Images in this blog from: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How many parents today feel the same as I do about how easy our kids have it today? Really, it’s incredible. Between the Cell phones, Computers, Texting, Facebook and other Social media networks, our children have become too dependent on technology.

Sure, I remember growing up there was Atari… and think that was the one main technology thing that kids went crazy for. You either owned one or you spent a lot of time at a friend’s house who had one. Today, you cannot have just one gaming system.

How many of your kids have at least “2” of the following: iPod, iPad, Mac Laptop/Notebook, Desktop Computer, Wii, Playstation 2, 3 and or handheld, Gameboy, Xbox, Cube, etc. etc. and ETC. PLUS probably a cell phone with internet access. Then you have each game that costs the average of $60 each and other costs factors for each of these items like accessories that we are told they need.  I’m going crazy to just keep up with my kids. Who knew that it seems that they can never have too much?

Thank goodness for GameStop. I became a Power Rewards Member there and it has been worth it. You can return old games, gaming systems or accessories and you can at least get something of value back from them. That is not to say they give you top dollar unless that game you’re returning is still in High Demand. Sometimes if you know you can get more, place the item for bids on EBay or other Bid sites. You can also buy used games at Game Stop. Games would be a couple of dollars to half or more off of a more recent game. You can sometimes try and sway your kid from buying that $60 game and pick up a couple of used games that would keep them occupied. You may not always succeed because I always hear “But Dad, everyone has this with the bonus pack and are online playing it”, but it’s worth a shot.  

Then we have our kids in somewhat of a trans with texting and social media. I don’t know, I can say I also have been texting and using Facebook and other Social Media’s but somewhere in the transition, our kids seem to be living via texting 23 hours a day. Do you notice even if you are a room away in the same house, our children may text us instead of coming to us to talk about something? I guess it is the in thing to do. Everybody is doing it. I will tell my daughter when she goes out with her friends to “call me when you’re ready and I’ll come pick you up” and I get from her “K, Bi.” 

The following seems to be the usual routine during pickup time:

Daughter Txt: COME IN 5 MINUTES

My TXT: OK, WILL BE THERE IN 5 MINUTES

5 SECONDS LATER…..

Daughter Txt: COME!! WHERE ARE YOU!!

My TXT: OK, LEAVING NOW

5 SECONDS LATER, WITH BACK TO BACK TXT’S….

Daughter Txt: HURRY!!!

Daughter Txt: R U ALMOST HERE??

At this point, I’m driving and I really do not want to txt while driving so I wait until I’m at a red light and txt quickly

My TXT: YES, PLEASE WAIT.

Daughter Txt: K BI

Phew, glad that is over with. When I try to call her before I left the house to verify, I get her voicemail stating it is full. She never cleans out her voicemails which drives me nuts. When I texted her to call me back, most of the times I get a text back stating “My battery is dying”. Now I know a few of you if not most of you know what I’m talking about. But we as parents put up with it.

Then we have the Facebook, Tumbler and Twitter craze. Either on a laptop, desktop, or handheld, they always seem to be posting, replying or following their friend’s status, if they are not in the middle of texting that is. I guess that we as parents are to blame. One, for wanting to give them everything we never had. Two, for not standing behind our “NO’s!”. Some do, some don’t but I usually at the end give in, but not always. What can I say? Three, so our kids do not feel embarrassed by their friends of not having that means of communications and last, we also do not want them to fall behind in the tech world as it is changing on a daily basis and would help them in the future by staying on top of technology.

Another fun thing our kids are getting involved with is sleep away camps in the summer. I have no problem with this and wished my parents thought of doing this for me when I was a kid. This to me is a good way to make new friends and learn about responsibility.  My daughter who is going to be 15 in the matter of days has been going the last 3 years. First year for one week and the last 2 years for 2 straight weeks. She Loves It!!! She goes with her best friend every year and with some girls from school. Now that this year was her last year as a camper because she will be considered too old for this camp, she wants to become a Camp Counselor but first has to be accepted and start out as a CIT (Counselor In Training).  My son, who is currently 11 yrs. old will be going to this camp next year for his first time. I’m sure that will be fun to have them both at camp at the same time…..

One of the most important things we have to be aware while our kids are growing up during these times is to make sure they eat healthy, get enough exercise and stay in shape. Get them involved with sports like Soccer, Baseball, Football, Lacrosse or any other sport that will keep them busy and moving, not stuck in front of a gaming system, computer or Internet enabled phone most of the day.

