I know, I know.  You’re thinking:  what?  It’s not too late for Holiday Cards?  Is she nuts?

Well, maybe.  But not because of that.  It’s not too late for holiday cards because there’s always another holiday!  Forgot to send out ChristKwanHan cards?  No worries.  Send a little love for Valentines Day.

Better yet, send a little love for no reason at all.

When my kids were small, I spent FOREVER making holiday cards like, dragging and cutting and pasting in PrintMaker (remember them?) And since I have virtually NO talent in the visual arts (even my stick figures are lousy), they came out looking like this:

and this…

Luckily, I was saved by the incredible cuteness of my kids. (weren’t they adorable when they were small?) Then, I discovered MINTED.  No longer did it take hours on end to make a beautifully designed card.

I just picked one of the bazillions (I think that’s the official number) of choices, many by indie designers, on Minted, add my own photos, and voila.  Done.

Now, even though my kids are no longer little cuties (they’re teenagers, hardly the “awww” inspiring age) I can still send a photo card that looks great. Customizing font, color, putting photos on the inside or not, on the back or not. It’s all kinds of awesome.  And  so easy there’s no reason not to do it for Valentines Day. for Easter or even for no reason at all. You can even do Wedding Invitations, along with their latest, Save the Date – including free addressing. (Bar Mitzvah, Wedding?  You NEED to send one of these)

Minted is more than just cards, they’re a  marketplace for independent artists, selling framed artwork, housewares, fabric.  Like this photo gift, by an artist named Heather Francisco, in Seattle.  How adorable is that? 

Or these uber-designer looking party supplies. (you can even order them and claim to have made them yourself – hey, if you customize with a photo, you sort of did!)

You’ll get great design, and you’ll be supporting independent artists.  I like it.

Look, I’m all for social media, and emails and virtual this that and the other — but nothing says “thoughtful” like a beautifully designed card, printed  on high quality paper, snail-mailed to your home.  Come on, admit it, getting snail mail – – real snail mail, not junk mail or bills — is kind of a thrill.  Always has been.

Imagine the thrill if it wasn’t at the “normal” holiday time.  If you sent a card Just because.

This year, I sent these, from Minted (and BEFORE they contacted me to write this post)

See?  Told you Minted could make even my lack of artistic skill into something awesome.

That’s my new logo right there.  Snazzy, right?

You subscribed to From Hip to Housewife once, so I hope you will again, and it really isn’t hard to do:

Just visit this link to update your delivery settings, and you’ll get notified again every time I post a pithy, funny, ranting, raving, reviewing, crazy, sane or otherwise eminently readable post. (Hey, I’ve been Freshly Pressed FOUR TIMES.  I must be doing something right.) Or, you can go to  http://fromhiptohousewife.com/, and subscribe all over again in the sidebar.

See?  Easy?

Hope  to see you again soon on From Hip to Housewife.

-Nancy

Well, I’m here to tell you it’s time you got off your butt, and did something about it.  After all, it is Hurricane Preparedness week.   Start with Knowing Your Zone.  What zone, you ask? Your flood zone.  Hurricane Sandy proved that flooding and NYC can go hand in hand – with devastating consequences.  And those consequences would be even worse if you didn’t know how to protect yourself.

So how do you protect yourself?  Simple.  Three easy steps.

1.  Use NYC’s Hurricane Evacuation Zone Finder or call 311 to find out whether your home or business is located in a hurricane evacuation zone.

2.  Sign up for Notify NYC  to make sure you get the latest emergency information via text, phone, email, fax,   Twitter (@NotifyNYC), and more – should there be an emergency, or should one be imminent, you’ll be aware.

3. Take a look at the Ready New York Hurricane Guide. Its got  instructions on how to develop a hurricane disaster plan and secure your home  before a storm hits.

Once you’ve done all of that, take the  Know Your Zone Thunderclap Challenge, it’s kind of like a little test — to make sure you zone savvy and Hurricane prepared!

Sometimes, being part of the blogging the community really is about making a difference in this world.

And sometimes, it’s all about the swag.

There are times when, yes, I admit it, I go to an event just because I know there will be awesome swag there.  I’m not proud of it – but there you have it.  Confessions of a swag hound.

