Attack on Baby Einstein an Attack on Parents?

As many of you know, the blogosphere and the media are all a buzz about the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood's attack on the Baby Einstein Company and it's DVDs. Are you as tired about this as I am? Now, don't get me wrong, I am not an advocate for plucking junior down in front of the TV for hours at a time, but I do reserve the right to show my child an age and developmentally-appropriate DVD or television show if I want. I believe I am smart enough not to put my child in front of "Grey's Anatomy" or the evening news, but I also have not discovered any harm in the occasional Baby Einstein DVD. In fact what is wrong with my child seeing real-world images and puppets dancing and moving to Mozart's music - isn't that what the Mozart Effect is all about?

I don't want to go on and on about TV viewing because I do believe it is up to each and every parent to decide what is right for him or her and his or her child. However, I would like parents to have the right to parent their children the way they want to - not the way to media tells us to or the way some conservative advocacy group suggests.

Jiffy Lube Coupon

I took my wife's car the other day to get an oil change. The dealer was going to charge $170 because they do the all inclusive maintenance. No way. I decided to look around and see if I could find a coupon for Jiffy Lube and I found one! It's only $5 off, but every little bit counts and it was quick and painless. Overall cost $30.

Flu Shot & H1N1 Shot

Tis the season to get sick. My toddler just got over a rough case of the flu. It all started last weekend when he wouldn't eat anything. That was the first tell right there because my boy is an eater. He was taking his afternoon nap and about an hour into it, he woke up crying and his cheeks were red. He had a high temperature and wasn't doing well. I picked him up, he started coughing, and he threw up all over the front of my shirt. Bummer. I cleaned us both up and finally got him to drink some water and Gatorade.
We took him to the doctor on Monday and they didn't find anything other than the flu. No swine flu, no strep throat, or anything else. The doc said it needed to run its course. My son doesn't like the doctor too much, but he did a great job. He listened and the doctor was able to perform all the tests.

Trouble began to brew when the nurse came in for some follow up items. They wanted to test the protein levels in his body because he was a little puffy. In order to do this, they needed to attach a plastic bag to him so he could pee in it. Bad idea. Kicking and screaming ensued. We finally got it on him and they said we needed to wait until he peed in it. Fortunately for us, there was an elevator in the office, so I proceeded to ride it with him for about 20 minutes. We should have been collecting tips because we were pressing the buttons for everyone. As long as you tell him which button to press, 1, 2, or 3, he's pretty good about not pressing anything else. The nice part about all of that was that there were many elderly people riding that day to the third floor and they got a nice smile from my boy's willingness to help and press buttons. Finally he went to the bathroom and we went home. We were there for 2 hours, the longest doctor visit he has ever had.

So, now the reason for the post. Since everyone and their kids are getting sick now, do we get the flu shot for him? We got the regular flu shot and we're still debating on getting the H1N1 shot for us. My boy is scheduled to get his flu shot in a week, but we're not sure if we'll give him the H1N1 shot. The doctor says yes since he is in preschool, but we're a little hesitant.

Well, we have time, so we'll see what happens. I'm guessing we'll all probably get the H1N1 shot, but time will tell. By the way, a good little trick to get your kids to use soap and wash their hands is to sing the ABC's. Good luck!!!

Watching A Friend's Child

I'm actually asking for advice with this particular blog entry. We have playdates almost evey day for my son, basically because he loves to play with his friends and of course, it tires him out. Some of our friends are vigilant over their child which enables us the task of simpling watching out for our own child, preventing him from taking a swan dive off the swing set. However, other play dates we've had recently involved parents who do not care to look after their child. One involved a father who was on his cell phone the entire time. Another involved a mom more concerned about herself than anyone else.
These situations make me feel schizophrenic becuase I find myself having to entertain the parent AND watch her child and of course, mine.
So, the question is, how do you deal with playdates in which the parent doesn't seem to watch her own child? You want what is best for all the children and want to make sure they have a fun time, but how do you deal with the parent - especially one that wants to continue to have playdates? Any advice is appreciated.