Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

Yo Gabba Gabba! May Induce Hypnotism, Evidently

April 10, 2012 at 10:16 pm , by 

16 months.

Though I am intentionally keeping Jack from regularly watching TV until he turns two years-old, because I believe in the theorythat it is linked to Autism, I really really look forward to the day that he and I can watch some cool shows together. Just about a half a year from now…

So I’m currently in the process of scouting out shows for he and I to enjoy together, as a I scroll through the children’s section of Netflix’s instant streaming on my Wii.

My favorite so far is Yo Gabba Gabba! It is surreal, extremely repetitive, and saturated in techno music. While watching this show, I make it a personal goal of mine not to get hypnotized by DJ Lance Rock and friends.

As for my only niece on my side of the family, she wasn’t as successful to resist as I have been.

While spending Easter weekend in Alabama with my family, I told my sister she had to watch to first episode ofYo Gabba Gabba!

Her husband watched Jack play on the living room floor as I held their daughter Calla in my lap, who was curious to catch a glimpse of the show.

Calla has a reputation for not easily taking naps during the day. From what I’ve observed, she has to be held and rocked to fall asleep.

So it was very strange for my sister to watch this happen:

She ended up sleeping in this awkward face-down position for about 20 minutes. I wish I could give Yo Gabba Gabba! all the credit, but I should take some for myself. I’m thinking that my “manly musk” is part of the comfort in helping my niece enter Slumber Land.

I naturally smell like an enchanted forest. Sort of like the one featured on Yo Gabba Gabba!

 

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting, Uncategorized

New Infographic: What’s Going On Inside Your Child’s Brain?

I’ve mentioned before that with a kid, there is no pause button. Especially with having a 3 and a half year-old son, his mind (and body) have to be constantly be moving.

Sure, that’s just how little boys are.

But I think it’s important to consider this from a scientific perspective. This new infographic, “What’s Going On Inside Your Child’s Brain?” does a great job of helping me understand.

The short version of it is that children are constantly learning and maturing…. at a faster rate than us adults. According to the infographic, we stop maturing by age 25, for the most part.

Contrast that with a child, who seems to need constant attention as compared to an adult, and it makes a lot of sense.

Check it out…

 

Your Child's Brain

What’s Going On Inside Your Child’s Brain?

 

Children vs Adult Brains:
A child’s brain has completely different priorities than an adults.
Children think, behave, and learn differently –
Meaning parenting and teaching can be a challenge

Below we see how different sections of the brain trigger behaviors in children and adults.

Most active areas in children:

1. Brain stem
The brain stem is the part of a child’s brain that controls heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature.
2. Midbrain
The midbrain stimulates “arousal,” appetite/ satiety and sleep.

Most active areas in adults:

1. Limbic system
The limbic system controls sexual behavior, emotional reactivity and motor regulation.
2. Cortex
The cortex is responsible for concrete thought, affiliation and attachment.

 

The Brain Basics

 

1. Neurons:

    • Building blocks of the brain

 

    • Nerve cells that specialize to form brain sections

 

  • Communicate messages throughout the brain

 

 

2. Synapse:

    • A connection between 2 neurons

 

    • Each Neuron has thousands of synapses

 

  • Creates connections between thousands of neurons.

 

 

3. Myelin:

    • An insulating sheath that covers the length of mature neurons

 

    • Necessary for clear, efficient, electrical transmission

 

  • Increasing connection effectiveness by 3000x

 

 

Synapse Time Line

 

Brain development throughout stages of life:

 

[Newborns]

    • Developing automatic functions, the 5 senses, and motion

 

    • Brain is 25% of its future adult weight

 

  • Implicit (or unconscious) memory allows recognition of mother and family

 

 

[Toddlers]

    • Brain develops up to 2,000,000 synapses per second

 

  • Building the architecture for future functioning

 

 

[by Age 3]

    • Brain already weighs nearly 90% of it’s future adult weight

 

    • Explicit (conscious memory) develops

 

  • Future capacities for learning, social interaction, and emotional abilities are already largely established

 

 

[4 through 10 ]

    • Children’s brains are more than twice as active as adult’s brains.

