Dare to Draw campaign is underway

Kids are colouring for a cause.

To raise money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation's efforts to turn the tide of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, parentcentral.ca is part of a campaign called Dare to Draw.

Here's how it works: Kids draw a picture a day for 30 days and their parents sponsor them with a $1 donation to the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) for each picture.

My son Cameron, 8 (above), is very nearly contractually obligated to participate. But truthfully, he's a pretty altruistic little guy who would likely have jumped on board even if his mom wasn't involved. (Alister, 4, normally mad for artistic pursuits, initially claimed he only had time "on long weekends," but has so far done his part with this week's first drawing tasks. Perhaps, in the end, the SLF will get another $30 for Alister's efforts from both his dad and me.)

While the campaign got underway Monday, it's not too late for your kids to sign on. They can join parentcentral's team on the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Dare campaign site, sign a pledge and print out the list of daily drawing tasks. Please don't forget to like Dare the Draw's page on Facebook.

We've got some great families helping out.

ET Canada's Rick Campenelli and son, Noah, for instance...

Sloan's Andrew Scott and his daughter...

and actress Fiona Highlet and her son.

To learn more about how the funds will be put to use, check out this brief explainer of how the Stephen Lewis Foundation works to benefit those suffering as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Whether or not you've got a kid to sponsor, you can donate to our campaign here.

What are you doing New Year's Day?

Plans for January 1?

Since the kids aren't likely to let you sleep in that day, why not start the year with a charitable and refreshing dip in Lake Ontario?

The Sears Great Canadian Chill is an event happening in four Canadian cities to raise money for pediatric oncology initiatives at The Hospital for Sick Children. Here in Toronto, folks in bathing suits and crazy costumes will be taking the plunge at Woodbine Beach.

Alas, my kids and I will be on a mini-break, so I'm wimping out this year, but it's a great cause I hope you'll consider supporting.

Since 2008, the Great Canadian Chill has raised $4.3 million to support SickKids, which sees a quarter of all new pediatric cancer cases in Canada and 60 percent of all cases in Ontario.

Pediatric cancers appear differently in children and respond in differently to treatment. That's why we need centres for pediatric oncology innovation, like the one at SickKids.

To register for the event or donate, go to theSearsGreatCanadianChill.ca. Both swimmers and spectators will be kept warm in heated tents, so consider coming out to cheer on these brave souls if you're not going to take the plunge yourself.

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Cute kid quote of the week

Cameron, 8, declaring his intention for the Christmas season:

"My plan is to AVOID mistletoe this year."

Early childhood education for all kids starting at age 2

Today we learned about a report that recommends good quality, publicly-funded early childhood education for all Canadian children starting at the age of 2.

The Early Years Study 3 said there was an "avalanche of evidence" that shows just how far quality, play-based childcare goes to set children on a good path in life.

This report is the third installment in a series of research papers by the late Dr. Fraser Mustard, Margaret Norrie McCain and Kerry McCuiag, which set the groundwork for all-day kindergarten in Ontario.

In an exclusive interview with the Star, Mustard, who passed away last week, made the point that the risk for physical and mental health problems is set in early childhood.

It's important to note that - just like kindergarten in Ontario - this kind of program would be optional.

Predictably, there are those who suggest providing quality childcare for all kids is a "nanny state" move that rips babies away from their mothers' bossums.

But that's just inaccurate and irrational.

The fact is that there are nowhere near enough licensed childcare spaces in Ontario and children suffer as a result. Parents who don't nab coveted quality daycare spots for their children are forced to put their kids in suboptimal care instead. Either that or miss out on employment opportunities and the chance to better themselves that participation in the work force provides.

What a program like this would do is level the playing field between the lucky minority in good childcare and the rest of children. Let's not forget that in the GTA, 51 percent of households have income at least 20 per cent below average, putting them deeply below the poverty line. Universal childcare wouldn't be causing a problem; it would help to solve one that's been unaddressed for too long.

A universal childcare program in Quebec that costs parents just $7 a day has been wildly successful in addressing just the kind of space shortages that plague Ontario families. And as a result, Quebec now boasts higher employment among women who wish to work outside of the home. In June an economist released a report that proves the program now pays for itself.

You've heard my view. What's yours? Please take our poll and let us know.

 

Really? A ban on balls in the school yard?

Parents are scratching their heads today over the news that one Toronto elementary school has banned balls in the school yard.

Earl Beatty Public School sent a letter home to parents Monday to say that students would no longer be able to kick a soccer ball, toss a football or play any other sort of game that involves a ball.

The letter went on to explain that there have been "serious incidents" during which staff and students were hit. School trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher told the Star that one Earl Beatty parent took a ball to the head and suffered a concussion.

That's unfortunate.

But is an outright ball ban the right approach, especially when we're facing a crisis of inactivity among children? As my colleague Andrea Gordon mentioned in her latest story on children and exercise, childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years, and only 7 per cent of kids get the recommended hour of daily exercise.

Sure space is tight in urban school yards like the one at Earl Beatty. I have to be very cafeful to stay out of the line of fire when I pick up my youngest son from his small school yard, so I can appreciate the risk.

But that's the thing about risk. It has to be balanced against reward. And in this case the reward is just the kind of free play and exercise that today's screen-addicted kids need.

What do you think? Are there solutions the administration at Earl Beatty may not have yet explored? Is the answer better supervision in the school yard so there are some grownups to herd the junior kindergarteners out of the way of kids twice their size playing soccer? How about a sign at the yard gate to remind parents to beware of flying objects?

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Cute kid quote of the week: Bathtime edition

Both boys hopped in the tub for the first time in a while last night. Cameron, 8, has moved on to showers, but I asked him to bath with Alister last night.

Alister: "We're TWO NAKED brothers!!!!!"

Cameron: "I'm only here to save water."

Cute kid quote of the week: Cheesie edition

Earlier this week, Cameron, 8, was indulging in a few Cheesies from one of those little bags he got in his Halloween loot.

Me: "You know, the less fingers you use to eat those, the less fingers you'll have covered in orange goo."

Cam: "The less fingers I use, the less delicious my fingers will be."

A grown-up sized Lego car

My two Lego fans will surely go crazy for this.

Ford Explorer released a unique model today -- this one comprised of 380,000 Lego bricks.

The bright red model is meant to commemorate a new corporate relationship between Legoland in Florida and the Ford Explorer.

It weighs 2,654 pounds and is supported by an aluminum interior base that weighs 768 pounds.

Check it out!

You can watch the car being made here:

 

 

 

Cute kid quote of the week: Back-to-school wardrobe edition

Alister, 4, managed to get away with not recycling his 3D glasses after seeing a movie last week. He popped out the lenses and has since been wearing them as a fashion accessory/disguise.

This morning he headed off for the first day of school sporting these. It's his second year at at the Montessori school, and he'll be in the same classroom.

Posing for his back-to-school picture today he said, "No one will recognize me."

 

Sneaky, huh?

Cute kid quote of the week: Rocket Man

Alister: "I want to go to the moon."

Me: "Great idea. Do you want to be an astronaut when you grow up?"

Alister: "Yes. I just need rocket-ship lessons."

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