Green Parent Chicago™

Some Moms Like New CTA MAX train cars

We wondered about this a few months ago. According to a Sun-Times report today, it looks like the CTA is getting positive feedback from moms and other riders who appreciate the extra room on the new seatless cars.

The CTA began testing the train cars Sept. 12 on Brown Line trains during rush hour. 12 to 14 seats were removed from the cars to accommodate an extra 20 standing riders during rush hour.

The report suggests the transit agency may add more seatless cars to the Blue Line and Orange Line to assist passengers who are traveling with luggage to and from O'Hare and Midway airports.

h/t Windy Citizen
photo credit: Rich Hein/Sun-Times

Worldwide Day of Play Events Around City and Suburbs Begin Saturday

Worldwide Day of Play events will take place at the end of September and early October around Chicago and the suburbs.

The celebration, a creation of Nickelodeon kids networks, has run annually since 2003 and is part of Nickelodeon's "Let's Just Play" program to fight childhood obesity.

For 3 hours on Saturday, Nickelodeon, Nick.com, Nick Toons and Nick GAS will go dark with no programming to promote active play and healthy living.

Around Chicago, partners in the Worldwide Day of Play event include The Morton Arboretum, The Conservation Foundation, the Chicago Bears, the Plainfield Park District and Village of Romeoville Parks and Recreation Department.

In addition to regularly scheduled hours for play and exploration of the grounds, The Morton Arboretum will debut their Fall Color Festival Saturday. The annual festival includes a drop-in program called "Pumpkin Play" in the children's garden where kids can decorate a pumpkin (available for purchase) and learn about pumpkin seeds. There will also be a scarecrow trail, taffy apples, bratwurst, chicken and roasted corn for sale Theatre-Hike presentation of "Dracula".

The Naperville-based Conservation Foundation will hold their event Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m at McDonald Farm and Dickson-Murst Farms with family games and nature exploration. The cost is $15 per family for members, $18 per family for non-members. 

In the city, Chicago Bears safety Kevin Payne will appear Saturday at the Cotter Boys & Girls Club of Chicago and lead children through five station-based activities, one of which is a flag football station.

The Plainfield Park District and Village of Romeoville Parks and Recreation Department will host their joint event on Oct. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Four Seasons Park located on Lockport St. just west of I-55 in Plainfield. The morning will include outdoor activities, including playground games, sports, races, an inflatable play area, a nature scavenger hunt, crafts, Fun Olympics, Play Zone activities sponsored by Edward Hospital and Health Services and giveaways. All activities are free and registration is not required.

More Kids "Working Out" Indoor Less Playing Outdoor

A growing number of parents are hoping to get their kids more active by enrolling them in gyms and workout classes complete with treadmills and circuit stations.

An article from Monday on MSNBC reports that last year 1.3 million children ages 6 to 11 were members of a health club, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association.

“Parents need a place where they know their kids can stay active, stay healthy and be in a safe place that’s supervised by professional people,” says Celia Kibler, who is quoted in the article. Kibler is the owner of Funfit a family health club chain created in Maryland in 1987.

But it isn't just exercise classes that kids are doing indoors in an effort to stay fit, a new product called Gamercize is already on the market here in the U.S. It's UK manufacturers claim it will help kids stay fit while playing video games. It differs from the Wii Fit in that it allows kids to play any game and not just pre-loaded ones that focus on strength training, balance and aerobic activity. It retails for about $270 dollars and consists of a game controller along with a mini stair stepper or an mini exercise bike.  The catch is that the games stop working if stepping or cycling stop.

"Kids become so plugged into the games, they forget they are exercising," says Terry Grim, director of business development for KickStart Fitness, the U.S. distributor of the Gamercize. According to Grim, about 3,000 Gamercize devices were sold in the last quarter. The product is used in the UK by schools and group fitness centers.

The goal of health and weight loss in an overweight child are important situations for parents  to address. They can take the initiative to guide their children to nutritious foods and increased exercise. However the trend toward adult organized activities and structured indoor playtime such as kids workout classes over outdoor play leaves many other parents alarmed.

The moms and dads behind Playborhood advocate free play and outdoor time for children over excessive indoor activities facilitated by parents and teachers. Their site contains essays, links and discussion on the growing decline of free, unstructured play--not play that's free of cost, but play entirely dictated by children's interests and imaginations.

Others like Dr. Alvin Rosenfield, co-author of the book "The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap" recommend valuing downtime and taking the focus off mastering every activity.

"None of that means you shouldn't encourage him to participate in some type of activity. In fact, it's important that he does.  It just means that after you've exposed him to many novel experiences, you should let him choose which activities to explore further," Rosenfield says.

Lenore Skenazy, a New York City columnist also advocates reducing adult control over the minutiae of children's play and activity. She drew widespread criticism from readers when she described how she let her 9-year-old son take the subway alone. Skenazy recently theorized on her blog about the mixed blessing the current economic decline could be for children.