 

  • Of the body’s total O2 intake, the adult brain consumes 20%A child’s brain consumes up to 50%

 

 

[by Age 8]

     “Logic” abilities start to form

 

 

[Age 11 into adulthood]

    • “Use it or Lose it”

 

  • Pruning: deleting lesser-used synapse connections making other pathways more efficient

 

 

[Age 14]

    • Myelination begins in the Frontal Lobe (higher learning)

 

  • Reasoning, planning, emotions, and problem-solving skills significantly develop

 

[Age 16] Drive a car

[Age 18] Vote

[Age 21] Drink Alcohol

 

[Age 23]

       Pruning completes

 

  • Nearly half of the child’s synapses have been deleted

 

 

[Age 25]

       Myelination completes

 

  • The brain is finally fully matured
    Insurance rates drop – Not a coincidence

 

 

[Beyond:] 

      Brain Composition

 

  • Continually changes as learning occurs throughout lifespan

 

No matter what your age, when it comes to brain functions, it’s literally “use ‘em or lose ‘em”

thumb-inside-your-childs-brain

Sources:
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/briefs/inbrief_series/inbrief_the_science_of_ecd
http://www.cyf.govt.nz/documents/info-for-caregivers/fds-cd-stages-of-brain-dec11-hu.pdf
http://hrweb.mit.edu/worklife/youngadult/brain.html
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue_briefs/brain_development/how.cfm
http://www.academia.edu/6089683/REFLECTION_ON_LEARNING_AND_THE_STAGES_OF_DEVELOPMENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXnyM0ZuKNU
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK28194

Source: Early-Childhood-Education-Degrees.com

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

The Easter Where We Hung Out In The Storm Shelter

April 10, 2012 at 7:17 pm , by 

16 months.

This year’s traditional Easter pictures were taken in my sister’s storm shelter; and Jack just went along with it, not knowing any different. Though I admit, he looks pretty intense in the picture above.

I think it’s safe to say, we may have very well started a new family tradition for Jack; as random as it is.

While spending the weekend in Alabama with my family, my sister wanted to make sure we checked out the new storm shelter that she and her husband just got installed behind their house. (A year ago around this time, while we were living there, we had to flee across the Georgia state line because tornadoes caused the power to go out for the whole city.)

So Easter morning, after we gave our kids their Easter baskets, we opened the hatch (yes, like on Lost) and all descended six feet into the earth; to test out the storm shelter.

Somehow during the process, my dad ended up with a camera and did his best to capture a couple of shots of the glorious event. Between the two shots, mostly everyone was smiling and looking at the camera.

I already know that 10 years from now, the thing I will remember most about Easter 2012 is testing out my sister’s storm shelter. Jack won’t remember it, but I’m pretty sure a new family tradition has been born.

In a few years, as we step down into the white abyss for the current family Easter photo, I’m sure he’ll ask me, “Daddy, why do we always go down here to take our picture? Why not outside in the yard like most families?”

The truth is, I won’t have a real good answer for him. Because like most good memories that make for good stories, this wasn’t planned. So much of life is just simply showing up and participating. A lot of times, from there, something interesting is bound to happen. Especially when we’re surrounded by family.

Note: It has recently been brought to my attention that based on the picture below, a theory has been formed that I caused a stinky situation in those confined spaces. I officially dispel this rumor. It was a mere coincidence that my wife happened to be covering her mouth as I apparently did my best impression of Robert De Niro.

But I will say, give it a few years, and Jack will definitely be the guilty, stinky culprit.

Pictured from left: My mom, my son Jack, my sister, my dad, myself, my wife Jill, my brother-in-law, and lastly, my niece.

 

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

Is It Normal For My Toddler to Moonwalk?

April 9, 2012 at 6:36 am , by 

16 months.

I don’t know the answer, so I’m sorry if my blog is now the #1 site that pops up when you Google that question. But it is, however, the question I am trying to answer right now.

Yes, that’s right. My 16 month-old son is teaching himself to moonwalk. Like Michael Jackson singing “Billie Jean” in 1983.