As kids get older, there mindset change for the better. They know that hygiene is important, getting enough sleep at night by not staying up too late watching TV or being on the Internet and even the choice of clothes to wear. My son never liked wearing anything but a T-Shirt and shorts. He never liked wearing jeans, just maybe sweatpants. This year, he will be going to middle school for 6^th grade. I think now also that his mind set changes on his view of things, such as girls, it also has changed his view of clothing and presenting yourself. We went shopping last weekend and for the first time, he said he wanted to buy jeans. On his own! Without his mom or dad forcing him to. I think he is getting to the age that he also wants to impress the young ladies and dress appropriately during the winter. I cannot help but to chuckle, I knew one day he would get older and his mentality would start maturing.

We have to keep an eye on our kids and insure we help them make the best choices. It is hard, especially when they hit the “TEEN” years. They think they know it all and have all the answers already. They do not want to be bothered and just want to do whatever they want. We all have been through that and can understand that those years are the hardest to deal with various situations. From what I see in today’s “TEENS” is that they may have just a little too much freedom for comfort and we need to insure to try to keep them safe, on the right path and hope that they grow up and become a productive member of the community.

Last note I will make on this blog because this just happened today, I was driving my daughter back from someplace and had the radio on a station she listens to often and is popular with the Teen community. There was a song called You Can Blow My Whistle. The words in the song, I could not believe what I was hearing and was embarrased listening to with my 15 yr. old daughter next to me. I usually just change the channel when something like this happens. As I’m sure you can probably figure it out from the song title what it was in reference to, an explicit sexual act! This is not the only song that I feel is not appropriate for young teenagers or even anyone under 18. The words literally blew me away! This is not limited to the music our kids may hear; some of the TV shows like on MTV are outrages! Is anyone actually broadcasting these types of music or show’s ever think about what age audience would be exposed to this? I cannot believe what our kids are exposed to today to what I had growing up. But kids do not know any better. They are still young, trying to fit in with their friends. They hear their friends talk about a show or sing a song and they think it is ok.

Bottom line Parents, Please be aware of what your kids are exposed to and explain to them why a song, show or anything explicit on the Internet is inappropriate for them. Some kids will listen and try to avoid these and some will not but as Parents, we need to try. Unfortunately, with stuff like this being exposed on public radio, TV or the Internet to our kids today only scares me to think of what they will hear and see when they get older and have kids and what they would be exposed to…

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So, Mr. Bloomberg has come up with a brilliant idea to help New Yorkers control their weight problem. A Big Soda Ban Proposal Law that will limit restaurants, fast foods, venues and everywhere to the maximum size of soda purchase to 16 oz. That’s the ticket. That is one of the main reasons why many of us are overweight. We do nothing but drink Super Size Soda’s all day. Who knew that it has nothing to do with fast food chains, eating late, all you can eat buffets, large frozen fatty drinks. Nothing at all Mr. Bloomberg. In fact, when I go get myself a Double cheeseburger with fries and order that Extra Large Soda, which is a DIET SODA, the Big Soda apparently your insinuating  will get me the extra pound or 2 on calories, not the fatty double cheeseburger and fries from your local fast food chain.

Wow, now I see on how this all makes sense. Thank goodness. I guess this means that now I can enjoy without fear my burgers, fries, buffalo wings, Phillies cheesesteaks, pizza, all you can eat buffets, cheese, garlic breads, donuts, cakes and everything else under the sun and knowing not having a Super Size or Biggie soda of more than 16oz., a diet soda on top of that which is my soda of choice, I do not have to worry too much about gaining any weight? Who Knew? Oh, that is not what you insinuated Mr. Bloomberg? OK….

All kidding aside. I don’t have any issues with our Mayor and I understand Mr. Bloomberg’s intention to do something right that he feels that does contribute to gain weight for a lot of people but does this also have to affect Diet Soda Drinkers? If anything, I’m  saving calories by drinking Diet Soda so I believe this was not in the consideration panel, at all. As far as Not having a Soda machine in school for the youngsters to drink I recall hearing not too far back, I’m all for that. Have the machines dispense plastic water bottles instead.

You see the 3 pictures above, which I got from FreeDigitalPhotos.net. You see a Regular Size soda in each one right? Not a Super Sized Soda.  Do you see anything else standing out in these pics besides the big belly in Pic #1? Like, let’s say that Huge sandwich, the fries, donuts, pizza, buttered popcorn, cake, this, that and everything else! I do not see a Super Sized soda near that belly which I do not believe is the major concern for Obesity. Look at the second picture with the Cheeseburger and the Stethoscope. That pretty much says it all. I think this law is just taking away from the bigger picture of weight control than just passing it off on the size of a soda one can purchase. I believe each person is responsible for their own personal intake. They should decide on what is good or bad for them and understand on what they are eating or drinking and how healthy it really is. I cannot recall seeing dozens of people walking the streets shoving Twinkies down their throats. Why? Because they know it’s not a healthy item to eat. I am also at fault, as I’m sure a lot of people out there are, that may not think twice about ordering that greasy double cheeseburger meal and Super Sizing it. Why do I it? To tell you the truth, it’s more for the larger size of Fries that come with it more than the Soda. Who knew that would probably be the case for most of us who Biggie or Super Size our meals?

