Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in newark, NJ

the Swine Flu in New Jersey

by Vanessa Druckman

May 01, 2009

Instead of doing my usual weekend round-up post, I'm going to talk about the swine flu today and what you can do to prepare your family in New Jersey. I'm sorry to add to all the hype around the threat of the flu pandemic, but I find it pretty scary, and my research for this post did little to calm me.

Tonight we received a call from the Ridgewood public schools recommending the same type of precautionary measures as the CDC. Our schools are staying open per the recommendation of the Board of Health. Here are the CDC recommendations to stay healthy:

• Wash your hands, carefully and at length. A good guideline for kids suggested by Robert xxx is to have them wash their hands the length of time it takes them to sing Happy Birthday to You.
• Sneeze or cough into a Kleenex. Then make sure you discard that Kleenex and wash your hands.
• Alcohol based disinfectant is also recommended.
• Avoid touching your eyes, ears, or nose. The swine flu seems to be spreading by coughing and sneezing and by touching an infected surface and then touching those body parts.
• Teach your kids to stay at least 6 feet away from sick people.
• If your child has a fever, keep them home.

Although the CDC reports no cases in New Jersey as of tonight, the Associated Press claims that there are 5 confirmed cases and two more suspected. All cases were so mild that they did not require hospitalization. Three family members from Burlington County , a 47-year-old man, a 10-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy , who recently traveled together to Mexico. The other two confirmed cases are unrelated adults, a 43-year-old Monmouth County woman and a 22-year-old woman from Bergen County. One recently traveled to Mexico, the other traveled to California.

I've also read some articles suggesting how to communicate this information to your children so as to not worry them. However, I worry that downplaying this too much will not cause a needed change in behavior in kids. I have a very hard time getting my kids to properly wash their hands. I am going to have to reveal the true importance of really doing a good job by sharing some scary information about the flu with them.

Another CDC recommendation is to stay away from crowded places like malls and movie theaters if there have been cases reported in your area. So my recommendation would be for you to rent a movie on Sunday instead of heading to the theater this rainy Sunday. In other words, don't do what I did yesterday and am now kicking myself about.

The No Cry Nap Solution by Elizabeth Pantley - Review and Giveaway

by Vanessa Druckman

March 16, 2009

Elizabeth Pantley's newest book, The No Cry Nap Solution, is full of fascinating information about our children's sleep needs. I expected her book to be full of preachy dictates that I would feel guilty about not having followed, but I found her tone to be non-judgemental and flexible. Her method was more to arm you with information about the importance of sleep and then to provide you with a variety of solutions to teach your child to sleep.

Some of the key facts that I learned in this book were that:

1. Naps are critical, and although children generally conform to some age-related guidelines, every child has different sleep needs.
2. Lack of sleep leads to hormone imbalances and can lead to obesity and inability to learn.
3. Catnaps don't help. Naps shorter than 1 1/2 hours don't offer the physical and mental nourishment a longer nap provides.
4. Many techniques I'd thought would be taboo, like pacifiers and swings, are actually okay for babies to get them to develop good sleep habits.

Pantley lays out many options to deal with common sleep problems children have. She presents her solutions in a relaxed, non-dictatorial way. Some of the many issues she tackles include overcoming nap resistance, altering cat naps, how to change from one nap to two naps, and knowing when your child is ready to give up their nap.

I'm sure you'll find The No Cry Nap Solution is full of valuable information. I'm giving away my copy (warning, it is not pristinely new as I have read it and it is autographed to me) to share the wealth of information. If you're interested in being entered in the drawing, please email me at beingsavvynewark@savvysource.com by 3/31. I'll select the winner at random then.

Not 10, not 20, but 100 Things You Should do with your Kids Before They Grow Up in New Jersey

by Vanessa Druckman

March 02, 2009

In October, when I started writing for Savvy Source, I posted about 25 things you should do with your kids before they grow up in New Jersey. I've gotten some great feedback on this post, and comment love is very motivational, I'm now back with 75 more ideas for a grand total of 100 Things You Should Do with your Kids in New Jersey Before They Grow up! If you have any that are not on this list, please comment, let's keep it growing!

But whatever you do, never complain that you don't know what to do this weekend again! 

