Climbing Up The Slide

Salmonella recall for snacks, soup mixes... so far

2010-03-09T21:10:00.002-05:00

Foods are being recalled worldwide after salmonella was found in hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) produced by Basic Food Flavors Inc. in Las Vegas. HVP is a flavour-enhancing, grain-based additive used in processed foods such as soups, hot dogs, chilis, stews, dips, salad dressings, gravies, frozen dinners, and snack foods.

Health Canada says that it is "low risk" and unlikely to cause damage to anyone's health, but it's highlighted the importance of knowing where the ingredients in foods come from. HVP is "often used" in Canadian foods, and the recall seems likely to grow in the coming days.

Basic Foods, according to the FDA, continued to distribute bulk HVP even after the company was warned of salmonella found during an inspection.

The Canadian list of recalled foods can be found here.

The US list can be found here.

More information about HVP and the recall can be found on the Healthzone.ca website.

The Unkindest Cut? Massachusetts Government to Hear Argument Against Infant Circumcision

2010-03-03T13:00:00.008-05:00

I've been debating all day whether or not to touch this topic. I honestly can't think of another one in the parenting jungle, even breast vs bottle or SAHM vs WOHM, that causes such heated, sometimes hateful discussions. I admit, too, that it is a topic that I feel very passionate about. I usually at least try to remain a little bit unbiased when I'm talking here, and I doubt that I will be able to this time. I may know the arguments from the other side, I just don't find them persuasive at all. That's probably putting it mildly, too.

However, I'm also trying to create awareness of parenting topics, especially ones in the news, and this one is out there. So, I will attempt to tone down the rhetoric, but I make no promises of success. I'm a big opponent of the Mommy Wars, as I've stated numerous times, but it's quite likely that I'll lose a reader or two over this one.

That being said, as I write this, I've made a decision: I will write this from my point of view, and if a reader disagrees with me, and wants to write a rebuttal, I will post it. Deal?

A group in the US is taking its fight for the banning of infant male circumcision to the Massachusetts legislature. On March 2nd, the group, Bill to End Male Genital Mutilation, will appear at the State House to plead their case.

Personally, I doubt they will get very far. Circumcision is ingrained fairly deeply in US culture: nationally around 60% of baby boys have the procedure done within a few days of their births. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics says that there is no medical reason for routine infant circumcision, they have remained fairly neutral and refrained from actually coming out against the practice. There is still a lot of misinformation about the "benefits" of circumcision, plus the age old "He'll want to look like Daddy" argument. I actually heard about this issue from someone who referred to it as "ugly peen", and this was from a 41-year-old man I usually respect.

The other issue is that the leaders of the group may in fact turn people off: especially the one quoted in the article who went so far as to have a "foreskin restoration" in his 20s. Although he has valid points, he will be easy to tear down as a fringe activist.

So while I doubt that the group will get more than a token hearing, I do agree with them. There is no sound medical reason for routine circumcision. (Did I say that already? It bears repeating.) There is no other healthy body part that is routinely removed after birth. Should we remove everyone's appendix immediately because someday they may get appendicitis? Remove all baby girls' breast tissue because they may someday get breast cancer? Perhaps if the baby has mom's nose they should be given a nose job immediately because it's "ugly"?

"Personal choice" is a phrase I hear tossed around a lot. This I agree with, but the "person" involved differs in my opinion. By performing infant circumcision, you remove the choice of the person involved. The baby cannot argue with you. This is not a parent making a lifesaving medical decision for their child: this is a parent deciding on permanent cosmetic surgery, and I simply don't think that's one of our rights as a parent.

It was too early to be awake...

2010-02-28T09:45:00.002-05:00

As I stared at the back of a bottle of kids' shampoo this morning, I saw this line:

Tested by Opthamologists.

All I could picture was a lineup of old guys in lab coats having shampoo squirted into their eyes and yelling "Ow! I neeeeed a waaaaasshhhcloth!!!"

Advertising companies, feel free to contact me at eighthcyn@climbinguptheslide.com

Let's Hope It's ACTUALLY an Improvement

2010-02-27T10:03:00.003-05:00

I posted a few months ago about the proposed changes to report cards. Apparently the Toronto District School Board has gone ahead and made changes to the "comment bank" that the teachers use, attempting to put them in plain English. So, while last year a Grade 3 pupil would have "applied critical analysis to the communication of feelings, ideas and understanding in response to a variety of dance pieces and experiences," she now "shares ideas and feelings about dances that were viewed or created."

60 teachers sat down to take the 700 previous comments and change them to be more easily understood. I'm still not convinced, and since my kids aren't in the TDSB I don't know if their reports will be any different or not. I realize that the intention of the comment bank was to make sure that report cards were more uniform from school to school and class to class, but I still feel that students and parents were better informed when the teacher actually handwrote personal comments on how the child was progressing. As a parent, if my child is having difficulty in math I need to know that, and possibly which part of the math curriculum. If I need any further information about the specifics of the problem, I can contact the teacher and talk to him/her personally. I would still rather have more specifics about my child's overall progress, rather than such minutiae.

You can read more about the "progress" of the TDSB report cards here.

Responsibility for "THE TALK" More Often Falls on Mom

2010-02-26T21:39:00.003-05:00

My oldest daughter just turned nine. It occurs to me that it won't be long until we need to have "the talk". You know the one: the one that strikes terror into the heart of every parent. The SEX talk.

I've always assumed that I would be the one talking to the girls, while Dad would get to discuss the joy of sex with the boys. Of course, it will depend on who they go to with questions, but I just can't see my daughters voluntarily asking their father about their periods, or birth control options. Then again, I can only imagine the looks on the boys' faces if I did what a friend's mom did when I was a teenager: she handed him a box of condoms, a banana, and told him to "practice". He was so shy, too. I bet he wanted to fall through the floor!

However, according to this article, more often than not it's Mom who gets to have the conversation. I suppose that may simply be because Mom is the one who is generally around more (not in all homes, of course, but in many) and so an innocent question gets asked which has to be answered. My mom tells me that I first asked about where babies come from while she was driving on the 401 and she nearly drove off the road!

I asked on a couple of parenting message boards for stories from those who had already been down this road. One mom told me about her experience with her step-daughter: "I had to have a revision of said talk with B. this summer that included birth control. We both were pretty skeeved I think, but I did my best to be informative without being overly permissive (we talked a lot about the emotional ramifications of not only the sex, but accidentally getting pg as a teenager)." The "skeeved" part seems to be a fairly common thing: I also got told that one daughter was "appropriately creeped out." Myself, I remember being horrified by the very idea.