"Not that I want this to be a Great Depression. I hope it’s not. But if it is, I see kids emerging from their dens when their X-Boxes break and their parents can’t afford to replace them. I see kids dropping out of travel soccer, when their parents can’t afford the gas. I see kids figuring out how to retool their bikes and skates and maybe even their MP3 players when their parents can’t immediately buy them the newest, niftiest models. In other words, I see fancy toys and vacations and enrichment classes falling away. And the only thing left is…childhood."

Consider this, in a city as large as Chicago, it's easy to give in to the idea that more is better. It's a bit like a buffet, there's more than enough appealing and tempting choices, but it doesn't mean one should stuff themselves with every offering. Rather than signing your child up for a hiking class, just take your kids for a hike one day. Be matter of fact about it, there probably isn't any need to talk it up or sell it to them anyway. Kids and the outdoors are a natural combination.

Pack a drink, maybe a snack or make picking one up on the way part of the fun as kids will likely appreciate a little refueling on a longer than usual hike or walk. Point out interesting things along the way, whatever comes to mind. Let the conversation flow or don't talk and just enjoy the peace and quiet together. Without the stress of driving and fighting traffic, you'll be better able to engage in conversation when it feels natural with your kids and they'll likely share their thoughts too.

Chicago area parents looking for a place to get in touch with nature can take advantage of this excellent resource from the Chicago Wilderness childrens initiative "Leave No Child Inside" with listings of city and suburban nature and environmental events as well as outdoor areas to volunteer at as a family.

For even more ideas on ways to stay active and play more, see this list: 101 Ways to Keep Your Kids Moving. Most can be done outdoors.

When Children's Shows Were Cooler Than Grown-Up TV

You gotta love the kid in red feelin' it on the balcony.

No News to New Moms: Hospitals Still Handing Out Free Formula

Despite years of pressure from breastfeeding advocates and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that breastfeeding is the ideal food for babies, U.S. hospitals continue to distribute free formula samples and formula coupons to new mothers sending mixed signals about the effectiveness of breastfeeding. 

Oddly enough, Northwestern appears to be the only hospital to "ban the bags" in the Chicago area according to a recent Chicago Tribune report.

At Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village where the Tribune reported formula samples are still given to new moms, Patty Bovis, mother-child coordinator for the hospital, said "parents enjoy getting a bag of freebies."

"We're not telling them they should bottle-feed; we are trying to support nutrition for the babies," she said. "If breast milk is going to be lacking, they will have a back-up supply with them. It's not meant to replace breast milk by any means."

But Bovis' statement on lacking breast milk and "back-up supply" is precisely the kind of language breastfeeding advocates avoid when counseling new nursing mothers. Breastmilk is not lacking in any requirements for newborn babies. Though getting started breastfeeding may pose challenges to a new mom, milk supply issues are generally easily worked through with the proper support and advice of a lactation nurse or another experienced nursing mom.

For more information on nursing and milk supply:

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/enough.html

For more information on efforts to get formula makers to stop the hospital samples:

http://banthebags.org/

(Friday) Green Gathering: Better Late Than Never Edition

(Okay, so it's on a Sunday this time, but you get the idea. It's been a busy weekend here in Chicago:)

Without further ado here is our collection of the week's best links on green parenting and eco-friendly off the mainstream news that we think are worth highlighting, (with a little green window shopping thrown in here and there.

Ever wonder what it's like to walk from Chicago to Milwaukee? Neither do we frankly, but that didn't stop us from getting excited about reading how one Chicago resident, John Greenfield, recently did just this and lived to write about the "longest walk of his life"  on his blog.

Greenfield's telling makes for a very interesting look at these two Midwestern cities. Most importantly it reveals how society has become so reliant on automobiles that a person doing the most natural of things like walking could be viewed as an oddity.

The cover story in Windy City Times reports that a LGBT high school may be in the planning stages for Chicago teens, proposed by the Little Village Social Justice High School. The school intends to be inclusive of all teens regardless of sexual orientation. No word on where or when the school will open.

The debate on vaccinations continues this week in the local media. Julie Deardorff, who writes the Trib's "Julie's Health Club" blog, is a strong proponent of questioning vaccines for children. Recently Deardorff, who is mom herself, wrote:

"Questioning in itself is not a bad thing, especially since the Internet has ignited an information explosion, some of it inaccurate.

It does, however, reflect a larger crisis of confidence in public health officials and policy, which has developed partly because so many new, seemingly unnecessary vaccines have been added to the schedule and because no one can explain what causes, how to prevent or how to treat the new childhood disorders: asthma, allergies, attention deficit disorder and autism"

A segment from WBEZ radio produced by Gabriel Spitzer just this week in contrast asks the question "Vaccine Choice, or Risky Move?"  In it, Catherine Counard of the Cook County Department of Public Health describes parents who choose to avoid vaccines in pretty harsh tones.

"This is not a personal choice that they’re making. They’re making a choice for the entire community. Because they’re putting others at risk. And if their children become infected and expose a newborn infant who then dies, that’s a pretty serious consequence."

