Parenting Squad

Maybe Baby and Reflections on Parenthood

Fred Lee — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:16:19 -0500

I’m not proud of this, but every now and then, I’m prone to bouts of self-righteousness. More than a few of my fellow PS writers have in fact encountered this, and to all of you, I apologize and want you to know that I’m working on it. Really, I am.

Then again, as a parent, sometimes I just can’t help myself. Raising children is difficult, especially when you’re the primary caregiver. With this in mind, is it so unthinkable to feel some tiny degree of self-adulation, even for the simple act of surviving to parent another day?

That is not to say that parenthood is for everyone, and though I constantly search for some means to validate my existence as a father, the reality is, some people just don’t want to have children. For that matter, maybe they shouldn’t have them.

This point was really reinforced for me when I read the book, Maybe Baby. Lori Leibovich, a senior editor at Salon.com, has compiled a series of essays regarding the pros, cons and maybes of having children. I found them to be candid and personal, ranging from humorous to heart-wrenching, uplifting to cynical, with poignant tales filled with redemption, disappointment, anger, frustration, and hope. And even though the writers are not necessarily a representative cross-section of middle-America, they bring up a lot of interesting points about having children.

Now I have to confess, in true priggish fashion, before I had even cracked the book, I had already rallied my support for the pros because, like me, they had taken the plunge and knew what it was like being a parent. Meanwhile, I was nursing my disdain for the cons, who unlike me, didn’t know what it was like to be a parent. I mean, come on, every parent knows what life was like before they had children, but how can a childless person, having never done it, possibly know for sure whether or not they want to be a parent?

Well, as it turns out, they can. At least they know what they want, as well as what they don’t want, and what many of them don’t want is children. It helps when they are professional journalists that write well and can present a convincing argument. In any case, what it really clarified to me was that not only is everyone entitled to their own opinion, but everybody is different, and there is no universally right answer.

This, of course, flies in the face of self-righteousness and begs the question, why do I have all this insecurity about how I live my life, or for that matter, other people live theirs? If I’m happy and comfortable with myself, who cares what other people do when it has no bearing on my own life?

Well, unfortunately, life is never that simple, and for whatever reason, I guess I need some justification for my decisions, especially when it’s such a profound, life-altering one. Who wouldn’t want some sort of reassurance that they’d made the right choice, knowing full well that once you decide, there is no turning back.

Parents today are under an incredible amount of scrutiny, and everywhere we go there is some cause to question the things we do. Experts weigh in on everything from the foods we feed them to how much we should help them, telling us what’s right and wrong, and then changing their minds. We suffer from having too much information and advice (much of it contradictory) that is way too easily accessible at all times of the day.

Couple this with the fact that many of us are surrounded by people who have opted out of parenthood and are consequently enjoying many of the things that we used to take for granted and pine for now that they are gone; things like naps, relaxing meals, alcohol consumption, and taking part in activities that may or may not require us to have our clothes on (while this might not be absent, it surely takes a hit).

In lieu of all this, how can we not feel some anxiety about the decisions that we’ve made?

Personally, when our daughter was born, I wasn’t emotionally prepared to become a father, but I also realize that I probably never would have been ready. There is no perfect time, and maybe therein lies the problem. Many of us are looking for perfection where perfection simply doesn’t exist, and because of this, certain things just never happen.

At some juncture in our lives, we are faced with the important decision of whether or not we want to have children. Along with that comes the possibility of either missing out on something that might give us immeasurable joy and satisfaction, or burdening ourselves with the most difficult job that we’ll ever have. To complicate the issue, the only way to really get the answer is to dive in, head first.

I will say this - although Ruth and I love being parents, before we had children we had more than our fair share of skeptics, and if we had listened more carefully to what they were saying or read more books like Maybe Baby, coupled with the exciting lifestyle we were living in New York City, perhaps we never would have taken the leap of faith and had children.

But we didn’t listen to the naysayers, or for that matter, never read any such books. And do you want to know something? I’m glad we didn’t.

Permalink | Comments | Fred Lee's blog | Channel: Family Planning

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Volkswagon Routan goodie bag giveaway

Lynn Truong — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 05:07:22 -0500

By Lynn Truong

Volkswagon's latest vehicle, the Routan, was created with the family in mind - and in the spirit of spreading the word, VW gave us a goodie bag to give away to one lucky reader!

