Tag: kids

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Readers ask ,Therapy Dogs for Midterms Self-indulgent waste or kids are under so much pressure and riddled with anxiety?

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I hope it was free.. otherwise a total self-indulgent feel good waste of money.

This dogs should be made available for Ridgewod residents after they speak at the council meetings

Is this parody? It is not April 1st is it? Therapy dogs for midterms?????? We cant pay the teachers but we have therapy dogs for midterms?

We are dropping in the academic standings, but it’s OK… we have stress relief dogs..Of course the worst part of it all is the abundance of back slapping and self-congratulating that the teachers and school admins are giving themselves over this leading edge educational breakthrough.

It really is a silly, feel-good thing. Thank goodness they will be eliminating midterm exams next year. Colleges are going SAT optional.

Wait till they realize that colleges still have some standards. The students will be stressing over the professional curating of their short lives. What were your accomplishments in elementary school? Did you start a business, a blog or save an endangered species. There will be competition to get in on paid trips to the Dominican Republic so they can play soccer with the kids. Competition for these alternate resume building events will be intense.Get ready for a therapy kennel on campus, the competition is only changing not going away.

but some readers were far more forgiving ….

Did anyone actually bother to read the article? “The nice thing is that Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs is a non-profit organization, so it’s completely free to the district,” . . . “It doesn’t cost us a thing.” So I don’t think we have to worry about how it will impact the teacher’s salaries

Your comments just prove why these kids are under so much pressure and riddled with anxiety.  This was a FREE event, no classes were missed, and the students loved it.  Can’t they just have a minute to smile? Read the studies about therapy dogs and anxiety.  What are you as parents doing to help with the anxiety and stress? Medicating them?

As a matter of fact, several students asked about how to become trainers; not to pad their resumes, but because they felt it would be a meaningful way to give to the community.  The teachers- who really care about their students- were very grateful to have the dogs there.

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Join Club Kidville in Ridgewood

Kidville
Join Club Kidville!

Choose the monthly plan that fits your schedule…

Single Class Membership:
$99 Per Month
includes one class per week and
unlimited playspace access

Double Class Membership:
SAVINGS OF $50/month
$149 Per Month
includes two classes per week and
UNLIMITED playspace access

Unlimited Class Membership:
THE BEST OFFER
$199 Per Month
includes UNLIMITED classes per week and
UNLIMITED playspace access

Add a Sibling:
Only $50 more per month to add an additional child to your membership!

FEBRUARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Join us at these upcoming events & activities for Kidville families and new friends!

FREE Trial Class Week
week of February 8th
Enjoy a complimentary trial class (new members) and a surprise after class to show how much we love our Kidville family!
RSVP via Eventbrite – CLICK HERE.

Valentine’s Day Party
Save the Date: Friday February 12th
Join us for our annual Valentine’s Day celebration. Your family will enjoy Mini Photo Sessions, Take-Home Art Project, Open Gym and Yummy Snacks.
RSVP via Eventbrite – CLICK HERE.

President’s Day: Kidville is OPEN for Classes
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Special Open Play from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Monday, February 15th
Children are invited to join us for a special all-day open play*!
Please call 201-493-1234 to be put on the open play list.
Playspace is limited to 30 children at a time for safety. Admission is on a first-come/first serve basis.

Kidville Ridgewood | 38 Oak Street | Ridgewood | NJ | 07450

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COLD WEATHER SURVIVAL GUIDE: THE BEST INDOOR PLACES FOR KIDS

Snow Blizzard of 2016 Ridgewood CBD

photo by Boyd Loving 
Allyson Souza
January 1, 2016 | 8:00 am

The temperature drops, the last brightly colored leaf falls off the tree, and you can feel that nip of snow in the air. Winter in New Jersey can be beautiful — until it’s the third freezing-cold day in a row, and you and your kids are going stir crazy. If this sounds like what winter has in store for you and your brood, don’t panic: New Jersey has plenty of places to for the whole family to go. The kids can burn off energy, be entertained — and even learn a thing or two. And let’s face it: Anything beats watching Minions for the eight hundredth time.

