Kids and Sunscreen

     Do you have to tackle your kids to get sunscreen on them?
     I used to, but it's a little easier now.
     Here are some techniques I've used to get my kids to put on the SPF:
     1.  Use sunscreen stick on kids' faces.  The thing my kids absolutely HATE is getting sunscreen in their eyes or mouths.  If you use the sticks, you can pretty well avoid this.  If they're old enough, let them apply the stick themselves.  They like that, because they feel like they're in control.  (You can touch it up a bit afterwards if necessary.)

My kids will put this on their faces without a fight.

     2.  Let kids choose the sunscreen to use on the rest of their bodies.  I used to grab whatever type of sunscreen happened to be sitting around (as long as it was at least 50 SPF), and my kids always had some complaint about it:  it was itchy, it stung, it was too greasy, etc.  Now I have a wide array of choices and let them pick their poison.  My kids usually prefer the spray-on stuff, but we've put that on hold because of health concerns about it in the news.  (Hopefully those will turn out to be unfounded.)  At any rate, if you let the kids choose from a variety of sunscreen options, they feel like they're part of the process, and they're more likely to let you apply it.

Have an arsenal of different sunscreens at the ready.
(I don't necessarily endorse any of these particular products.)

     3.  Explain that sunscreen prevents sagging and aging of skin.  Pick a person who is severely wrinkled--preferably a person who your kids see frequently--and tell the kids that unless they use sunscreen, their skin will someday look the same.  I'm not usually into scare tactics, but this is the truth, and when the kids understand it, they're more willing to cooperate.
          If you don't know anyone with sun-damaged skin, show your kids these pictures:

French actress Brigitte Bardot pre-sun damage.

Brigitte Bardot post-sun damage.

     4.  Explain that sunscreen prevents skin cancer.  Pick a person who has had skin cancer--once again, preferably someone close to the kids--and explain that if the kids don't use sunscreen, they could end up in the same situation.   Explain that if skin cancer is not detected early, it can spread quickly and kill its victims quickly.  I remind my kids about the father of a friend of mine, who liked to be outdoors without a shirt, but refused to use sunscreen.  After years of doing this, he was eventually diagnosed with melanoma and died three months later.

Skin cancer isn't pretty:  a malignant melanoma.  

Real Men Make Bread

Real men do make bread.

     When I was in law school, a female friend of mine--a liberal Northeasterner who was pro-gay marriage, pro-choice,  and pro-everything that would seem to obliterate the difference between women and men--mentioned that a guy she liked had invited her over to eat some bread he had made.
     "Bread?" she said.  "I mean, it's fine that he likes to cook, but baking bread?  That's a little weird."
     Well, I found it a little weird that she found it weird for men to make bread, since she was fine with women playing professional football, women working on auto assembly lines, and women serving in combat zones in the military.
     Why can't a dude bake a loaf of bread?

The masculine art of making bread.

     Weird or not, I assure you that some very real, macho men do make bread.  My wife's grandfather--a man's man of Sicilian descent who eventually settled in Guatemala--ran a bakery for many years, and all of the workers who made the bread (including his son, my father-in-law) were men.  And when I worked as a prep cook at a very expensive French restaurant, the baker was also a man--a very large, rugged man named Hal with several tattoos.  You have to be pretty buff to throw 50-pound sacks of flour around the way Hal did.

This guy reminds me of Hal the baker--except that Hal was bigger and buffer.

     But as final proof that real men make bread, the wife of an auto mechanic I know--who wouldn't be able to get in touch with his feminine side if his life depended on it--once revealed to me, sotto voce, that her husband made the best bread in the world, but he had forbidden her to tell anyone about it.

Roman men baked bread:  why are today's men squeamish about it?

     Why are some men embarrassed to have it known that they make bread?  Why are some women turned off by men who bake bread?  Those are questions for future doctoral dissertations, but could it be that when they think of making bread, they have a vision of Betty Crocker, dressed in a red gingham apron, taking hot loaves out of the oven as her tired hubby walks in the door?

If this is your vision of making bread, think again.

     If you have that vision, replace it with a realistic one--one of a hot, sweaty commercial bakery that has more in common with a steel plant than with Martha Stewart's kitchen.

Commercial bakery:  more locker room than ladylike.

