Dear Helicopter Moms, You’re Ruining It For Everyone Else

by Elizabeth Broadbent for Playground Professionals

She’s standing there under my 3-year-old, arms aloft like she’s at church waiting for God to drop a truth bomb on her. Baby Bear monkey-shimmies 6-foot metal ladder.

“Do you know whose he is?” she asks me, almost breathless with terror.

“He’s mine,” I say. “And he’s been climbing that ladder since he was 2.”

She gawks at me. And then I know I’m doomed: She’s a hoverer. And unless I hover over my kids, she’ll do it for me, not-so-silently judging me all the time. Thanks for ruining my mama playdate, lady.

Because there are two kinds of parents at the park.

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I Don’t Let My Daughter Near Any Screens. This is Why

B.J. Epstein for Kveller

We don’t own a TV. There, I said it.

Shocked? Most people are when they find out. My students, who are in a university literature department, often talk about TV shows and movies in class, and when they hear that I haven’t seen any of the things they’re talking about, their mouths fall open. “But what do you do with your time?” they ask (yes, even literature students ask me what I do if I don’t watch TV).

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Day camp drama: Why can’t I find a Jewish program for my kids?

By Lisa Keys for JTA
I live in New York, one of the most Jewish cities in the world, and yet I reside in a pocket that has few options for Jewish life.

I love my western Queens neighborhood, where my husband and I have lived for more than a decade. The community is great — it’s the kind of place where we babysit each other’s kids — and it’s an easy commute to Manhattan.

But one thing I’ve despaired: the limited Jewish infrastructure. And never do I feel the pain of this more acutely than this time of year, when summer plans are being made. It’s my dream to send my kids, ages 5 and 8, to a Jewish summer camp. But this always seemed impossible, due to a combination of high cost and inconvenience.

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The Jewish Reason Why I Read Dr. Seuss to My Sons

Lela Casey for Kveller
The first time I read “Green Eggs and Ham” to my oldest son, he was 3 years old. I was trying to convince him to eat a cheese stick and getting nowhere. Finally, at my wits end over his impossible eating habits, I remembered the book that he’d recently received as a gift.

For the next 10 minutes he smiled and giggled at Sam I Am and his persistent sales pitch. When the book was over, I handed him the cheese stick one last time and smiled hopefully. He didn’t eat it… Not in his chair, not with his bear, not in the bed, not on his head. But, he did fall in love with Dr. Seuss.

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Purim is Coming & We’re Here to Help

Molly Tolsky for Kveller    
   
At last, the wackiest, craziest Jewish holiday of the year has arrived! Purim begins tomorrow night at sundown and goes until sundown on Sunday night, which means 24 hours of costumes, hamantaschen, noisemakers and more.

But Purim ain’t all cookies and costumes–it’s about beauty pageants, drinking, and evil plots, too! Refresh yourself on the Purim story, and then if you need some last minute ideas to make this year’s Purim extra fun, we’ve got you covered.           

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Awesome Purim Crafts

Amy Deutsch for Kveller

Purim is one of those Jewish holidays that lends itself so easily to crafting. From making mishloach manot (goody bags) to groggers (noisemakers) to costumes, there’s just so much to do. We’ve collected some of our favorite crafts for you to check out below–enjoy, and get crackin!

Here at Kveller, we have an environmentally-friendly grogger (repurposed from your recycle bin) as well as some great Purim cards, no-sew costumes, and mishloach manot ideas. And did we mention our adorable miniature Purim dolls from Meredith Jacobs?

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For more Purim news, check out our    page.

10 Reasons Why Handheld Devices Should Be Banned for Children Under the Age of 12

Cris Rowan for the HuffPost Blog

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Society of Pediatrics state infants aged 0-2 years should not have any exposure to technology, 3-5 years be restricted to one hour per day, and 6-18 years restricted to 2 hours per day (AAP 2001/13, CPS 2010). Children and youth use 4-5 times the recommended amount of technology, with serious and often life threatening consequences (Kaiser Foundation 2010, Active Healthy Kids Canada 2012). Handheld devices (cell phones, tablets, electronic games) have dramatically increased the accessibility and usage of technology, especially by very young children (Common Sense Media, 2013). As a pediatric occupational therapist, I'm calling on parents, teachers and governments to ban the use of all handheld devices for children under the age of 12 years. Following are 10 research-based reasons for this ban. Please visit zonein.ca to view the Zone'in Fact Sheet for referenced research.

1. Rapid brain growth

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