-Ed pointed out that the benefits of family dinners aren’t as strong or as lasting as previous studies suggest. Authors Meier and Musick, who published their research in the well-respected Journal of Marriage and the Family, thankfully stopped short of claiming that family dinners don’t affect family well-being at all. The benefits might not be as strong as previously thought…..but there are still benefits! It’s our old friend “causality” that wrecks the party. Everyone’s having a grand old time until a researcher comes along and tries to PROVE that something CAUSES something else. That’s when the lifeguard blows the whistle and yells, everyone out of the pool (can you tell this is a summer-time Blog Post?). You can read the Op-Ed (click here) and judge for yourself or just rely on my Cliff Notes below, since it’s dinner time soon and I recommend that you turn off all electronic items and go enjoy dinner together with your family. KEY: “Given that eating is universal and routine, family meals offer a natural opportunity for parental influence: there are few other contexts in family life that provide a regular window of focused time together.” “If you aren’t able to make the family meal happen on a regular basis, don’t beat yourself up: just find another way to connect with your kids.”

How Can Over-Protective Parenting Cause an Injury?

On a playground slide….that’s how. “Orthopedic specialists say they treat a number of toddlers and young children each year with broken legs as a result of riding down the slide on a parent’s lap.” In Tara Parker-Pope’s piece on this surprising risk, she quotes Jed Dickman, whose 18 month old toddler’s sneaker got caught on the side of the slide, resulting in a fractured tibia. “My wife was just trying to keep Hannah extra safe and make sure she didn’t fall; she felt very guilty about it.”

What’s the upshot?

This may be one of those counter intuitive situations when a child is actually safer by herself. During the summer, have fun and be safe!

NewsFlash: Women Enjoy Child Care Tasks More than Men

In case you haven't read a thousand articles/studies on child care, read one more. Tara Parker-Pope (always excellent) makes several important points in her recent NY Times Magazine essay:

1. On 16 out of 25 child-care tasks like changing diapers, women report higher levels of enjoyment than men.
2. Women are far more likely to take advantage of family-leave benefits than men.
3. Men have more than doubled the time they spend on child care since 1985. Yet women still spend twice as much time with the children as men (surprise, surprise).

How about surveying fathers on the child-care-enjoyment-gender differences and asking.....Aren't you lazy because you married the greatest woman in the world who also happens to be the Mother of all Mothers? Therefore mothers...your diligence increases our laziness. I don't have to worry about repercussions; my wife is way too busy to ever read this blog.

In honor of my birthday blog post, I want to thank both of my parents (in heaven) for having taken such great care of me and.....doing it with a smile!