I was in absolute shock after reading this article. I’m talking jaw dropping speechlessness.

After seeing a strange increase in students requesting pregnancy tests at a local school’s health clinic, administrators started to dig a little to see what was going on. Upon investigation, it was discovered that a group of approximately 17 girls had entered into some kind of ‘pregnancy pact’ to have their babies together this year.

So many questions come to my mind I can’t even begin to spit them out. There were two parts of this article that really piqued my interest – you know, other than the sheer obvious ridiculousness of a pregnancy pact in the first place. Read the rest of this entry »

Those of you familiar with my posts have a vague idea of my aversion to science. For those not yet in the loop, allow me to explain: I suck at science, which is why I support great events like the PMC-Sierra Science Fair Fun Run. On Sunday, May 25th at 9 am, runners of all ages will be winding their way around beautiful False Creek all in the name of BC’s young scientists. Since its creation eight years ago, the run has raised over $300,000 for the Dr. Michael Smith Endowment Fund, giving schools the opportunity to develop and maintain stellar Science Fair programs. The number of participants has more than doubled since its inception and you can join in at the starting line outside TELUS World of Science. Not only do you get out for a good run to raise young minds, you also get a sweet t-shirt and the chance to win some great prizes. But the best part? Free admission to Science World from 11 am to 6 pm! There’s more, so click on! Read the rest of this entry »

Some stats revealed in a recent survey of 2,000 young people (16 – 24) from around the world:

• 7 out of 10 women believe it is a man’s job to provide contraceptives – while a third of women believe carrying a condom will mark them as being ‘easy.’

• 1 in 6 women carry condoms in their handbags – with many saying that a pen or gum were more essential contents for a good night out.

• 52% of young people list HIV and AIDS as their biggest concern but 34% surveyed had unprotected sex with two or more partners.

• Men are more worried than women about getting AIDS but engage in riskier behaviour. When asked, only 44% of men, compared to 68% of women, would refuse their partner sex if they were not wearing a condom.

Pretty unnerving numbers if you ask me, that reflect the current attitudes toward safe sex amongst today’s youth. For more stats, read on. Read the rest of this entry »

A few months ago, I received a phone call from a dad who’s girl was going through cancer for the second time. She had just turned 15 and was put on heavier medications to try to get rid of the cancer. As a result, she lost her hair and her will to live. She quit school, would not see any of her friends, cancelled a planned family vacation, and wouldn’t even leave the house. At one point she told her mom and dad that she was going to quit the chemotherapy and she didn’t care if she died. Absolutely distraught, her parents went to speak to Dan Mornar at B.C. Children’s Hospital. Dan told them of the Wigs for Kids program and they convinced their daughter to go down to Eva & Co. Wigs and see about getting a wig. The great people at Eva’s showed her different styles and textures and colours of hair and they came up with something she was pleased with. Eva’s told her that they would rush the making of the wig and she would have it within the week. Her dad said from that point on she was a different girl. She went back to school, went out with friends and even attended our last Wigs for Kids event. He just wanted to call and tell us that of all the wonderful things that B.C. Children’s Hospital did for his daughter, the wig had the greatest impact on her life.” - Bev Friesen

This true story shows just how important small things are in a child’s life. On March 29th, 2008, Bev Friesen and her friends will be hosting the 3rd annual Wigs for Kids silent auction at the Steveston Community Centre. Thanks to the generosity of many individuals and businesses, $70,000 was raised last year for the program which benefits kids from all over the province who have lost their hair to cancer or other serious illnesses. This year, they are looking for more donations to further this worthy cause. To find out how you or your business can help make a tremendous difference in a child’s life, please read on… Read the rest of this entry »

Although DHA is not a household name, it is something families should become familiar with. A key building block in children’s development from conception to adolescence, DHA should be included in their diets, particularly during their formative years as it has been proven to have invaluable health benefits in boosting brain function and in ensuring healthy development of eye and nerve tissues.