From its spacious interior to the ample amount of in-car technology, the Routan offers a wide assortment of features to have the whole family enjoying the ride. Check out the VW Routan site for specs, dealers, and a 360 view of the interior as well as the exterior.

They also have a fun widget called the Babymaker 3000. Did they get your real children's features right?

Brooke Shields is speaking out about babymaking for love only - not German engineering.

Click here to view on YouTube

Now for the goodie bag. It includes the following:

One (1) Book: "Welcome to Your World, Baby", authored by Brooke Shields $16.99 value

Three (3) Volkswagen T shirts

One (1) Volkswagen branded tin

One (1) box of Kleenex tissues (with lotion!)

One (1) package of Wet Wipes from Huggies (not pictured)

To enter the drawing for the goodie bag, leave a comment on this post, telling us what you think about the first Volkswagon minivan.

Drawing closes on 01/18/09. We will randomly pick one winner. You must be a U.S. resident and be 18 years or older to participate.

Parenting Squad will not sell or use your email address for any purpose other than to contact the winner.

Permalink | 96 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Shopping

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Review: Look-at-Me Camera

Carrie Kirby — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:27:35 -0500

By Carrie Kirby

My 4-year-old has one of those pricey kids digital cameras (around $60), and our toddler naturally loves to get her hands on it, much to her older sister's indignation. And they both want to take pictures with our Canon Digital Elph, which their father allows and I do not.

So I thought the Look-at-Me Camera ($9.99 at Target) would be a good solution to our problem. Our 22-month-old would not know the difference between a camera that takes pictures and one that doesn't. If I hadn't received one of these to review, I probably would have bought one for the little one's Christmas stocking.

The result, ironically, is that instead of fighting over one of the working digital cameras, the girls fought over the toy Look-at-Me Camera, at least when it first came out of the package. The little one likes the mirror in front when she points it at herself, and they both like to make the click sound and listen to the voices that the camera plays: Comically "fashion industry" diva voices saying things like "fabulous!"

As you might expect for a $10 toy, this camera does not keep them occupied for more than five minutes or so at a time. I realized, after watching them play with it, that the main fascinating thing about my older daughter's kids' digital camera is the real LCD screen on the back, where they can see, for a moment, the photo they just took. Of course, that is also what makes that toy so expensive.

I think a kid in between my children's ages -- a 2-1/2 or 3-year-old -- might be the perfect target audience for this toy because they'd enjoy the role playing experience of playing photographer more than my younger daughter does, but (hopefully) not already be spoiled by the "real camera" experience. Since the real cameras are so expensive, it's definitely worth a try.

By the way, one of my favorite things about this toy was the packaging -- it came out in seconds, with no annoying twisties to undo.

Note: This review contains an affiliate link.

Permalink | 2 comments | Carrie Kirby's blog | Channel: Entertainment

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How to Have the Cheapest, (and Most Memorable) Christmas Ever!

Sonja Stewart — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:00:06 -0500

By Sonja Stewart

Decorating

The best way to get in the mood when your finances aren't feeling very Christmassy is to decorate the house. For little to no cost you can make it feel cozy and warm. Trust me, these beat the cheesy “Made in China” alternatives you'll find at stores. An added bonus? The quality time you get to spend with your kids making the crafts! The crafts you need are few, check your local 99cent store, discount store or the dollar bin somewhere to find them. They crafts you'll use can double over as Christmas gifts too.

Wrap your Pictures

Take your Christmas paper and wrap the pictures hanging on the wall. Get creative. Add bows and ribbon to really make them pop. Then re-hang them in their spots and watch how your home transforms. It's great practice for wrapping later, too.

Paper Snowflakes

If you're like me and have forgotten the lost art of making them, there's a great tutorial you can find here. Hang them on your tree, or better yet, tie decorative ribbon or fishing line and hang them from your ceiling to create a winter wonderland.

Paper Chains

These are so easy for your kids to make. Just cut strips of colored construction paper, plain white printer paper, or wrapping paper, and loop them together with staples, tape or glue. Garland your walls, doors, tree, ceiling, anywhere you feel the need to add extra holiday cheer.

Salt Dough Ornaments

These are super fun to make and decorate with your kids, and they last a while, so you'll have ornaments for awhile to come. There's an excellent tutorial here. You can either die small pieces of dough with food coloring, or make the ornaments plain and paint them after they bake. Use glue, glitter and acrylics. You only need flour, salt and water to make the dough!