Here are some details of last week’s swag-a-licious events!

First, I went to the beautiful roof garden at the Gramercy Park Hotel (I went to the Bryant Park Hotel first, by mistake, but let’s not relive my embarrassment, shall we?) for a BirchBox event co-hosted by the always lovely Amy Tara Koch.  BirchBox, for the uninitiated, is the original Beauty Box Delivery service.  Pay a fee, and each month, BirchBox will send you a box filled with sample products tailored to your specific needs.  Go online, and the Birchbox editors will have detailed info on how to use the products in your box, and links to purchase full sized versions.  It’s the super-fun version of try before you buy.

BirchBox’s co-founder, Katia Beauchamp, was there, and she told me that what separates Birchbox from its many imitators is their editorial staff. “We have a bigger editorial staff than Allure (magazine) she told me.”  And I will say, that the full-sized products in my special Mother’s Day BirchBox bag, (they do full sized curated boxes you can purchase throughout the year) did have some awesome stuff in it.  I’m especially fond of the Cynthia Rowley liquid eye pencil. Even I can’t mess it up!

My next totally self-indulgent blogger event was Fit, Fab, and Fly at the 92Y on the Upper East Side.  Brianne Manz of Stroller in the City invited me to try a new exercise class, Chaise Fitness, and then to get pampered for my efforts by Priv, a beauty-on-call home service, Blue Print, the famous cleanse, Zen Home Cleaning an upscale, organic home-cleaning service, and Elemental T’s the t-shirt company started by two moms who make shirts so cute I wish my twins were still 4 years old so they could fit into them.

Chaise Fitness was not easy – but the eerily-reminiscent-of-Cindy-Lauper co-founder of the exercise system, Lauren Piskin made it fun.  Basically, Chaise Fitness involves a sort of spring loaded chair/bench thing with bungee cords hanging above it.  You do exercise on, over and across the bench, many of them including working against the springs in both the bungees and the chair (chaise) itself.

If doing the workout will make me look even 1/10 as fit and toned as it founders, sign me up.

Once I was sufficiently sweaty, I headed out to find Priv.  It’s a genius idea: beauty on demand.  Why should celebrities be the only ones with make-up artists and people to do their hair?  The folks at Priv send the beauty professionals to you –on short notice. Hair, nails, massage, make-up – you name it.  They’ve got a roster of professionals ready to make you beautiful.

And as if that weren’t enough, Brianne et al also thought to make sure our homes were beautified, too.  Zen Home Luxury Cleaning was there, showing off their all-organic, super elegant cleaning service. Yep, you heard that – elegant cleaning service.  Custom uniformed, fully screened cleaning personnel will come to your home and do everything from re-arranging to downright scrubbing.  All with organic, specially made products.  So your home is clean and safe.

After all this beauty and fitness it was hard to resist the last bit of swag that arrived this week: a case of pop-chips!  Did you know they now come in sour cream and onion, sweet potato, and bar b q flavor?  Good thing I got some free Chaise Fitness classes to help me work them off.

Take Easter:  The Christians have bunnies and chicks, and colorful eggs.  All lovely inspirations for fun family crafts. At that same time of year we have Passover:  famine, and locusts, and killing of the first born.  Is there a craft for that?

Well, there’s about to be.

Yesterday, I went to the Hershey’s Easter Party, a PR event where they showcased their adorable (and yummy) Easter crafts and products for 2014. Easter all the way.  Admittedly adorable. Easy to do crafts. Yummy treats.  But decidedly NFJ. (Not for Jews!)

So I say genug es genug (enough is enough – in Yiddish).  It’s time for some Passover Crafts!  And I’m here to help you adapt Hershey’s Easter crafts and Goodies for Passover.

1. Forget the Bunnies: Go Frogs

If you can get past the fact that the frogs in the Passover Story were a plague (one of ten – 10! because as slaves in Egypt we hadn’t suffered enough) then you can enjoy this Passover take on  Hershey’s bunny snack cup.

Hershey’s Version: Cute! But Not Passover-esque.

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My version: Fill with Gefilte Fish if you like!