I've always pictured myself as the open, cool mom who would be okay with talking about these things with her kids. So far I'm still hoping that will be the case. At this point my daughter is vehemently anti-boy as anything other than "friend." I can only hope that lasts a while longer, but I also won't allow myself to be delusional about it. I know of one mom who is so sure that her daughters (and she has four of them) will listen to her message of abstinence before marriage that she absolutely refuses to believe that they would ever rebel against her. I just find that really sad. If I remember correctly, what I said to her is that by the time they are teenagers, we as parents can only control their actions so much. We are meant to be guides, and hope that they will be smart enough to follow instructions.

I'm tense just writing about this! Can I just freeze time for a few more years???

I'm Feeling Very Unloved!

2010-02-18T09:50:00.003-05:00

I know there are readers out there - people have told me they're reading, and commented on certain articles, but no one has anything to say!?! Am I just so wise that there is nothing left to possible argue with me about? Wow...

In other words, if you're reading - leave me some love! Or, well, some not-so-love... just let me know what you think!

Hats Off to the Single Parents Out There!

2010-02-18T09:32:00.003-05:00

My husband had a business trip this week. In all fairness, it's been a LONG time since he had to go to one of these conferences, but still, I'm not fond of them. It's part of his job, so I realize I have to expect it on occasion, though. I have to admit, this one was badly timed, though (not his fault, but...)

First of all, he had to leave on Family Day, the new Ontario statutory holiday that was instituted the year we were living in the US. I always forget about it until a few weeks before it happens, and then it's like a happy surprise: we get a long weekend! Of course, I'm at home, so a long weekend for me just means an extra day with no one at school, but it also USUALLY means an extra set of hands for one more day. Plus, since we've been back in Ontario we really have tried to use Family Day as a FAMILY day. No Family Day for us this year.

Then, last Thursday, my younger daughter came down with a stomach bug. Uh oh. I've discussed "the family pandemic" before. I was just waiting for the dominoes to fall. Sure enough, Saturday night the baby started vomiting, and Charlotte was still suffering from diarrhea. By this time I'm now picturing my husband vomiting his way across North America at 10,000 feet, and me here, spending the week with four sick kids and me throwing up all over the place, too.

So far, that hasn't happened. It seems to have only affected those two members of the family, although the baby is still fighting it off (which made for a really fun morning when he woke up with a blow-out diaper all over the inside of his sleeper.) Still, it's been a long week. Even though Daddy often doesn't get home until bath/bed time, it's still an extra set of hands at the most chaotic time of the day. It's also just that few hours in the evening with another adult. There are a lot of times where I can go the entire day and never actually interact with another adult for more than a few seconds at the grocery store/gymnastics class/library until he comes home.

My mom was a single mom. Although there was only me, I never underestimate how hard that must have been. You just don't get a break. Even though as a SAHM it's easy to think that you never get time to yourself, it's only until you're completely by yourself and outnumbered that you realize just how much of a 24/7 job it really is.

Daddy comes home tonight. I'm just praying that all five of us survive until then! Only about thirteen more hours... not that I'm counting or anything.

Thinking a Lot Tonight...

2010-02-06T22:16:00.003-05:00

My husband started watching a special tonight on Nostradamus and Isaac Newton. I wasn't really paying attention - those "end of the world" theories aren't my thing - but my daughter asked my husband about us being related to Sir Isaac. It's a family legend, can't really be entirely true since he apparently had no children, but it started me thinking about my father's side of the family. Depending on the day I either sort of choose not to think about it, or I'm fascinated by this group of people who I really know nothing about, when it comes right down to it.

My parents separated when I was very young. My father moved to the United States when I was so young that I don't even know exactly how old I was. Younger than five, certainly. My memories are of being picked up after school by a man I barely knew, taken to visit his mother and step (adoptive) father for the evening, then taken back home to my mom. I'd get a phone call on Christmas Day, one on my birthday, and then the next year it would happen all over again.

It's not that uncommon a scenario today. I can only remember two other of the kids I went to school with in elementary school having divorced parents. My father was also a child of divorce, though, and if it was uncommon when I was young, it was almost unheard of when he was. Still, I remember hating when my teachers would say it was time to do a Father's Day art project. I'd do it anyway, knowing that it would go in the trash when I was done. Once a teacher suggested that I make something for my mom instead. I was so embarrassed. Truth is, though, that most of the time I didn't notice that my life was any different than everyone else's. I didn't know life with two parents. Even now the idea of my parents together seems ludicrous.

But I think that makes that side of my family seem all the more mysterious. My father's mother passed away last year. I read her eulogy, which she had ironically written herself for a course she was doing, and reading her recollections of her life I was hit again by the realization of how little I knew about her, really, and how I wish we'd had a better relationship that had enabled her to tell me them herself, so that I could have asked questions. No one did, really, ask her those questions, I don't think. So, I imagine what it must have been like. I imagine what must have caused her to make the decisions that she did, good and bad. I wonder what made her the person that she was, and, in the end, how she made my father the man that he is.

I'm very glad that my children have the father that they do. Every once in a while, watching them play together, or cuddle, I mourn that relationship that never was, but most of the time it just makes me happy to see the people that I love most in the world loving each other. Sir Isaac Newton, for all of his genius and fame, had nothing on that.

Another Actual Conversation with a Three-Year-Old

2010-02-03T14:59:00.004-05:00

This commercial came on television earlier:

Andrew and I were watching it.

Andrew: Hippos don't live in houses.

(I should mention that hippos are a favourite animal in this house, because of Not the Hippopotamus and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.)

Me (thinking how smart my kid is): No, that's what the commercial is about - how not everything on tv is real, and you have to be able to decide what's real or not.

Andrew: Hippos don't live in church, either. God does.

Well, all right then.

Breastfeeding after Reduction Surgery

2010-02-03T09:51:00.004-05:00

I remember it well, my consultation for breast reduction surgery. It was 11 years ago. I was 22 and in my last year of university. In the four years that I'd been at university my bra size had gone from a comfortable C-cup to a FFF (what I lovingly refer to as "Holy F--- that's big!") I was pretty miserable, although not as bad as some people I've heard about. I knew I wanted that surgery, though. The last bra I'd bought had cost $120. My back hurt and my shoulders slouched.

It was fairly quick, as we discussed how the surgery works, what a reasonable expectation was for post-surgery size and when the surgery could be done. Then there was about a thirty second discussion. "Is there any chance I'll be able to breastfeed?"

"Oh, about 50/50, I suppose," he said. "We don't remove the nipple anymore, so that helps."

