Category: Parenting

New York Times Describes Decatur as “The Brooklyn of Atlanta”

littlefreetoypark

While a recent feature in the New York Times travel section went with the old, go-to “Mayberry Meets Berkeley” descriptor of Decatur, this recent blurb at the end of the New York Times’ “Atlanta For Kids” feature gets a bit more creative in describing our city.

Feel free to ignore or express your exasperation at the slightly exaggerated city population figure. 🙂

Where to Take a Field Trip

The City of Decatur, population 75,000, shares a boundary with the city. It’s essentially the Brooklyn of Atlanta, but with fewer hipsters and more strollers. The center of town is called “The Square.” It serves as a base camp for eating, play and shopping, which should include a visit to the Little Shop of Stories, a great bookstore that is a regular stop on the book tour circuit for some of the best children’s authors in the nation.

Families looking for a really local experience should head to the Decatur Toy Park at the corner of East Ponce de Leon Avenue and Nelson Ferry Road. It’s owned by a church and is the repository for seemingly every plastic wheeled vehicle and playhouse outgrown by the city’s toddlers.

How Do You Talk To Your Kids About Money?

The New York Times had an interesting article in its Sunday paper about talking to your kids about money entitled “Why You Should Tell Your Kids How Much Money You Make“, which argued the benefits of teaching kids about money from a young age.

One dad in the story brings home thousands of dollars in $1 bills, which represents his monthly salary, and then separates the pile of cash out in front of his kids to demonstrate where all the household’s income goes each month.

The recommendations in the article aren’t quite that extreme – talk to your kids about the grocery bill, talk to them about the cost of their activities, etc – but it got me wondering about how much folks out there are talking with their kids about money regularly, what they’re discussing, and and how important they believe it is.

Photo courtesy of 401k 2013 via Flickr

Decatur Police Provide Halloween Safety Tips

From Decatur PD’s Sgt. Jennifer Ross…

Decatur loves celebrating Halloween and we want everyone to have a good time.  The Decatur Police Department will have additional officers and volunteers patrolling neighborhoods, parks, school properties, the Decatur Cemetery and business districts in marked patrol cars, unmarked cars, bicycles and on foot.  During Halloween there is more vehicular and pedestrian traffic in residential neighborhoods, including many children who are excited and distracted.  Please be extra cautious and aware.

A few extra tips:

  • Be bright at night! Make sure costumes have something reflective, carry a flashlight or clip on a flashing light like the ones runners and cyclists use to increase visibility.
  • Make sure to cross streets properly. Look both ways before crossing and cross at corners or crosswalks. Walking out from in between parked cars is very dangerous because you may not be seen until it is too late.
  • Know where older kids and teens are and check up on them.
  • Talk to your kids about the difference between fun and vandalism. Throwing eggs may seem funny but it causes damage to the property of others, which is a crime, and it is rude.

Have fun on Halloween and keep it safe!  For more Halloween safety tips, please visit http://www.halloween-safety.com/

Halloween: The Safest Day of the Year

Judd sent me a link yesterday to this Wall Street Journal op-ed by Journal Lenore Skenazy – the “Free Range Kids” lady who we’ve discussed before – about how many parents fear their kids’ few hours of freedom on Halloween despite all evidence to the contrary.

It’s a good, sarcastic and irritated rant.  Full of fun facts and assertions.  I’m a fan of this line in particular, “Sure, the folks down the street might smile and wave the rest of the year, but apparently they were just biding their time before stuffing us silly with strychnine-laced Smarties.” (However, I’m a sucker for a sentence that starts with “Sure,” truth be told.)

Anyway.  Parents, free-range advocates, those annoyed by “nanny-“anything will all find something to cherish in its peevish paragraphs.  I strongly recommend it.

But Judd’s right on the money when he remarks that the conclusion reminds him of assertions often made here on DM…

In fact, she says, “We almost called this paper, ‘Halloween: The Safest Day of the Year,’ because it was just so incredibly rare to see anything happen on that day.”