     For some great bread--and a fun family activity--try the following recipe, which came from my Grandma Williams (c = cup, T = tablespoon)  My kids like to mix the ingredients, play with the dough, and form it into loaves.  (Oh, yeah, and they like to eat it.)
     Although it's called French bread, this recipe produces nothing like the true French baguettes that scrape the skin off the top of your mouth as you try to chew through them.  No, this bread is "American-style" French, like the soft squishy loaves you get at grocery store bakeries.

Your bread will turn out more like this...

...than this.

Grandma Williams' French Bread

1 c warm water
2 T yeast
1 1/2 c warm water
3 T sugar
1 T salt
1/3 c canola oil
6 c flour
   
Dissolve yeast in 1 c warm water.

Combine 1 1/2 c water, sugar, salt, and oil in large bowl.  Stir until sugar and salt have dissolved.  Add yeast mixture and stir.

Add flour all at once.  Stir until soft dough forms.  Dough should not stick to your hands.  If it does, add flour--one T at a time--until it doesn't.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in microwave (don't turn it on--the microwave is just a warm, draft-free place for dough to rise).  Allow dough to sit 10  minutes; then cut through it several times with butcher knife.  Return dough to microwave and allow to rest another 10 minutes.  Cut with butcher knife again.  Repeat process 4 more times.

Remove dough from microwave and punch down.  Then turn onto floured board (that means you sprinkle some flour on a cutting board so the dough won't stick).  Cut dough into four pieces.  Take one piece and pound flat with hands on cutting board.  Roll up like jelly roll and place on cookie sheet coated with non-stick spray.  Repeat procedure for remaining pieces of dough.

Optional:  brush tops of loaves with beaten egg white (this gives more of a crust).

Slash top of each loaf diagonally--about 1/4 inch deep--in four places.

Bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Eat while hot!  

Kids and Vegetables

Kids will eat vegetables that are fresh, crisp, and colorful.

     Getting kids to eat vegetables is an age-old problem that won't be solved in a blog entry, but here are a few ideas that have worked for me:

1.  Buy or grow your vegetables fresh.  
     There's nothing worse than canned peas, which in no way resemble the wonderful fresh peas you pick from your own garden and serve over new potatoes in a cream sauce.  My kids love fresh peas--but they gag over canned peas.  
     Canned asparagus is another product that will permanently turn kids against vegetables.  Canned green beans aren't as bad as canned peas or asparagus, but they still don't compare to fresh beans.  Corn actually tastes okay canned, but it's much better, of course, on the cob--especially if it's from your own garden.  
     Some vegetables are fine frozen--peas and corn come to mind--but most others turn out soggy and inedible, like broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.  Give kids fresh vegetables and they are much more likely to eat them.

Fresh or frozen peas are more appealing than canned.

2.  Serve vegetables raw.
     Serve baby carrots, broccoli florets, cucumber slices, pepper slices, and grape tomatoes with a dip made from fat-free sour cream and watch the vegetables disappear.  This is a great after-school and summer-afternoon snack.

Raw vegetables are full of crunch and flavor.

3.  Steam or grill vegetables, rather than boil them.  
     If you must cook vegetables, don't dump them into a pot of boiling water.  Boiling most fresh vegetables turns them the consistency of canned vegetables--plus it destroys most of the vitamins they originally contained.  
     Steaming vegetables for very short periods of time keeps them crisp, colorful, and appetizing.  Grilling vegetables--like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and mushrooms--is another way to cook them while preserving their flavor and texture.

Steamed vegetables maintain texture and flavor.

4.  Take vegetables as snacks on car trips.  
     If you're traveling, the kids are hungry, and all you have to offer are vegetables, they will eat them.  
     I had proof of this a few days ago when we were driving  home from a hiking trip.  Instead of chips, cookies and candy for snacks, I took along baby carrots, grape tomatoes, and broccoli.  The kids complained at first, but the vegetables disappeared pretty quickly.

Grape tomatoes are great for car trips.

What to Do with Kids During the Summer?

     This is a question many parents ask with horror as school comes to an end.

Kids can have fun while learning during the summer.