"Okay," I said.

That was it. At the time I thought it was no big deal if I couldn't breastfeed, but I was sure that I would be one of the ones who could. Then almost exactly 2 years after my surger we had our first baby. During the pregnancy I talked about the surgery with my midwives and asked if I should be talking to a lactation consultant before the baby arrived so that I'd know how to handle things. No, I was told, just wait and see. Well all right, then.

Baby arrived, ended up as an unexpected c-section because she turned breech at the last minute. I was given a morphine pump afterwards for pain. I remember almost nothing of my baby's first 24 hours, until a nurse finally said to me "Are you ever going to try and feed that baby?" I don't think I even knew what day it was, truthfully. But she took baby in one hand, my boob in the other, and shoved them together, and there it was. Baby was breastfeeding. Except that didn't last long. The nurses started to freak out over my breast reduction. It was a small rural hospital. I don't know if that was the issue or not, but I don't think there was a lactation consultant on staff at all. They insisted that I needed to supplement with a tube at breast. This was less than 48 hours after birth. My milk, however much I was going to have, hadn't even come in yet and they decided that it was more important to supplement than it was to let me get the hang of latching on.

Trying to maneuver the tube while getting a baby to latch on, all while dealing with the pain of major surgery was just plain frustrating. The day came that we were to go home and the nurse tried to tell me I needed to stay another day so that they were confident I could feed her. I just wanted to go home by this point. I was hormonal and lonely and tired of being manhandled. I said "Just give me a bottle then." And that was it. When I got home and realized that my milk was coming in I immediately regretted my hasty decision, but at that point I couldn't get her to latch at all. I'd been so busy trying to keep that damned tube from falling off that I never really learned how to latch her on.

My husband heard about Dr. Jack Newman, who was then at Sick Kids with his famous breastfeeding clinic. He brought me the phone number and after working up my nerve I called. Dr. Newman called me back personally, as he's well-known for doing. He was very kind and tried to help, but I was so overwhelmed by everything I don't really even remember what he told me. I just couldn't deal with it. So our first was completely bottlefed.

And truthfully it was fine. She was happy, healthy and we loved every minute with her. Every once in a while I would get a rude comment from someone about why I wasn't breastfeeding. I know they meant well, because "breast is best", but despite my bravado about it, it cut deep.

By the time I was pregnant with my second I decided to look into the issue more. i found a book called Defining Your Own Success: Breastfeeding After Breast Reduction Surgery" by Diana West. I devoured it. I read about herbs, Domperidone, pumping to increase supply... all the things that no one told me about before. Plus, I learned that there was NO need to supplement immediately after birth since Baby is supposed to exist on minute amounts of collostrum until mom's milk comes in. No one (at least no one that I know) gives birth and has milk flooding out of their breasts a few minutes after birth.

So I went in to the hospital prepared for my VBAC, armed with my new knowledge (even with the book in my bag in case of any questions from the nurses). 24 hours later I'd had my second c-section (that's another story for another time). I'd asked to nurse her as soon as I was in the recovery room. She latched on beautifully (although the nurse had to do it for me) and everything was just find, until the anesthetic made me throw up and my husband had to take the baby while I hung my head over a basin.

I told them I didn't want to supplement immediately. Then she started losing weight, like all babies do after birth, and somehow this became an issue. I HAD to supplement. I was risking starving my baby if I didn't. She wasn't getting her tongue moving properly, and I needed to finger feed her until she figured it out. Then the lactation consultant (different hospital) came in and made me cry. It was horrible.

But I persevered. I ended up at the hospital's lactation clinic after we went home, eventually crying again, but this time with a much nicer LC. I had the Domperidone and I got Blessed Thistle and Fenugreek. I pumped as often as I could stand and my supply still just wasn't enough. She told me that there was no reason I had to stop breastfeeding. I could breastfeed, then give her a bottle. Just nursing because we both wanted to. So that's what we did. Except then we both ended up with thrush from antibiotics I had to take for an infection a few weeks later. But it lasted twelve weeks, and although it wasn't long, and I didn't exclusively breastfeed, it still felt like an accomplishment.

Baby #3 arrived. I was NOT going to be bullied again, and I wasn't. Apparently in the 13 months since Baby #2 the nurses had training on breastfeeding and they were told that there weren't to discourage a mom from breastfeeding, no matter what (or at least that's what the bitter nurse told me). So when it seemed like he wanted to nurse 24/7 and still wasn't happy, and I decided I needed to supplement, THEY were the ones trying to discourage me. We ended up "comfort nursing" again, but this time it went longer. Often when he was upset, nursing was the only thing that would calm him down. It lasted 14 weeks.

I wish I could say that things magically changed with Baby #4. Unfortunately with three other kids to look after I just didn't have the time or energy to commit to keeping my supply up properly. It only lasted 7 weeks.

It makes me sad that I was never able to do it, but at the same time I'm glad that I didn't completely give up, either. There are a lot of people who ARE able to do it, though, so the whole point of this post is that moms who have had breast surgery should NOT give up. Educate and make the decision for yourself! Decide what options will work for you and your family. I had a terrible experience with tube feeding, but so many people have great experience with Supplemental Nursing Systems like this.

A lot of people also are able to boost their milk supply with herbs such as Blessed Thistle and Fenugreek, or with a prescription for Domperidone (unfortunately not available in the US).

One of the best online resources for BFAR is at http://www.bfar.org/ It's where I originally found my book and information and I strongly recommend you check it out if BFAR is something you want to try.

Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids

2010-02-01T14:20:00.002-05:00

My sister-in-law posted this preview for a CBC documentary about "helicopter parents." I plan on setting my dvr. While I don't consider myself a "curling parent" (watch the video) I think it's an interesting, if somewhat scary phenomenon. I spend a lot of time on parenting message boards and it's one thing I don't completely understand, although it's funny how you start to feel pressure to "keep up".

Emma will be nine this weekend. There's a big part of me who feels like I'm not "doing enough" for her birthday, but the silly thing is that she's happy. She's even okay with one of mom's very "undesigner" cakes!

There's Nothing Better than Kissing a Soft Baby Head

2010-01-25T11:01:00.004-05:00

Joshua just fell asleep in my arms while he was drinking his bottle. As I kissed his soft little head it reminded me how quickly this all passes. In a few short months he won't be having bottles anymore. I'll have to chase him just to pick him up, much less get him to sit still long enough for cuddles. He won't fall asleep in my arms like that. He's my last baby. I need to be drinking in everything. Sometimes I forget that.

