Category: Bachelor to Baba

Calculating the Cost of College – Graphic – NYTimes.com

Two quick observations: 1)It’s only going to get more expensive 2) Public education doesn’t feel AOL that public when you’re at the level of a Berkeley or Illinois http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/16/education/calculating-the-cost-of-college.html?ref=education

The iPotty: Leave the iPad out of potty training, please – The Washington Post

I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment:

There are so many things wrong with this that I don’t know where to start. Let’s leave alone the fact that I don’t want my iPad anywhere near a bathroom, for fear of damaging it. Even if it were fully waterproof, I still think the iPotty is silly at best.

via The iPotty: Leave the iPad out of potty training, please – The Washington Post.

Turtle Biscuit only gets a kick out of seeing photos/videos of herself and her relatives on the ipad and smartphones. The last thing we want to do at this young age is get her thinking that she should be watching TV while on the potty.

Modifying a Child’s Behavior Without Resorting to Bribes – This Life – NYTimes.com

Guilty as charged, and you know what, it is really hard to break this habit because what the author doesn’t get at is that not only is there a short term reward for the child, but for us parents as well. Look, I appreciate not having to wait two hours for Singing Biscuit to finish his chores and holding us hostage from getting on with our day when I promise him a $5 bill for his efforts. That said, I also cringe when he asks if he will get his “allowance” for doing some other task in the middle of the week. Those cringes are far and few in between these days because I’ve disassociated his allowance from completing his chores, but I still haven’t given up on the bribing habit.

I find the issue of bribing children — or to be more precise, the giving of blunt, uncreative rewards for desired behavior “If you just stop kicking that seat in front of you on the plane, I’ll give you 10 minutes of iPad time”; “Clean your room this weekend, I’ll give you 10 bucks”; “If you use good manners at Grandma’s house, I’ll let you have an extra brownie” — to be one of the more nagging challenges of being a parent.

via Modifying a Child’s Behavior Without Resorting to Bribes – This Life – NYTimes.com.

The Dicey Parent-Teacher Duet – NYTimes.com

I get a chance to experience the Parent-Teacher relationship from both sides and Mosle is absolutely right in her arranged marriage analogy.

This is also something that gets overlooked in conventional ed-reform discussions because the pervading logic when it comes to poor parents is that they are ill-equipped to parent, therefore the emphasis should be on producing better teachers.

The teacher-parent relationship is a lot like an arranged marriage. Neither side gets a lot of say in the match. Both parties, however, share great responsibility for a child, which can lead to a deeply rewarding partnership or the kind of conflict found in some joint-custody arrangements.

via The Dicey Parent-Teacher Duet – NYTimes.com.

You Gotta Be All In….

Like most families we had grand recreation ambitions this week.  With July 4th taking place on a Wednesday it seemed as if this week was going to be one long weekend, even if Snuggle Biscuit had to work the first 1/2 of the week.  But before we could get going on the staycation to end all staycations, Turtle Biscuit came down with a fever.  Therefore, instead of being preoccupied with getting enough grub for Wednesday’s BBQ, my thoughts were turned time and again to Turtle Biscuit’s health.

Parenting ain’t poker, but man you sure do learn how to count your cards, what matters, what doesn’t, and the moments to go all in as you go through the process of raising a child.

Digable Planets – Rebirth Of Slick Cool Like Dat –

Yesterday afternoon we took Turtle Biscuit to a reading for Bill Campbell’s new book Koontown. Afterward when the DJ started playing Digable Planet’s “Cool Like Dat,” my little Turtle hopped onto the center of the floor and began dancing. Looking at the joy in her eye as she boogied her little heart out I couldn’t help but smile and to think to myself this little girl is gonna be alright….

Digable Planets – Rebirth Of Slick Cool Like Dat – YouTube.