     Some are so afraid of the prospect of having kids at home (and with time on their hands) that they rush out and buy the latest electronic gadgets (even though their kids just got all the latest installments for Christmas), stock up on the latest games and apps for these gadgets (many of which have violent and otherwise questionable content), make sure Netflix is installed on every one of these gadgets and every TV in the house (content also very questionable), double the number of cable channels the kids can watch (content, again), and then sit back and hope the kids will entertain themselves.
     What's wrong with this picture?
     Everything.
     The last things kids need today are more electronic gadgetry and more media exposure.  What do they really need?  Books, art supplies, opportunities for exercise (preferably outdoors), opportunities for learning new things, and a parent willing (and excited) to spend time with them and oversee what they're doing.

Stop the insanity:  the last thing kids need during
summer break is more electronic stimulation.

     So, to get my kids off the couch this summer, and to minimize their use of electronic media, I've instituted what I call the "Summer Safari" program.  Yes, my 12-year-old laughs at the whole idea, and my 10-year-old makes sure we hide any evidence of the program when friends come over, but secretly, THEY LIKE IT.  Especially my 4-year-old.
     And I love being with them.  Instead of being scared of having them home all day, I'm excited to get up each day and do our activities.  It's good for all of us to have a general structure in place, although we frequently modify it.
     Here's how it works.  Each weekday (we take a break from Safari on weekends), we follow a schedule that includes the following:

Kids will go along if you replace video games with books.



Summer Learning Safari Schedule

     1.  breakfast together (I try to make it healthy)
     2.  aerobic exercise (jumping on trampoline, biking, hiking, etc.), at least 30 minutes
     3.  art projects (painting, drawing, sculpting with clay, etc.), at least 30 minutes
     4.  free reading (I make my kids read in Spanish, since their mother is Guatemalan), 30 minutes
     5.  piano practice (30 minutes for the older kids)
     6.  field trip (usually around 2 hours)
     7.  learning expeditions (about an hour), which I will explain below

     We finish all this by about 1:30 in the afternoon, and the kids have the rest of the day free--although I limit TV and electronic devices during these free hours.
     I do let the kids watch a couple of hours of Disney Channel throughout the day (thankfully, that's the only channel they really want to watch), but I also put on educational videos (okay, DVDs--I'm showing my age here) to quench their thirst for the cursed box (which now, due to HD, is actually a rectangle).

DVDs on travel destinations like Tuscany are good alternatives to regular TV.

     My kids especially like travel DVDs:, like Rudy Maxa's Molto Italiano, as well as National Geographic programs on the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas.  Most public libraries have these, but you can also get a lot of good non-fiction DVDs on Netflix.
     The field trips are what the kids like most, and so far we've been hiking several times, visited a copper mine, toured several model homes in a new development (my 10-year-old is interested in becoming an architect), explored several museums, scoped out a kitchen design showroom (when we got back, I had each of the kids design their dream kitchen), and gone shopping as dad points out how to get the best value for our money (or as my older daughter puts it, "how to be cheap").

Kids enjoy museums in small doses.

     As for the learning expeditions, these are power point presentations I have made on various topics (and continue to make, as the summer goes on), but so far I've completed units on Tuscany and Provence.
     These presentations take a region and explore its geography, history, art, architecture, music, and literature.  They include slide shows, concert videos, excerpts from literary works, maps, and yes, POP QUIZZES!
     Since my kids are as crazy about electronic devices as everyone else, I've tried to do as the Romans do by making these presentations as fun and interactive as possible.
     For example, the kids click on links to reach items like concert videos and maps, and I've embedded music that plays automatically while they're reading the various slides.   I've even added some surprise "gong" and "applause" sounds to various slides to keep them awake.

My kids do the Learning Expeditions I put together on their Nooks.

     So, how is all this working?  Believe it or not, my kids wake up each morning and ask what we're going to do for our "Safari."
     Try it with your own kids and you won't be disappointed.  Boredom will cease, inter-sibling violence will diminish, and you'll get to know your kids, rather then fear them.

Swedish Pancakes

Swedish pancakes can break up breakfast monotony.

