Linkin B'logs: Buy Nothing, Ween off the Sippy, Stroller Disorders and More

11/24/08 - By Nina

The UK's Guardian ran a story this week titled "NYC fears return to dark days of the Seventies as financial crisis bites".   Having grown up here in the 1970's, an article like this does little to scare me, lets also remember that the 70's were fun!  The idea of the city I love becoming cheap, edgy and filled with bell bottoms and flower patterns sounds really exciting.  Sure sure, the crime (and polyester) were bad things and I really don't want to see them return but I can't help but see the silver lining of this economy - cutting down on useless consumerism (btw, Nov. 28 is Buy Nothing Day), conserving energy, relying on creativity like swapping and community to fill in the gaps.  Just like I am constantly amazed at how flexible and resilient my two year old can be when I put her to the challenge (like this past weekend when I had her up till 11PM doing karaoke), NYers are way too crafty and spirited to let a dip in the Dow turn us into fearful whiners.  So to all those across the pond who are worried about us slipping back into Serpico territory, fuhgetaboutit, we are fine!  Keep reading for that article plus posts on which strollers can be emotionally impovershing, tips on how to avoid bottle mouth, why teens online is a good thing, which gift cards to avoid this holiday season, the very sad fate of Project Runway and more.

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Here is that article in the UK's Guardian about NYers fearing a return to dark days of Seventies...

Better to Just Buy Nothing!  This holiday season experts warn against gift cards which can become worthless as stores go bankrupt, there is this post about store closures which was circulating on a few neighborhood lists and NPR dishes out some more advice from the experts.  Or, participate this year in Buy Nothing Day which is coming up next weekend.

Stroller and Mouth Disorders.  The Daily News reports that babies transported in forward-facing strollers could end up "emotionally impoverished" due to lack of face-to-face contact according to a British study and A Child Grows in Brooklyn posts on weening off the sippy cup to avoid "bottle mouth" (yikes) - the experts advise to do so sooner than you may think.

Teen time.  Turns out that according to the MacArthur Foundation, all those hours that teenagers spend socializing on the Internet is not a bad thing and the NY Times writes about a 12-year old food critique on the Upper West Side who eats out on his own. 

Make it Work - please!  Because of a legal dispute that appears to stem from Harvey Weinsteins greed, Project Runway is "stuck in a legal quagmire that threatens to keep the show off the air indefinitely" according to the NY Times.  NOOOOO! 

Brain Savers.  When I was home the first winter with my baby, I became addicted to This American Life and would listen to it constantly for some much needed intellectual stimulation.  Now that its cold again, I wanted to recommend it to all the mommas at home out there, much better than TV since it leaves your eyes free to do other stuff like baby oogling which is a good thing now that we know that lack of eye contact can cause emotional impovershment. 

And, for the MOST fun evah, take your kids to this Karaoke place where they have private rooms and kids under 4 are free.  They even have Old McDonald on the song list!