Friday Frivolity - Boo To You
We hope you and your little goblins have a wonderful Halloween weekend and that the snow does not impede your fun. For a good laugh please read this piece by Maria Semple in The New Yorker about the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Thanks to Amy and our friend at Google for sending this our way. Enjoy the weekend!
Redshirting - The Last Conversational Taboo
There are, it seems, these days very few topics modern parents must avoid when making 'pleasant conversation' with people whom they do not know well. Race, religion, politics, sex, reproduction - all fine. But whatever you do, please save yourself (unless you are someone who just like to stir the pot and see how far you can get people going) and do not bring up REDSHIRTING.
Redshirting (in case you live on the moon) is the increasingly common practice of delaying kindergarten for children who turn 5 any time after April (assuming a September 1 cutoff for kindergarten). As wealth disparity grows in the US, elite colleges take smaller and smaller percentages of applicants, academic expectations shift downwards ('first grade is like seventh now), and parents read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell this practice seems to make sense.
And then! Just when everyone is on board with the concept - research and articles like this one, Delay Kindergarten at Your Child's Peril pop up in the New York Times and the frenzy begins all over again.
'So why is this such an incendiary topic?' a mannerly mother with the excellent fortune or insight to only give birth between October and February, might ask. After all, who cares what other people do? Do they honestly think it will make that much difference? Don't these minor advantages in kindergarten even out by middle school? If a red shirted child is valedictorian of her high school class, has she usurped that honor from the rightful heir in that age group? What about those coveted spots at elite institutions? Do colleges look at birth year? What about the child's self-confidence? Is there academic data supporting this approach? What about the parent's emotional baggage? Does a red shirted student have a better chance of getting a scholarship? A better job? Really doesn't it all come down to everyone wanting to do what is best for his or her children? And the controversy lies in what he/she believes that to be. But again, probably not the best questions to ask in a getting-to-know-you sort of way.
Of course the editors here at M4MM can not begin to advise you on the merits of either approach - we are just here to help you avoid this conversational minefield - should you wish to do so.
Lester Bangs: What, are you like the star of your school?
William Miller: They hate me.
Lester Bangs: You'll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.
Redshirting (in case you live on the moon) is the increasingly common practice of delaying kindergarten for children who turn 5 any time after April (assuming a September 1 cutoff for kindergarten). As wealth disparity grows in the US, elite colleges take smaller and smaller percentages of applicants, academic expectations shift downwards ('first grade is like seventh now), and parents read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell this practice seems to make sense.
And then! Just when everyone is on board with the concept - research and articles like this one, Delay Kindergarten at Your Child's Peril pop up in the New York Times and the frenzy begins all over again.
'So why is this such an incendiary topic?' a mannerly mother with the excellent fortune or insight to only give birth between October and February, might ask. After all, who cares what other people do? Do they honestly think it will make that much difference? Don't these minor advantages in kindergarten even out by middle school? If a red shirted child is valedictorian of her high school class, has she usurped that honor from the rightful heir in that age group? What about those coveted spots at elite institutions? Do colleges look at birth year? What about the child's self-confidence? Is there academic data supporting this approach? What about the parent's emotional baggage? Does a red shirted student have a better chance of getting a scholarship? A better job? Really doesn't it all come down to everyone wanting to do what is best for his or her children? And the controversy lies in what he/she believes that to be. But again, probably not the best questions to ask in a getting-to-know-you sort of way.
Of course the editors here at M4MM can not begin to advise you on the merits of either approach - we are just here to help you avoid this conversational minefield - should you wish to do so.
Lester Bangs: What, are you like the star of your school?
William Miller: They hate me.
Lester Bangs: You'll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.
Photos from Google Images and Almost Famous web site.
Are You Wearing Pants?
While perhaps a bit remedial for our seasoned and sophisticated readers, the question "Am I wearing Pants?" can be a tricky one to answer in these anything goes times of lycra, leggings, jeggings and just plain forgetfulness. Wonder no longer mannerly modern mothers! Thanks to the below flow chart discovered on the Huffington Post by our tech guru Amy and also brought to our attention by Alison over at Daily Outfit, you will never need to doubt your pant status again.
Flow Chart from Huffington Post designed by Amy Sly
A Thank You Note to Steve Jobs
We wanted to take this opportunity to agree with the kind and witty thank you note Stanley Bing of Fortune Magazine recently wrote to Steve Jobs. It is everything a thank you note should be; sincere, thoughtful and entertaining. Thank you Bing for saying it so well. And thank you Steve for all of it.