Why is it so safe? Because despite our mounting fears and apoplectic media, it is still the day that many of us, of all ages, go outside. We knock on doors. We meet each other. And all that giving and taking and trick-or-treating is building the very thing that keeps us safe: community.

We can kill off Halloween, or we can accept that it isn’t dangerous and give it back to the kids. Then maybe we can start giving them back the rest of their childhoods, too.

Hell yeah.  Take back the night from the apoplectic media.

The Daycare Hunt

Looking for daycare in Atlanta is kind of like hunting for a snark.

Some people say it exists.  Households with two full-time, out-of-home working parents obviously do something with their children during the day.  But when you actually get out there and discover the limited options available, along with the triple-digit wait-lists, you’re likely to become as mad as the Bellman.

  • “Just the place for a Snark!” the Bellman cried,
  • As he landed his crew with care;
  • Supporting each man on the top of the tide
  • By a finger entwined in his hair.
  • “Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
  • That alone should encourage the crew.
  • Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
  • What I tell you three times is true.”

With that poetry-laden set-up, news from Kristin of the opening of a new daycare facility in Decatur might be a welcome announcement to many area residents.  The Little School House in Decatur plans to hold open houses of their facility at 124 Church Street this Thursday July 1st at 6pm and on Saturday July 3rd at 10am.

The school’s website includes descriptions of their 6 weeks – 18 months, 18 months – 2.5 years, and 3 – 4 year programs, but it does still look like it’s a bit under-construction.

Now one school isn’t going to completely satiate the need for daycare options in the metro, but hopefully it can help out a few of the lost souls caught up in the hectic pursuit.

Decatur Couple To Be Honored For Fostering 80 Children Over 40 Years

Another incredible, hometown story.

Suzy sent along this press release, which details the extensive commitment one Decatur family has toward foster kids.  John and Polly Lewis will receive this year’s 2010 Humanitarian Award on March 18th at the Dining For a Difference event at the Cobb Galleria.

In recognition of their unwavering dedication to children in need, foster parents John and Polly Lewis will receive the 2010 Humanitarian Award at the event. During the past 40 years, the Decatur couple took in more than 80 children, many of whom have gone on to receive college degrees and have families of their own.

“John and I were so happy to open our doors and our hearts to these children,” said Polly Lewis. “They needed help, and with the support of Families First and good case workers, we were able to give these kids a chance. Fostering wasn’t always easy, but we prayed for God’s strength to get us through and felt blessed to do the work.”

Suzy also notes that at age 84 and 90 respectively, Polly and John are still helping kids, currently “fostering 19-year-old Zada Wheat who is currently enrolled in college, thanks to the Lewis’ support.”

The keynote speakers for this year’s Dining For a Difference event will be Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, “the real-life inspirations for the book and Oscar-nominated best picture, The Blide Side.”

Lemonade: $.50 (or $.25 if you prefer)

Suzanne points us over to a great post she wrote for Playborhood.com, about two young Decaturites who decided they wanted participate in a great American past-time this summer: making money!

Here’s a taste of Suzanne’s post, entitled “An Old Fashioned Capitalist Summer”, to wet your appetite…

Today, my 9 y.o. and her friend put together a lemonade stand. Each cup was “$.50.” However, the sign had very small writing in parentheses in the bottom corner saying “Or $.25 if you prefer.” They hoped that no one would notice the fine print in the bottom corner. They were equipped with my crystal pitcher (which I reluctantly donated b/c my daughter wanted a “classy operation”) and the usual cups and napkins.

Click over to finish the story and see how the kids made a whopping 15 bucks!

Suzanne also suggests we use this post to alert the greater Decatur area of lemonade stands in the city throughout the summer so “none of our residents have to go without cheap lemonade on demand.”

So feel free, though I’m sure there’s an iPhone app for that.  🙂