Kids VT, March 2012
The Doctor Is In — and Listening — at Fletcher Allen’s Pediatric Immigrant Clinic; Movies Boys Will Love; Great Aprés-Ski Eats; Five Cool Specialty Camps; Hip-Hop Classes for Kids
What’s the current thinking on vitamin supplements for children?
Wheel your race-car grocery cart down the vitamin aisle these days, and you’re confronted with a dizzying array of supplements: A, B complex, calcium, iron, omega-3s. It’s enough to make a parent’s head spin. This month, Dr. Lewis First, chief of pediatrics at Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care, cuts through the alphabet…
The Art Of… Hip-Hop
The Urban Dance Complex in Williston is thumping on a Wednesday night. Fluorescent lights buzz over “graffiti”-covered walls, and the unmistakable voice of Rihanna undulates over heavy bass. The two studios are packed. In one, a hoard of 16- to 18-year-old boys and girls are popping, locking, stomping and shaking. Nearly 20 7- to 9-year-old…
Wee Leprechauns
What can I say? Toilet-paper tubes speak to me. There’s a lot you can do with this free cardboard: Two tubes can make binoculars; fill one with rice and tape the ends for an easy maraca; or stick them together for Hot Wheels tunnels. The empties also make great people. Some green paint and construction…
It’s a Snowshoe-In
Snowshoeing is a favorite cold-weather workout for me and my husband, and we want our 1-year-old, Celia, to love it, too. The world’s easiest winter sport requires minimal equipment and no experience, and offers a cozy perch for the baby. It gets the whole family out in the woods — the perfect antidote to winter boredom.…
What bad parenting habits have you developed that you wish you could shake?
Ron Hunt provider liaison at Fletcher Allen Health Care Children: daughter, Julia, 6; son, Danny, 4 Junk food and staying up late are habits that I sometimes indulge in and am trying to teach my children about. Kids are like this amazing mirror, where you can see and reflect on yourself. These are real things…
Chili Challenge
My 4-year-old daughter has sensitivities to gluten, eggs and sugar, so putting a family meal together often feels like an Iron Chef challenge. When I find a winner, like this chili, it goes into the regular menu rotation, especially during these cold months. It’s full of protein, and you’d never know the cornbread is gluten,…
Book Review: ZooZical
Librarian: Sarah Lawton, youth services librarian at the Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury Book: ZooZical, written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown Age range: 2 to 6 Lawton’s summary: The zoo animals are grumpy because the cold winter weather is keeping children from visiting. But a baby kangaroo and a very small hippo…
The Family Table
After skiing, when the boots, poles, helmets, jackets, gloves and kids are finally loaded into the car, I barely have the energy to drive home — let alone cook. After three attempts to make après-ski dinners for my family of four, it hit me: We could go out to eat on the way home at…
First-Timers
First birthdays are momentous. I’ve thrown three, one for each of my girls. The first was a gigantic party for which I made everything myself, down to the construction-paper ladybug hats — no joke! — and invitations for everyone we knew. I’ve also tried the simple-playdate-with-close-friends approach. After experiencing both, I’d say keep it simple: Rather than striving…
The Health Department
My small family spent this past New Year’s Eve in the hospital. Actually, my husband let me go home that night — we were taking turns staying overnight with my son, Oliver, at the Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care. He had an unusual ear ailment that necessitated plumbing the depths of our creativity to…