Hershey’s fills their version with snacks and candies.  Works for me.  But to be more authentic, try filling yours with Gefilte fish. Yum! For more Easter crafts from Hershey’s that you can modify to your hearts content (or your religious belief’s intent: Atheist Cupcakes! Wickedly good Wickan Pops, Agnostic Apple Dunkers!) click on Hershey’s Holiday Crafts.

2. Plague Pudding: A Passover Plague-a-palooza Treat!

If  I’ve learned anything from years of themed blogger events, the only thing needed to make a food themed is a theme-y name.  Voila!  Straight from the Hershey’s website: Plague Pudding!  Just like chocolate pudding but with a appropriately “they’re going to kill us — let’s call it a Holiday!” name.

But why stop with Plague Pudding?

Easter Schmeaster! Using one Egg only turns these into Moses in A Basket Treats!

What about this Easter basket treat from Hershey’s?  It’s easy to Seder-i-fy it!  Just use one candy coated chocolate egg instead of three, paint a baby face on it with an edible ink pen, and tada: Moses in a Basket treats!

Try this it’s-so-good-I-even-make-it-when-it’s-not-Passover (seriously, I really do) Hershey’s Chocolate covered  Matzoh Bark, or as I like to call it, Let My Waistline Go Matzoh Bark.  It’s incredibly fattening and incredibly good.

3. Reeses Peanutbutter Cup Easter Egg Gets Seder-i-fied

Who says it has to be an Easter Egg?  I’m putting mine on the seder plate on the kids’ table. So there.

4. Hershey’s Kisses in Easter Colors become Exile’s EggStravaganza

Nix the pink and green wrapped Hershey kisses in this holiday themed pack, and you have blue and silver left…can you say “colors of the Israeli flag?”  Bonus: they’re Kosher!!  Who knew? (Well, I’m sure somebody knew. Like some Jew who doesn’t serve roast loin on pork on Friday nights) Put them in a rustic burlap sack – just like the ones the Jews had to put all their worldly belongings in when they fled from Pharaoh! – and you’ve got Exile’s EggStravaganza!  Just be sure to eat ’em fast, before those stifling desert temperatures melt them away!

5. Licensed Tees and more:

The lip balm, change purses, headbands, and hip tees are non-denominational.  Enjoy.  But if you’re coming to my house for the seder…you could at least put a blazer or nice cardigan over your tee.  I mean, we like to dress a bit. Comfortably, so we can recline and all…but still.

So Happy Passover.  Happy Easter.  Happy Pagan Rite of Passage (come on, eggs, fertility, you do the math). Enjoy!

Full Disclosure: I got some Hershey swag at the event.  That is all.  Also. I know Jews can craft. Please don’t write some ridiculous comment about how I’m an anti-semite.  It’s a HUMOROUS post.  Get a sense of humor!

I’ve been going down to Florida for most of my life. As a kid – and into my 20’s – I went to visit my grandparents in Hallandale, near Ft Lauderdale on the east coast. Pre-Kids, my husband and I used to hit South Beach for the restaurants and fun club scene. I’ve been to Orlando with theme parks and without, and for the past 15 years – I’ve been going to visit my own parents on LongBoat Key near Sarasota on the West Coast of Florida.

I’ve written before about how different LongBoat Key is from the Florida I’d always known before – the east coast. But I’d never before taken the short drive from LongBoat to  Visit St. Petes/Clearwater to check it out.

I didn’t know what I was missing.

Busch Gardens: An Amusement Park without the Marketing Machine

Our first day we headed to Tampa to spend the day at Busch Gardens. Unlike most amusement parks I’ve been to, other than a small presence by the Muppets, Busch Gardens is blissfully marketing-tie-in free.

It’s not a theme park so much as an amusement park This place is all about the rides. The lack of licensed characters everywhere, and the abundance of plantings and super-close animal exhibits all combine to make a day at Busch Gardens fun and relaxing. (if line filled – lots of long waits!)

Unless you’re planning on mostly hitting the animal experiences (feed giraffes! Get close to the elephants), Busch Garden’s rides are mostly geared towards older kids (they’re kind of scary) but my kids were thrilled, and there was just (just!) enough to keep my friends’ younger one from being bored.