https://bestofnj.com/cold-weather-survival-guide-the-best-indoor-places-for-kids?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bestofnj&utm_content=Cold+Weather+Survival+Guide%3A+The+Best+Indoor+Places+for+Kids

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Ridgewood December School Recess -Recreation Activities

MAGIC SHOW FEATURING JOE FISCHER

December School Recess

Special Events with Ridgewood Recreation

MAGIC SHOW FEATURING JOE FISCHER – Monday, December 28th, 11:30 am at the Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Tickets are $5 for all attending (under 2 free).

A show that is sure to amaze.

Be sure to watch for “Secrets of Magic” during our winter session – a 6 week class of behind the scene magic with Joe Fischer, with take home tricks each week.

ARCTIC ANIMALS ART CAMP WITH ABRAKADOODLE – Monday and Tuesday, December 28 and 29, 10 am to 12 noon each day, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades K-3. $90, all materials provided ($100 non-residents).

Calling all animal lovers! Students will use clay and paint in this camp while learning about some snowy friends! From igloos and polar bears to chilly moose, a fun time will be had by all!

CHILDREN’S CRAFT WORKSHOP WITH MRS. C. – Monday, December 28th, 1 to 3 pm, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 2-6. $30, all materials provided ($40 non-residents).

Use your creativity and imagination while learning simple techniques required to draw, paint, and finish a project of your choice. All materials included. Bottle dolls, wood painting, basket weaving, tile painting, beads, jewelry, and a lot more!

TRIVIA MANIA WITH MAGIC CUBE – Tuesday, December 29th, 1 to 2:15 pm, at The Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 3-6. Tickets are $5 for all attending.

Come enjoy a live interactive trivia game show with buzzer system, lighting and sound effects, fun contestant games, musical competitions, audience participation activities, prizes, and two exciting co-hosts.

MYTHBUSTERS WITH EDUCATION EXPLORERS – Tuesday, December 29th, 1 to 3 pm, at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 1-5. $45, all materials included ($55 non-residents).

Explore science the Busters Way! Children will participate in a variety of hands-on experiments that put common “myths” to the test. Using scientific method and children’s innate curiosity, they will have fun exploring many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) principles.

Purchase of tickets for the shows or registration for the program offerings may be made either online at Community Pass, www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass or in person at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For additional information, or if special accommodations are needed, kindly contact the Recreation office at 201-670-5560

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Readers What do you think About the Patch Posting Sex offender Maps for Halloween?

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October 21,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Local Patch editions publish sex offender map as Halloween warning across the state . Do you think the Patch sites should publish these maps or leave it up to parents to look up the information?

While we do agree parents have a right to know and should know , we are not sure this is the best and most effective way to notify the public .
On several occasions the Ridgewood blog has been asked by readers to publish everything from sex offenders to property tax delinquents of the Village and we have up till know differed.  We did however publish the properties who were fined for for violations of the Stage 4 watering  because after 15 years of summer water restrictions its seemed justified on many levels . We have also been guilty of nagging non compliant winter snow sidewalk  scofflaws  as well.
We have always been been concerned about creating a “witch hunt” atmosphere in the the Village or doing significant damage due to a misidentified address.
Unlike some of our detractors we try to focus on the issues and leave the personal to the personal . Some issues however seem to straddle both realms.
What are your thoughts ?
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Are Your Kids on Facebook? Rapists Will Abduct Them, Warns Viral Video

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An absurd Coby Persin YouTube video wants parents to panic over nothing.

Lenore Skenazy|Aug. 12, 2015 1:55 pm

Here’s the latest “Parents, Please Commence Freak Out” video. It reminds me of the Joey Salads video, obviously, but also of the parents who had their 6-year-old snatched, blindfolded, and taken to a basement where the “kidnapper” threatened to nail him to the wall—all of that, just to teach him not to talk to strangers. That boy’s mom and grandma wanted to keep their child safe, but I would not be surprised if any natural “gut instincts” of his have been shattered for life. (Not to mention his trust in his loved ones.)