Emma will be nine years old in less than two weeks. It seems like a million years ago that she was that small, and yet I don't know how so much time can possibly have passed. Next week I have to go and fill in the registration papers for Andrew to go to Junior Kindergarten in the fall. This weekend we watched videos of Charlotte as a baby. I feel awful, but I barely remember those days already.

I never understood what grownups meant about time passing more quickly, the older you get. I'm so excited to see what they will be like as teenagers, as adults, as parents, but at the same time I just want the earth's rotation to slow things down just a little bit. I don't want to lose my babies!

I just have to remember: I'm a very lucky woman.

More Drop-Side Crib Recalls

2010-01-20T22:48:00.003-05:00

Similar problems as reported with the Storkcraft cribs. In this case, there have been "incidents" in Canada, but none resulting in injuries. In the US there were 10 children bruised or scratched, and one killed, but in that case the crib had already malfunctioned a month earlier and the parents had tried to repair it with DUCT TAPE. Sigh. In that case the parents were charged with child endangerment with death.

The recall affects two models of Dorel Asia crib: the 3-in-1 Carlisle in dark cherry colour with the model number 10H020; and the white Tara crib with the model number DAKM5132C.

The cribs, manufactured by the Barbados-based Dorel Asia in China and Vietnam, were sold at Sears Canada, Babies R Us and other retailers between December 2006 and January 2010.

Owners of the crib are not being asked to return them, but instead to get a free repair kit from Dorel, which will turn the drop-side into a fixed side. Anyone who wants the kit can call the company at 1-866-762-2304.

Graco Stroller Recall

2010-01-20T22:32:00.003-05:00

1.5 million strollers in the US, and 28,000 in Canada are being recalled after seven children lost their fingertips in the stroller's canopy hinge mechanism.

The Passage, Alano, and Spree models were all included in the recall. It only affects those models where there is a plastic jointed hinge mechanism with indented canopy positioning notches. They were sold starting in October 2004 and have been sold right up to the present.

Consumers are advised by Health Canada to either stop using the recalled brands or use caution when opening or closing the stroller and to ensure that children are at a safe distance when doing so.

Owners can get a free hinge cover from Elfe Juvenile Products by calling 1-800-667-8184 or sending an email to service@elfe.ca.

Model numbers of the specific products recalled can be found at www.gracobaby.com.

Hi Jason, My Name is Jennipher

2010-01-19T11:42:00.002-05:00

Sigh.

So I took Andrew, Charlotte and Joshua to our local community centre this morning. Charlotte had a preschool ballet class, and the boys and I went and hung out in the library. Our community centre ROCKS.

Anyway, not the point.

As we were leaving this morning, I saw one of the leaders from another class stop a mom to ask if she'd left something behind. That was what got my attention, initially. Instinctively I looked at her daughter. Very cute kid. Nametag on. "Quynn."

WHY?

I mean, I know that everyone has different tastes in names, and there will be those who think that our taste is boring (we usually get "classic", but I'm sure for some that's a code word). You want to name your kid "Pilot Inspektor", well, that's your prerogative, but seriously, WHY?

Do people actually picture this little baby as an adult when they're naming them? It seems to be something we all find funny, to humiliate babies: we put them in little sailor suits, or little snowsuits that make them look like Winnie the Pooh. And why not? It's cute, and it's not like they can object.

A name is something different. That cute little baby in the cat ears hat will eventually grow up to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or a sanitation engineer, and they may not exactly suit "Tinkerbell" or "Qwerty" at that point.

But what about the strange spellings? The names are still the same, so what's the big deal, right? What I want to know, though, is WHY? All you're accomplishing is making yourself look like you can't spell and sentencing your child to a lifetime of "No, you spell it A-N-D-R-U."

I know, there are people who will disagree with me strongly. They feel that their child should stand out from the pack. They don't want their daughter to be one of "the three Emmas" (which is the case in my daughter, Emma's, class). I can understand that. I hadn't intended to name Emma the most popular girl's name around. It's not my fault that "Rachel" named her daughter Emma right after my daughter was born. At the same time, I never have to worry about her not being able to find things with her name on it. "McKynzye" might not be so lucky.

Naming your kids is one of the biggest privileges of being a parent. All I'm saying is take a moment and picture your child in the nursing home 80 or 90 years from now, and ask if "Jewelia" will still appreciate their unique name!

Breastfeeding - anytime, anywhere?

2010-01-16T23:08:00.000-05:00

I wasn't able to exclusively breastfeed my kids. I'll elaborate on that in another article I'm planning, but it was a physical issue, and as much as I wanted to, it wasn't going to happen. However, I really did want to. I have no issue with breastfeeding moms, and I proudly support those moms who have had to fight for their rights to nurse in public.

However, some things kind of take it a bit too far, in my opinion. A woman in Newmarket, Ontario, just received a public apology after she was asked to leave the stairs of a public (although privately-owned) pool for breastfeeding her 20-month old while sitting there chatting with friends.

This wouldn't bother me on the pool deck. It's the fact that she was actually IN the pool. My guess is that she couldn't get her daughter calmed down, maybe she wanted out of the pool, and mom didn't want to stop talking, so it was just easier to nurse her than to get out and stop talking.

In other NIP disputes I've heard where people told the nursing moms to feed the baby in the bathroom, and the argument is, would you want to eat in a public restroom? So isn't the same argument applicable here? Would YOU want to eat in a public pool? Would you be okay if someone sat down with a sandwich and started eating in the pool you were swimming in?

The fact is that if you want to say that nursing babies should be treated the same as anyone else who needs to eat, then shouldn't they have to follow the same rules? Even nursing on the pool deck is technically pushing it, but for the sake of compromise I think this should be considered okay. You can't even say that the child NEEDED to eat right at that moment. This was not an infant, this was a 20-month old toddler. I don't care that the child was still nursing at 20 months old, but you cannot convince me that at that point you HAVE to feed them on demand.

Breast milk may be sterile, but it doesn't mean that others want to swim in it. I know that it's not necessarily true that any breast milk would have ended up in the water, but what if the mom had a really active letdown?

The other issue is would you really want your child eating in a public pool? I mean, breast milk in the water is really the least of the problems. What else is in that water? Chemicals, bodily fluids, bacteria? And now that's on you, so you child is ingesting it off your body. Ick.

Thoughts?

Ontario announces schools for first phase of All-Day Kindergarten

2010-01-12T18:14:00.003-05:00

Today Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a list of almost 600 schools that will be part of the first phase of introducing all-day kindergarten. Ontario is already the only province that offers two years of kindergarten, divided into "JK" and "SK".

