Bunch Family

What the cool parents are reading about today:

1. Remember Furbies? They’re back, and they’re predicted to be the top toy this Christmas. Instead of the fluttering eyes and a chomping beak, interactivity will be kicked up a knotch with LCD screens for eyes and an accompanying app. Don’t you love when slightly creepy toys get a little more lifelike?

2. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is hoping to put a restriction on baby formula in maternity wards. It’s to be stored in “out-of-the-way secure storerooms or in locked boxes like those used to dispense and track medications,” and with each bottle requested, the new mom will get an explanation of why breastfeeding is a better choice. Not that anyone’s telling you what to do, or anything.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. Mom Denise Schipani says being a mean mom makes for good kids. We’re just going to assume that Denise doesn’t go to Vogue writer lengths. We get it in terms of making them do stuff that’s good for them and presumably there’s some teaching of delayed gratification. Why she sounds loving and caring and all, what’s with this mean mom book deal trend? Do we blame this on Amy Tiger Mom Chua?

2. We hope this is real and not some hoax made purely with the intention of going viral: Some weatherman went to a school to talk about meteorology and the well-raised kids sent him thank you letters for the visit. One particularly polite kid was very generous with his creative superlatives. He writes, “Thank you again for teaching us about meteoroligy (sic), you’re more awesome than a monkey wearing a tuxedo made out of bacon riding a cyborg unicorn with a lightsaber for the horn…” It goes on in even better detail. Maybe he watches a lot of Old Spice commercials? Anyway, this kid (if he’s real!) is great. We sincerely hope he goes on to write graphic novels or an HBO show.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. According to UCLA Anthropologists, Americans parents are raising their kids to be lazy and spoiled out of guilt.

2. Going out to dinner with your kids? Here are 12 tips that will save you some aggravation.

3. Bless those Girl Scouts! They’re celebrating their 100th anniversary this week and encouraging your girls to pursue their love of science and technology, or whatever your girls are into.

4. Turns out that parenting experts over the years have always told moms they’d better do a good job, or else. “Whatever the message, the advice was given in the form of an order and the authors highlighted extreme consequences if mothers did not follow the methods of childrearing that they advocated.”

5. Mini Hogwarts! See how they made the model for one of our favourite fictional castles.

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Flavorwire takes a look at some classics children’s tales

Are we ever glad Maurice Sendak couldn’t really draw horses! We knew the Winnie-the-Pooh inspiration from the intro to the old (old) Pooh videos we used to own, as well as the Cat in the Hat thing from previous Seuss-related Bunch research. London kids being shuttled out of London to stay in the country, or elsewhere, during the Second World War is practically its own genre so the Narnia inspiration comes as no surprise, but that doesn’t make it any less magical. But that Little Prince one, wow.

Pop culture blog Flavorwire shares the inspiration stories for classic children’s stories like Pooh, Where the Wild Things Are, Watership Down and Gremlins. Yeah, what does Gremlins have in common with the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?

We’re going to have to go read the Little Prince again tonight. What your favourite from this classic list?  Read more...

Another batch of Etsy treasures, where one of a kind holiday gift options abound.

If you missed it, check out our Etsy Round Up Part 1 and get inspired about finding some amazing Christmas presents from your couch. The hits just keep coming!

For the under 3 crowd:

Teething Toy Moustache

If you got a kick out of Mini Movember, keep the fun going all year with this wooden wonder by teethME.

Screen Printed Sushi Bib and Hat

They might not be skilled with chopsticks yet, (or even their fingers), but this bib and hat set will keep your little dynamite roll clean. By LEFTright.

For the 3 – 6 crowd:

Felt Campfire Playset

Bring the best part of camping inside, all year round. This set comes with 8-inch flames, logs, rocks, a roasting stick with Velcro on the end with stickable hotdog and s’mores set. By kidnaroundcreations.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. There’s a school in California’s Bay Area with a 23 percent vaccination rate. Less than a quarter of the kids at the Waldorf School are vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella and they could be putting kids with compromised immune systems at serious risk.

2. Did you see Neil Patrick Harris’ Halloween family portrait?Amazing.

3. After three miscarriages, this couple kept trying. (And it paid off!)

4. Mona Simpson’s eulogy for her brother Steve Jobs has inspired Peggy Orenstein to write about that important brother-sister bond.

