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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has just announced new policy recommendations and resources related to children’s media use and screen time. The recommendations include the following:

  • Children younger than 18 months should not use screen media except for video-chatting. These guidelines are different from previously established guidelines recommending that children under 24 months avoid all screen media.
  • Children ages 18-24 months should only be exposed to high-quality, educational programming, such as content by Sesame Street and PBS KIDS. Media exposure for children this age should always be accompanied by an adult who can help them understand the content.
  • Children ages 2 to 5 years should be limited to an hour of screen time involving high-quality programs. Parents should also co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to their own lives.
  • Children ages 6 and older should have clear limits about both the amount of media time and the type of media content they are allowed to use.
    Families should establish “media-free” times and locations, such as during dinner, driving, and in children’s bedrooms.
  • Regardless of children’s age, families should have regular conversations about online safety and etiquette.

It comes as no surprise to me that the key ingredient to the right media diet for our kids hinges on parental involvement. A parents’ role in managing the media diets of our children has never been greater because problems can begin when media use displaces physical activity, hands-on exploration and face-to-face social interaction in the real world. At our house, we have a pretty strict media rules. However, I need to work on ways to teach my children to use media in a more positive way.

If you have a children age zero to five years of age, you may want to check out the AAP policy statement which focuses on infants, toddlers and pre-school children called “Media and Young Minds”. If you have school aged children you can get more helpful information from the AAP policy statement “Media Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents”.

In addition to these new media use guidelines, the AAP launched an online “Family Media Use Plan” tool that could help parents establish a healthy media diet that is appropriate to your family’s unique needs.

Good luck parents, we all need it!

via ChildrenAndMediaMan

Introducing The Quentin Blake Typeface

If you have ever read a children’s book illustrated by Sir Quentin Blake, you are probably familiar with Blake’s playful and original handwriting style. The folks at Monotype were tasked with creating a typeface that replicated the unique form of Blake’s writing in an authentic and natural way.

Monotype’s solution included using four subtly different variants of each letter that was selected from a large collection of writing samples. The variants allow for the typeface to seem to have random alterations and diversity among the letters, making it appear more like handwriting. The result is a typeface that doesn’t just look like Sir Quentin Blake’s writing, it acts like it too.

Quentin Blake Typeface

via Kottke

Nervio

I like words with complex or interesting meanings that have no counterparts in English. A few years ago I stumbled across the word Nervio and loved the definition so much that I try to use it whenever I can. Roberto Greco describes it this way:

Shortly after meeting my wife, she introduced me to the nuanced meaning that the Spanish word nervio had acquired in the lexicon of her family. As used in their Chilean home, the word could be defined as a feeling of such intense affection that one trembles or grits his teeth with restraint so as not to harm the object of his affection. I have heard others allude to the sensation in seemingly bizarre phrases such as, “It’s so cute [that] I want to squeeze it to death.”

Nervio was a sensation I have felt so many times in my life I was shocked that I had not, up until that point, seen a word that describes it. Nervio brings to mind phrases like, “I’m gonna squeeze you right in two” and, “Oh, I could just eat you with a spoon.” Nervio is why I am constantly threatening to nibble on my children’s toes. It’s a physical and emotional sensation that sits in the gut and wells up through you. The Robert Capa portrait, below, of Pablo Picasso with his son Claude does a good job of depicting the sensation with an image.

Nervio

There has been some psychological research experiments to determine where nervio comes from but there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

First New Dr. Seuss Book In 25 Years

What Pet Should I GetImage via Random House

The first new Dr. Seuss book in 25 years, was released yesterday! “What Pet Should I Get?”” was discovered in a pile of papers by Audrey Geisel (Dr. Seuss’s wife) shortly after his death in 1991. It is thought that he wrote and illustrated the book sometime between 1958 and 1962. And there are more unpublished books from that posthumously discovered pile of papers to come!

I have read “Hop on Pop” to my son so many times I have it committed to memory. I sure he’ll like this new one too.

Parent-Friendly Kids Music (For Free!)

This weekend I downloaded this new, and free, children’s album For Kids By Kids: Songs From Iowa Rock City from the Iowa City Public Library. The entire family enjoyed listening to it.

For Kids and By Kids mixes moods and musical styles—from roots music, for which Iowa City is known, to punk, polka, folk, hip-hop, and synth-pop. It not only crosses musical genres, but also generations … Dozens of youths appear on For Kids and By Kids, and we hope that the many more who hear this album will be inspired to pick up an instrument, form their own bands, or do something else creative.

All of the songs are original, spanning all types of genres and moods. The lyrics are not condescending, gratingly repetitive, or infantile. I’m sure we’ll be breaking this one out for listens all summer.

The Most Popular Baby Names For 2011

2011 is well over halfway behind us and Nameberry has decided to come out with their list of the most popular/fastest growing baby names of 2011 (so far). Here they are:

Girls names:

Ada, Adele, Adeline, Adelaide – Pretty vintage girls’ names that start with ‘Ad’ are all the rage this year (much like Addison was last year), and rightfully so if you ask me.
Elula – An ugly name, drawn from the Hebrew calendar, is gaining attention because the Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen gave to their second daughter.
Hadley – The name of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife – Hadley Richardson. I knew a Hadley in College and will probably always think of this as a boys names.
Luna – This is a beautiful name. However, my affinity for the moon might make me a little biased. Supposedly this name was made popular by the Beckhams who ultimately chose Harper for their daughter.
Mila – We have Mila Kunis to thank for this one. It’s also a variation of the overused Mia, Maya and Lila.
Pippa – Pippa Middleton’s has attracted a lot of worldwide attention in 2011, and so has her name. Pippa is really just a nickname for the full version of her name Philippa. Taking the number one spot for baby names this year, Philippa is the new Isabella. Kate has bubbled up this year too, but isn’t nearly as hot.

Boys names:

Archer – Semi-literary names a supposedly hot right now (i.e. Atticus, Holden, Harper).
Arlo – Another great boys name with a vintage feel. It’s trending along with Nico, Hugo, and Otto, all three great names in themselves. It must have something to do with ending in the ‘O’ sound.
Asher – I love this name. While I’m usually don’t get too excited about biblical names, Asher has a softness I like while still retaining its masculinity. It’s unfortunate that it’s trending. This year it overtook Henry as the #1 name for boys.
Everett – This name is a little too feminine for me. It’s no surprise since it’s popularity is riding on the coattails of fashionable female choices like Eva and Evelyn. I think Everest would be an improvement here.
Flynn – Hmmmmm. This one wouldn’t be my choice.

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