100 Questions about your new Baby.

1.)      What’s up with my baby’s wrinkly feet and hands?

a.      It’s just dish-pan-hands, your baby has been floating in liquid for the last 9 months.

2.)    Why is my baby wearing a stocking hat?  It is not winter and my baby is not a hipster.

a.      Your baby has a cone-head just like every other baby and the hospital is trying not to shock you.  Don’t worry it will go away.

3.)   Why is my baby’s skin and the whites of their eyes yellow?

a.      Your baby is Jaundice.  Their liver will kick in a take care of it.

4.)   Why are they putting eye drops in my newborn’s eyes?

a.      It is an antibiotic to prevent infections.

5  .)     Should I breast feed?

a.      Yes, it is better for their immune system.

Don't Kill Your Kids with Kindness

A saying my dad often used was: "Your killing 'em with Kindness."  What he meant to say was, "I know you mean to be nice by doing these things for your kids, but the reality is that your "kindness" is just empowering them to be incompetent."

I had two different little girls come to my door this month to sell me Girl Scout Cookies.  One walked up from her mothers car and the other was accompanied by her mother.  Guess which one was actually learning something from the experience and which one was bored and just tolerating it. And guess which one of the two girls was at least 2 years younger than the other...

Sometimes it is just best to let them bump there head a little along the way.  They may actually learn something from the experience.  Besides, haven't you sold enough Girl Scout Cookies?

Teddy

High School Senior Year Blues

Well it is that time again when another one of my kids, is making her way through her "Senior Year."  As hard as it is on her to tolerate another year of high school, I think it is just as hard on us to prepare for her departure.

I really don't want to sound like the overly sentimental parent, but the one thing that I know for sure is that there is no going back.  I always think of the final song in "Grease" as the kids dance and mistakenly sing "we will always be together." That fact that this is not true but they believe it is , is kind of sad.

But just like the mother bear, there comes a time to take the cubs out, chase them up a tree and to disappear into the distance.  As hard as it is to do, I do realize that it must be done and this just may be the biggest gift you ever give you kids.  The right to their own life.

We have done the best we could and I hope it was enough.

Teddy