Don’t turn your back!

You can safety proof all you want, but your child is guaranteed to surprise you with something you didn’t think of.

Zoe and I returned from the grocery store the other day and proceeded to put the food away. She just loves to help pull things out of the bags and take them over to the refrigerator. Of course she does this under complete supervision to prevent unnecessary food spills (as if there are necessary ones.) Plus the bags can be dangerous as well.

Somewhere along the way she found an avocado, which she loves, so I let her hold it. Once we were done, my wife needed a hand with a project she was working on, so I helped her out.

It took about 5 minutes to help out and when I turned around, we realized that Zoe had started eating the avocado. Like an apple. With the skin on.

From here we switched into panic mode, getting her to spit out the tough avocado skin that was in her mouth. She resisted, but we were able to get it out and avoid a choking incident. Of course after that she got to eat the part of the fruit that she was supposed to eat.

Now I just need to write the publishers of What To Expect The First Year and get them to add “unpeeled avocados” to their list of safety proofing hazards.

More on animated stuffed toys.

The previous blog reminded me of a recent video I’ve seen of the upcoming more-realistic-than-ever Tickle Me Elmo XXLIV. [Correction: more-terrifying-than-ever]

It all started with that darn “Teddy Ruxpin” doll.

It just seems to me that the more animated these things are, the less a child needs to use their imagination.  I think I’d much rather see my kids playing with stuffed toys having a tea party than some little robot instructing them to not think for themselves.

Children’s Book Review: Punk Farm & Punk Farm On Tour

Our family loves rock n’ roll. Actually that would be Loves. Capital “L.”

Before our first child was born, we saw “Punk Farm” by Jarrett J. Krososczka on the shelf of the bookstore and knew it would be a hit in our family. Obviously, then, we were most excited to find out there was a second book in the series, “Punk Farm On Tour.”

The first book covers a day in the life of several “ordinary” farm animals that become rock band “Punk Farm” when Farmer Joe goes to bed. Through clever writing and most excellent artwork (air guitar, please) Krososczka writes a cool, original and fun story.

When we quickly get to the concert, the band plays a killer version of “Old MacDonald Had A Farm.” Every band member has a verse: Cow the drummer goes boom, crash; chicken’s keyboards go wild; pig’s guitar screeches a solo. Each page is not only fun to read, but fun to improvise, and in a way that can be tailor-read to suit your own child’s enjoyment.

“Punk Farm On Tour” is kind of like when a rock band produces a second album that’s way better than their debut (Nirvana, Nevermind; Wilco, Being There; Led Zeppelin, II; etc.)

This one follows the adventures of Punk Farm as they tour the U.S. The song this time is a raucous version of “The Wheels On The Bus.” The bus is replaced with their tour van and its rockin’ sound effects. It also develops the characters a little further, increasing its improvisational value: goat as quasi-hippie, pig as rock-egomaniac and so on.

One more cool addition to the books is the accompanying website, complete with actual versions of the songs.

These books are great because of their repeat readability and the rare ability of the author to hit his target audience perfectly in tune (with lots of feedback, of course.)