     If your kids are like mine, they like pancakes.  But the same Aunt Jemima flapjacks get boring day after day, and they don't provide much nutrition.
     Swedish pancakes are heavy on eggs, which will give your kids more protein than regular pancakes, and they'll have fun rolling them up with different toppings.  I've modified the traditional recipe to leave out most of the cholesterol by eliminating two egg yolks and substituting canola oil for melted butter.
     Here's a breakfast item your kids will want to get up for:

Healthy (okay, Healthier) Swedish Pancakes

1 egg
3 egg whites
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
11/2 c milk
3 T canola oil
3/4 c flour

Place all ingredients except milk in large bowl.  Whisk until batter is smooth.  Gradually add milk and whisk until mixture is free of lumps.  Pour onto hot griddle or pre-heated frying pan sprayed with fine layer of canola oil.  Cook until browned on both sides.  Serve with syrup, jam or jelly, powdered sugar, or brown sugar and sour cream.

Eating Out With Kids

Don't be afraid to take kids to nice restaurants.

     A few nights ago, the kids and I took my wife to dinner at a nice restaurant for her birthday.  There was valet parking, the tablecloth was starched white linen, the servers and bus people wore uniforms, and yes, it was a bit pricey.  But I think kids need the experience of eating out at a nice place every now and then.  Sooner than we hope, they'll be dating, going out to eat for business reasons, and attending formal social events, so it's important to teach them how to behave in these situations.

     Here are a few things I've learned about fine dining with kids:

     1.  Take the money you would otherwise spend on fast food and save it for a nice restaurant.  If you avoid three or four visits to the Golden Arches and their ilk, you'll have enough for a lunch or dinner of real food.

Stay away from these for two weeks and use the money you've saved  at a nice restaurant.

     2.  Go to nice restaurants when they're not busy.  There are several reasons for this.  If the kids act up, fewer people will notice.  If the staff isn't harried with large crowds, you'll get better service.  And since young kids are not going to eat an entire $35 main course, your server will be less resentful (and hopefully more attentive) if you go when you're not taking a table that he or she was counting on for a huge tip.

An empty restaurant is a kid-friendly restaurant.

     3.  Don't be afraid to share main courses, to order salads or appetizers instead of main courses, or to ask for items not listed on the menu.  As I mentioned above, some servers make their disapproval known--through scowls and/or poor service--when one or more members of a party fail to order an expensive main course.  Because of this, many people--myself included--often feel pressured into ordering a main course that we don't really want and don't end up eating.
     However, if you go to a restaurant when you're surrounded by empty tables, you won't be taking up what servers see as valuable real estate, and they will probably be thankful for your business--whatever you choose to order.  At my wife's birthday dinner, for instance, I didn't want a big-slab-of-meat main course, so I ordered a salad and a side order of asparagus (which was not listed on the menu).  My vegetarian daughter Sophia didn't like anything on the menu, so we asked the server if the kitchen could make her up a fruit plate (which turned out to be fantastic) as well as a side order of mashed potatoes.
     My wife and son Andy shared a large New York steak with haystack potatoes, and four-year-old Stella circled the table, eating a little bit of everything.  We were happy, our server was happy (I think), and my debit card was happy.

Share a main course with kids:  you shouldn't eat it all anyway.

     4.  If money is an issue, skip drinks and dessert.  Brief the kids on this beforehand, to avoid surprises.  At any rate, water is better with food than those high-fructose-corn-syrup sodas.  Have dessert at home if you still want it.  If you do decide on dessert at the restaurant, get one and share it.  All you really want is a taste, anyway.

Skipping dessert makes restaurant forays more reasonable.

     4.  Go to nice restaurants for lunch, rather than dinner.   Lunch menus are almost always less expensive, and portions are usually smaller, so lunch is often a good option for kids.  Lunch is also less formal, and since people are trying to get in and out in a hurry, noisy kids aren't as noticeable.  Try for an early or late lunch--when the restaurant is less busy--in order to get better service.

     5.  Look for restaurants with ambiance.   Long after you forget what you ate, you'll remember the light breeze blowing on the outdoor terrace, the view of the ski slopes out the huge window walls, or the huge marble columns and the Tiffany glass ceiling.  One of the best dinners my family ever had--and we bring it up all the time--was at a simple sidewalk cafe next to a gurgling fountain in Watercolor, Florida.  It was around ten o'clock at night, seventy degrees, the streetlights glowed, and everything seemed right with the world.  Oh, yeah, and there was food.