After our day in the park we drove the 20 or so minutes into downtown St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg: Southbeach Quality Restaurants, “Best Family Beach in America” and Shopping without the ‘Tude

St. Pete’s felt like a less frenetic South Beach – lots of restaurants along the water, a serious foodie scene, and plenty of scantily clad women in high heels. But the overall vibe was so much mellower – so NOT see and be seen, that is was a pleasure.
We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites, a perfectly located hotel that has so clearly been recently renovated, it practically gleamed. For a super reasonable

Great location. Welcoming Staff. Excellent breakfast.

price, we got a big room with two queen sized beds, a queen sized pull out, warm cookies upon check in, and an abundant free breakfast – including waffles, eggs, fresh fruit and yogurt – the works.

Bonus: The hotel was only a quick walk to the many, many great restaurants and attraction in the area.

Our room  wasn’t just super-spacious, it came with that most important amenity: Free Fast Wi Fi. Overall,  I was amazed.  “Budget friendly” and those kinds of extras don’t usually go together.  Between the location, the cleanliness, the professionalism of the staff and the breakfast (there’s even a small pool) I would totally recommend it to anyone. (And just to clarify: my stay was 100% on my own dime. No promotion of any kind. )

Top Quality Eats

We went to the not-inexpensive but worth it Z-Grille for dinner, where our most memorable dish was the seafood nachos, which ROCKED, and where the vibe was accessibly cool. We could have been in downtown NY – but for the MUCH better weather.

Farmer’s Market

In the morning, we walked from the hotel to  St. Pete’s wonderful farmer’s market, filled with artisinal treats, organic snacks, baked goods, and more.

Chihuly Detail 03 (Photo credit: Hialean)

World Class Art
The Dali Museum, a spectacular building in and of itself, that houses a giant collection of Salvador Dali’s work. The free tours, led by volunteer docents, start every hour, and our tour guide was super knowledgeable, funny and charming. Even my teenagers were riveted. No small feat.

Dali’s art is odd – and perfect for kids. They can find hidden pictures, and follow the free audio guide designed just for kids, and delineated by a mustache at the featured pieces. The adult audio guide was equally well done – if a bit long winded at times. ( I alternated between listening to the docent and to the guide) Another plus if you’re traveling with kids: the museum is not too big, so by the time they start complaining…you’ll be done!

The Chihuly Exhibition was next on our list. At the Morean Arts Center, the Chihuly exhibit is a small but impressive collection of the glass artist’s work. Colorful, unique and striking, this collection- with it’s magnificent spheres, brightly colored tentacles and colored glass ceilings, is a kid-pleaser.  These pictures don’t begin to do it justice.  But given it’s size, unless you also take advantage of visiting the Art Center Itself (about two miles away) and seeing or trying the glass blowing or pottery making, the price tag (Adults, $19.95, students $12.95) may feel a bit steep.

Since we only had one full day in St. Petersburg, we didn’t hit the beach, but according to their visitor’s information center, it’s pretty spectacular:

Ft. DeSoto Beach, located off of St. Petersburg’s southern tip, has been named the number one beach in the United States. Named after the historic fort located on the 900-acre county park, visitors can tour the five interconnected islands that comprise the park. More than a beach, Ft. DeSoto includes a year-round county campground, miles of nature trails and paved fitness trails, 2.25 miles of canoe trails, an 800-foot boat launch with floating docks, fishing piers, picnic pavilions with grills, a concession stand and restroom and shower facilities. From the island’s southern shores, visitors enjoy a sweeping panorama of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Still can’t imagine Florida without a certain other theme park?  No worries — it’s a quick drive (under two hours) and then you can leave there, and escape to the civil, hip, un-touristy town that is St. Petersburg.

Overall, It was a fabulous day in a charming city…and if you’re planning your next Florida vacation, I highly recommend a visit to St. Petes/Clearwater.

Here are my top five takeaways:

1. There are a lot more bloggers out there than I realized.
This may sound silly, but when you live in NYC, have been blogging for as long as I have, and go to at least two blogging related events every week, where you see pretty much the same bloggers every time, you get the impression that there are about 37 bloggers in the whole world and you know all of them.

