Feb 21 2013

Good Junk Food

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Reema Qadry

The words “good” and “junk food” in the same sentence? Is there such a thing? I say yes indeed! I’ve been thinking a lot about food and healthy eating habits lately. Up until a few weeks ago Zee didn’t know what a lollipop was and when he saw me eating a square of dark chocolate, I could distract him by saying “mama’s having her medicine” ~ tee hee ~ which is true – it has medicinal benefits like helping to keep my sanity! But these days my little monkey has smartened up. He was given a cherry lollipop by a sweet, generous Bosnian granny at the mosque where he saw the other kids enjoying the sugar-bomb on a stick and there was no turning back. My sugar-free Zee was loaded up and running rampant through the mosque service. While this particular situation was unavoidable, how do we deal with the junk food issue on a daily basis?

My parenting philosophy for the most part is moderation and practicality in all things – including food. I want my kids to make healthy choices, not deprive them of all things fun. The key is building a solid foundation for the staples including organic eating especially with the dirty dozen, meat, dairy and eggs. Ideally, if the budget allows for it, go fully organic in everything food related but hey, that’s pretty hard to do and all we can do is our best. Right?! So, what about snacks and treats? What do we do when our kids want Cocoa Puffs or Snickers bars? That’s where the idea of “good quality” junk food comes into play. My foodie hubby introduced me to the wonderful world of artisan foods. The processed, mass-produced, high-fructose corn syrup laden food is replaced with high quality, often, organic and handmade with real sugar, dairy, wheat, butter, potatoes etc. Our family enjoys artisan bread, cheese, chocolate, potato chips, pizza, and pastries among other delicious things.

While most of these foods aren’t everyday eats, we indulge once in a while and enjoy every bite, thankful to God for the blessing of good food. The key is to find local pastry shops and bakeries; corner pizza places; and chocolatiers. You can find bargains at your local farmers markets and when in doubt hit up Trader Joe’s – for the most part their products are made with real ingredients and not things like HFCS and Red40. We’ve found that eating small portions of good quality items are satisfying and won’t leave you or your kids bingeing. This is also in line with the Prophetic tradition which encourages eating moderate quantities (Eat and drink, but not to excess ) and high quality foods (Eat from the pure provisions We have given you).

Taking the kids to a local farmers market, chocolatier or a bakery is a great field trip and will not only teach your kids about good quality eating but it’s a delicious outing too. What more can you ask for? Happy Eating!

Feb 11 2013

Tech Talk

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Reema Qadry

I tried to have a no technology policy with Zee but have failed miserably. Zee could find my phone, unlock it, swipe until he finds the netflix app, tap and swipe until he’s watching an episode of Caillou (the most annoying kid’s show ever created) in under 10 seconds flat; he was 2 and some change. Amazing and scary! It’s all relative but for our family, if he’s watched more than one or two 30 minute shows a day then it’s too much. A few years ago, we pulled the plug on cable and replaced it with streaming netflix and Amazon Instant Video through a Roku. That’s really helped us naturally curb the inclination to plop on the couch and channel surf or keep the TV on in the background while Zee is playing. These days Zee is a little trickster and he knows that when I’m busy making dinner or have guests over, I’ll give in far more easily to his requests for Blues Clues or Curious George – so that’s when he’s really persistent ~ argh.

The studies out there about the effects of TV watching on young children are pretty telling (some interesting ones here and here). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 2 shouldn’t be exposed to TV at all and children over the age of 2 shouldn’t be watching more than two hours a day~ yikes! Never before have children spent such large amounts of time exposed to media and not interacting with the world around them. High amounts of TV watching has negative effects on spiritual, cognitive, linguistic and social development short and long-term. Findings show that even educational shows cannot replace the learning and development that occurs from live interaction with a parent or caregiver. And it can hinder parental bonding in the teenage years as if those aren’t hard enough.

After reading the facts, ideally I’d like a no TV, iPhone, iPad policy for my kids but the husband and I are high-tech geeks so it’s impossible to eliminate these from our lives. So how do we limit technology without having to take extreme measures that just won’t work? A sure thing – it takes commitment and sacrificing the Type-A within us. The house might not always be spotless and dinner might not get on the table at promptly 6:00pm because the TV babysitter isn’t being used. Short-term inconveniences are worth overlooking for long-term developmental benefits for our kids. It takes consistency, dedication and practicality is key. Get to the bottom of what makes you grab the remote, iPhone, iPad and hit play. Some common triggers can be:

-toddler meltdown
-dinner preparation
-social gatherings
-parent is sick or exhausted (when am I not?!)