CD Ornament

This can used as a decoration for the tree, or a homemade gift idea. All you need is an old CD, an adorable photo of your little ones, or an old Christmas Card image, and felt or construction paper. Here's a great step by step guide to get you going.

Glitter Glue Ornament

This one is great if you have a little girl or just happen to like shiny things, (like I do.) You just take a to-go lid, fill it with Elmer's glue and evenly layer glitter inside. Throw a few gems in to top it off and let it dry for a day. Pop out the glue, punch a hole in the top, put a ribbon through and you've got an ornament. There's a video instruction here. Also, you can add a photo of your dear ones and send it out to the grandparents for a homemade glitter extravaganza!

Gift Giving

Well, if you have little kids, you're in luck. Everyone loves getting homemade presents from their little nieces, nephews, grandkids, etc. So get out those crafts and take a snow day to have your kids make some crafts for the family

Decorate Frames

I got this idea from a girlfriend of mine that is so crafty it's unbelievable. You can check out her blog here and see how talented she is. Anyway, for 99cents I got some unfinished wood frames and had my 2 1/12 year old paint them. Then she glued gems, felt balls, colored wood pieces, and other bits of crazy fun. I'll print a photo of her and send it out as Christmas gifts.

Christmas Candle

I got this one from the aforementioned girlfriend. Get some yummy smelling candles, the jar kind, and glue a family photo on the side. Simple, but everyone loves yummy cookie candles.

Snow Globe

The last idea I'll steal from my girlfriend: take a jar of whatever, cocktail onions, etc, empty it, wash it, and take off the label. Then get a centerpiece that fits on the bottom of the lid. Think an angel or Santa Claus ornament that's waterproof. Glue it to the inside of the lid so that it's standing up when you flip the jar upside down. Fill the jar with a little glitter, add water, and viola! You have a homemade snow globe.

Homemade Jelly

Where I live we have these pesky bushes that sprout the most delicious blackberries each fall. I picked a few pounds this year and am planning on sending out homemade jellies with a nice little cloth top. You can also make things like applesauce, apple butter, or apple jelly. Use your internet to find the right recipe for your fruit.

Finally, here's an excellent article for more gift giving (free and cheap) ideas.

Donate to a Charity

Our family favorite is Heifer International. We love the idea of buying livestock for people in struggling communities. Plus, it's a really cool thing to think, wow, I got someone a sheep for Christmas. You can check out their site here. A lot of their gifts are very affordable. An added bonus? Have your little ones draw a picture of the farm animal you picked out for grandma and grandpa. They can put it on their fridge and remember their little ones and your generosity.

Well, let me know if you have any other great ideas. This holiday season, although we're more strapped than we've been, I'm amazed at how much more fun we've had. It makes you focus on what really matters.

Permalink | 5 comments | Sonja Stewart's blog | Channel: Home Life, Finances, Entertainment

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Redecorating: Frugal and Family Fun!

Lori Kerrigan — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:17:44 -0500

By Lori Kerrigan

Are you getting ready to entertain for the holidays, but are feeling like your house is looking a little “frumpy”? Or are you ready to ring in the New Year, with a new “feel” to your old house? But…money is tight and the “decorating budget” is non-existent? What do you do? In our house, the answer is not only simple, but the only option – get creative!

1. Paint picture frames a new color to change the mood of the room. You can even get the little ones involved with this. Lay out an old towel, buy a little thing of craft paint at Wal-Mart for under a dollar, and change your décor to shabby chic with a little distressed white paint, go modern with espresso brown, or anywhere in between!

2. If you want to get even more creative, or don’t want to paint but still want to spice things up, add a piece of ribbon to the top of the frame to act as a decorative hanger for the frame. It adds new color and change to an old frame.

3. Take out all the candles in your candle holders and replace them with a new candle color. Big Lots and Wal-Mart are where I find the best prices! Or, if you don’t want to buy new ones, just switch out the candles in one room, for candles in another. You don’t have to stop with the candles, switch, pillow, blankets, pictures, plants etc!

4. As you are changing your pictures frame color, change the pictures in the frames. Simply updating the pictures makes the room look updated and fresh. If you want to frame art but don’t have the cash for a nice print, look through your favorite magazines, for pretty pictures or sayings that inspire you typed out in a decorative format, and frame those. My favorite piece of art in my grandmother’s house is a ripped out magazine page that says, “Family is Who Ever is Sitting at the Dinner Table”.