Personally I'm happy with the development, although I seem to be in the minority on this one. My children's school is not included on the list for full-time programs, so it won't have an impact on us, despite the fact that our family will have two kids in kindergarten next year (one in SK, one in JK). However, I have seen the impact that the JK program has had on my kids, and I think that it could have a real impact on the kids who get to be a part of it.

There are concerns that not all kids can handle that much school at that age (some kids aren't yet four years old when they start school) but I don't really see how it's much different than being in daycare. They're still away from home all day, every day. In this case, they're just being exposed to more learning opportunities and adjusting to the school routine that will be theirs until around age 17.

The one comment that I keep reading is that it's just "free daycare". Personally, I find that offensive, and I'm not, nor have I ever been, a teacher. Kindergarten is so much more than daycare. Yes, there is playtime involved, but it is usually with a specific (if sneaky!) goal in mind. While some daycares do run on an early childhood education curriculum, most home cares do not. I'm also certain that the kindergarten teachers who spent five years at university studying to teach our youngest students don't appreciate being called glorified daycare.

Anyway, if you're looking for the list of schools who will be offering all day kindergarten in 2010-2011, you can find it here.

Phew!

2010-01-04T13:22:00.003-05:00

Your feelings about Christmas truly change when you become a parent. You no longer really care about what you're going to get and get more excited thinking about what your kid(s) will look like when he/she/they open their presents. You finally get to play Santa. You get to stealthily plan out Christmas presents, hide them, figure out how to put tags on them so that the kids won't recognize your handwriting (this occurs later in childhood though, of course.) You get to force your kids into those scary Santa pictures!

But it's not all fun and games. You have to figure out how you're going to PAY for all of those presents, and the more kids you have, the more you have to decide: do you scale back and get fewer presents for each, or do you have to keep scrimping and saving even more to do the same as you did with only one child. I remember how full our living room was one Christmas when we only had the two girls. That was the year that we decided that it was time to scale back. Not just because of finances, but because it was honestly scary to see our kids getting so much STUFF. We had a pretty large living room at the time, and honestly half of it was filled with gifts from Santa, from us, from grandparents, aunts and uncles... it was kind of terrifying. So in recent years we've scaled back, and I really don't think that the kids have even noticed.

There are other parts of Christmas that change with kids, too. The Christmas parties. An office Christmas party either means having to find a sitter, or if it's a family affair you have to drag young kids out way past their bedtime to hang out with a bunch of strangers for the night, hoping and praying that they won't embarrass Mom or Dad in front of their coworkers. Friends without kids who have Christmas parties often want them to be adult-only, so you find yourself turning down invitations. You can only afford a babysitter so often if you're going to afford all of those presents! You feel terribly anti-social, but at least you know that friends with kids understand.

And here's the part that we all forget as adults, before parenthood: kids go WRANGY at Christmas. Oh yes, we all THINK we remember it, but we remember it from our own perspective as kids. As the parent, it is a completely different scenario.

I haven't posted here in almost a month. It wasn't for not wanting to, it was because I was either trying to keep myself from killing them, or keeping them occupied, ferrying them here and there, or just trying to calm meltdowns.

There is something in the air at Christmastime for kids. It seemed to start earlier this year than ever before. Maybe because of the addition of an extra child, who knows? But nonetheless, it was NOT enjoyable. A simple, "No, you cannot have licorice for dinner instead of green beans" could result in a full-fledged screaming on the floor meltdown. Night terrors and nightmares abounded. The whining, especially from our four-year-old, made me want to stick forks into my ears.

And then, just when I couldn't take anymore: Christmas vacation. The positive was that I could, most days, take the kids downstairs when they woke up, give them breakfast, and then go back to bed for an hour until the baby woke up. They even started sleeping in on a regular basis! I didn't have to play taxi driver nearly as much without having to take the girls to one school at one time, then Andrew to another school at another time, with pickups all over the place. There were no dance lessons, or practices. In short, it was a whole lot of home time.

The negative: it was a WHOLE LOT of home time. I'm essentially an only child, so I never really dealt with the sibling stuff. It can be wonderful, but when they're fighting, it's hideous. "She hit me!" "No I didn't!" "He took my toy!" "She won't get off the computer!" "When is it going to be MY turn?"

So today, I am officially celebrating. Despite the fact that I'm back to getting up at my usual time, despite the fact that it was -16 degrees Celcius when I took the girls to school this morning, I am celebrating that today I had only the boys here. Andrew had no one to fight with. Josh had a nap. I got to do my WiiFit somewhat uninterrupted. There were not four different lunch orders to make me feel like a short-order cook.

Heavenly!

Duggar Baby #19

2009-12-11T22:14:00.002-05:00

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20326622,00.html

She arrived earlier than expected, but the 19th Duggar baby is here!

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar welcomed daughter Josie Brooklyn, weighing 1 lb., 6 oz., at 6:27 p.m. Thursday, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas.

Michelle, who has been in the hospital recovering from a gallstone, was taken to the OR for an emergency C-section. She is resting comfortably and the baby is stable and in the NICU for extended care, a rep for the network tells PEOPLE exclusively.

"The most important thing right now is for mom and baby Josie to get as much rest as possible," reads the statement to PEOPLE. "The family is grateful for all the prayers and well wishes during their recovery."

I mentioned before that I'm not a Duggar fan. While they may be wonderful people, very moral, and have countless other good qualities, I do find their choice regarding number of children to be irresponsible (and this is from someone with four kids of her own). However, I would never wish for anyone to have a micro-preemie, which is, of course, what baby Josie is. I know several people who have been in this situation, and their children survived, they were not completely unscathed, and the Duggar family has a long road ahead of them.

Another article here says that it was not due the gallbladder problems that were previously reported, but because of preeclampsia that she was born early. I'm somewhat astonished to hear this, since my understanding is that if your first pregnancy (or pregnancies, in this case) were healthy, it's extremely unusual that you will develop it in subsequent ones.

Anyway, I do hope that the baby will be all right.

Crib Recall

2009-11-24T12:59:00.005-05:00

I had two of these cribs, now only one. I will not be discontinuing its use. I find this recall somewhat ridiculous, but as that is only my opinion, I'm posting this article for information purposes.

http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/newsfeatures/article/729947--information-scarce-on-crib-recall

Exclusive: Early recall 'blindsided' Stork Craft CEO

Vancouver–The CEO of Stork Craft, the Vancouver-area company at the heart of a massive recall of cribs linked to at least four infant deaths, said he was blindsided by the early release of the recall.