Once you’ve honed in on the causes what do you do about it? When we are in the midst of a trigger moment the first thing is to breathe, count – whatever calms mama. Then think clearly and figure out how to make it work.

Toddler Meltdown– This is a tricky one. The meltdown usually happens because a need is not being met. Hungry? Tired? Sad? Frustrated? Get down to their level, hold them and talk. “I understand you are [insert emotion here]. Can you help me understand what you need?” Once the need is met usually they are on their merry way.

Dinner Time– Cooking with Zee around is nearly impossible. So this is usually when I cave in. But as he is getting older what works for us is having him “help” in the kitchen. I give him free rein on a bowl of water, some measuring cups and some dry pasta (which doesn’t stay dry for long and neither does my kitchen!). And when he gets bored with that then I pull out a new gadget and we go from there. That usually keeps him occupied long enough to get dinner on the table. If that doesn’t work then Grampa is always a phone call away which is great if you have that option.

Social Gathering– If there are kids around then this isn’t usually a problem but if there aren’t or we’re having an off day then we try to tend to Zee as much as possible. That usually means I can’t complete a sentence without being interrupted 52 times to read a book or play choo-choo train. I try to keep Zee involved in the conversation if we can or take turns with the husband. If there is a lot of disruption then I’ll take Zee and leave the room or go outside to calm down and have a talk. And if these techniques don’t work then I’ll break down and bust out the iPhone. It really depends on how much media exposure he’s had that day so I try to be flexible in this case.

Parent is Sick or Exhausted– Another tough one. A lot of praying for health and energy! Lay on the couch and passively take part in play if possible but if it’s not then reach out to the network. Friends, family or a temporary caregiver can provide relief.

Generally, if the media option isn’t available, it’s not used. Leave the house everyday and head for malls, museums, parks, coffee/tea shops, libraries… the possibilities are endless.

Feb 10 2013

The Beginning

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Reema Qadry

Here we go! My first post and the launch of Mama And Zee. I figure what better place to get started then at the beginning. When I found out that I was going to be a parent I was excited and terrified. And so I did what I always do when I’m illiterate about a subject, I hit the books and the web, so to speak. Google, Amazon and Borders became my best friends. There is so much information out there to sift and muddle through. It was overwhelming. I knew that I wanted to be as natural as possible so that helped to narrow it down. My two favorite websites became Baby Center and Kelly Mom. Baby Center has a range of views from Ferberizing to Attachment Parenting and everything in between. Parents comment and give advice so you feel like you’re part of a community and you can get some pretty practical tips. Just watch out for the Judge Judy types – jeez, live and let live people! Kelly Mom is slanted toward the Natural Patenting camp and a phenomenal resource when I didn’t want to take the mainstream modern medicine route to curing severe morning sickness (yuck!), a pregnancy sinus infection (ugh!) or the answer to why someone would crave ice or dirt (not that I did but apparently it’s a nutrient deficiency like iron and such).

For an overall view of what happens while your baking that baby for 9, nearly 10 months I loved The Pregnancy Book by Dr. Sears. It was comforting, informative and gentle like all of the Sears books are. On the other hand, I really disliked the What to Expect When You’re Expecting book. It scared the living daylights outta’ me. I would put the book down feeling nervous and anxious like my baby was going to come out in a million pieces and fall apart in my arms – God Forbid. So I stopped reading it half-way through and thankfully Zee came out in one piece.

One of my favorite parts of prepping for motherhood was stocking up on baby stuff. Oh so sweet and cute and adorable itty-bitty things. I could have bought out the whole of Babies R Us! But I am a very practical, pragmatic person and the Project Manager and Business Analyst in me kicked in. I started making lists and charts and filtering out needs versus wants. What saved time and my bank account was a book recommendation by a good friend (shout out to Ruby H.) called Baby Bargains. It’s updated every year with the latest products, graded A to F and provides suggestions for things like the number of onesies you’ll need or the best rocking chair on the market (the Dutailier glider seriously saved my back and its a Canadian company to boot! Yay Canada!). This book is a Mama Must Have!

Okay so several people told me to get a book on sleep and schedules. And did I listen, noooooo. I thought babies just sleep and eat, right, well my model of baby didn’t sleep – at all!! If I could start all over I would have studied and memorized The No Cry Sleep Solution and The Happiest Baby on the Block, particularly the DVD. I’m not a Ferberizer and these books gave me the exact tools I needed to get my kid to sleep with out making him or me cry our eyes out…well, sorta’ – but we’ll leave that for another post ~ smirk.