5. I saw this idea on the Oprah show. It similar to raiding your friends closets for a new wardrobe, except you raid your friend’s living room for a home makeover! Switch out pillows, furniture, wall decorations, plants, whatever each other is interested in.

6. Have the kids make your art work or wall decor. Pull out paint, collage, and mosaic materials. Frame them in cheap frames from Big Lots or Wal-Mart, or even frame them in your newly painted frames. It looks good, and add’s a modern family feel to the home.

7. Of course, my constant favorite is also on the list. Scour “Free Cycle” or “Craigslist” for free finds. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Remember, with a little dusting and a coat of paint, an old piece of furniture or decoration is as good as new.

Have fun and involve the kids as much as possible! They will love it and the new décor will not only look good, but it will give you that warm feeling that only a special memory can do.

Permalink | 1 comment | Lori Kerrigan's blog | Channel: Finances, Shopping, Entertainment, Wellness

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Labor Stimulation: Not as Fun as it Sounds

Sonja Stewart — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:28:07 -0500

By Sonja Stewart

I had no problem waiting the entire forty weeks to have this kid. Really, I'm not just saying that. I know how difficult it is to have a newborn, so relishing my last days as a parent of one sounded really nice to me. I even joked, I wouldn't mind going overdue. Hey, no matter how hard pregnancy is, and mine has been ridiculously easy, it beats the sleepless nights and figuring out how to juggle a busy almost-three-year-old whilst breastfeeding. I mean really, how is this going to work?

Well, everything changed a week before my due date. I attended a Christmas party and my mucus plug decided to come out. Yes, labor's a mess. I didn't think too much about it but everyone at the party got me going: I was officially in labor.

My mom said after her mucus plug came out it was two hours before her water broke. Another friend said it was a few hours, another said twelve. So in any case, my mind was convinced we were having this baby over the weekend. Possibly even over night. My body went into hyper drive, I packed the bags, cleaned, swept, organized baby clothes and became a manic maniac until two in the morning when I crashed next to my already asleep husband.

The next day I decided it was time to get this baby out. I needed to stimulate the labor. It wasn't happening, so I had to A little internet research later, and I was on my way. Want to get that baby out? Here are some things to try:

Walking: This one is what every midwife and doctor will tell you. The swaying motion from your hips help the baby to move down into position and stimulate labor. Uphill is best according to the unofficial census I compiled.
Eating Spicy food: The greasier the better. Many women swear by that last Kung Pao Chicken dinner they had the night before their labor started. Just beware of what may happen out of the other end later. You've been warned.
Nipple Stimulation: As my husband says, “Hey, EVERYBODY Wins!” Yeah, not really. It's a great way to get your partner in on the fun, but be warned, nipple stimulation creates the same hormone in you that causes contractions. I was worried about getting a Pavlovian response to this one so a few hard contractions later, I stopped this one.
Sex: It's another win-win. You're not going to have time or energy for awhile after the newborn, so enjoy this one as much as you possibly can. I'll leave the positioning to your active imagination. The important thing to remember is that the semen works to create contractions similar to the nipple stimulation.
Castor Oil: I couldn't do it. We got as far as the grocery store parking lot and I chickened out. The thought of cramping out my dinner through the other end for three hours while I get contractions like a truck did not appeal to me. Everyone swears this works. I'm saying, I wasn't that desperate

Which brings me to the end of my tale. I was getting so caught up about controlling when this baby “should” come, I was forgetting to enjoy the last few days I had with my little threesome. I finally just forgot about having the baby and remembered to have fun. We got a Christmas tree, decorated it, played in the snow, and enjoyed the quiet before the storm. After all, the baby will come when he or she is perfectly ready.

Or on Tuesday by induction.

Hey, everybody's got to have a limit.

Permalink | 3 comments | Sonja Stewart's blog | Channel: Pregnancy

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How to Celebrate those Christmas Babies

Margaret Garcia-Couoh — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:31:03 -0500

By Margaret Garcia...

    It seems that every last one of my friends is born in December. Before I had my kids I heard things like, “whatever you do, don’t have a baby in December.” Did I listen? No, of course not. So my dear Ms. Paloma is born smack dab on the Winter Solstice four days before Christmas.

    When she was a baby, we tried to get away with celebrating her birthday the first week of December to give ourselves some breathing room. But now she’s 4 and knows everything about everything and there’s no getting around that December 21st is the real day.

