The toy industry plays a unique role. They have to forecast the needs of its target audience as well as push the creative envelope. Toy Industry products are manufactured at a massive scale. Making the wrong product decisions results in a cascade of financial doom and gloom. Consequently, risk taking is rare and innovation becomes evolutionary. The 2019 NY Toy Fair encapsulates the year of playing it safe.
Parenting
S1E9 – The CuteMonster Show – Dr. Robert Zeitlin talks about Adolescence
In this episode of the CuteMonster Show I spoke to positive psychologist, Dr. Robert Zeitlin, author of “Laugh More, Yell Less – A guide to Raising Kick-Ass Kids”. We spoke about adolescence, middle school, smartphones, social media, parenting styles and an overview of his new book. If you have a newly minted middle school child, you’ll want to listen to this highly informative episode.
Better Sleep means a Better Me
When I partnered with Beautyrest to try out their Beautyrest Sleeptracker monitor, I leapt at the opportunity. As a Dad, sleep has been elusive. Yet I’ve known the value of a good night’s rest since I was a child. Growing up, I felt more complete with the proper nutrition and sleep routine. Life has a way of getting us off the rails though. We take on new responsibilities such as work and family. Stress factors in heavily. Bad habits form over time undermining our health and well-being. Honestly, the arrival of the Beautyrest Sleeptracker monitor couldn’t have arrived at a more relevant time.
S1E6 – The CuteMonster Show – Dr. Lynne Kenney talks about Anxious Kids
In this episode of the The CuteMonster Show I spoke with Dr. Lynne Kenney about some of her ideas on how parents can effectively bring calm to anxious children. We also discussed how parents can self-regulate themselves, as well as how to bring balance for those working at home. There’s just so much invaluable information in this episode about addressing anxiety that I recommend parents and adults without kids to listen too.
Top 5 Children’s Movies of 2016
The quest to find quality children’s movies can be harrowing. Yet the price of admission continues to rise. Factor in the exorbitant cost of snacks and you have quite the conundrum as a parent. Oddly enough, movie studios only release a relatively paltry amount of new kid’s films a year. The quality can run the gamut from transcendent to trash. As the year comes to a close, we’re looking back at the top 5 Children’s Movies of 2016.
Kid Conversations #7
Conversation on the way to school:
7yo: Can we have a dog?
Me: Who would take care of it?
7yo: You I guess. You’re doing an okay job as a Dad.
Off in the distance, my 9yo nods in agreement displaying a rare moment of solidarity with his younger sibling.
The Reluctant Sleeper who would be King of Rest
Starting with the nascent days of my existence on planet earth, obtaining the appropriate amount of rest had never been a priority. Perhaps instinctively, I obsessed over missing out on something. As the years passed I became a father and developed into a light sleeper. Possessing Dad-fueled ninja-like hyper awareness, it would take little more than a child’s inadvertent step on a piece of spilled toasted oats cereal 2 rooms away to awaken me into a state of readiness. Whether I’d actually respond or not or simply go back to sleep is another matter, but I digress. Longterm though, I found myself wading deep in the parental waters of sleep-deprivation. Clearly a change was needed.
Toys and Gadgets: 2016 CES Tech for New Parents
Becoming a new parent in tech terms could be described as leveling up. Yet the actual tools available for new parents to succeed in their life-changing roles have historically been poorly designed. Little things possess the potential to become a daily nuisance such as installing a car seat or preparing baby formula. Advances in technology aim to alleviate much of the new parent guesswork. A couple of highlights from the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) point to a bright future.
Best and Worst Parenting Websites of 2015
Parenting really can be surreal. A newborn baby—a precious and seemingly innocuous little life form—becomes the catalyst of life altering change. New Moms and Dads remind me of the blissfully naive dinosaurs unaware of the impact the gigantic glowing rock descending from the sky would inflict upon them. It must have been one captivatingly beautiful light show.