I was listening to them talking on the news last night about a potential shortage of toys this Christmas. With all the recent recalls it seems that toys will be going through extra safety checks. This means retailers will probably sell out of popular toys before December.

To me this seems like a good time to talk to kids about expectations. I know there are hugely popular toys that come out every year. Many go for ridiculous prices on eBay when the supply available in stores is insufficient.

My kids haven’t done that to me yet. My daughter is just starting the phase of wanting every toy she sees on a television commercial. So far I just tell her we can put it on her Christmas wish list and to remember that she will not get every single things she asks for.

I’ve never understood why people spend so much for toys on eBay just because they can’t buy them locally in time. Maybe I’m crazy, but I’ve often thought that explaining that the toy will have to wait could teach a child patience. Is it really so bad for the child to not own the toy Christmas day?

If this toy shortage comes through, I would suggest that parents take some time to think about how many toys kids get for Christmas anyhow. I know we have to do toy cleanouts regularly, with old ones going to charity, just because my kids have so many. We don’t buy that many, but by the time you get through all the gifts from relatives and friends, it comes out to quite a stack.

A toy shortage does not have to be disasterous or ruin your child’s Christmas. I think if parents talk to their kids and keep expectations appropriate this can be a great chance for kids to learn what really matters in life and at Christmas.

Technorati Tags: christmas, toy shortage, toys

A lot of people think that kids these days are spoiled. And it’s easy to see why. Kids often have tons of toys, electronics and family life can seem to center around them.

Heck, the Navy even compared the current generation reaching recruitment age to aliens! Basically they feel that kids these days speak such strange jargon with their abbreviations (LOL), and that they are excessively used to being praised.

Well, we can argue that one back and forth all the time. Certainly a lot of parents have been told to do everything they can for their child’s self esteem, and many take that to mean praise every little thing. But I still have faith that most parents do the best they can and try not to overdo it.

I agree with the experts over on WebMD. They have a great list on how to raise a spoiled child.

One of the easiest mistakes to make in my opinion is not enforcing rules consistently. I suspect we all do this to some degree. The challenge is to not do it too much, and most especially to keep it consistent on the most important rules.

I love the idea of knowing how to praise a child properly. In a lot of ways I don’t think it’s so much what you praise as how you praise it. It’s been shown that telling your child that they’re smart is not as effective as telling they you’re proud of how hard they worked. It’s just more motivating.

I do know my kids have a lot more toys than they need. We have a plan to go through them hopefully soon and get rid of at least half. That will take care of a lot of the clutter. And you know what? My daughter is looking forward to it. We just did a smaller cleanout of her clothes, and she was delighted and very proud to have worked so hard on that kind of a project.

I don’t think my kids are too spoiled. I work hard at making sure they know they are a part of my life, but not the only thing. They help around the house. They have rules to follow. It seems to work pretty well.

Technorati Tags: spoiled kids, navy aliens, children, family, rules

Lots of people have been trying to sue on this one. I know a lot of people believe there is a connection between vaccines and autism, no matter how many scientists insist otherwise. This lead finally to a look at the thimerosal in vaccines, and finally the sense to start taking it out. And now the courts are taking on the first case to see what the legal system comes up with.

I found some points in the article very interesting. Such as the point that children get more mercury from breastfeeding than from vaccines. I’d love to see some numbers on that one. Just seems amazing. That doesn’t mean to me that mercury in vaccines should be allowed, however. Why add more than necessary, especially all at once?

But I am inclined to doubt the connection. As I understand it, autism tends to become most evident at an age when vaccines are commonly given. But I also don’t understand why autism has become so much more common. Is it just a change in how it is diagnosed or is there something we need to worry about? Read the rest of this entry »

And this is why you don’t put things you don’t want out in public on your MySpace page. A student teacher has been refused her credential due to a picture labeled “drunken pirate” on her MySpace page, because the college felt the photo was unprofessional. They felt the photo would encourage underage drinking.

Considering that she was rated superior or competent in all other areas, I find this ridiculous. It’s a part of her private life, and it’s certainly not that she was showing underage drinking. Drinking is legal for teachers off duty, after all.

I could even see the college informing her that it would be a good idea to take the image down and remind her that some would see it as unprofessional. But to deny her the credential she had earned over something so simple is ridiculous. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s just horrifying seeing the news on the shooting at Virginia Tech. 32 people dead, including the shooter.

A big part of the tragedy is that the bulk of the shootings took place more than two hours after the first. An email was sent out about two hours after the first shootings, but classes continued as normal, and there was no campus-wide announcement.

Admittedly, they thought the first shootings were due to a domestic disturbance, and that the gunman had left the campus. That turned out to be horribly wrong. Unfortunately, I don’t see any way they could have anticipated a second shooting.

If you want an easy way to follow the story, you can try this search I did on Google News. I don’t doubt there will be a lot of changes and details added to the story through the day.

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