H1N1 Obsessed? Join the Club: How H1N1 Anxiety is Affecting the Lives of Canadian Parents

Every parent I know is H1N1 obsessed right now. And, judging by these newspaper headlines, the parental obsession is pretty much country-wide. Here's a quick snapshot of how H1N1 anxiety is affecting the lives of Canadian parents from coast to coast.

Newswire

The Toronto Star: Got Baby Brain? Your Vaccine Guide, Simply Put
The Toronto Star 's Catherine Porter translates the lingo of Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, into messages a pregnant woman can deal with, without hitting the panic button.

The Globe and Mail: The H1N1 dilemma: Parents Agonize Over Vaccinating Kids Yes? No? Maybe? Yes?
Parental pillow talk across the country is dominated by the pros and cons of vaccinating children against swine flu reportsThe Globe and Mail's Erin Anderssen.

Vancouver Sun.com: Doctors' Offices and Walk-in Clinics Overwhelmed by H1N1 Demands
Doctors’ offices and walk-in clinics in B.C. are being inundated with calls from people demanding the H1N1 vaccine but they don’t have enough doses to meet the demand in the first roll out of the national vaccination program.

Montreal Gazette: Parents flood ERs for H1N1 testing
Authorities at two Montreal hospitals are holding a news conference this morning to address parents' concerns about H1N1 flu.

Halifax Daily News: Influenza Assessment Centre Opens Today at Noon
In Halifax, health authorities are opening an influenza assessment centre to ease congestion and help prevent the spread of flu or other communicable diseases in hospital emergency departments. 

Edmonton Journal: Schools Scramble for Teachers as H1N1 Tightens its Grip
The wave of germs that is keeping a growing number of Edmonton area students at home sick now appears to be thinning the ranks of staff at some schools, the Edmonton Journal reports.

CBC.ca: Nunavut Starts Swine Flu Shots Nov. 1 
The H1N1 shot will be offered to everyone eligible to get it (as opposed to priority groups such as pregnant women and those with chronic conditions), starting November 1. Nunavut expects to "be able to finish its vaccination program ahead of most other provinces and territories," chief medical officer Isaac Sobol told the CBC. 

Related:

Healthzone.ca: Where to Get Your Shots in the GTA
An interactive map that is updated as information changes.

New Scientist: Swine Flu: Eight Myths That Could Endanger Your Life
New Scientist magazine went back and looked at the research -- and found that even some government  agencies are missing the mark on a few key points.

Resource Swap

How is your family dealing with the H1N1 issue? Have you blogged about it? Do you have a useful resource to share? Please comment below so that others who are struggling with this issue can benefit from your insights and experience. Thanks.

Wonder Fuel: Raising Curious Kids

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
- Dorothy Parker

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
- Albert Einstein

From the moment we are born, curiosity fuels our desire to learn about the wider world.

As we grow older, our initial fascination with human faces expands into a fascination with anything and everything. We use our entire body -- each of our senses -- to take in information about the world of wonder we encounter. Our excitement is often palpable. We gasps and wriggle with excitement as we encounters a new and unexpected sensation for the very first time.

Curiosity comes naturally to all human beings. It powers the cycle of learning: our delight in learning something new encourages us to want to learn even more. The easiest way to raise kids who love to learn is to fuel our kids' sense of wonder and curiosity. Here are a few practical things you can do.

Create a loving bond with your child. That bond will give your child the confidence to take the risks that learning entails.

Expose your child to a sensory-rich environment, both at home and in the community. Pay attention to your child’s reaction to the new stimuli she is encountering and ramp it up or tone it down to avoid overwhelming or over-stimulating your child.

Encourage exploration and welcome questions. Allow your child to experience the joy that comes from first-hand discovery (within safe and age-appropriate limits, of course).

Celebrate the different creative paths different people follow. Understand that your child’s attempts to find the answers to her questions may result in her following a different creative path to find the answer than the path that you would take. Delight in that difference.

Raise brave and resilient children (as opposed to children who are so afraid of the world beyond their own bedrooms that they dampen their own sense of curiosity out of self-defense).