The same goes for these young ladies exploited by admitted prankster Coby Persin. The video shows Persin, who looks to be about 30, pretending to be a teen as he chats with underage girls online. The girls eventually agree to meet him in person; Persin secretly brings along their parents, who jump out from around the corner and terrify the poor girls as Persin berates them for agreeing to the meeting in the first place.

“I could be anyone…you shouldn’t talk to strangers,” insists Persin to the girls.

https://reason.com/blog/2015/08/12/are-your-kids-on-facebook-rapists-will-a

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The Third Annual Great Ridgewood Duck Derby

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photos by Boyd Loving

July 11,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On Saturday, July 11th, Ridgewood Parks & Recreation, in cooperation with Jacobsen Landscape Design and Construction Inc. of Midland Park, hosted the Great Ridgewood Duck Derby at Graydon Pool. Residents came out and embraced the national “Come Alive Outside” campaign and joined in for an afternoon of fun family activity.
This event featured an array of different types of entertainment. There was a number of different kinds of activities throughout the day such as beach games, a sand sculpture contest, duck decorating, face painting, and ultimately concluding with an exciting rubber duck race down the Ho Ho Kus Brook.
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Generation X’s Parenting Problem

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file photo By Boyd Loving

Posted: 05/13/2015 10:36 am EDT Updated: 05/13/2015 10:59 am EDT

By Anjali Enjeti

You remember childhood, don’t you?

We wore our house keys around our necks like dog tags, walked home from school alone and let ourselves inside while our parents were still at work. We crossed busy intersections during rush hour to purchase bubble gum cigarettes with change from empty soda cans.

Our playgrounds were construction sites, heaps of dirt, creeks filled with snakes and turtles we collected as pets. We climbed trees, muddied our Garanimals, scaled fences between neighbors’ backyards. We spent Memorial Day to Labor Day barefoot, the soles of our feet blackened like coal, dirt clumping underneath our toenails. Skateboards, roller skates and bikes defined our boundaries — our Baby Boomer parents would scoff if we asked for a ride somewhere. They were too busy reading the newspaper, watching soaps or drinking beer on the stoop with the neighbors.

We were told to come in at dark, not a second earlier.

We had our kids late. Probably too late. Now we’re cranky, sleep-deprived 40-somethings changing chlorine-free, biodegradable diapers while Dora the Explorer morphs into a hormonal teen right before our very eyes. We claim we don’t regret waiting because we “needed to get established in our careers first” and “wanted to save enough money,” even though we know damn well we have neither viable careers nor anything resembling a nest egg.

We cart our children to chess, robotics, baseball practice, ballet, cello, swimming lessons and birthday parties. Though they run our lives like lunatic ringmasters, we insist such activities make them well-rounded / social / intellectual / competitive / creative.

They are rarely out of our sights. They’re our extensions, buds hanging off our stems, the quality, durability, and character of their bloom wholly dependent on our careful, measured, intentional nurturing. We stuff them into slings as babies, backpacks and strollers as toddlers, tie them with leashes as preschoolers and use GPS and apps to monitor their whereabouts as teens.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-mid/generation-x-parenting-problem_b_7258314.html?1431527825&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000037

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I drank out of the hose but didn’t die

Summer-Hose

Posted by Scott St Clair On May 04, 2015 0 Comment

By Scott St. Clair | The Save Jersey Blog

When I was a kid, I drank out of the garden hose but didn’t die. I did it because I was hot and thirsty after having roamed all by myself on my bike throughout the neighborhood and a goodly portion of Phoenix, where I spent my pre-teen years. We all did – kids drank out of hoses and roamed, and they still do because it’s in their nature to explore and take risks.

But God forbid they do so these days or some nosy busybody will call the cops on them and they’ll be forced to sit in the back of a squad car for three hours while their parents are subjected to an inquisition-style interrogation without regard for their rights or common sense, which isexactly what happened to the Meitiv family in Maryland recently.