Food is only part of the experience:  choose restaurants with ambiance.

     6.  Brief kids on proper dining etiquette on the way to the restaurant.  We rarely have a problem with our  kids at nice restaurants, since we've been taking them since they were babies (and don't be afraid to take babies to nice restaurants--servers have almost always been very nice about it), but I still give out a few reminders in the car, like the need to keep their voices low and to avoid provoking each other to anger. They were pretty well behaved for my wife's birthday except for the fact that Sophia smuggled in her Nook.
     Next time I'll do an airport-style bag inspection as the kids leave the car.

Have the "manners" talk in the car on the way to the restaurant.

Kids and Fruit

Fruit that is fresh, ripe, and in season will appeal to kids.

     We all know we're supposed to get our children to eat more fruits and vegetables, but it's easier said than done.  Today we'll concentrate on teaching kids to like fruit and save vegetables for later.

1.  Be an example.  If you tell your kids to eat fruit, and they never see you eat fruit yourself, they're not going to do it.  Stop the lectures and start eating fruit.

If dad eats fruit, kids will follow.

2.  Actually buy fruit.  One reason kids don't eat fruit is because there's not any fruit in the house.  I've always loved fruit, and when I was a TV reporter, I would usually take some with me for lunch.  This led to good-natured teasing about my "nuts and berries" diet from some of my videographer friends (they were eating Big Macs and Whoppers), but they were usually impressed.  One thing many of them said was, "I'd like to eat fruit, but I can't afford it!"
     The truth is, while all food is expensive these days, most fruit is actually a bargain.  A ten-pound watermelon for five dollars?  That's fifty cents a pound.  What other healthy food can you get for fifty cents a pound?  Bananas are another fruit bargain that are available year-round at between fifty and seventy cents a pound. 
     Sure, other kinds of fruit cost more, but try this exercise to see whether you can afford them.  The next time you do your grocery shopping, put everything you normally buy into the basket.  Then park in a quiet corner of the store and remove the following:  all chips and snack foods, all pastries, all soda and alcoholic beverages, all candy, all ice cream, all frozen pizzas, Buffalo wings, etc.  Now you have room--and money--for fruit. Head straight to the produce section and stock up.

The ideal shopping cart.

3.  Change kids' perceptions.  A final reason kids don't eat fruit is that they've only experienced canned, poor quality and/or unripe fruit in the past. This includes canned fruit cocktail with those soggy, eye-ball-like grapes, restaurant garnishes like cantaloupe and honeydew melon that are harder than hockey pucks, greenish supermarket strawberries more acidic than lemons, and mealy apples that have been in cold storage for more than a year.
     Since fresh fruit is generally at its peak for no more than a day or so, it's important to learn how to choose it and serve it at its best.  Here are a few ideas:

Watermelon:  if it's not good, take it back!

     Watermelon:  I've done several stories on how to pick a good watermelon in the course of my broadcast journalism career.  While produce department managers' methods differ, you generally can't go wrong with a melon that sounds hollow when thumped, has a large yellow area on its underside, and has a hard outer rind.  If, after passing these three tests, the melon still turns out to be bad, take it back--most stores will give you another one. 
     Better yet, when buying watermelons, always buy two--that way, if one turns out to be bad, you can use the other one and return the bad one later.

Grapes:  ask to sample

     Grapes:  Sticky plastic bags are a good sign, because it means the grapes have a high sugar content.  Otherwise, the only way to know if they're sweet is to try one.  Look around for a produce employee and ask permission before you do this--they'll generally grant it.

Strawberries:  almost moldy means full of flavor

     Strawberries:  Look for deep red berries that are just on the verge of spoiling--these will have the most flavor.  (Just make sure there's no mold growing on them).  Smell them--if they don't have the aroma of some corner of heaven, you will need to let them sit a few days at home before they're ripe. 

Cantaloupe:  unless it smells like heaven, don't cut into it

     Cantaloupe:  Smell the end that was once connected to the vine.  If it doesn't "wow" you, then it's not ripe.  Either choose another or plan to let the melon sit a few days before eating it.

Selecting good produce takes time--and experience.

     I could go on, but the point is, be prepared to spend some time in the produce department.  Once you learn to buy ripe, good quality fruit, your kids will gobble it down without the need for lectures.