A long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid in the Omega-3 family of fatty acids, DHA plays several important roles in children’s development, especially in the last trimester of pregnancy and in the early years of childhood. Infants are usually able to get their daily requirement of DHA through breast milk if they are being breastfed by mothers who have an adequate supply of DHA from their diet, or through infant formula supplemented with DHA. However, once the intake of these foods stops, so does the intake of DHA. It should come as no surprise then, that children across Canada are not consuming enough of this Omega-3 in their diets, which means they are missing out on their chance to have higher IQ scores and better vision. (1)

DHA is most commonly found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and herring, not exactly at the top of kid’s lists of favourite foods (Omega-3 enhanced eggs are now an option though) so for more information on how you can incorporate more DHA in your children’s diets, read on…

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Considering the amount of time that I spend on my ass in front of a computer, you’d think that I’d make some effort, however minute, to do something to avoid permanent spinal fusion, right? Sure, and George Dubyah isn’t a moron.

As the fillings that poke out of my well worn couch will attest, the only healthy thing about my incorrigibly bad habits is probably the literal meaning of the first word that describes my favourite pastime…vegging out.

The Hollywood writers strike (which thankfully ended a week ago) has definitely contributed to the dangerously brain rotting effects of most recent TV fodder, BUT I feel a change comin’ on! Morten and I actually sat through an evening of programming last night without so much as one lament at the current state of tube entertainment. The first reason doesn’t deviate too much from what’s already ubiquitous on TV, but read on for more examples.

Very much by chance, we stumbled on NBC’s newest family competition series, My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (Mondays at 9/8c), as a father hurled his harnessed son over an elevated platform into a giant inflatable target, where Junior attempted to velcro stick a giant dart as close to the bullseye as he could. The object being to score as many points as possible within the alloted time to avoid elimination, it was hilarious watching the different approaches the dads had during the pep talk before the trial. You had the encouraging dad: “You can do it kiddo! I know you can!” – The adrenaline dad: “YEAH! WE GOT THIS ONE! THEY’VE GOT NO CHANCE! *GROWL*” – and the one that laid on the pressure: “This is it! We can’t lose this one so it’s important to concentrate and win!” (consequently, also the Asian dad). The atmosphere is electric and the kids are literally (and figuratively) bouncing off the walls.

Despite having missed the introduction to the show and the first challenge, the format of MDIBTYD is so easy your first grader will be able to deduce it. Four father & 8 to 12-year old son/daughter pairs start off the show as they come out of four garages in a studio set designed to emulate an ordinary suburban neighbourhood. One team is eliminated (the one scoring the lowest) in each round of games but no one leaves empty-handed. As each eliminated team exits the stage via the same garage door they entered from, the host announces that they’re going home with an Xbox 360. The champion team then moves on to a final how-well-do-you-know-your-kid Q&A “Money Round” where $50,000 are up for grabs, the object being for the dad to correctly guess the answers his kid gave to questions asked before the show. We’re talking about $10,000 for each correct answer here, so a team can really rake in the dough, especially when they’re allowed one mistake. Last night’s team won a respectable $20,000.

For a one-hour show, I found that it passed very quickly and was pleasantly surprised how entertaining it was. The production value is high, as is the energy level (especially from the kids), and it definitely passes the host test, which is a crucial factor in a successful game show (or any show really). Led by Dan Cortese (you may remember him from Melrose Place or Veronica’s Closet with Kirstie Alley), the pilot episode was fluid and a lot of fun. If you’ve got young kids, you’ll definitely have a blast watching this show together (how often does a TV show come along where both parents and kids can enjoy it equally?!). Even if you don’t have kids (like myself), it’s a great way to chill out before bed.