Health Canada and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission had planned to announce the release today of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, the largest crib recall in history. About 1 million of those cribs were sold in Canada.

The early release meant concerned parents had little luck Tuesday morning trying to get more information about the recall.

Calling the toll-free number (1-877-274-0277) given out by safety authorities in both countries for parents to order a free repair kit resulted in a constant busy signal.

he U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission toll-free information line, meanwhile, produced a litany of automated recall information but nothing substantive on the crib recall. The Health Canada website directed parents to the toll-free number or the manufacturer's website.

The manufacturer's website, storkcraft.com, appeared to not be working.

Jim Moore, president and CEO of the Richmond-based manufacturer told the Toronto Star Tuesday morning that someone at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission leaked the information Monday night.

"This is a well thought-out voluntary recall," said Moore Tuesday morning. "We've worked long and hard with CPSC to come up with a special part to turn the Stork Craft drop-side crib into a rigid-side crib."

Moore said the release was supposed to be a joint announcement with Health Canada and CPSC, but the Canadian agency, like his company, was "blindsided" by the earlier-than-expected announcement of the recall Monday night.

Moore said the suddenness of the recall meant that not everybody was prepared to deal with the announcement.

Interviewed on morning news shows, Inez Tenenbaum, the head of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said the agency had not been "acting as quickly as it should."

Tenenbaum also said that all drop-side cribs by any manufacturer are unsafe and parents should stop using them.

She told NBC's Today show that she recommends that parents replace their drop-side crib.

Up to 5 million drop-side cribs by various manufacturers have been recalled in the last few years, and ASTM International, a voluntary industry-standards organization in the U.S., on Nov. 15 decided it would no longer certify any drop-side crib in North America. Canada is a member of the organization.

ASTM "has for some time been investigating incidents related to drop-sides," said Len Morrissey, director of the technical committee of the operations division. Their decision has no power of law but strongly influences government regulators and manufacturers "to take these cribs out of their product lines."

Toys "R" Us earlier this year stopped selling drop-side cribs, he said. ASTM toughened its stand after determining that no design modification could mitigate the hazard of misassembled cribs or malfunctioning hardware, he said.

Health Canada had no comment Tuesday morning on whether it would ban all drop-side cribs. Nothing on its website advised parents on the concerns about drop-side cribs.

Bill C-6 before the Canadian Senate would update the Canadian Product Safety Act for the first time in 40 years and give the government the power to order a recall, said Pamela Fuselli, executive director of Safe Kids Canada. Currently, a recall can only be voluntary.

Monday's recall involves cribs dating back to 1993.

A Star reporter found Stork Craft drop-side cribs with movable sides on the sales floor at Sears in the Eaton Centre on Tuesday. The company had no immediate comment.

Meena Hundel, who is expecting her first child next week and was shopping at The Bay at the Eaton Centre, said she has avoided drop-side cribs because "I knew there were lots of recalls already."

Marlene Krybus, co-owner of Marlene's Just Babies at 631 Dupont St. in the Annex, said in the 35 years she's been in business, she has never purchased from Stork Craft, and she has never sold drop-side cribs with plastic parts.

"I didn't particularly like the hardware, I never trusted it, I never liked it," she said, referring to Stork Craft's recalled cribs.

Krybus, who co-owns the store with her husband, Manny, said she doesn't sell any drop-side cribs anymore, but when she did, she would only sell those with metal hardware.

"By eliminating the drop-side on a crib, you've eliminated 95 per cent of the risk of any problem occurring," she said, citing the precariousness of the plastic movable parts.

Krybus said she doesn't see very many drop-side cribs on the market anymore because crib-beds – cribs that convert into toddlers' beds – have become more popular.

"I don't have anything on my floor that even has a drop-side now."

Cribs get passed down through generations, but "it's not worth it" if the crib is drop-sided, Tenenbaum said. "They are shown to not be reliable. In the future, you will not see cribs with drop-sides. These drop-sides will be banned."

Moms To Be and More owner Karen Judd has been fielding calls from concerned parents ever since the recall was announced, despite the fact that the Leaside store doesn't sell the Stork Craft model.

"We're talking them through it, putting them at ease," Judd said.

Moms To Be and More does sell other drop-side cribs, and Judd said she has spent time convincing customers that "not every drop-side crib is going to be a death trap for their children."

She said the drop-side cribs she sells are more stable than the Stork Craft model, which "are generally not sold in boutique-style stores," she said.

Judd said she and her other staff members are working with parents who have purchased the cribs under recall to make sure they stop using the product, get the repair kit and make the necessary repairs before letting their child use it again.

The cribs are being recalled because the drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform or parts can become missing. In addition, improper installation of the drop-side can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts.

Those problems have resulted in the drop-side getting detached in one or more corners resulting in infants and toddlers getting trapped in between the drop-side and the mattress. In four of those cases, all in the U.S., babies have died after suffocating.

The U.S. and Canadian governments are aware of 110 incidents of the drop-side breaking off, including 67 in the U.S. and 43 in Canada.

Of 12 infants who got trapped in the cribs in the U.S., four died of suffocation, including two aged 7 months, a 9-month-old and a 6-month-old. Three babies became trapped in Canada, but all survived. There were 20 cases of babies falling from the cribs, including eight in Canada, with injuries ranging from concussion to bumps and bruises.

It is the second time this year the company has recalled cribs. In January, Health Canada recalled Stork Craft cribs with a manufacturing date between May 2000 and May 2008 and bearing the firm's insignia "storkcraft baby" after it found a problem with the metal support brackets for the mattress frame.

The massive recall includes cribs sold in Canada through Sears and Wal-Mart, among them two models of Stork Craft cribs with drop-sides and plastic brackets, the Holly and the Lily.

The recall includes Stork Craft cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009. Nearly 150,000 of the cribs carry a Fisher-Price logo. It also includes Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo manufactured between October 1997 and December 2004.

Stork Craft has an 85,000 square-foot plant in Richmond, near Vancouver. According to a company profile, 10 per cent of its 50 products are made in Canada. The rest are built in China and Indonesia.

The Grey Matter Formerly Known as "My Brain"

2009-11-23T10:11:00.002-05:00

So, I've been meaning to write this article for a while, but... I forgot.

Seriously. It may sound like a joke, it may even be kind of funny, but I'm not kidding!

It's one of those horrible things that "they" don't tell you about becoming a mom: you will lose your mind. Literally.

It starts from the moment you see those two little lines on the pregnancy test (or the "+" sign, or the "PREGNANT", etc., etc., etc.) You may have previously been a Nobel Prize winning scientist, a musical genius, a gourmet chef, but suddenly - BAM! Your brain turns to absolute MUSH.

