The Great Kids Star Wars Debate

Where do you weigh in? Leave a comment here on Noodad or a video comment at Seesmic here.

When Your Kids Lie or Helping Kids Deal with Dishonesty Trauma.

My daughter is about as smart and responsible as a dad could hope of his five year would be. I was shocked last evening when I found her bawling in the bathroom. I mean, she was like Noodad-with-a-hangnail-bawling! She just told me that she brushed her teeth and my wife told her that she did not do a good enough job. I guess she took of whiff of her breath and it reminded her of Cujo or something. I thought my sweet little innocent princess was bawling because she is a little bit sensitive about having to do things over. The truth was that she lied about brushing her teeth in the first place. That little rat! Furthermore, this was not the first time she lied to me about brushing her teeth! Innocence lost already? Not quite. After a three hour search of her room, I did not find any marijuana, Pokemon cards, alcohol, firearms, cigarettes, spare ribs or chewing tobacco.

She knows that brushing her little choppers is really important. She also knows that telling the truth is important. Seems there was a problem with her toothpaste being stuck in the tube and rather than ask us to fix it, she was just deciding not to brush her teeth. Or she would use her little brother’s training toothpaste if she decided to brush at all.
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A Dog / Kids Dilemma: What about Boone?

So I visited my friends Wally and Jen the other day to see their beautiful new baby girl, and they asked me my thoughts on a disagreement/issue they were having concerning the family pet.  I thought I’d put the scenario out there to help them get some unbiased opinions from noodad readers.  Here’s the dilemma:

A few years ago, before they had children, my friends picked out a spirited black lab/chow mix pooch from the local kennel.  They named him Boone.  Boone hasn’t been the easiest dog.  He’s a prolific barker, jumps on guests, and he gets carsick.  My friends hired a professional dog trainer and Boone’s behavior is improving, especially when there are no visitors in the house.  Although Boone is challenging and willful (as my friend from Ireland would say), he’s never hurt anyone.  He’s just kind of an excitable dog and they love him. Read the rest of this entry »

Are Teen Spy Stickers Good Parenting or Lazy Parenting?

If you are the parent of a teenager, you probably spend countless hours a week worrying about your kid driving or getting into a car of one of their friends.

There is a company called Teen Spy that allows you to actually spy on your kids when they are out on the roads. No, this isn’t a network of security cameras spread out across your town. It is spying in the form of a bumper sticker.

You know when you pull up behind a truck at a stop light and the truck has a “How’s My Driving?” sticker with a phone number to report poor or dangerous driving to the company that employs him or her? Well, this works the same way. You pay a registration fee, a yearly fee, and you get a bumper sticker with reference number to slap onto your kid’s car. Read the rest of this entry »

Is it OK to let your kids stay up for the Super Bowl?

The big game is coming up and if you are like me, you will surely be watching. But will your kids? On one hand, it’s the biggest stage and the biggest football game of the year. On the other hand, it is a school night and it goes on way past your kids’ bedtime.

And this doesn’t even count what your kids will be seeing if they stay up. They may see Prince stroking his guitar or maybe catch a little Rhythm Nation boob action. Is that what you want them to see?

Which brings us to today’s question… Read the rest of this entry »

At What Age Does Lying About Santa Claus Become Unacceptable?

Ah Santa Claus: that fat jolly ol’ fellow that doesn’t exist unless you count the bearded fat dudes that come out of the woodwork every year to work the local malls.

He is magical and there is nothing like seeing your kids that don’t know any better, talk about him. But eventually someone will blow the whistle on this scam and they will ruin your kids’ yuletide innocence.

If your kids are young when they find out, there is the temptation to outright lie to them. To drag the spoiler’s name through the mud. To discredit what little credibility a 7 year old can build up. Read the rest of this entry »

How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?

After taking a break for the summer, my friend’s babysitter sent her an e-mail about sitting during the upcoming school year.  Citing “an increase in the minimum wage” and car payments pending receipt of her driver’s license, the babysitter informed my friend that her rate was going from $7 an hour to $10 an hour (my friend has two kids, ages 7 and 4).  Additionally, the babysitter said that because she opts to baby-sit instead of getting a job at a store where her shifts would be guaranteed, my friend would have to pay her for her scheduled time if for some reason my friend had to cancel the babysitter’s shift.

 “What stones!” you say.  “Cut her loose!”  In the immortal words of College Game Day’s Ticonderoga-tapping Lee Corso, “Not so fast!”  My friend’s girls don’t do so well with transition, she trusts the babysitter, and the girls really like her. 

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When Should Your Kids Stop Seeing You Naked?

If before you had kids your morning routine involved strolling to the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel slung over your shoulder and a smile on your face, eventually you’ll have to keep Mr. Happy under wraps once your kids get older.  When you live under the same roof with people, it’s inevitable that there’s going to be some exposure.  Your daughter might catch a glimpse of your unit if you don’t shut the bathroom door when you take a leak, and your son might happen upon his mom’s boobs if the bedroom door is ajar when she changes; but there’s a big difference between inadvertent fleshy peeks and parading around the house in the raw like it’s the locker room at the gym.

Of course you want to teach your kids that the human body is a natural thing and you don’t want your kids to freak out over seeing someone naked, but you’ve also got to teach modesty and privacy so they don’t get sent home from school for taking their pants off during an educational video because “that’s how Daddy likes to watch television in our house.”  Just like in that Seinfeld episode, there’s a big difference between good naked and bad naked—but that line is subjective.  

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How should you deal with a picky eater?

If you’ve ever swapped mealtime horror stories with other parents, you already know the tale of “The Kid Who Only Eats One Thing.”   Whether it is Kraft macaroni and cheese or PB&J with the crusts cut off, some kids just won’t try anything else.  Night after night you plate the same meal.  You don’t have to ask your kid what he wants, and he leaves the table with a full belly.  As long as he’s growing and passes all his check-ups with flying colors, what’s the big deal if your kid will eat chicken nuggets and applesauce until he grows feathers and craps Granny Smiths?   Besides, you haven’t attended any business dinners where a colleague asks to see the children’s menu, a sure sign that all kids eventually outgrow this behavior. 

Dealing with your picky eater is tolerable if you only eat at home, but what happens when your kid is at Grandma’s for the weekend and she tries to serve a knock-off mac-and-cheese in a generic blue box?  What if the principal of your kid’s elementary school informs you that PB&J is a no-go in his nut-free school?  Maybe you’d be better off implementing some 1950’s sitcom torture by not letting your one-trick-pony diner leave the table until he finishes his Brussels sprouts.  After all, as Timer used to say on that 1970’s Public Service Announcement, “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it!” 

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Are Weaning Parties Going Too Far?

I recently read an article on Boston.com about a parent who decided to breast feed her kid until she was around 5 years old.  Aside from the obvious arguments for and against:

For:

1. Amazing Nutrional Value!
2. Very nurturing
3. Saves money
4. It's a natural thing

Against:

1. Socially Awkward
2. The kid is almost 5!
3. The kid is going to have crazy emotional attachment issues and heavy heavy heavy emotional anxiety when the mother leaves him/her alone for 2 minutes.

This isn't even the part that sent me to my soap box. There are several
things that got me up here. Read this direct quote from the article:

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