By Pete Rorabaugh

My recent priority of media digestion means that I skim, as fast as I can, any articles that (1) seem culturally aware and (2) mention my media interest: debates on belief, parenting stories, and independent music. Recently, the Internet chefs have produced a feast of parenting morsels including bad parents, boyhood studies, and the praises of being bored. Here is a collection of my parenting fragments:

Time's most recent cover story, "The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting," is here.

One of the all-time favourite acitivities of dads with their babies and small children has got to be massaging them. From a very early eage on it's just superb to see how they totally love the feeling of being massaged. Well then again who doesn't like being massaged - why would babies and toddlers be different?

Basically you can never do too much massaging of your baby and it doesn't stop when they are a toddler. Here is a nice variation that teaches them about "bent" and "straight" and the concept of two sides to the body which you can use to introduce them to "left" and "right" (all of that as you are doing the massage).

Here's what you can do: Lay your child in the "crocodile position" as shown in the illustration. As you are massaging talk about the "straight" side and the "bent" side. After a while, get your little one to swap the bent/straight sides. That's it - easy!

Enjoy,

Stef

Well it's Friday and the following is doing the rounds on viral email so I figured might as well post it to get you in the mood for the weekend! (read till the end - some real pearls of wisdom there).

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (Written by kids)

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. -Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with. -Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. - Camille, age 10

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married. - Freddie, age 6

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

In case you haven't seen the "get dad to reenact a famous movie scene" concept check out the following:

I think the concept is great but they could have really pushed it a bit further. So definitely try this at home, but whatever you do ... stay away from reenacting the Fatal Attraction scenes ... now that's just wrong!

-Stef

My wife took me to see Nancy Meyer’s new movie, “It’s Complicated,” which stars Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. She had seen it a day or two before and wanted to see it with me saying, “It would be good for us.” Honestly, I do tend to like what is typically labeled “chick flicks” but don’t like director Nancy Meyer’s perfect world, perfect rich characters, perfect looking people, dressed and coifed just perfectly. But, for the sake of marital harmony, I agreed.

I didn’t expect what followed. Throughout the movie, my wife was jabbing me in the ribs whenever she wanted me to notice a point being made that she felt related to me or us. So, I left with bruised ribs, which ached even more towards the end of the movie during the one, truly hilarious scene. I really enjoyed laughing that hard, in spite of the pained ribs, which I’ve totally exaggerated for sympathy anyway.

Today's example of simple activities you can do with your baby/child to stimulate development is suitable for toddlers aged 18-24 months. This activiy is very cool and you'll have lots of fun with your little one sitting in a dark room following torch lights.

All you need is two torches - one for you and one for your little champ. Shine your torch light on the ceiling and ask him to follow the light with his torch. Draw figures or discover objects in the room. Describe what you are looking at and ask him to tell you what he sees. Perhaps without even realising it you've just helped your toddler develop eye tracking skills and trained hand/eye coordination.

Enjoy,

Stef

We recently received a media release about a new soft toy character called "Mitch" made by a company called Neon Monster. We had never heard of it ... but after reading the release I just had to write a blog post. You gotta love these guys ... they actually created a "depressed" soft toy with complex baggage (there's a whole story behind it). In the press release we find out that "Mitch is a giant misfit, rather anachronistic in his taste, and with a tendency to slide into psychotic episodes" ... up until now I had no idea about the complexities of soft toy psychology. Contrary to his character, the rather positive and forward looking aspect of Mitch is that his plush is made of 100% recycled fleece. He is eco-friendly, huggable, non-pilling and appropriate for all ages.

Dads, if you are looking for something different for your kids - give Mitch a go (14-inch Mitch for $39 at neonmonster.com).

Enjoy,

Stef

Guys – if you are running out of ideas what to cook or buy for your pregnant partner, check out the following article submitted by Carolyn Friedman.

Most people are already very familiar with the foods that pregnant women must avoid – alcohol, excess caffeine, raw seafood, and the like – but few take pause to think about what they should consume. Experts generally recommend that pregnant women stick with the portions recommended by the USDA’s Food Pyramid guidelines, with specific boosts to certain nutrients such as iron, folic acid, fiber, Vitamin C, protein, calcium, Vitamin A, magnesium, and a few others.

The following is a practical list of foods that contain these nutrients and ought to find their way into a pregnancy diet, even if some of them must be ingested in moderation or within certain parameters: Iron Supplements, Kidney, Beans, Beef, Cereal, Dark Meat Turkey, Chicken, Salmon, Eggs, Peanuts / Peanut, Butter, Oranges, Spinach, Cheese, Yogurt, Milk, Asparagus, Great Northern Beans, Tofu, Bananas, Brown Rice, Almonds, Dried Apricots, Avocados, Whole Wheat, Lamb, Veal, Oysters, Pork, Soy Milk, Pomegranates, Tomatoes, Walnuts, Swiss Chard, Pasta, Apples, Carrots, Pears, Strawberries, Kale, Dried Cherries, Liver, Soybeans, Grapefruit, Broccoli, Oatmeal, Chickpeas, Okra, Sunflower Seeds, Lentils, Pineapple, Portobello Mushrooms.

See below for more information on each food. These are, of course, merely suggestions. The best way for a pregnant woman to figure out what dietary path is right for her always has been and always will be consultation with a healthcare professional. Doctors and nurses are far better equipped to dispense advice based on a woman’s age, possible food restrictions, and overall health, as pregnancies and those experiencing them differ from instance to instance.

Episode 10 of the Sneaking Off To My Shed series ... for the time being this might be the last one while Ryk goes on tour in Australia. Fingers crossed he will come back to this series at some point ...

One of the many things that we try to teach our children is how to make a good decision. Sometimes the problem can be that we may not always make good decisions ourselves or we may allow emotions to influence our choices. I found this to be true in a recent argument I had with my older son and a latter discussion about an important choice he wanted to make.

The argument was about his last-minute decision to back out of his promise to come skiing with me over Winter Break, preferring instead to stay home with his friends (and girlfriend). I got angry as he made this decision days before we were supposed to leave, thus leaving me high and dry with little time to find a friend to come in his place. My wife and other son were already scheduled to go on a very special trip to Japan and Hong Kong.