Do you still attend concerts now that you're a mom or dad?

In my teens and early twenties I went to concerts like it was my job. It was a way to socialize with friends, find new music, travel, and just have an overall good time. But then I had kids. And with that, I broke up with concerts for good. I don’t know if it was just that hazy time of my life as a new mom or what but I don’t recall even enjoying music all that much for a while; none of it seemed important to me anymore. But as the haze passed over, especially recently, I’ve realized that live music is a passion of mine, and seeing a favorite band in concert really is something I love to do. So this summer I aspired to go see all the shows I could, and so far, I have! Continue reading »

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It’s a common parental fear that their children will be exposed to the sexual kaleidoscope of horrors that can be found all too easily on the internet, but research presented yesterday at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting shows that the internet only accounts for 16% to 25% of exposure to sexual content by children ages 10-15.

While this may easy your fears about the internet, it leaves a seemingly innocuous (and much more insidious) presence as the main provider of sexual content to our kids.

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My daughter has long hair, which she loves, 99% of the time. But that other 1% is probably her least favorite part of the day. When it’s time for detangling, she runs, bargains, pleads, procrastinates, flat out refuses, and does just about anything she can to escape the misery of having her hair de-knotted.

I can relate. As a long haired kid, I used to dodge the brush so aggressively my mom just gave up and let me walk around ratty. Being on the delivery end of this kind of pain is one of my least favorite things about being a parent, just like being on the receiving end of it was one of my least favorite memories of being a little girl: The confinement (“If you move away from me, you’ll just make it worse.”)  The yank on my scalp, always inevitable but somehow still shocking every time. And knowing that tug of discovery was only the beginning of the tedious teasing-apart process to come. A bad knot could take days. Is it any wonder girls rail against this with all their might?

Which is why I fell in love with “Don’t Brush My Hair in Knots”. That, and the fact that the RAGING three year old girl in this video could well be the antidote to every shy, ingratiating, flirting, pandering princess your daughter holds in high esteem.

Check her out. Continue reading »

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Lots of kids, my own included, get their first introduction to popular music via Kidz Bop.  Each Kidz Bop CD is a compilation of current hit songs sung by children instead of the original artist.  The first one, which was released in 2000 and went gold in the U.S., included renditions of Britney Spears’ “Oops I Did it Again” and Christina Aguilera’s “What A Girl Wants.”

About a week ago, Kidz Bop #18 was released and, because the lineup includes songs by some of pop’s reigning bad girls, the Kidz Bop song editors had to work overtime to sanitize the lyrics to make them appropriate for little ears.  Lady Gaga had to lose her cigarettes and drinks in “Telephone” and Madonna becomes a pop star instead of a virgin in Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister.”  Snoop Dog’s entire contribution to Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” was dropped and Cascada’s “Evacuate The Dancefloor” feels really close instead of like an overdose. Continue reading »

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Photo courtesy BieberFever.com.

Justin Bieber is everywhere, and if you have a tween girl in your life, chances are she’s caught the Bieber Fever sweeping the nation.  People magazine says he’s the biggest pop star in the country, and given that even Oprah is a fan – he appeared on her show yesterday – I’d say they’re correct.

Bieber’s rags to riches story is as charming as he is.  He was raised in public housing in Stratford, ON, home of the famous Stratford Festival celebrating Shakespeare and other classic playwrights.  (I wonder how soon before they’re forced to perform, “Baby: The Justin Bieber Story” in rep with A Doll’s House.)

“Justin Bieber” has been a trending topic on Twitter for months, and his 2,429,843 followers are faithful fans.  Despite his fast and furious rise to the top, he still performs intimate concerts in cities like Buffalo, NY, where he recently serenaded 8oo students from Edward Town Middle School for collecting $16,927 - in pennies – for charity.  And in his interview with adorably precocious 11-year-old Oprah correspondent Jordan, he admits being scared of the dark.

So is there anything not to love about Justin Bieber?  Sure, if you find him cloyingly annoying – like many adults without children do - or if your kid has played Baby so many times you hear its phantom strains in your ear as you lay awake at night.  If your child has a serious case of Bieber Fever and you need to intervene, check out our (totally not serious) instructional video after the jump. Continue reading »

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The kids are in the backseat are all rocking out to Beyonce’s oft-covered hit when Dad jokingly tells his son he’s not a single lady. Like you do. But the poor little guy took it personally, and started bawling. Kind of adorably bawling, actually. Thus a viral YouTube sensation was born.

Even better, CBS invited the whole family onto national TV, where their adorable boy got to sing a a bit of Single Ladies solo.

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Here’s an exciting worry for parents who may have been starting to relax about safety hazards: your kid’s hearing. Although they’re prodigious noisemakers themselves, babies are extra-sensitive to loud noises and repeated early exposure to loud noise can cause permanent hearing loss.

Our world is full of too much sound: concerts, sports events, fireworks displays, subway cars. The list goes on and on. Very loud noises damage our hearing, and this kind of hearing loss is both cumulative and irreversible. Continue reading »

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