    The following are my suggestions for making your December baby feel loved happy and content and not JILTED by the fact that Christmas is just around the corner.

    1)    Celebrate it on the day. It is there day. It might be inconvenient and interfere with Xmas preparations but plan for it and celebrate like anyone else at any other time of year. This seemed to be the complaint of a majority of Christmas babies I know.

    2)     Don’t be cheap. Wrap Christmas babies gifts in BIRTHDAY paper, not holiday paper. Refrain from cheating with blue snowflake paper, red or green. It’ll be so tempting to do otherwise but it makes them mad and it cheats them.

    3)    Change of venue. It’s hard to celebrate a birthday with a Christmas tree in the background overshadowing just about everything. This year Ms. Paloma will turn 4 having a princess tea party at a nearby bed and breakfast that puts them on. At $12 bucks a head--it’s not cheap but at the same time a few girls and having the clean up somewhere else is an awesome trade off. And this one is down English tea style. No x-mas decorations looming in the background. This way. The child gets the pink and purple party and mom has just bought herself some time and energy.

    4)       No combining of presents. We know we have Christmas babies. Buy those presents in August and put them in a closet. My friends in their forties say when they were in their teens they’d lobby for one BIGGER present to combine the birthday and Christmas gift giving--usually to their benefit. But for little kids this just isn’t going to work.

    5)     Go with themes that suggest another season or something completely different from the holidays.

    6)    Have bigger kids parties for other occasions so that they’ll be fine with the small birthday.
We usually have a big Halloween party and School’s Out because we live in an all season area and my kids both have winter birthdays where they can’t really play inside with 12 other kids.

    7)    For older kids and adults plan out something exciting just for them during the winter break. I’ve written up gift certificates for activities to take place in that no man’s land between Christmas and New Year’s. I’ve used this time to take people to dinner, theatre, concerts--spend special time with your Christmas baby this week---but give them the card that says what you are going to do on the actual birthday.

    8)     Go tell all your family about this list and make them promise to treat the Christmas babies the same as the kids born in more ‘convenient’ times of year.

    What do you do to make your December children not feel overshadowed by the holiday?

Permalink | 2 comments | Margaret Garcia-Couoh's blog | Channel: Planning, Shopping, Etiquette, Culture

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Staples sweepstakes and camera giveaway!

Lynn Truong — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:19:20 -0500

By Lynn Truong

Staples wants to make this Holiday shopping season EASY by giving 10,000 customers a chance to win their holiday gifts for free through their Gift It For Free sweepstakes.

From November 16, 2008 to December 24, 2008, 10,000 lucky Staples customers will win their entire purchase (up to $5,000) for FREE! Great news, right? Well, not everyone thinks so, but we do!

To prove how easy winning can be, Staples wants to make one lucky Parenting Squad reader a winner, with a Sony Digital Camera!

To enter the drawing for a Sony W120 Digital Camera, leave a comment below describing your holiday shopping list for your family.

Staples is also giving away an Acer Ultra Mini PC on our sister site, Wise Bread. Visit Wise Bread for another chance to win a great electronic item from Staples!

To enter the Staples Gift It For Free sweepstakes, shop at Staples for a chance to win your entire purchase for FREE.

Sony W120 Digital Camera ($179.99)

Offers 7.2 mega pixel and 4X optical zoom lens
Available in pink, silver, blue and black
Features innovative "Smile Shutter" technology – it knows if you are smiling or not and will help you take better photos
Available on staples.com and in Staples retail locations today

Drawing closes on 12/27/08. We will randomly pick one lucky winner on 12/28/08. You must be a U.S. resident and be 18 years or older to participate.

Parenting Squad will not sell or use your email address for any purpose other than to contact the winner.

Permalink | 213 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Shopping

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When Manga Meets Mathematics: New Textbooks for a Cooler Home School

Linsey Knerl — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:00:45 -0500

By Linsey Knerl

What do statistics and cartoons have in common? They are both combined beautifully in a new study guide for students that blew me away with its practicality and possibilities. Intrigued? This book is just the beginning.

Statistics isn’t something I look forward to teaching my kids. (In fact, its one of those subjects I’d rather let the community college handle.) When I recently discovered The Manga Guide to Statistics by Shin Takahashi, I just about flipped! Here was a comic book, full of brilliant Manga illustrations, and it spoke the language of statistics so clearly!

