“It’s Howdy Doody time!” Shouting that storied response from the Golden Age of early television was the happy chore of a few dozen Boomer kids watching the popular live show from the bleacher seats known as “The Peanut Gallery.” Those lucky devils—who among us didn’t want to be one? — also provided the spontaneous live […]
Endless Opportunity, In the Round
Entertaining children successfully and safely requires, as veterans may have learned the hard way, thoughtful preparation. And a few essential tools. Wait. Scratch that. Sometimes, you might get away with just one tool. It may be the oldest toy known to children, yet it offers new opportunities every time it is clutched by young, […]
Lessons from an Old Dog
My best pal, a shiny, stunning “ginger,” as the British call redheads, is getting white on top. Surely it has happened gradually, but I suddenly noticed it recently, in full force, for the first time. Staring at her across the room for the zillionth time as she dozed in the blissful sleep of the guiltless, I […]
Six Special Safety Tips for Kid Visits
All you grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, and kindly friends of families with children out there, Heads Up. Summer is here, and we want the kiddos to visit, right? Of course, we do; under the right circumstances, we love it. It’s a cherished highlight of the whole adult/child experience. And yet, are we really ready? […]
Thank You, Villagers
My mother turned 87 a few weeks back, so I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about her legacy—never more, of course, than around Mother’s Day. And I remembered a time a few months ago when a kind friend told her, in my presence, that she had raised wonderful children. My mother smiled in […]
I Spy T.R.O.U.B.L.E.
Over the last few months, the most wondrous thing has suddenly picked up steam like a bullet train. My 7-year-old grandson is READING. Just about everywhere, and everything. Books for his younger sister, longer and more complex stories for himself, the funny papers, restaurant menus, street signs, instructions on the sides of game boxes. He […]