Anyways, I do not want to harp on this item too much but we all have our own opinions on what we should and should not do. We all know right from wrong…. Well, most of us. If a “law” is being passed due the concern of overweight people, keeping in mind that I could shed a few pounds myself, on the size of sodas we are allowed to purchase, then why stop there? What about the 2 Liter bottles in the supermarkets? Should they also be banned and only sell 1 Liter? Is that next? Then what, remove all regular soda and only serve Diet Soda’s? I would not mind but others would.

There are a few things I can think of off the top of my head that would not only possibly save a few pounds, but save LIVES and should take precedence. Hmmmm, let me think here and see….. SMOKING? Now, there is something that should have just be banned all together and should have been done many, many years ago. Increasing the price of cigarettes just put more money in the pockets of the wealthy and politicians to spend on nonsense. This is coming from yours truly, A SMOKER. I’m NOT proud to be one. I have tried many times to quite but have not successfully done so, yet. It is an addictive drug! I now know this was a bad choice in my life to start, back when I was about 15 yrs old, but back then when they were cheaper, easy to get and everyone I knew who I thought were cool were doing it, who knew? If I never started or knew now what I knew then, I would not be smoking today. I applaud all the negative adds and etc. relating to kids not smoking. I only wish they did that when I was a kid. Again, a choice, a decision I have to live by. Anyways, just saying. There are bigger things in life we should work on to better our health and lives. Not the “legal” serving size of Soda. People will just buy that extra soda or 2 if needed, or unless for some chains that may serve and may also get rid of “Free Refills”? Really??

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There is a show on the National Geographic Channel called Doomsday Preppers. It was about a month or so ago I was channel flipping during the evening and landed on this show as the title caught my eye. The philosophy of this show is to prepare for any catastrophic event, such as major bad weather, an economic crisis or for the end of the world as we know it.

When watching this show and seeing on how some families are preparing, you cannot help sitting there and wondering to yourself, “Who Knew or would even have thought of something like this? What would I do if this type of scenario would actually happen and would I be prepared?” Some families build underground bunkers. Some use a Cargo Crate which is inexpensive, some go to the extreme and build a small underground bunker facility like city.

Cargo Crates are buried underground, hidden from site. This could be in someone’s backyard or another remote location. It is in most cases setup with shelving to store beverages, food, medical supplies, weaponry and other necessities to survive. They try and make it livable by adding in some furniture, TV, a bath and try to make it as homey as possible. They would also need to stay in touch with the outside world while inside so maybe a CB Radio or some other form of communication equipment is generally on site. One important factor is also safe guarding their family and access to their “Bunker”. Insuring a heavy steel door that can withstand a blast, gun shots and even fire.  Fear of a crisis and unprepared population to handle such a crisis would have intruders willing to do whatever they need to survive. Who knew that it could someday come to this point?

An underground bunker facility was pretty impressive and expensive. In one case, an old missile silo was being transformed into an underground city. They were called Silo Homes. Some could be built for one family but others had at least 6 levels of Condos,  Equipment Level, Aquaculture & Hydroponica Level,  Library & Classroom Level, Theater & Lounge Level, Workout Area Level, Pool Level and of course a Mechanical Level on the bottom floor. All this with a military style bunker cover entrance with a stainless steel door that can withstand a blast, gun shots and even fire to deter intruders and in some cases, a defense of flame throwers if anyone would breach the door. Well, all this does come with a price. Anywhere from 250K into the millions. Also, each occupant in this Silo City would be responsible and have a specific job to do to insure that the Silo is protected, maintained and running smoothly. Who knew that you can turn a missile silo into an underground city?? What a great idea.

At the end of the show, the National Geographic Channel evaluates all the setups with a rating and provides their own helpful insight on what they should do or enhance to be better prepared.

Some did not go to these extreme. There were some doing light prepping such as putting together a grab bag or also known as a Bug-out Bag. These bags are back pack style filled with necessities in case you needed to evacuate ASAP.  Some of the items include enough food & water for 72 hours, a First Aid kit, Fire Starting tool and a whole list of other items that can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug-out_bag.

So, with getting an idea of what Doomsday Prepping is about, Who Knew? Are you ready, prepared to protect yourself and your family? If you never watched this show, I would have to say you should catch a glimpse, it’s worth a watch.