Of course that’s not true, but meeting all these incredible women, women like Sami Cone, Beth Engleman, Still dating My Spouse  and  Sarah Mock– some of whom I only knew virtually, and some not at all – most with huge followings and so much of value to say – well, it just reminded me of what I knew in theory, if not practice: There are a TON of exceptional, professional parent bloggers out there. And they’re no joke. They monetize, they negotiate, they freelance, they ROCK.

2. You Don’t Need a Lot of Page Views to Make Money through Affiliate Links.
At a session on Affiliate Marketing led by Debbie Bookstaber and Missy Ward (another powerhouse woman I’d never heard of or met…how is that even POSSIBLE?) I learned a tremendous amount about how affiliate marketing works, how to implement it, how to set up an affiliate storefront and even your own affiliate network to sell you e-book or whatever other product you may have.

Until I heard Debbie and Missy speak, it never even occurred to me to attach affiliate links to my product posts. I assumed that with as little traffic as I have, it wasn’t worth the trouble.

WRONG.

Debbie explained that with very little traffic on her site – and she emphasized how little many times – she still brings in $500 a month from affiliate links with almost no effort after the initial set up. So why not do it?

I’m going to do it right now. Here’s my first affiliate link: the sweater I wore during my presentation came from StitchFix, an amazing online personal shopping service I recently used. They surveyed me about my life, my style, and my preferences, and sent me a truly well-edited selection of clothing to choose from. First time out, I selected two out of the five things they sent. Pretty great. And I didn’t even have to go to the store!

3. I’m not Charging Enough for Sponsored Posts
In a session given by Kelly Whalen, Roo Ciambrilello, and Titania Jordan I learned something super important: I don’t write a whole lot of sponsored posts – (and now that I know more about affiliate marketing I’ll likely write even fewer). But when I do do a sponsored post – I am not charging enough. Women in the room are charging upwards of $300 for a sponsored post. Granted, they likely have WAY more traffic than I do, but if you’re reading this, and you blog, and you have any kind of traffic at all, chances are, you’re not charging enough for your work. I’m sure not.

4. iBlog Magazine is new, and every blogger should read it.
There are great interviews, concrete advice for business-minded bloggers, and a whole lot of inspiration in the beautifully designed, high quality publication. And maybe this is a back-handed compliment thing to say, but I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly as fabulous as it was. My guess is, it’s going to be a must for bloggers, PR Firms, and marketers.
(And full disclosure, they interviewed Rebecca and I about KidzVuz for a piece that will come out in May).

5. The Blogging Community Really is a Community
When I started blogging, back in the early days of the blogosphere, I felt like I had joined a community. Women shared ideas and stories, being part of the NYC Moms Blog/SV Moms Group introduced me to most of the women I still converse with – both online and in real life every day. I met Rebecca – my business partner, platonic soul mate, and pretty much constant companion – through blogging.
But in recent years – with the number of bloggers growing, and conferences feeling like huge, impersonal swag-fests, it’s been feeling less like a community and more like an industry.

Being at Type A, hearing women openly share what they charge, how they work with brands, what their goals are, and giving away concrete monetization strategies for free – Listening to women be so generous with their advice and compliments and retweets and link backs – well, it made me feel good about the community again. It reminded me why – while Parent Bloggers are serious businesswomen, they’re also my friends, my social-media-soul-mates, my inspiration.

So thanks to Kelby Carr and her team, creators of the conference. Thanks to sponsors Oral B Stages, Food for Sleep, Savings.com, Moms Night Out: The Movie, and of course, Leanne Jakubowski and the folks at Disney Parks for sponsoring the conference at making it happen.

Feeling like you missed out?  Don’t!  You can still attend the Type-A Parent main conference in Atlanta! Click my affiliate link here for more info! (My second affiliate link!  Yay!)

Yum. Anything in The Perfect Bacon Bowl tastes better.

Like the bad Jew that I am, I LOVE bacon.  I can’t help it.  It has all the things I crave: fat, salt, crunch. Yum.

