Mary Manz Simon's Blog, page 46
July 1, 2016
Museums in the Smartphone Era
Museums were one of the most common destinations on our summer vacations. We could always count on clean bathrooms and at least one area of interest for each child. (For our son, that was usually the gift shop.)
If museums are on your list of places to visit, you’ll notice some changes this summer. Museums have suddenly become fans of selfies and Instagram.
Although many museums ban selfie sticks, more enthusiastically encourage photo taking. This is a real switch.
Five years ago, museum officials worried that showing exhibits and artifacts online would keep people from coming to the museum. But enlightened observers now believe that engaging people enhances their visit.
So use the museum search engine that has been optimized for mobile. Post a photo of kids posing with that famous sculpture. Just leave the selfie stick at home.
June 29, 2016
The Freakshake Fuss
If your kids reach to steal the cookie plopped on the top of your milkshake or like colored sprinkles, they will love freakshakes.
These decadent desserts are mason jars filled with milkshakes and topped with as many calories as possible.
The creations can be topped with entire slices of cake, peanut butter cups, gum balls, suckers and whatever other sweet delight you can imagine. Sure to be a cool hit as temperatures rise.
June 27, 2016
Mommy Brain
New moms often complain about the “brain fog” that impacts their thinking.
If Dr. Pilyoung Kim is correct, “Mommy Brain” is a real condition
(which merely confirms what all of us moms already knew!)
Kim, Director of the Family & Child Neuroscience lab at the University of Denver has spent years studying the gray matter of new moms.
Her newest research hasn’t been published yet, but initial results indicate considerable brain growth postpartum…so Mommy Brain might be a good thing!
June 24, 2016
Naming baby
As an author, I’ve autographed literally thousands of books. In the past few years, it’s been especially obvious that originality counts, especially among millennial moms.
Current trends in the naming game include using a mom’s last name as the child’s first name.
That might work when naming a first child, but how do you handle naming the next baby?
June 22, 2016
Summer gets personalized
Have you noticed the shift this summer?
After “packing the summer schedule” with endless camps, classes and events in previous years, many parents are using a subscription model: they purchase a monthly subscription, then choose daily activities from a large list of options.
Kids have more flexibility and aren’t “stuck” in a program for several weeks with peers they don’t like. Parents have drop-in options and more choices for their kids…
And everyone smiles through summer.
June 20, 2016
Kitchen cruising
Calorie consumption may be going down, but we’ll see what happens as kids cruise through the kitchen in a continuous eat-a-thon this summer.
The snack culture has become so entrenched in daily life, it’s become increasingly hard to gather everyone around the table for meals.
As we slip into summer patterns, it will be interesting to see what happens to the ritual of the family meal.
June 17, 2016
True or false?
Separating “what’s real from what’s not real” is a concept children learn during the early years.
But as the lines blur between editorial, marketing, advertising and user-generated content online, older children are struggling to determine “what’s real from what’s not real.”
As an early childhood educator, I’ve helped countless children distinguish between fake food in the playhouse and the real food they ate for breakfast. But now that we’re living in what some might call the “golden age for misinformation,” we need to make sure older children can also distinguish truth from fiction.
June 15, 2016
Candy free check-out
As a mom of three preschoolers, I looked for candy-free check-out lanes at the grocery store.
Fast forward to 2016:
Moms look for impulse items on screens. After all, adding a few low-price impulse items might qualify an order for free shipping.
June 13, 2016
Prime time for snackers
Summer is prime time for snackers.
During the school year, kids graze through the kitchen before supper and evening activities, but now that school is out, snacking happens throughout the day.
But because traditional meals added structure to the day, this snackified approach to eating and drinking deepens the sense of a fluid summer schedule.
If your kids have already decentralized their food intake, check that available snacks are “nutrient dense” and protein-centric.
June 10, 2016
Hanging out
Hanging out at the pool has been a traditional place for teens to meet and make new friends; technology has changed that.
Now, social media and playing networked games are prime places. More than half of teens meet new friends online, and that works year-round.
