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Four square for grown-ups? | Salon Life

Four square for grown-ups? | Salon Life

Salon has a fun article about adults playing kids games like tag and dodgeball.  I feel like parents already know how much fun this is.  Maybe some of us have felt shy about saying it – or maybe we didn’t want to let others in on our secret. 

Music – This one is really strange….

The Sound Of Worms – And Fish,

 And Rats!

Tony Burrello
Omnibus Music
This perfect if you have say a 5 to 12 year old boy.  Not music so much as really freaky sounds.  This is a remastered rerelease of the 1952 original

Download “There’s A New Sound (The Sound of Worms)” (MP3, 192kbps)

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at eMusic

Bovine Protein Intolerance

When my son was four weeks old, we found blood in his diaper.  After a harrowing few hours at the  Children’s Hospital, we discovered that the poor kid has bovine protein intolerance. When my wife would eat or drink any dairy or beef, some of the protein would pass into her breastmilk and irritate his intestines.

Since then, my wife has adopted a dairy/beef/soy free diet.  We did not anticipate the challenges that lay ahead when it came to finding things she could eat.  Information was scarce, even on the web. 

 Since we have learned so much in the last few months, I am compliling everything we know about this issue onto a page on this blog.  I will post items first (most likely) and add them to the page later.

 The first useful link is the wikipedia page on bovine protein intolerance

The Gottman Institute – Parenting

The Gottman Institute – Parenting

The Philosopher Zadie (grandfather) is a psychologist, which is very strange for the Philosopher Dad, but it does have it’s perks.  I have a built in filter for crap parenting books and theories - which very little gets by. 

The one book that my father insisted I read was “Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child”  by Dr. John Gottman.  This is the only parenting book that is grounded in years of research and observation, unlike others that that have been discussed here before.

 I strongly suggest that you get it (there’s nothing in it for me…)

A fresh start(ish)

This is the first post of on the new site.  The Philosopher Dad has switched homes, starting the gradual move to a private host…   The biggest reason for this move is that using categories in blogger is very complicated, and since I post about a wide range of subjects, I felt that a more sophisticated system would be better.  I have lost the ability to advertise, but since the number of people who read this site is small (but growing) I figured that it wasn’t a huge loss. 

W.A.T.C.H. world against toys causing harm, inc.

W.A.T.C.H. world against toys causing harm, inc.

WATCH is a consumer protection group that reviews toys for safety.
The above link is for the “10 Worst Toys of 2005″

Most of the problems are related to choking hazards, inappropriate adversitising/packing and age recommendations.

CNN.com – Child restraints safer than seat belts in a crash – Jun 9, 2006

CNN.com – Child restraints safer than seat belts in a crash – Jun 9, 2006
Here in Canada, the federal government set the regulations for car seats.
Infants must be rear-facing until they can walk or are 1 year old.
After that they must be in a car seat/booster until 80 pounds.

I know that in the US each state has their own regulations.

Americans’ Circle Of Friends Is Shrinking, New Study Shows

Americans’ Circle Of Friends Is Shrinking, New Study Shows: “Americans’ circle of close confidants has shrunk dramatically in the past two decades and the number of people who say they have no one with whom to discuss important matters has more than doubled, according to a new study by sociologists at Duke University and the University of Arizona.”

I wonder a lot about things like social isolation. I got married young and so was in a different stage of life than many of my peers during grad school (that and frankly, the allure of binge drinking had worn off by the time I got there and pot makes me hide in a corner…). I never managed to form any close friendships there and many of my close friends from before had moved away, so I don’t get to see them very often. Now I teach at CEGEP (jr/community college) and have summers off, but none of my friends do. And now, I am the first in my circle of peers to have a kid. I don’t feel that I have too many people that I can turn to when things are tough. I’m not someone who feels that I can vent in a blog post and just send it out into the ether. Some bloggers are very open in their posting, and the readers can be very supportive, but is there any actual intimacy?

I see a lot of men get more and more isolated as they get older. Many of their friends are made at work, and when the job ends or changes, the friendships stop.

I wonder about the kinds of challenges that modern parents face in keep up their close friendships.

Kindie rock | Salon Arts & Entertainment

Kindie rock Salon Arts & Entertainment

This article is right up my alley. Although my kid is too young to really discriminate – he digs Raffi, Sharon, Lois and Bram, Damien Marley and Tegan and Sara – I’m already starting to hate the CDs and MP3s that we have for him. I reviewed “See You Over The Moon” a while back. This is more stuff in that vein.

I love the primer playlist.

1. “Meltdown,” Justin Roberts
2. “House Party Time,” Dan Zanes
3. “Happy Song,” Milkshake
4. “Walk Along the River,” Laurie Berkner
5. “Sand Castles,” Justin Roberts
6. “Bottle of Sunshine,” Milkshake