What the show has in store:

Alphabet Soup: Dads (in regular clothes and barefoot) climb into their own big bowl of messy soup, retrieve 12” letters one-at-a-time, run out and place each onto a board with their kid until they spell out an item commonly found in the produce department

Velcro Wall: Dad stands on a platform and pushes his harnessed kid into a giant inflatable target in order to score points with giant velcro darts

Empty Nest: Dad climbs up a tree and has to successfully throw one egg from each nest down to his kid without breaking any

Robo Paperboy: Using a newspaper cannon, dad must score as many newspapers as possible through windows while the other dad tries to block them from going in

Spinning Discs: Dad, dressed in yellow fisherman gear, jumps across four slippery spinning turntables and on each turntable has to grab overhead fish and throw them into a receptacle operated by his kid

Tarantula Hat: Dad puts his head in a clear box with tons of creepy tarantulas and with his free hands below, has to lace and tie his kid’s shoe

Desk Smash: Dad has three minutes to smash a desk using a 10 lb sledgehammer and shove as much of it as possible through a 9-inch hole into a box

Does everything Mark Burnett touch turn to gold?

For more reviews on other shows that Morten and I dig, read on! Read the rest of this entry »

What is it about little girls and their love of horses? I swear that those of us with that double x chromosome are genetically predisposed to developing this attachment when we’re young. I remember a time when I was so obsessed with them that I was willing to do just about anything to own one. It was always just a pie in the sky though. I never actually considered the possibility that I might be able to do something about it. I just continued begging and pleading, hoping that one day my parents would simply cave and grant me my wish.

Triana Segovia isn’t just a dreamer though. She’s a doer. Only nine years of age, she has already set the goal to purchase her first horse by the time she’s eleven. If that sounds far-fetched, you need to check out the video. There’s passion and then there’s Triana’s love of horses. She’s at the North Shore Equestrian Centre twice a week for lessons, but don’t be mistaken; there is a lot of work and responsibility involved. Before a horse can be ridden each time, Triana needs to ‘tack it up.’ Releasing a horse afterwards is also a process which includes cleaning the equipment just used. It may sound like work, but not to Triana. She loves everything (and I do mean everything) about horses, even cleaning out their stalls.

Two years ago, when her mother was preparing an exhibit for the Eastside Culture Crawl, she suggested that Triana should display her own drawings and paintings. Originally a mere hobby, Triana’s talent very quickly evolved into a career! She had ten pieces that year and they sold out on the very first day. The following year, she returned to the same event with twice as many drawings and again repeated her success on day one. The demand was so great that she immediately went home and got back to work. Buyers had caught the bug and Triana had another clean sweep on day two.

Realizing the value of her product, Triana opened an account and now deposits every penny that is earned through her sales in the hopes of one day accumulating enough funds to buy a horse to call her own (“a big gray or white Appaloosa gelding” to be exact). That is no small task, so that’s where all of you come into play.

If you live in or around Vancouver, come and check out her inaugural art exhibit THIS Saturday August 4th from 7 to 9 PM at The Petri Dish, an eclectic little shop that is located at 42 Kingsway. You can support her by purchasing one of her affordable $4 cards. Larger drawings are also available that range in price from $10 to about $30 for a framed Triana original. Quite the burgeoning artist, her drawings are whimsical and possess a charm that only a child can transfer to paper.

If you didn’t at one point dream the same dream, I’m sure you know someone who did. This is your chance to make it a reality for a very deserving little girl.

If you don’t live ’round these parts, send me an email and I’ll let you know how you can help feed the Triana horse fund.

If you’re like Kalpna Solanki, only the very best foods make it to your child’s plate. Nutrition is all-important at any age, but particularly in the first year. She saw many parents feeding their babies solid foods too early or feeding them only a few foods, making their nutrition limited and less than perfect. So Kalpna developed BOBOBABY – the first frozen, organic, age-appropriate baby food available in the country. Her own daughter was the inspiration for wanting to assist other parents with the ‘baby’s first foods’ mystery.

Kalpna recreated her daughter’s menu plan to reflect a baby’s critical and changing needs from 6 – 9+ months. The recipes for each phase are backed by the latest research in infant nutrition, are all certified organic, kosher, and also offer baby foods that contain no added salt, preservatives, sugar, colour, peanuts, nuts, soy, wheat, sesame, dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish, poultry or meat. Research indicates that feeding a child a vegetarian diet for the first 10 to 12 months of life can decrease the risk of diabetes and obesity in childhood.

