Month: April 2012

New Toothbrushes Motivate Kids To Brush

If you are like me, bedtime is a battle that is waged every night. Go upstairs, put on your pajamas, brush your teeth. It’s like a broken record and nightly negotiation.

Star_Wars_LightupThat’s why I agreed to try these new Sunstar GUM Star Wars toothbrushes. (Disclaimer: I received free product but as always opinions are my own). There were Darth Vader and Clone Captain Rex battery powered, spinning brushes. But the most popular were the Light Saber brushes that glow and blink for a minute while they brush.

Anything that lights up is cool to Thing 3. Something that lights up AND he puts in his mouth? Sold. He opted for the good guy, green colored one. Thing 2 went with the red, Darth Vader light saber.

The results? Thing 2 asked if he could brush his teeth again once he saw the new brush. Thing 3 doesn’t think a minute is long enough and wants to go for two. And he insists on brushing his teeth with the lights off now to see the Star Wars toothbrush glow. How long it’ll last I cant say, but those are sone good results.

Giving Kids The Wrong Idea

Yesterday was Take Your Child To Work Day. The idea behind it is to expose kids to what their parents do at work. Maybe inspire them to discover a career and lifelong passion.

It does no such thing. At least not where I work. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great event, a day filled with fun activities that kids love because they get to spend the whole day with their parents. And they get to miss a day of school. But the only exposure to real world work is when the kids intrude on the sea of cubicle dwellers while doing the scavenger hunt.

Thing 2: “What are all those people doing just sitting there?”

Me: “They are trying to work.”

Thing 2: “They just sit there all day?”

This video is a sample of what we did all day. They also learned to play Cricket outside, watched a movie, ate ice cream, and made art projects. It was also the first time I brought Thing 3, so the real work was for me, trying to keep him from breaking stuff and wandering away. These kids are in for a big surprise in about 15 years.

The Anti-Football

To say Thing 1 and Thing 2 are into football is an understatement. A huge understatement. They can name the starting quarterback and at least several other players on every single NFL team.

They watch the NFL network at any time, no matter what is on, even in the offseason. They watched the NFL combine which is just prospective players getting measured on how high they can jump and how much they can bench press. The only ones interested are team scouts and coaches. And the 8 and 6 year olds in my house.

Which is what makes Thing 4 so refreshing. She is the anti-football. Much to SuburbanMommy’s delight. Here she is at Thing 2’s football game today. Decked out in pink and about as far from football as she can be.

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