I have never even wanted to broach the subject of statistics (especially at my stage in life.) When I started reading through the manual, however, I actually started to get it! (Could you imagine the possibilities for a student who was resistant to learning difficult math subjects, or for those attention-lacking kids who only read comic books?)

This is a perfect addition to a homeschool curriculum, but I think it’s great for anyone wanting an introduction or a refresher on statistics. (This could really come in handy for those college courses!) I got a chuckle out of the use of real-life situations (in Japan, specifically) that the comic used to teach: the relative frequency of Ramen shops in a shopping mall, the correlation of gender and the preferred method of asking for a date, and normal distribution as it relates to test scores. (Did I lose you, yet?)

The 215-page softcover includes a step-by-step guide to using excel for calculations, tests, exercises, and a summary for each illustrated chapter. The Manga Guide to Statistics is just one of many Manga educational offerings from No Starch Press. For a full list of titles, including Databases, Calculus, Physics-Dynamics, and Molecular Biology, see their website at www.edumange.me. (The book, along with a preview of the content, is available at Amazon.com.)

Permalink | Comments | Linsey Knerl's blog | Channel: Education, Learning Tools, Home School, High School, Higher Education

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Disney's Latest: Tinkerbell

Margaret Garcia-Couoh — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:28:23 -0500

By Margaret Garcia...

Let me say up front that I’m not a fan of Disney. I’ve been cringing for four years now at the whole princess franchise and it’s not been easy to ban Hannah Montana from our household despite the fact that we don’t even have a TV hooked up. Disney gets in to your house from books, relatives, diapers, you name it. So, for the most part, even though I think the underlining message of Disney films is dangerous to the psyche of young girls, I’ve surrendered.

There’s something oddly sinister about film after film of young headstrong heroines with inept single fathers that either are widowed or choose cruel second wives whose daughters’ one strength lies in dancing around in party dresses, whistling to animal kingdom, and marrying the first guy that comes along. But nevermind. Likewise, the tween to teen Disney franchise has given us trashy superstar after trashy superstar (Britney, Justin, Miley) with vapid lyrics and so much hip gyration that it baffles me that somehow Vanity Fair photos are considered in poor taste.

But with Pixar’s artistic take over of Disney feature films, I’ve started to get hopeful. Clearly the Pixar guys and gals know how to make a film that doesn’t insult intelligence, gender, or taste. I had and still have, high hopes. It's been rumored by the delay of Tinkerbell's release that the Pixar take over crew didn't like this film in its earlier versions.

I also applaud Disney for noticing that perhaps the three to ten year old set would be better served by fairies that make things rather than ‘omigod like, whatever’ teen idols such as Hannah Montana. But straight to dvd makes me nervous. How good can anything be if it doesn’t get a box office opening?

Enter Tinkerbell.

I’ve viewed this film about twelve times now as it is already in preschooler rotation in our house via my mother-in-law. Perhap this is as good as Disney can do. The story is simple. Girl emerges as a fairy. Doesn’t like her skill set. Learns to not try and do things that are not in her skill set. Realizes that her skills have a place. Learns to like her place in life. The end. I don’t know. Kind of depressing, don’t you think?

I know the whole message here is supposed to be be proud of who you are and what you can do and don’t envy others and that’s all well and good, but come on. Really? Just find your one talent and stay there? Is that really all that different than, find your true love and you'll find happiness?

The best thing about the new movie is the soundtrack. It sounds like what you’d expect a fairy soundtrack to be like--Celtic. And it's a very pretty movie. But I’m thinking, that in 2008, does the bad fairy really have to be raven haired and pale? Does the good fairy always have to be blond? Do the wise old women have to always be fat? Do movies supposedly taking place in fairy tale Celtic lands have to have characters with American regional dialects? And when we have a cluster of fairies with minor roles does each one really have to be representative of the racial make up of the USA? It just seems a little forced to do that last one and in predictable bad taste to do the others.

Our girls deserve better than stereotypes.

Still, it’s better than most Disney fare on the Disney channel that I’ve seen. Better than the marketing of princesses to toddlers. Better than non-intellectual canned teen pop. But is better than good? Nope.

My only relief is that the novelty has already worn off and my daughter has gone back to requesting The Electric Company box set and The Secret of Roan Inish. That a girl. And despite the marketing everywhere, there's not a single 'fairy' item on her Christmas list.

Permalink | 1 comment | Margaret Garcia-Couoh's blog | Channel: Entertainment

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