5. J.K. Rowling says she considered killing off Ron Weasley. RON WEASLEY!! Man, we had a hard enough time with [SPOILER] Fred and were in denial about Sirius for at least the next book.

Image via Flickr

What we’re reading today:

1. Stop lying to your kids! If they’re not doing great at something, don’t tell them they are.

2. Kate Winslet’s son, age 7, knows it’s OK if he grows up to be gay.

3. Preemies who need blood drawn show less pain when they’re being held by mom or dad, but especially mom.

4. Do you monitor the music your kids listen to? Do they sing along to Lady Gaga without actually knowing what she means by disco stick?

5. Harry Potter’s first press conference! Look how cute they are!!

Photo by EraPhrenalia Vintage via Flickr

Cynthia Kinnunen and her family drove from Toronto to Orlando

I know, I know, everyone always talks “Disney” when they head down to Orlando with kids. And don’t get me wrong: Disney is a wonderful magical adventure, particularly for the littlest in the family. But on this last excursion to Orlando (and don’t think we go all the time – this is only our second trip there) we chose to test out Universal Studios.

Stay with me for a moment: as a kid, I ended up in Universal Studios (California) and have very fond memories of it. At age eight, I got to hug cast members from Battlestar Galactica, get freaked out by Jaws and feel incredibly tiny next to props from The Incredible Shrinking Woman. I remember those moments more than the visit to Disney on that same trip. I had some high expectations of this visit to Universal. I wanted my kids to feel wowed by the experience just as I was.  Read more...

How do you like your girl power?

Debuting on the newspaper comic strip circuit in 1941, crime-fighting, catsuit-wearing Miss Fury has the honour of being the first female superhero. She was followed by Wonder Woman six months later, and since then, superheroines from Catwoman to Aquagirl have made their marks in the world of comics as well. Trina Robbins, who edited the collection of Miss Fury reprints, discusses the role of women in comics, and that got us thinking about strong, smart female characters in general. And reminded us how anticipatory we are for Brave. (You’ve watched the awesome Brave trailer, right?)

Here are some of our favourites:

1. The Unprincessy Princess

Elizabeth from The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (1980)

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What we’re reading today:

1. McDonald’s has bowed to pressure from children’s advocacy groups and is changing the contents of their Happy Meals. They’re not eliminating french fries, but will be offering less than half as many fries as they do now, and will include some sort of fruit or vegetable option. (Your kid doesn’t have to opt for apple slices over french fries)

2. Speaking of kids and food, to get them interested in healthy eating and to teach them kitchen safety gradually, get kids involved in kitchen tasks from ages 2 and up.

3. Hero dad, Ramiro Vallejo, is scared of heights, but that didn’t stop him from jumping off a cliff to save his son.

4. When you were pregnant, did you sleep with a knife under your pillow or avoid eating certain types of food because of superstitions?  Read more...

But she’ll have to wait a few years before she enjoys the scarier ones

Last week we asked some parents whether they thought Harry Potter is for their kids’ generation as Star Wars was for theirs. But as GeekDad Ken Denmead pointed out, Star Wars is more popular than ever with young kids discovering the goings on of a galaxy far, far, away everyday. Perhaps the most well known of this new generation of Star Wars fans is Katie.

When Katie’s mom, blogger Carrie Goldman, found out her sweet first grader was being bullied for her awesome Star Wars water bottle, Goldman simply asked if any female Star Wars fans happened to read her blog, could they please comment so she could show Katie that Star Wars is not just for boys. Indeed. Goldman and Katie ended up with oodles of supportive comments, an entry in the Official Star Wars blog and a Twitter hashtag (#MayTheForceBeWithKatie). We figured Goldman was the right mom to ask about what Star Wars and Harry Potter means for kids today. Here’s what she said:  Read more...

Out latest Bunch Poll in the National Post

Most people of a certain age recognize the “Imperial Death March” after about the first three notes, but can those same people explain what the spell “Expecto Patronum” means? There are some sagas that, perhaps because they’re stretched out over the course of a few years, so attach themselves to our culture that they become more than just books or movies; just ask any child over 10 which Hogwarts house the Sorting Hat would place them in.  Every generation has a story that is theirs. For kids who grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, it’s Star Wars. As this weekend marks the end of Harry Potter’s eight-film battle with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, we asked some parents who grew up with Luke and Leia if Harry Potter is to their kids as Star Wars was for them.  Read more...