As if it was the crime of the century, the police apprehended a dangerous 10-year-old boy and his 6-year-old partner-in-crime sister as they walked a few blocks from a local park to their home.

Now, because they let their kids play outside without a leash or surrounded by a barbed wire fence, their parents have been tagged by the state as guilty of “unsubstantiated” child neglect, whatever that is.

https://savejersey.com/2015/05/helicopter-parenting-america/

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Ridgewood Schools: Raising Financially Literate Children on April 21

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file photo by Boyd Loving 

Ridgewood NJ, On Tuesday, April 21, “Raising Financially Literate Children” will be presented by financial planner Kerry Fitzgerald. Strategies will be shared to help children learn the make prudent financial decisions starting early in life through independence. The program will take place at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, floor 3. Please click here for the flyer.

New: Curriculum Series Continues with Google Program
The district has added a program, “All About Google Apps for Education,” a series of three stand-alone workshops designed to introduce parents and guardians to the world of technology in the classroom. The April 15 (elementary school level) is full.  A few spots remain for April 20 (middle school level) and April 22 (high school level). Each workshop is limited to 25 participants and pre-registration is required.
Click here to go to the pre-registration page.
Click here for the flyer and more information.
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How to Free-Range Your Kids (And Not Get Arrested)

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homealone1990-1

How to Free-Range Your Kids (And Not Get Arrested)

Flood the streets with kids.

Lenore Skenazy|Mar. 9, 2015 3:47 pm

How do we fight back against cops and child protection workers who think parents that let their kids walk outside are negligent?

By flooding the streets with kids.

Busybodies who dial 911 the instant they see an unsupervised child are not going to do that when they pass a park filled with 15 kids. (Well, most aren’t.)  And when masses of moppets take to the sidewalks after school, no one is going to call the cops to report, “Tons of children are walking home!”

But how do we get to that point? Today, only about 13 percent of children walk to school. One report I read found that only 6 percent of kids 9-13 play outside on their own. Part of the problem is that parents are scared of predators. But compounding that problem is the fear of the police. The Meitiv family in Maryland faced that fear firsthand when they were investigated for letting their kids, 10 and 6, walk a mile home alone.

But you know what Danielle Meitiv wrote to me, just after CPS declared her and her husband “responsible for unsubstantiated neglect”?

“Allowing kids to be Free-Range is critical for their development. We will continue to let our kids roam. Thankfully, CPS harassment like this is NOT common. The best way to make sure it doesn’t happen is to make Free-Ranging as common as it was when we were kids.”

If you’re ready to give it a try would like a little push, watch this video. Then, do what I do help this nervous family do: Give your kids one little errand that they feel they are ready for that you haven’t let them do yet.

https://reason.com/blog/2015/03/09/how-to-free-range-your-kids-and-not-get

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Why three is the most stressful number of children to have – BUT mothers of four are MORE relaxed

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Why three is the most stressful number of children to have – BUT mothers of four are MORE relaxed

By Margot Peppers

Published: 10:32 EST, 6 May 2013 | Updated: 09:53 EST, 16 January 2015

New York-based psychiatrist Dr Janet Taylor – whose own four children, including a set of twins, range in age from 19 to 25 – explained why four kids are easier to handle than three.

As far as perfectionism is concerned, ‘there’s just not enough space in your head’ once you have at least four children, claims Dr Taylor.

Plus, she asserts: ‘The more children you have, the more confident you become in your parenting abilities. You have to let go.’

Obsessively making the house baby-proof, for example, becomes less of a priority after the third child. ‘It just gets to be survival!’ she joked.

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2320235/Why-stressful-number-children–BUT-mothers-MORE-relaxed.html#ixzz3P6tLCttb

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Wyckoff police investigating possible luring attempts

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Wyckoff police investigating possible luring attempts

OCTOBER 4, 2014, 4:39 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2014, 4:39 PM
BY SCOTT FALLON
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

WYCKOFF — Police are investigating whether a man driving a white van attempted to lure two girls in separate incidences on Friday, authorities said today.

Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox said there is so far no evidence to suggest the girls were in danger, but cautioned parents to remind children to flee from strangers whenever they feel uncomfortable.

The first incident reported to police came around 3 p.m. when a 16-year-old girl was walking near the corner of Clinton Avenue and Lawlins Road. A driver of a newer model white van called to her and asked her to come towards the driver side of the vehicle, police said.

The girl became concerned and yelled to a friend who was also walking nearby. She then ran away. The driver drove away on Clinton Avenue, police said.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/wyckoff-police-investigating-possible-luring-attempts-1.1102570#sthash.F70gcjs3.dpuf

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Steve Jobs didn’t let his kids use iPads

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Steve Jobs didn’t let his kids use iPads
Posted on Monday, September 15 at 5:03am | By Amy Graff

Steve Jobs was the father of two teenage girls and a son when he passed away in 2011. These kids grew up with a visionary father who co-founded one of the best-known tech companies. Jobs led the world into the digital age with gadgets that transformed the way we listen to music, watch movies, communicate, live our lives.

You would imagine that his children’s rooms would have been filled with iPods, iPhones and iPads.

That’s not the case.In an article in the Sunday New York Times, reporter Nick Bilton says he once asked Jobs “So, your kids must love the iPad?”

Jobs response: “They haven’t used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home.”

The Times article examines the growing trend among the California Silicon Valley tech set to limit children’s technology use. Many of the people behind the social media platforms, gadgets and games that are consuming our kids’ time and minds aren’t actually allowing their own children to waste an entire Saturday afternoon playing Minecraft on the iPad.

A quote in The Times from Chris Anderson, father of five and chief executive of 3D Robotics, pretty much defines why Anderson and his colleagues are limiting technology at home. “My kids accuse me and my wife of being fascists and overly concerned about tech, and they say that none of their friends have the same rules,” says Anderson, formerly the editor of Wired. “That’s because we have seen the dangers of technology firsthand. I’ve seen it in myself, I don’t want to see that happen to my kids.”

Some of these Silicon Valley engineers and execs are even going to the extreme of sending their kids to computer-free schools. A Times story from 2011 reported that engineers and execs from Apple, eBay, Google, Hewlett-Packard and Yahoo are sending their kids to a Waldorf elementary school in Los Altos, Calif., where you won’t find a single computer or screen of any sort. Also, kids are discouraged from watching television or logging on at home.

https://blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2014/09/15/steve-jobs-didnt-let-his-kids-use-ipads/#26764101=0

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Chef/owner John Halligan of Park Steakhouse and Park West Tavern on how parents don’t feed their kids healthy food

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Chef/owner John Halligan of Park Steakhouse and Park West Tavern on how parents don’t feed their kids healthy food

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD

John Halligan

Park Steakhouse, Park Ridge

Park West Tavern, Ridgewood

After working at a slew of high-end hotels in New York City and Los Angeles, John Halligan, who grew up in Hillsdale, moved back to New Jersey – River Vale – and, 11 years ago, opened Park Steakhouse in Park Ridge.

“It is something I thought the neighborhood needed,” Halligan says. “I’m a big meat eater.”

Three years ago, the Culinary Institute of America grad opened Park West Tavern in Ridgewood. The “corporate” chef for both restaurants (he has chefs de cuisine at each) is now poised to open Park West Loft, a special-events venue and banquet above the Tavern.

Most challenging dish: Roasted suckling pig with crispy skin at Park Steakhouse. It is a very difficult dish to prepare. Very complex. We confit it, press it, braise it. It takes two to three days [$29].

Dish I’m most proud of: Our steaks. We age them all here for 21 days.

Most essential kitchen tool: Vitamix blender. I use it for everything — stocks, purées, sauces.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/dining-news/chef-owner-john-halligan-of-park-steakhouse-and-park-west-tavern-on-how-parents-don-t-feed-their-kids-healthy-food-1.1089515#sthash.kPaptK6K.dpuf