Over Easter weekend while we were in Alabama with my family, we visited my grandmother in the nursing home. I was standing next to her bed as she asked me if I’d ever seen that “Charlie bit me” video; evidently Fox News recently featured the clip for those who have never experienced the Internet.

My wife Jill called me from the doorway of the room, where she was supervising Jack burn off some energy in the hall:

“Nick, he’s walking backwards… have you ever seen him do that before?”

I hadn’t. In fact, I never heard of any toddler A) trying to walk backwards and B) actually succeeding.

But my son Jack was doing it. To watch your toddler son walk backwards is a fascinating thing, but even more curious was the fact he was moonwalking.

He actually was picking up his heals, then sliding his toes backwards in a reversed walking motion.

So when I ask the question “is it normal for my son to moonwalk?” I guess what I’m getting at is this:

Is he some kind of child prodigy or something? Instead of Doogie Howser the doctor, have I fathered the next Justin Bieber?

I think it’s possible. I mean, already, he has the ability to find the dance beat in an alarm clock going off or even just hearing radio static.

Will I have to enroll him in dance classes for gifted children? I would hate to see such amazing potential go to waste.

Or could it be, like most toddlers, he just randomly figured out how to do something weird in the delirium created from his slack of sleep during such a busy egg-hunting weekend?

I think he’s just being a normal toddler and I’m probably not the only parent of a toddler out there who wonders if it really is that strange that their kid walks backwards when they get really tired.

Either way, I think I know what song will be playing in my head all day:

“Billie Jean’s not my lover…”.

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

The Dadabase’s HP “Tech-Over” Giveaway For Mother’s Day

April 2, 2012 at 10:40 pm , by 

16 months.

The bad news is that you lost the Mega Millions Lottery.

But the good new is, for one lucky mom out there, the inventive folks at HP out in San Francisco have decided to host an exclusive computer giveaway here onThe Dadabase. Yes, I’m really that cool now… evidently.

Moms are always putting others before themselves and updating their technology is no exception. This Mother’s Day one of my lucky readers can give a mom what she really wants – a full “Tech-Over” including an HP TouchSmart, dm1 notebook and wireless mouse!

I hereby officially encourage readers to submit a mom for the technology suite. All HP asks is for submitters tocomment on this kick-off post or tweet to @HP and @NickShellWrites explaining why the mom in their life needs a tech-over.

(#HPLovesMom is the official hashtag.)

HP wants this to be a fun experience, expressing your personal style, so anything from a picture of their mom’s old PC to a video pleading their case will work!

Listed below is information on the three HP products they be gifting to one lucky Dadabase reader:

HP TouchSmart 320

Mothers have that special touch that makes everything better, so why not reward her skill with the HP TouchSmart 320? This powerful, compact, wireless all-in-one PC can recognize mom’s fingers before she even touches the screen, making her interaction more accurate and responsive while enhancing her viewing experience on the 20-inch, full high-definition widescreen. Plus, the new TouchSmart 5.0 “Magic Canvas” software means she can jot notes, open apps and view content all at once. Available on HP Home & Home Office. Starts at $599.99.

 

HP Pavilion dm1

Measuring less than 1-inch thin and sporting AMD’s dual-core Fusion processor, the HP Pavilion dm1 blends portability with power and performance. With its compact size, 8GB of memory and Beats Audio™, the dm1 is ideal for those moms that do-it-all and are always on the go. Available on HP Home & Home Office. Starts at $399.99.

 

HP X4000 Wireless Laser Mouse

Not only is the HP X4000 Wireless Laser Mouse ambidextrous, but it also comes in three attractive colors (ruby red, winter blue and black). This high performance wireless mouse also operates from up to 30 feet away and can be used on almost any surface. Available on HP Home & Home Office. Starts at $29.99.

In the meantime, you’ll be seeing updates from me about this on The Dadabase’s Facebook wall.

Dads, submit your spouse and mother of your kids. Kids, submit your mom. Anybody who wants to, submit a mom.

Now, let the games begin!

Just comment on this kick-off post or tweet to @HP and @NickShellWrites explaining why the mom in your life needs a tech-over:

*Please note: This is a very old post. The winner received their prize a long time ago. Contest is over.