For our featured recipe, and to learn more about BOBOBABY and your child’s important nutritional needs, read on!

Read the rest of this entry »

If you have kids, you know that travelling with them is hardly a piece of cake. It’s simply not feasible to pack all of a child’s necessities, yet it’s just not possible to do without. Until now, there have been few options for parents, so to accommodate their needs, Wee Travel rents baby equipment to people visiting Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria.

Launched by Shana Cherry and her Toronto-based sister Lesley, Wee’s mission is to make it easy for parents to travel lighter by providing a full range of hard-to-pack baby equipment and supplies. In other words, they provide everything that parents could possibly need when travelling so that they don’t have to bring it all with them.

The idea was hatched after Lesley and her son visited Shana in Vancouver a couple of years ago. Shana’s son had outgrown his cot, stroller and other kid-size equipment, so Lesley had only to pack some clothes. But when Lesley and son visited a friend in New York, things weren’t so easy. Her hosts had assured her they had everything, but Lesley discovered that meant poorly maintained equipment that had obviously been in storage for some time. She ended up buying a new stroller.

Many people have very old equipment which is inadequate and likely doesn’t meet current safety standards, so in addition to travellers, Wee also caters to local grandparents who have small children visiting. Hotels frequently use this type of service, as do big budget film and production companies, airlines, car rental companies…pretty much anyone who has a baby or toddler coming.

The rentals offer temporary solutions for newborns to children up to eight years of age. These include car seats, cribs, Pack ‘n Plays (fold-up playpens that infants can also sleep in), ExerSaucers, swings, bags of toys, high chairs, change tables, rockers, beach packages, strollers and joggers (double and single), backpacks for hiking and snugglies for newborns out for a stroll with their parents…virtually anything you require for your child when you’re away from home.

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Remember when Brangelina had their baby last year? Barely introduced to the world and Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt managed to create massive hype for the Pots & Pans Band t-shirt that she wore in the much anticipated People Magazine photos shoot. Now THAT’s star power.

Kingsley, the designer of the line with the same name, was in Vancouver for the first time this past weekend and sat down with me to chat about the evolution of children’s clothing and life after the whirlwind of publicity.

The brand was formed three years ago after the birth of Kingsley’s son, Zephir. Like any new parent-to-be, Kingsley and Amy were excited to start shopping for their little boy and very quickly realized that there was a very limited selection of clothing that defined their lifestyle. They didn’t settle however. When Zephir came out of the hospital, he was wearing the first ever hand-crafted Kingsley onesy. That got a huge response. All their friends were into it and that is how Kingsley Clothing was created. Their local community was very supportive but they never anticipated celebrities like Gwen Stefani, Johnny Depp, Chris Cornell (their favourite rock star), Seal & Heidi Klum, to turn to them for their children’s fashion needs.

Kingsley isn’t into the habit of sending celebrities clothes. That’s never been his philosophy. “We don’t like to shove it down people’s throats no matter who they are, celebrity or not. We just figured if they like it, they’ll buy it and that’s always been the case.” They send Brad & Angelina a package once in a while now as a thank you for all the exposure they’ve given him but that’s where it stops. Kingsley is confident that the quality of the product speaks for itself. A lot of copycat brands have emerged as a result of his great success but the motives are different. Kingsley saw a need and wanted to fill a void in children’s clothing.

Much of his inspiration comes from his son. The Pots & Pans Band t-shirt came about when Zephir started a band in their kitchen. He was the drummer, banging on all the pots and pans and that sparked an idea. With a background in fine art, graphics, and photography, Kingsley is now expanding the line to pants, wovens, a line of accessories, and larger sizes. Look for an adult line this Fall at Holt Renfrew and if you’d like to carry the brand in your store, click here for contact info.

In today’s ‘Gap’ed world, we all need “a little more style…a little more flavour.”