You can read the note here.
Images from Google
Hello Again
A One Act Play - Set in current day Suburbia
Older Wise Mother: Hmmm. And your children are in the same school?
Young Energetic: Yes.
Old Wise: Well my dear, I hate to break it to you, but it sounds like you are socially invisible to Sally Jones.
Young Energetic: But, I don't understand. We have been at the same parties and events. We know a lot of the same people. To my knowledge I have never offended her. Lots of people enjoy my company.
Old Wise: Yes, my friend - including me. Now, let's run through the possibilities. 1) She is very busy and important and genuinely does not remember meeting you. 2) She knows she has met you but is playing some sort of weird 'I am too fabulous to know you game.' 3) She is shy, socially awkward and does not know how to interact with other humans. 4) She has been crazy busy being the perfect mother for the past 5 years and has only recently awoken from a Rip Van Winkle type coma and deserves another chance.
Young Energetic: So what should I do the next time I see her?
Old Wise: Because you are a kind person and a polite one, I know you will not give her a does of her own medicine and pretend you don't know her. When you see her around town simply say "hello" as you would to a neighbor, mail man or person you recognize but do not know well. If she looks a you blankly or disdainfully just keep moving knowing you have done the courteous thing. Remember if she is playing some weird head game the only way she can win is if you let her make you uncomfortable.
Young Energetic: That's true. Good strategy. What if we get introduced again?
Old Wise: I think in that case I would let her speak first and if she does not say anything just say "It is so nice to see you. " and follow the conversational lead of the person who introduced you. If it is awkward just drink up quickly and say "Oh my I seem to be our of champagne, will you excuse me?" and get on down the road. You are an interesting person with wonderful friends and if she does not wish to count herself among them it is her loss. You should not feel embarrassed or uncomfortable because someone else is oblivious or rude.
Young Energetic: I'll do it!
The End
Friday Frivolity - Let Us Now Praise Angry Birds
'What on earth,' the well mannered mother might have thought to herself, 'is going on with this Angry Bird nonsense?' Ignorantly envisioning some sort of cross between Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller The Birds and Space Invaders she mistakenly assumes this idiocy had nothing to do with her. Yet, like most mass phenomena (think Glee) these birds will seep into her subconscious until one day the game will simply appear on her iphone.
At that point her life will become both easier and harder. Her life is easier in that her family has all agreed on a reward that is 100% parentally approved (no sugar or bad influences involved) "Of course you can play angry birds on my phone, darling, as soon as you do your homework/empty the dishwasher/cut the lawn." One sibling's tennis practice in no longer the torture it once was for the other, car trips, doctors' waiting rooms and security lines at the airport have become painless thanks to this absurd game where "players control a flock of multi-colored birds that are attempting to retrieve eggs that have been stolen by a group of evil green pigs." Her life is harder in terms of finding and retrieving her phone from family members, not to mention the lost hours she herself finds she is devoting to the pursuit. Luckily, there is safety in numbers and she is not alone. This fabulous fat and violence-free pass time is according to Wikipedia "the largest mobil app success the world has seen so far." Have a happy weekend and if you spend it playing Angry Birds, just remember there are worse things you could be doing.
At that point her life will become both easier and harder. Her life is easier in that her family has all agreed on a reward that is 100% parentally approved (no sugar or bad influences involved) "Of course you can play angry birds on my phone, darling, as soon as you do your homework/empty the dishwasher/cut the lawn." One sibling's tennis practice in no longer the torture it once was for the other, car trips, doctors' waiting rooms and security lines at the airport have become painless thanks to this absurd game where "players control a flock of multi-colored birds that are attempting to retrieve eggs that have been stolen by a group of evil green pigs." Her life is harder in terms of finding and retrieving her phone from family members, not to mention the lost hours she herself finds she is devoting to the pursuit. Luckily, there is safety in numbers and she is not alone. This fabulous fat and violence-free pass time is according to Wikipedia "the largest mobil app success the world has seen so far." Have a happy weekend and if you spend it playing Angry Birds, just remember there are worse things you could be doing.
Picture from Rovio Website and Costume Express
Great New Plate
Our friends over at What Are You Feeding Your Kids These Days wrote a great piece on the new Healthy Plate developed by the Harvard School of Public Health. The School of Public Health claims the new plate is "based on the most up-to-date nutrition research, and it is not influenced by the food industry or agriculture policy." Happy eating!
Healthy Eating Plate from Harvard Health Publications
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