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Going to Children's Gasparilla Parade? We have tips
Pirate invasions don't scare veteran moms. Try keeping up with kids in a crowded, daylong parade event while resisting the siren call of street vendors hawking cotton candy and securing precious bathroom breaks without a long wait. Now that's a feat worthy of Jose Gaspar's admiration
With this weekend's Children's Gasparilla Extravaganza, we have some tips for weathering the invasion.
The alcohol-free event welcoming the Gasparilla season includes the pre-schoolers stroll, a bicycle safety rodeo starting at 11 a.m., an air invasion, a family-friendly Gasparilla parade at 3:30 p.m. followed by fireworks at 7 p.m. Oh did we forget something? Right ... BEADS! ... Read more
New Year's resolutions for parents
Saturday's issue of the St. Petersburg Times's Personal Best section has its usual good advice for health and harmony. Being the first of the year there are stories on the best advice from 2010, how to start running, thoughts on slowing down and enjoying life. But this column from pediatrician Peter Gorski, a child development expert at the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, caught my eye and I thought is worth repeating here: ... Read more
End of an era: Drop-side cribs outlawed
We used to call it "sticking the landing." When you have a sleeping baby in your arms, transferring the comatose infant to the crib is like handling Nitro. If you don't stick the landing smoothly, it's like you dropped some Mentos in a Pepsi bottle -- instant explosion, crying baby, start all over again tired Momma. For short women like me, this was only possible with a drop-side crib. Trying to drop a baby gently into bed while stretching on tippy-toes just never worked.
But it turns out those cribs used by millions have a deadly flaw. On Wednesday the Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously to ban them. ... Read more
Tips for moving into a new house
Many families pick the winter break as a time to make a move to lessen school disruption. Or, if you are planning one for the next big break in spring or summer, now is the time to plan. Our Suburban Diva, Tracey Henry offers another round of moving tips, having just weathered this storm herself:
It’s hard to believe that already a month has passed since our move from Tampa to Tennessee. On this historic anniversary, I thought I’d pass along a few more tips if a family relocation is in your future:
While I consulted a checklist from Atlas to make my life easier, it was advice from fellow Moms that I sought to help ease my kids into our new life: ... Read more
Family offers tips for child's stuttering
One of our favorite dads, columnist Ernest Hooper, posted this helpful piece on stuttering that is keyed to Colin Firth's new movie, The King's Speech. Firth plays a real-life British king who unexpectedly rose to the throne and then worked with a speech therapist to prepare for a key address.
Hooper talked to Tampa's Gabe and Sheryl Hunter, whose son Logan, now 7, started stuttering at age 3. Like so many families plunged into a fast learning curve when a loved one struggles, this family quickly immersed themselves in the subject, and Hooper writes: Sheryl learned that Logan cannot be expected to outgrow stuttering. She learned that many celebrities have successfully dealt with the challenge, including actor James Earl Jones and singer Carly Simon. And she learned that stuttering is more physiological than psychological, and can involve genetics. Parents are wrong to blame themselves, or associate stuttering with stress or nervousness, she said. ... Read more
Check out the big brain on Mommy
Well there goes my handy excuse for forgetfulness, the National Institute of Mental Health reports that motherhood may actually cause the brain to grow, not turn it into mush, as we've been led to believe. The brains of new mothers bulked up in areas linked to motivation and behavior, and that mothers who gushed the most about their babies showed the greatest growth in key parts of the mid-brain.
Oh great, another excuse for new moms to bore us to tears about their super advanced babies. I know I was one of them, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.
But I will say I so liked this: The motivation to take care of a baby, and the hallmark traits of motherhood, might be less of an instinctive response and more of a result of active brain building, neuroscientists Craig Kinsley, PhD, and Elizabeth Meyer, PhD, wrote in a special commentary in the same journal issue. ... Read more
Paging all readers -- it's Children's Book Week!
Every May we celebrate Children's Book Week, a time to salute and promote the love of reading with storytelling, parties,
author and illustrator appearances, and other book-related events. Originally launched in 1919, the week often features special events at libraries and schools.
But we Mommas don't need to cede the celebration to the professionals. We know how important it is to read to our kids, and once they know how to read with them. ... Read more
Ginormous list of summer camps in the Tampa Bay area
We promised to get this out at the end of February. But there are so many summer camps in the Tampa Bay area that we just had to keep collecting information. Eventually, though, you just have to stop. So, here it is, our biggest, baddest, humongous, ginormous list of camps. Last year we had a huge list and this year's list is no different. You're sure to find something that will keep your kid amused this summer in the Tampa Bay area. ... Read more
What are the rules and age for leaving a kid home alone?
When I read this shocking story of a Tampa teen texting to his dad that burglars were ransacking his 
home as the kid hid behind a potted plant, I rethought one of our rules for being home alone. I had always said to simply not answer the door, but in this case, that led the burglars to think the house was empty. ... Read more
Lessons learned from case of Delaware pediatrician charged with molesting more than 100 patients
This is a story that would make anyone's skin crawl, not just a parent. A Delaware pediatrician, Dr. Earl Bradley, stands accused of sexually abusing more than 100 patients, some as young as 3 months old.
He is facing a 471-count indictment for his alleged actions. Investigators say they found videotapes he made of his victims -- five of whom appeared to pass out during the attacks, others who were screaming and begging to get out. All but one of the victims were girls. ... Read more
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THE AUTHORS
E-mail Sharon Kennedy Wynne:
wynne@tampabay.com
E-mail Kate Brassfield:
katedaphne17@gmail.com