I don't remember it as much with my first pregnancy (see what I mean?) but the one incident of what I fondly refer to as "pregnesia" that really stands out happened during my second. My husband worked, at the time, LONG overnight shifts, only 2 or 3 days per week. So our daughter was in daycare the days after his shifts in order for him to be able to sleep. The rest of the week she was at home with Dad. Since he had to be back on the train usually before I got home, on the days she was at daycare I picked her up.

One day I was happily driving home, enjoying the nice spring day, when I suddenly realized that I had completely forgotten something: Emma. Oops. I was about a block from home when I had to make a quick turnaround and go back to daycare.

The sad thing is, it gets worse with each subsequent pregnancy, and so far, it doesn't seem to improve afterwards. Or maybe I'm just so tired that I just traded pregnesia for... umm... *yawn*... what was I talking about again?

Oh, right. Mommy Brain.

I'm not an organized person at the best of times. It just isn't in my genetic makeup to have neatly labelled boxes and bins and folders. I wish it were, but it just isn't. With four kids, it seems only natural that I should have a big calendar hanging in the kitchen, all colour-coded by family member to remind me who has to be where when, and who's school forms are due on what day. I should have folders for each child that I look in each night to see what I have to return, fill in or file. But I don't.

And this is getting to be a problem.

I've always been the person who has everything in her head. Due dates, assignments, appointments, birthdays, anniversaries... everything. I could never use a daytimer in high school or university, no matter how many times I tried. It just seemed redundant to write things down when they were already in my mental calendar.

But the more people I have to organize, and the more my poor hormone-addled brain starts killing off its own brain cells, the worse this is. For example, I know I was supposed to send back the parent-teacher interview form this morning. It was supposed to go to Charlotte's teacher, because it was supposed to go to the teacher of the youngest child in the family (who attends that school, of course). However, what do NOT know is where that form has gone. I know it was sitting on an end table in the living room somewhere around Friday afternoon. It might have even been there on Saturday morning. It is not there now.

It also affects things like keeping up with the news. I can still name all of Brangelina's children (I mean, who CAN'T?) but there are days when I can't name the Prime Minister (or maybe that's just a protective mechanism?) I can't bring myself to read newspaper articles most of the time. I never watch the news because that would mean turning off Blue's Clues or Drake & Josh.

I used to be able to do complex math problems. I could recite Shakespearean monologues. I was actually a pretty decent cook when I had a cookbook to follow. I hope those days will return. I am optimistic they will.

In about 18 years or so?

I want my brain back!

Making Time for Mom (or Dad)

2009-10-30T18:06:00.001-04:00

You see it everywhere: new moms and dads are reminded to “have a date night” or “take a bubble bath” or go out with friends. Every parenting book, magazine and website say the same thing. You want to take time for yourself so that you can be a better parent in the end. Have that date night with Dad so that you don't forget who you were BEFORE kids.

It all sounds wonderful, in theory. In reality it's not always so easy. As kids get older, they have activities, which tend to multiply. So your evenings and weekends seem to disappear before they even begin. Chances are you have things that occupy your “free” time, too, like volunteer work with your kids' school or church. While rewarding, it's still not really “me” time.

Even when you're part of a co-parenting team (I make no assumptions!) it's not so easy to get time by yourself. The bubble bath idea is probably the most laughable to me. I enjoy a good bubble bath now and then, don't get me wrong, but it happens about once or twice a year, if that. If the kids are awake, the possibility of me even peeing without accompaniment is next to none. I can only imagine me trying to take a relaxing bubble bath while Emma came in to tell me something she “forgot” about her homework, Charlotte coming in to ask me to watch her “big jump” or Andrew to whine about Emma or Charlotte bugging him. It's also quite possible that my husband would come in to find out whether I've given the baby his medicine (don't get me started on the topic of infant reflux right now...) or what he's supposed to make for dinner. Either that, or I'll be listening to him yelling from downstairs, “Your mother is trying to have a bath! Stop yelling!”

Once a month I do go out with a group of moms to a restaurant where we just sit and talk for a couple of hours. It is honestly my favourite part of the month, so rare is the chance for me to talk to adults other than my immediate family members.

It's not easy, though. I've been on both sides of the SAHM/WOHM conundrum, which is why I'm convinced that neither way is “better”. As a SAHM I work 24/7. There are no sick days, no vacation days, no statutory holidays. I adore my kids, but I'm so excited to leave the house without kids once in a while that it's really a little bit pathetic. Going to the grocery store by myself leaves me practically giddy. So time with adult friends is absolutely essential to my brain-cell retention.

That being said, as a WOHP (I'm including dads in this, since the majority still WOH) you still work 24/7, but now it's at two jobs. You get up, try and cram in some morning time with your kids (if you're lucky) and head off on your commute (which if you live in this area can be anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours each way). You get to work, try and cram in as much work as you can as fast as you can to avoid the dreaded overtime, make the commute back, and then as soon as you walk in the door you're at job #2. Kids are running screaming to see you, you have to try and gobble down your dinner in order to get the bath/story/bedtime routine going and you're still inwardly fuming over the idiot who messed up your day at work. The last thing that you want to have happen is for your co-parent to say “Hi, welcome home, I'm outta here!”

Date Night is probably the most elusive of all the me times in parenting. If it's hard to get a night for ONE of you to go out, it's a downright herculean task for both of you to go out at once sans children (see? I'm bilingual, too!) You may be lucky enough to have family around who are willing to babysit, but all but the most devoted grandparents don't want to be on call ALL the time, and it's not that common anymore for grown children to live down the street from their parents. Very few of my friends live in the same city as their parents.

Adult friends aren't always the answer, either. They either have families of their own and are just as busy as you are or they don't have kids and you suspect that they're not all that fond of being on-call sitters.

So then you're left with finding the hard-to-find teenage babysitter. Personally I've never had much luck with this option. I either find they're too young, or if they're older, they have “real” part-time jobs that limit their availability. Then there's the issue of having to PAY for a babysitter. Say you want to go to a movie. You're looking at $20 for tickets (if you're lucky), another $20-30 for snacks and then the sitter wants $5 per hour, and sometimes that's PER kid. In my case, to go to a two-hour movie, plus time back and forth I'd be looking at over $100 for a few hours out.

And then we'll end up spending the whole time talking about the kids anyway.

ME: “Did you sign C's permission form?”

HIM: “What permission form?”

ME: “For her field trip.”

HIM: “That wasn't her field trip, that was E's.”

