Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

"I support the Food Revolution. America's kids need better food at school and better health prospects. We need to keep cooking skills alive."

If you agree, go sign the petition Jamie is going to take to the White House: http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition

Still not convinced why this is important? Here's Jamie Oliver's own words: "I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It's time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!" (Link)

I agree with him. Fresh food is something everyone deserves to have. Healthy and nutritious food is something everyone deserves to have. Enough food is something everyone deserves to have. The children of today are the first generation for centuries that will likely have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. And it's largely related to food, to what they eat. We need to change that.

So please sign the petition. Help make a positive change in the lives of America's children.

What toddlers teach us

About a year ago, I went to the Please Touch Museum here in Philly with a friend and her toddler (read about that visit here). I went again today. Seems to be a good February activity, as it's cold and windy out, and the Museum is basically an indoor playground for kids up to age 7.

The friend I drove down to Delaware to visit last weekend came up here this weekend. JM's daughter E is three, and has a ton of energy. When it's too cold to go to an outdoor park, other options must be found. Given that driving up here is a reasonable drive, and a straight shot, they decided it was a good weekend to explore what indoor options Philly has to offer. E was thrilled with the Museum and had a blast. Rarely are children allowed to run around and explore whatever catches their eye, and that's what the Museum offers. She was enamored by the Where the Wild Things Are themed area, although the big wild thing coming out of the wall was a bit scary (he really is a bit frightening looking). The In the Night Kitchen area slide was another big hit. I think we played in most of the areas more than once during our three hour visit.

Today they had a jazz band, and our visit overlapped two of the performances. And despite the fact they sang the same songs both times, E was just as enchanted the second time as she was the first. She loved the butterfly finger puppets that went with the butterfly migration song. And happily spun in circles to a monkey singing a kids version of "Straighten up and fly right." She was completely mesmerized by the music, and was very excited to go home with a free maraca (JM and her husband may not be so thrilled later).

As I watched her play, running from one themed play area to another, I realized that toddlers are probably smarter than many of us. Despite the meltdowns and tantrums, they really know how to live. We tend to keep looking for the "next best thing" in life, while E just enjoys everything, whether it's the first time she sees it or the seventh. She's entirely in the moment. And the tantrums and meltdowns pass quickly, the reasons forgotten before they're even over - there's something else just as exciting over there anyway. And if it's not what you want to do, snacks or a juice box are an acceptable substitute.

And besides, when was the last time you danced and spun in a circle until it made you dizzy? Try it. It's therapeutic.

Saturday morning with children

Please Touch Museum entrance

This morning I went with a colleague and her almost two year old daughter to the Philadelphia Please Touch Museum, which is the area children's museum. The original plan was to go to the Philadelphia Zoo, especially since I live only a few blocks away and walk or ride my bike by it almost daily. The fact that I haven't been yet and have been in Philly for 6 months is, apparently, a tragedy. But the outside temperature is below freezing and that's before wind chill factors in. So we'll save the zoo for a warmer day.

I don't have kids. I've done a lot of babysitting in my time, and many of my friends have kids, but the only child I have is my dog. For now, that's plenty. But I do enjoy spending time with my friends' kids, which is why I agreed to accompany my colleague to the children's museum.

The Please Touch Museum is fascinating. Lots and lots of things to do: buses to drive, a water play area, a supermarket complete with stockroom and cash registers, music, a Mad Hatter tea party, the list goes on and on. I remember going to a children's museum in the Washington, D.C. area growing up, and loving it. One of the few places were children are encouraged to experience things. It's almost overwhelming there's so much going on. In fact, often you see kids just stop at the top of the ramp and stare as they try to take it all in.

Because it is still so cold out, and the museum is pretty much an indoor playground, and there was a birthday party today, there were lots and lots of kids there. The museum itself is geared towards the under 7 age range, which means lots of toddlers and pre-K kids running around. It was interesting to be a child-free individual and be able to step back and just observe. Over the course of the 1 1/2 hours we were there, I heard the following phrases many, many times:
"NO!" (usually from the child, but sometimes the parent)
"Not in your mouth, please."
"Share."
"Say thank you."
"It's the little boy/girl's turn now, so let's go someplace else."
"Why don't we go play with the x now." (not really a question from the parent, but rather a this-is-the-plan statement)
"Oohhh."
"Watch where you're going!"

Today they have a band there doing some "Latin jazz" (as the band called it), which added to the cacophony of noise in the building. Some children were interested, some even danced, but there were a large number of them that watched for 10 minutes and then wanted to move on. When the music stopped, my colleague turned to me and said: "Wow, it just got really quiet! Wait! They stopped the music. Ah." And it did get quieter, relatively, that is.

As the time got closer and closer to lunch/nap time, the number of meltdowns started to increase and there was a steady stream of people leaving. As we made our way out the doors, there were just as many people coming in. Cold weekends are a good business day for indoor playgrounds.