Related:

Carol Koechlin and Sandi Zwan. How to Empower Students to Ask Questions and Care About Answers   (.pdf)

Mindstretchers: Curiosity and Wonder

FamilyAnatomy: Make-Believe Play Important to Developing Self-Regulation in Kids

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Best Summer Ever: Day 61

August 30
Get Yourself Back on Track Sleep-Wise

Most of us aren’t getting nearly enough sleep -- and we’re paying a hefty price as a result. We’re moody, we can’t concentrate, we’re having more car accidents. We’re even gaining weight because we’re not getting our zzzs—as University of Chicago researchers discovered when they studied the link between sleep deprivation and weight gain.

Starting to think that you should take sleep a little more seriously?

Here are some tips on maximizing your opportunities for sleep. (Of course, if you have a baby, those opportunities can be frustratingly elusive. You may need some additional strategies to help you get some sleep.)

Create a sleep environment that is sleep-enhancing: cool, dark, and quiet.

Reserve your bedroom for sleep and sex. No TVs, laptops, or other electronic gadgets. Otherwise, your brain will be wired to stay awake, not fall asleep.

Stick to a regular sleep and waking schedule. If you sleep in on weekends, you’ll end up suffering the sleep world equivalent of jet lag come Monday morning. (Not a great way to start the week.)

Limit your intake of caffeine after noon, and pass on the nightcap. Both caffeine and alcohol can interfere with a good night’s sleep.

Skip late-night workouts, hefty bedtime snacks, and late night-TV. They're anything but sleep-inducing. The Sandman is more likely to heed your call if you take a warm bath an hour or two before bed, and then listen to some relaxing music or read something that will lull you off to Dreamland.

Related:

University of Maryland: Sleep Hygiene: Helpful Hints to Help You Sleep

Best Summer Ever: Day 59

August 28
Become the Poster Parent for the Joy of Learning

One of the most powerful things you can do to raise a child who is is to model that excitement yourself.

You want your child to see you reading books, newspapers, and magazines on a daily basis; researching issues that matter to you; and watching documentaries on topics that you are passionate about.

With you as a living example of the joy of learning, how can your child help but get the message that learning is something that takes place anytime, anywhere; and that it continues throughout your entire life?

Image: Created using the motivator tool at BigHugeLabs.com.

Best Summer Ever: Day 58

August 27
Plan a Play Date

Kids getting restless? Maybe it's time to invite some extra kids over so that they can eliminate the boredom factor. Here are some tips on planning a play date. (PS: Don't forget to invite the parents, too.)

Choose your time of day with care. Young children tend to be at their best first thing in the morning when they’re well-rested. Having an afternoon play date can be a bit riskier because it may mean that some of the youngest children will miss out on a much-needed nap -- not exactly the best way to guarantee play date success.

Move your child’s favorite toys (for example, the teddy bear he sleeps with) from the family room to his bedroom before the guests arrive so that he won’t be obligated to share his most prized possessions.

Encourage the children who are visiting to bring along a toy to share. That way, the "host kid" won’t be the only one who has to share his toys.

Come up with creative solutions for dealing with toy-related conflicts. An egg timer can work wonders:  even very young children will quickly learn that the tell-tell "ding" means that it’s time to let the next person have their turn with the toy.

When you’re planning activities for the play date, be sure to include some neutral activities that don’t revolve around the sharing of toys: for example, playing with watering cans or sidewalk chalk in the backyard or doing crafts together as a group.

Make sure that the area where the parents congregate for coffee allows everyone to keep an eye on the children. If not, take turns supervising. (You don't want to become so caught up in the conversation that no one notices that one of the toddlers has gone AWOL or if a fight erupts over a toy.)

Best Summer Ever: Day 46

August 15
Have Fun in the Sun

Celebrate the arrival of the real summer weather -- you know, that warm, sunny weather we've been waiting for all season long.

- Play tourist in a different part of the GTA (or your own neighborhood, if you're still exploring its many attractions).
- Have a picnic at an unusual time of day. (A breakfast picnic, anyone?)