ME: “No, not THAT field trip. That was to the museum. This one is to the apple orchard.”

HIM: “I didn't see that one.”

ME: “It was right on the fridge.”

HIM: “Where on the fridge?”

ME: “Beside A's painting of a yak that he did at nursery school.”

HIM: “That was a yak?”

ME: “Well, that's what he told me. Either that or a pumpkin. I'm not sure.”

HIM: “I thought we weren't going to talk about the kids tonight.”

ME: “Okay. We won't talk about the kids. Did you see the latest episode of Hannah Montana?”

So, to all those parenting experts who want us to experience life without our kids, I applaud the idea, but when are YOU coming over to babysit?

I thought so. Sorry Honey, date night will have to wait another 18 years or so.

Disney to Refund Baby Einstein DVDs

2009-10-26T22:13:00.003-04:00

OK, this cracks me up.

Apparently there was a threat of a class-action lawsuit against Disney because the Baby Einstein videos claimed that they were educational. So they have decided to offer a refund of $15.99 per DVD purchased between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009. Of course, you have to have a receipt (because EVERY parent keeps receipts for DVDs purchased in 2004!)

Seriously? You bought Baby Einstein DVDs because you really thought that they were going to make your kid smarter? And then you were surprised to find out that your baby wasn't going off to college by the age of nine? Perhaps that's more of a statement on genetics than anything else.

I'm sorry, but there is only ONE reason to buy Baby Einstein DVDs: they are Baby Crack. They have an ability to mesmerize young children that no other can match.

And yes, young children shouldn't watch television. TV = BAD!!! You are doing your child irreparable harm by allowing them to be "babysat" by the television. You know what? SCREW OFF! (Sorry, was that too harsh?) There are times when television is the only thing that will allow a mom (or dad) to get anything done. There are days when I wouldn't even get a shower were it not for a well-positioned bouncy seat and an episode of Barney on Treehouse.

My younger daughter was a sweet baby who wanted to be held. ALL the time if she was awake. And I mean ALL the time. She would scream and cry and carry on from the moment she was put down until the moment she was picked back up again. At the time my husband worked night shifts, so on the nights he was working I had no backup in order to make dinner for myself and our older daughter, much less to eat. Every evening it was a nightmare. It wasn't until she was four months old that one night in desperation I put in one of the Baby Einstein DVDs that my brother-in-law had sent and put Charlotte down in her bouncy seat. I fully expected to hear shrieks of indignation. Imagine my surprise when instead a glazed look came across her face as the weird little toys danced across the screen in time to Bach.

So yes, I think this threatened lawsuit is a bunch of Baby Bull. However, in the interest of community service, here's the website you can get more information if you wish to get refunds on your Baby Crack... err... Einstein DVDs.

In the US:
http://babyeinstein.com/parentsguide/satisfaction/upgrade_us.html

In Canada:
http://www.babyeinstein.com/(S(ra1wsf55eapggg55vvgat445))/parentsguide/satisfaction/satisfaction_ca.html

Hmmm... while researching the links I actually came across this from the Baby Einstein website. Sounds like there's more to the story. Interesting.

Actual Conversation with a Three-Year-Old

2009-10-20T08:51:00.002-04:00

Me: So which of the Imagination Movers is your favourite?

A: Smitty, Scott, Rich, Smitty...

Me: What about Dave? Is he your favourite, too?

A: Yeah, Scott. I like their pants, and their shirts, too. And their underwear.

Me: Their underwear? Really?

A: Yeah. Can I play on the computer?

Hallelujah!

2009-10-15T18:38:00.002-04:00

A Toronto Star report says that a movement is underfoot to make the report cards at Ontario schools more understandable. In my experience so far, report cards are an exercise in frustration for parents. No longer do you see a subject, a letter grade, and a personal comment. No, that was apparently too easy, so in 1998 the Ontario government, led by my all-time favourite Premier Mike Harris (was that too sarcastic?) decided that all report cards needed to be standardized. The intention was to bring consistency between school boards in the province. In fact, I believe that this idea was supposed to make things easier for parents.

Instead, what we've had is robotic comments straight out of the curriculum that are more edu-speak than parent-speak. Teachers choose from a list of comments instead of giving any personal comment that actually tells a parent how their child is doing in that subject. I honestly thought maybe I was just stupid, reading my daughter's report card. I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person, and I have a university degree with a minor in English. I can't be THAT dumb, can I?

Toronto school board trustee Howard Goodman says I'm not. He struggles to understand his own children's report cards, he says. He is now leading the charge for more coherent reports, inspired by retired teacher Tom Sullivan (who holds a Masters Degree in Education) who started his crusade after he couldn't understand his grandson's Grade 4 report. There are also concerns that if a former teacher or school board trustee, whose first language is English, can't understand the report cards, new Canadians may have a very difficult time with them.

Some actual comments from report cards:

“She systematically describes the relative locations of objects or people using positional language.”

“She is able to count using one-to-one correspondence with ease.”

“He explains how the particular characteristics of various text forms help to communicate meaning, with a focus on literary, graphic and informational texts.”

Aren't those helpful?

I was speaking about this to a friend whose kids are now in university, and she mentioned that her son, now studying Engineering, had a 99% in Calculus (or some kind of math... it's not my strong suit). His report card said, “A... should take advantage of additional help that is available.”

HUH? I could see how that extra 1% would be nice, but that sounds like he needs tutoring or something! His mother asked about it, and was told that the comment was applied to everyone. WHAT?

Sometimes I honestly think that they make changes to education because they're expected to, not because it's necessary. My oldest daughter learned to read using the Animated Literacy program. My younger daughter started Junior Kindergarten this year, and her teacher told me that they were told they were no longer allowed to use this curriculum. No new curriculum had been chosen, but they were absolutely NOT to use Animated Literacy anymore, because someone had decided that it wasn't the best way to teach reading. The teacher agreed with me that in a year or two they would probably change their minds again, going from Phonics to Whole Language to... who knows what? Is leaving something alone a sign of stagnation, or is change for the sake of change just politically sanctioned busywork?

However, I really do hope that the intiative to change the report cards go through. Even “translating” the current comment system isn't enough, in my opinion. Yes, it tells me what my child can do, or knows, but what are the specific things she needs to improve on? Does that mean that she's at the top of the class? I would love to see the personal comments that used to be on report cards when I was a kid. I'd much rather hear that my child is “a joy to have in class” than that she knows whether she's in front of or behind something. I'd rather know that he's a chatterbox and needs to settle down than that he can count one by one.

But maybe that's just me.