So I was super excited to be invited to the Perfect Bacon Bowl Breakfast at the super fun Ellen’s StarDust Diner only a few train stops away. (full disclosure: while there, I ate a lot of free bacon, and I left with a free sample of the product).

We ate bacon bowls filled with eggs (awesome for me – -I’m on the Atkins diet (don’t ask!), bacon filled with crab meat salad, and I watched friends like Gay NYC Dad and The Can Can eat Perfect Bacon Bowls filled with slated caramel ice cream. Sounds awesome, looks awesome, tasted awesome.

BUT – (you knew there had to be a but, didn’t you?)  in addition to being a bad Jew, I am also a cynic.  So I figured that the perfect looking Bacon Bowls at the event would not be so perfect when I tried it at home.  Which, it being Shabbat the next day, I did.

I carefully followed the directions, wiped the Perfect Bacon Bowl Maker with a paper towel coated with Pam, cut one piece of bacon in half and crossed them over the base of the device to make the bowl’s bottom, then wrapped two other pieces around it to form the sides. I did have a little trouble deciding which was the fat side, since the instructions say “fat side up.” Aren’t both sides of the bacon the Fat Side?   Then I put them in the microwave (one at a time as per the instructions) and…

It worked!  Maybe my bowls were a bit shrunken, and maybe they weren’t quite as lovely as the ones at the event..but I’m pretty happy with them. And the way my family chowed down on ’em…they were too.

My friend Wendy’s friend, Rafaella Lily, was born with a severe form of a rare genetic disorder called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).  Often referred to as “The worst disease you’ve never heard of,” EB is a devastating disorder which causes children’s skin to be so fragile that simply scratching an itch results in blisters and tears.  Kids with EB are known as Butterfly Children.  Their skin is as delicate as a butterfly’s wings.

Knowing this, a group of moms from Rafi’s preschool got together to make a difference.  They began Rafi’s Run two years ago to raise money to fund research for a cure for EB, and thanks to the amazing generosity of family, friends, and businesses, have collected $400,000 for the cause.  Every penny donated to Rafi’s Run goes directly to researchers who are already making amazing discoveries that will benefit not only kids with EB, but a host of other children with similar disorders and beyond.  Information about Rafi, EB and EB research can all be found on their website: www.rafisrun.com.

Over the past two years the run has elicited a tremendous outpouring of community involvement and national attention. You can help make the Third Annual Rafi’s Run even bigger than the first two. The 2014 5K Run/Walk will take place in Riverside Park at West 103rd Street on Sunday March 9th at 10 am with a Children’s Fun Run at 11 for kids ages 12 and under.  We’ll have a raffle and snacks, a musician and a big green dinosaur, and everyone goes home with a super cool tee shirt.  All donations are fully tax deductible and go directly to researchers via DebRAof America – the premier nonprofit organization for research into treatments for EB.

Click here for more information on how you can make a difference for Rafi and all of the children who suffer from EB.

(Photo credit: The Guise Archives)

 One Mom’s rant against the deification of sports.

Raise your hand if you think the best thing about this past weekend’s Super Bowl was Bruno Mars.  Now raise your hand if your school has pep rallies, cheer leaders, and neighborhood celebrations for the school band, or the drama club, or the dance troupe.

That’s what I thought.

Despite the fact that 4000 former players recently sued the NFL over head injuries – despite the fact that 1.35 million kids go to the ER each year because of school sports related injuries – despite the fact that having a kid involved in team sports results in thousands of parents  standing on freezing fields, in the rain, early on Sunday mornings when really, they’d rather be curled up with a cup of coffee and the paper, or better yet, still asleep – despite all of that —  our culture idolizes sports and kids’ participation in it, and barely looks up when a kid is a star performer in any of the arts.

It’s time we gave arts programs for school aged-kids  at least the same love we give sports programs.

Full Disclosure: I am  not a Jock

When people find out I did not play any team sports as a kid, they respond as if I am a freak of nature, or at least un-American!  I have, they assume, been deprived of childhood’s most important lessons.  I must have been so alone: being on a team is the only way to experience camaraderie;  I must have been unhealthy:  sports is the only way to be fit!  I must be selfish: how could I possibly have learned teamwork or fair play without sports?

