Tag: San Francisco Chronicle

Like most parents, I’ve been captivated by the heart-wrenching story of Jaycee Lee Dugard and her family’s ordeal. Losing a child is every parent’s nightmare, but what – if anything – can parents learn from the details of this horrible kidnap and rape?

I ask in earnest because I’m seeing lots of stories and posts about keeping your children safe – as if in the past parents were not protecting their children. On the San Francisco Chronicle’s website there is an informative story about just this very thing. If you have time I suggest you read it in it’s entirety.

Basically, Amy Graff of the Mommy Files (a really good blog to keep your eye on, btw) questions whether or not the “how to” articles on protecting our children are helping or feeding fears. It’s a good point – does information about kidnapping keep you from allowing your child from doing things you might normally let him or her do? I don’t know, but I do think that my own awareness gets sharper after reading such information. But what about the overall statistics on violent crime against children?

Overall crime is down in the U.S. Children are safer than in decades past but parents are more aware of the potential for harm. More kids are walked to the bus stop, or walked/driven to school than in the past, decreasing the opportunity for abductions. But what about other harms, like car accidents? It’s enough to make one’s head swim with fright.

It’s clear that the local law enforcement of Contra Costa County has much to learn – but do we as parents? Graff references Lenore Skenazy and her book Free Range Kids, which makes the case for giving today’s children more freedom while still understanding the risks. Skenazy’s take on lessons to be learned is this, “sometimes, terrible things happen to innocent people, randomly. In our blame-, lawsuit- and silly advice-obsessed country, it’s a lesson we find hard to accept.”

I saw this article in the San Francisco Chronicle today and thought I’d pass it along. Not that I have any experience with tweens or teens (my daughter is not yet 2, but boy is she working in it!) so I could be missing the mark on this. Still, the advice seemed pretty solid…Here is their advice:

1) avoid themes
2) invest in furniture
3) learn to compromise

If you’re consumed with back to school stuff and want to include a re-design of your child’s room, then think simple. Gone are the days of train motifs or princess rooms – nope, apparently your child wants no theme. Just the basics, with a little flair thrown in. Well, maybe they don’t know they want it yet, but the simpler the better when it comes to designing a room that can grow with your child from 5 all the way through to the teens.

For the walls and floor use their preferences (like pink or blue or purple or racecars) as touches rather than the whole room. Try painting just one wall a color and leave the rest white (or some other neutral). As for the furniture, go for quality. Buy good, solid furniture that can last the years and, possibly, be repurposed for another room in the house after the babies go off to college.

And compromise. If they love flowers, don’t go all out with flower wallpaper – look at some removable flower decals. There is probably some wiggle room between what you want and what your kid wants…though, good luck with the negotiation phase of that!

Overall, I really responded to the idea of making a room that can last the years and the many whims your child will go through. I’ve mostly started down this road with our baby, getting just a few pieces of furniture that are special (see the post on designing your first nursery), though it is good to be reminded to stick to the basics. Let me know how your project turns out!

photo credit: Tammy Manet