Politicians and Their Negative Ads...Talk about Bullying

During every TV show our children are watching during campaign season there are negative ads from every candidate.  We are busy trying to teach our children not to bully other children and that is exactly the model that they are being exposed to each time they watch one of those negative campaign ads.  If you don't have a device on your TV that lets you skip those pesky commercials, the bad news is they will be around for another nine months and as the election gets closer they are going to become more vicious.  How do we limit the affect of these ads on our children?   Turn off the TV, read a book together, watch videos, use them as a jump off point for a discussion about bullying and talk to them about what you think about negative campaigning.  We can't make those ads go away but we can certainly do something about there affect on our children

Lessons Learned from Star Trek of all Places

When I found this article on the internet, I just had to post it.  You see my son and husband are big StarTtrek fans, mostly next generation but all the rest too.  Good to know that all that time spent at conventions and watching shows and movies didn't go to waste.  Just goes to prove that there is a lesson in everything if you look closely enough.  If your child is crazy about a particular show, try to find the lessons to be learned from it and don't miss out on a teachable moment with your child.

Excerpts from an article entitled "7 Life Lessons You Can Learn From 'Star Trek' by David Borgenicht:

I would say there are seven life lessons I learned from "Star Trek" that I take with me to this day. These are lessons I hope to pass along to my own children someday--but for now, I will share them with the interweb.

1. The best way to travel is to boldly go where no one has gone before. This is true for vacations, for self-exploration, for life itself. If you want your days filled with adventure, laughter, love, learning and the occasional mind-meld, follow this route.
2. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few--or the one. Sometimes you must make great sacrifices for the greater good. And, like the Genesis device, it will all come back around.
3. Expressing your emotions is a healthy thing. Sure, McCoy seemed angry all the time when exclaiming, "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor not a mechanic/bricklayer/soothsayer," but he knew that by expressing his anger and frustration it wouldn't get the best of him and he could then perform at his peak capacity.
4. When estimating how long a job will take, overestimate--and when you do better your captain will always be impressed. Replace the word "captain" with "teacher" or "mom/dad" and you'll see what I mean. Sure, Mr. Scott might have been telling the truth--maybe it would take six hours to get the warp engines back online in the heat of the battle. Or maybe he was padding things so he looked good. Either way, when the engines did come back on line, everyone was happy.
5. Wearing red makes you a target. This is true of cars, dresses and, most especially, shirts. Red gets you noticed--which is good if you want to be noticed, bad if you don't want to end up vaporized.
6. When you don't know what to say, pause. It will give you the time to figure it out. Or at the very least, you'll sound like you're being thoughtful. "But....Spock.....why?"
7. The most powerful force in the universe is friendship. It's more powerful than phasers, photon torpedos, even more powerful than the force itself. With friends, you can accomplish any task, escape any perilous situation, defeat any enemy--and you get to laugh together when it's all over.

I am convinced that these lessons will serve us all, adults and children, well as we seek out new life, new civilizations, new experiences. In short, thanks to "Star Trek," we may all live long and prosper.

Are Your Children the Reason for Your Dwindling Sex Life, or Could It Be Something Else?

Despite popular believe, having children may not be the main reason for the lack of sex in your life. This problem may be easier to solve than you think and not involve getting rid of your children. Couples who have a television in their bedroom have fifty percent less sex than couples who don't have a television in their bedroom. Wow!! So keep the kids, get rid of the TV and "pump up" your sex life.

Television and Movies Influence our Children

Often times we as parents are so busy that we will use t.v. or movies as a way of occupying our children.  I know that I did this many times when my children were young, just to keep them out of my hair when I had to get things done.  Today, we feel safe with the rating system and television stations that are promoted as "Kid Friendly" or the "Family Channel" that our children are watching age appropriate movies and shows.  In the past few months, I have seen several examples in the news that rattles my belief that these systems that are in place provide enough of a filter for our children.  I believe we need to monitor what are children are watching more closely when movies like "Fred the Movie" air on a kid friendly station.  This movie was about a teenage boy who appeared to be stalking a young girl that he liked.  In addition, he used many terms so close to swear words that we had to put on closed caption to make sure that they weren't swearing.  Also, the Katy Perry appearance that was scheduled to air on Sesame Street and was pulled because of parents' outcries. 

Having said this, I also feel it is important to not shelter our chldren too much from the things that go on in the real world because they will not be prepared to deal with them when they come up in their lives.  Difficult balance to find.  I believe that viewing these shows with your children may provide that balance.  Allowing you the opportunity to open those lines of communication on the tough issues.  You get to hear what they are thinking and they get to hear your views.