Please.

Sports isn’t the Only Way to Enrich a Kids Life

My childhood was filled with the arts.  I took Jazz, Ballet, Tap, and Modern Dance.  I took singing lessons, and acting class.  I was in the school chorus, the Fall Play, the Spring Musical.  I did Community Theater.  I sang in Church choirs. (For money, but still.)  I went to performing arts camp for five years.  I went to Tanglewood and sang Beethoven under the stars as part of a choir of 100 kids from around the country.

Yet despite the  vast body of research showing that kids involved in after school sports get better grades and are less likely to get involved in criminal activity, I got great grades,  went to a top college, and managed to arrive well into my middle age without a criminal record.

Why?  Because the arts taught me plenty of life skills.  I learned coordination, balance and physical grace from dance.  I learned about teamwork and camaraderie from being in shows and choirs.  I learned to think on my feet when I forgot my lines, or when sets malfunctioned.  I learned you don’t always get the lead, but you still do your part in the chorus to support the whole.

So here’s the big news: sports doesn’t have a lock on teaching values and offering enriching experiences for kids.   Of course sports can be enriching in many ways.  But then Drama Club can be too.  And dance class, and band.  Chess Club, gardening club, Harry Potter Lovers United.  They all do the job.  And unlike sports, none of these has a tendency to bring out the worst in people.

The other day, I witnessed the single worst display of sportsmanship I have ever seen. There was pushing, screaming, punching, mocking, shoving.  The perpetrators were 8^th grade girls from a prestigious NYC prep school basketball team. The refs did nothing; the girls’ coaches did nothing.  It was an appalling display of behavior on all counts.

Clearly, it’s not just the kids who are the problem.

Sports Brings Out the Best..and the Worst in People

According to the Sun Sentinel, in South Florida, in the last three years alone:

• Cops were called to control unruly parents at a 6-and-under peewee football game, a 6-and-under soccer game and an 8-and-under baseball game.
• A hockey dad, basketball mom and soccer dad were arrested on child abuse or battery charges.
• Six soccer dads and one entire team of parents were banned from watching their children’s games.

I’ve never heard of a disgruntled parent driving to a school and shooting the Band Director because they didn’t like their child’s solo. Nor have I read about middle school performance of Peter Pan ending in a near riot.

Are there disgruntled band and drama parents?  Of course.  I’ve seen Dance Moms. Can kids be mean on stage and backstage?  Yes.  But the incidence of real violence – even proportionately, is so small that there’s not even data about it.  Google “parent violence in school sports” and you’ll get a plethora of hits.  Google “parent violence in school plays” and – unless you count a rousing cast of  12-year-olds in The Joan Crawford Story –  not so much.

Part of it is that the arts — awards programs (and Dance Moms) notwithstanding  —  are not competitive endeavors.  When competition is taken out of the equation – at least once auditions are over – calmer heads prevail.  And of course the physicality inherent in sports plays a part.  Physicality begets more of the same.

Yet the Super Bowl is still celebrated like nobody’s business. Or at least like nobody was brain damaged.  The winners get a trip to see a president who wouldn’t (if he had one) even let his son play the game.  And what about that Bruno Mars v. The Actual Game question?  By all accounts, this was one of the worst, most boring Super Bowl match ups in in history, and Bruno Mars rocked.  But I don’t see him getting invited to the White House.

I don’t deny that participation in sports has the potential to be fantastic can be tremendously beneficial for kids. At its best it teaches confidence and teamwork, sportsmanship, and a sense of fair play.  But that doesn’t make it the only endeavor we should celebrate for kids.

It’s time we started commending kids’  extracurricular participation in things other than sports. It’s time we recognize that if we continue to tolerate bad behavior on the field and on the court, we will end up stripping team sports of all they can offer. It’s time we had a pep rally for the Drama Club, started tail-gating before Band  Concerts, and gave student artists Varsity Jackets for really good work.

It’s time we gave the arts the same respect we give sports.  If we do, maybe we can even get Bruno Mars to give a performance during half-time – um, intermission – at the next drama club production near you.

If we don’t, maybe football players aren’t the only ones who need to have their heads examined.