1. Do arts and crafts at the Crayola Factory
2. Tour the Statue of Liberty
3. Visit the Liberty Science Center
4. Get Slimed at Nickelodeon Studios
5. Splash Around at Sesame Place
6. Run in the family fun race down the shore at the NJ Marathon in early May.
7. Take the kids carolling through the neighborhood.
8. Pick apples and pumpkins at Demarest Farms in the fall.
9. Go Tubing at Campgaw Mountain
10. Ice Skate at the Duck Pond
11. Have a Food Fight
12. See the Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center
13. Sit on Santa's Lap
14. Get Messy at the Children's Art Museum in Soho
15. Catch tadpoles and watch them transform into frogs
16. Pet the goats at Abma's Farm.
17. Have Breakfast for Dinner
18. Visit the South Street Seaport
19. Take the Circle Line around Manhattan
20. See the Elvis House at Christmas
21. Ice Skate at Rockefeller Center
22. Eat Zeppoli at the San Gennaro Festival
23. Go to Disney World
24. Eat Popcorn and Hot Dogs at a Yankee game
25. Go to a summer concert with fireworks in Central Park
26. Visit the Land of Make Believe
27. Go on a Safari at Great Adventure
28. Eat frozen custard on the boardwalk of the Jersey Shore
29. Take the ferry from Hoboken
30. Practice your batting at the batting cages.
31. Go ice skating at Bear Mountain State Park
32. Get some culture at the Newark Museum
33. Count all the exits of the New Jersey Turnpike
34. RIde a bicycle through the beautiful Cape May Victorians
35. Go fishing for blue fish on a party boat
36. See Ringling Brothers at the Newark Prudential Center
37. See the birds singing at dawn at the Celery Farm
38. Ride the fire engine at the Children's Museum of New Jersey
39. Ghost your neighbors at Halloween time with a bag of candy
40. Go on a scavenger hunt through the decorated houses of your neighborhood at Christmas time.
41. Cheer on the Newark Bears.
42. Sing louder than the instructor at a Music Together class.
43. Splash the summer heat away at the Mountain Creek water park.
44. Take NJ Transit to Manhattan and shake the conductor's hand.
45. Visit your local firehouse.
46. See a magic show at Unbelieva-bill's.
47. Dare your child to pick the craziest mix-ins at Maggie Moos.
48. Go on a tour of the NJ State Capitol
49. Take a helicopter ride above the Delaware Water Gap.
50. Take a helicopter ride above New York City.
51. Coach your child's t-Ball team.
52. Play laser tag.
53. Bake chocolate chip cookies
54. Sell girl scout cookies
55. Dig for dinosaurs at Dinosaur Falls.
56. Ski the magic carpet at Mountain Creek.
57. Have dinner at Newark airport and then watch the planes taking off and landing.
58. Ride a bicyle car on the boardwalk.
59. Walk the nature loop at the James McFaul Environmental Center.
60. Show your kids that veggies can be good at the Health Barn.
61. See the Wild West Live in NJ.
62. Spend the day rock climbing indoors.
63. See amazing family shows at the Saddle River Cultural Center.
64. Collect leaves of gorgeous color at the Ramapo Reservoir.
65. Ride the rapids on the Delaware in New Jersey.
66. Spot the whales in Cape May.
67. See NJ from the sky in a hot air balloon.
68. Test your survival skills by going camping.
69. Make S'Mores.
70. Build a tent in the backyard and spend a night under the stars with a toilet nearby.
71. Head to the Funtown Pier in Seaside Heights.
72. Soon you'll enjoy tons of indoor fun at the Xanadu Meadowlands indoor facility.
73. Ride the ferris wheel in Atlantic City.
74. Read a story to your child's class.
75. Play mini golf and splash by the sea in LBI.
76. See the fish at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden.
77. Catch a rodeo in Pilesgrove.
78. Explore the natural world at the Camden Children's Garden.
79. Enjoy wild rides at Storybook Land.
80. Design your own necklaces at Montclair Beadworks.
81. Build a Bear - need we say more?
82. Enjoy great entertainment with your sundae at the Surflight Theater down the shore.
83. See where milk comes from at the Bobolink Dairy.
84. Visit the big bad wolf at the Lakota Wolf Preserve.
85. Learn all you could imagine about insects at Insectropolis.
86. Board a pirate ship, and live to tell the tale!
87. See the largest indoor model railroad in New Jersey.
88. Climb aboard for fun at Funtime Junction!
89. Head down to Hershey Park for fun and relaxation for the entire family.
90. Rent a kayak or a canoe.
91. See the Holiday Lights Exhibit at the Bronx Zoo
92. Take a Halloween Train Ride at Van Saun Park
93. Stay in your Pajamas all Day Long - when you're not sick
94. Play Hookie from School
95. Cheer on the runners of the NJ Marathon
96. Grow your own tomatoes.
97. See a play, in a castle at the Pax Amicus Castle Theater.
98. See a movie on the really big screen at the IMAX Theater.
99. Participate in the Ridgewood Memorial Day Family Fun Run.
100. March in your town's Fourth of July parade.

Looking in the Mirror: Best Places where your Child Can See their Reflection

by Vanessa Druckman

January 13, 2009

Every tuesday is list day at Savvy Source when our national editors issue a topic for all the city editors to blog about. Some topics are more challenging than others, but all push us to get creative about advising you on local activities. Today's topic is Best Places where your Child Can See their Reflection. At this time of year, I can think of two types of places where your child can see  Read more...

The Big Picture: Making What Matters Count

by Vanessa Druckman

January 06, 2009

We're just settling back in to the craze of every day and things haven't gotten too hectic yet. It's still possible to sort out the important stuff from the little stuff, but soon enough, we'll be running around just trying to keep up and it won't be as easy to sort through to make sure we're getting to the important stuff. That's why I like to take the time, while we still can, to think through  Read more...