Invite your kids' friends - and your friends - to tag along. Summer is the perfect season for entertaining -
and the great outdoors is the perfect venue
for playing host (as long as there are decent washrooms
within sprinting distance of your picnic site).

One last thing: Don't forget to play it sun smart while you're soaking up the rays this weekend. While you might be tempted to make up for all those weeks of rain by going a little sun-crazy this weekend, the regular rules of engagement with the sun still apply.

About this image: A detail from a Victorian-era postcard (date-stamped 1912).

Best Summer Ever: Day 45

August 15
Get Your Daily Dose of Funny

Load up on funny stuff at the library.

Laughter is an essential daily nutrient for parents and kids alike.

Related:

The Children's Hospital: Encouraging Your Child's Sense of Humor

Booktrust: The Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2009 and the 2008 site

Kaboose.com: Comedy Movie Reviews

Best Summer Ever: Day 44

August 13
Set Your Sights on the Great Outdoors

Plan a camping getaway with another family.

It's the grownup equivalent of building a backyard fort with your best friend.

Related:

The Sierra Club: Green Tips for Summer: Eco-Friendly Camping

The Sierra Club: The Green Life: Getting Kids Outside: Backyard Camping

Construx Conversations: Building a Fort: Lessons in Software Estimation: Building a fort for your kids can teach you plenty about the world of work says this dad-blogger.

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Best Summer Ever: Day 41

August 10
Give in to Funspiration

When you're hit with a flash of funspiration -- a sudden desire to take your baby for a walk around the block, start an art project with your preschooler, play hopscotch with your school-aged child, or to challenge your teen to a game of basketball -- go with the flow. You'll find that giving into that got-to-have-fun-now urge will up your joy factor for the rest of the day.

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Mom 2.0: She Has the Power: Moms, Marketers, and Ms. Magazine All Agree About That

Mom 2.0 has been the talk of the online world for much of the past week, with mothers and marketing and PR-types debating the power that Mom 2.0 now wields and how that power should or could be used.

The conversation is likely to continue this week, with another powerful post from blogger Mom-101 and with Ms. Magazine posting a shortened version of its Summer 2009 cover story - Cyberhood is Powerful by Kara Jesella - on its website as of today. The article, by Kara Jesella -- discusses the powerful ways mothers have connected online, for both personal and political reasons. (The extended play version of the story, which you'll find in the print edition, features a more in-depth look at the personal and political aspects of mommyblogging; and includes a useful resource sidebar featuring both mommyblogs and online motherhood resources.)  Note: Ms Magazine made the full-length version of the article available on its website on August 5th.

So why is mommyblogging getting coverage in Ms Magazine? Jesella wisely addresses that question early on in the print edition of the article:

"Not all the mommybloggers might self-define as feminists -- although certainly there is a feminist impulse behind the avowed goal of many of them to change cultural perceptions of motherhood -- but one might argue that what they're doing is a virtual version of feminist consciousness-raising: They're being exceedingly open about their experiences of mothering, and sharing those experiences in an (online) community with other mothers."

The mommyblogger conversation continues elsewhere as well. The Association for Research on Mothering's recently-published book Mothering and Blogging: The Radical Act of the MommyBlog, edited by May Friedman and Shana L. Calixte (Demeter Press, May 2009) picks up where Jesella's article leaves off, mining mommyblogging territory that isn't often written about: what do we make of blogs that document the lives of celebrity mothers and babies? which mothers end up getting marginalized in the momosphere (or mamasphere) -- and why? how does the presence of marketers affect conversations between mothers? and how are blogs evolving as more user-generated content and Web 2.0 technologies become available to moms (everything from Facebook to Twitter to Flickr to the huge number of social-networking communities aimed at moms and/or parents).

Related:

Excerpts from my essay "Mom 2.0: Meet the Mommyblogger," published in Mothering and Blogging: The Radical Act of the MommyBlog, edited by May Friedman and Shana L. Calixte (Demeter Press, May 2009).