And lastly, a new L.L. Bean store will open soon in South Barrington, with a grand opening Friday and special round the clock hours. Another major retailer opening a store in a suburban shopping center, big deal right?  However, a gang of free nature related activities surely sound enticing. They include birds of prey demonstrations from the Illinois Raptor Center, and hands-on activities with the Kohl Children's Museum of Greater Chicago, Chicago Wilderness, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, Chicago Botanical Gardens, and the Chicago Zoological Society.

The article reports L.L.Bean will also contribute $10,000 to the new South Barrington Conservancy to develop educational nature trails throughout the 35 acre lightly wooded prairie and wetland area. If you're one of the initial bunch of customers on Friday, you'll be in luck, they're giving away gift cards to the first 500 customers.

Parents At The Heart of Southwest Side Environmental Justice Group

What kind of city will we leave behind for our children? What can we as parents do to ensure our children do not suffer the health effects of dangerous air quality and industry and government negligence?

Two Chicago moms working for environmental health and justice in the Little Village neighborhood confront the answers to these questions daily.

Unfortunately for them and other residents of Little Village, their neighbors include 2 large coal-burning power plants. The power plants release mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollutants, all of which have been linked to asthma and emphysema.

Kim Wasserman Nieto and Lori Morrison-Contreras residents of the predominantly Mexican American southwest side neighborhood recently talked with me about the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization and what it means to residents young and old neighborhood.

Wasserman Nieto, mother of 2 older boys and an infant daughter, is a coordinator with LVEJO. While we talked she held and nursed her daughter who she said she brings to work with her. She came to LVEJO when she was working for the Boys and Girls Club which was housed in the same building as LVEJO. When the Boys and Girls Club was faced with removal from the building, LVEJO members helped the group fight the efforts.

Morrison-Contreras, mother of a 13 month old daughter, previously worked with the United Farm Workers in Illinois and in California. Through her work with the UFW,  she first learned about LVEJO and became a member. She is now a board chair. Morrison-Contreras said she is inspired to work with the organization because she believes her community can make a difference in the environment.

"I work with LVEJO because we understand and work towards environmental justice for our entire environment, our community as a whole, the people, the land, the air, the water. Everything you can see, touch and smell and even what you can't is an integral part of our environment. We work closely with our neighbors to decide as a community what is beneficial to our environment and what is not..

Since becoming a mother this work has become even more important to me because I know what health risks my daughter is exposed to on a daily basis simply by living here and it is terrifying. But I also know the strength of my community and I know we can fight against those who are polluting our neighborhood and the outcome will be a healthier environment for us all."

LVEJO began in 1994 when neighborhood parents and residents proposed moving an existing elementary school to another location because of health concerns. A building roofing project was scheduled to occur during school hours.

According to the group, USEPA air pollution data shows that zip code 60623 has the 2nd worst air quality in the 8 county region of Chicago. Children in this area have the 9th highest rate of lead poisoning of Chicago’s 77 community areas with asthma rates of 17%. While there are only 11 acres of open/park space for 95,000 people which is the smallest in the city.

Little Village is the most densely populated neighborhood in Chicago and has the 2nd largest population: (95,000, according to a 2005 census estimate) of the city’s 77 community areas. The median age is the city’s youngest, 21.5 years old. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, it is the 23rd poorest of 77 community areas in the city. Schools are the most overcrowded in Chicago with a high school drop-out rate of 61% based on data from the Chicago Public Schools.

A recent Chi Town Daily News article reported that because of age, the two Fisk and Crawford coal burning plants located in Little Village and nearby Pilsen neighborhoods are exempt from federal regulations requiring modern pollution control devices. The group says the plants, owned by Midwest Generation, make over $32 million in profits per day with all of the energy they produce sold out of state.

Wasserman Nieto said Gov. Blagojevich has promised to "clean-up" the power plants, but the organization wants the plants shut down. LVEJO members want the plants replaced with renewable energy job training centers and alternative energy producers.

In addition to their efforts to promote clean energy in the area, LVEJO organizes campaigns and programs in the neighborhood that support access to public transit, open space, urban agriculture, youth environmental education and leadership programs.

Wasserman Nieto said the urban agriculture program especially offers seniors a sense of pride in contributing to gardening projects that benefit families who then share their harvest with one another and learn more about eating healthfully and economically.

Members of LVEJO held a press conference Aug. 8 at City Hall to address the lack of public transit options in their area. Group members would like to meet with Mayor Daley before the Feb. 9 deadline, when the city will submit its final bid for the Olympic games to the International Olympic Committee.

-photo LVEJO.org

Remembering Fred

By Christine Escobar

It's with a heavy heart that news of the Chicago cancellation of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood reached me and a strong sense of sadness pervades my thoughts about the recent WTTW decision.

Like so many Chicagoans and others around the nation, I tuned in for Mr. Rogers Neighborhood growing up. Throughout my early childhood at home while my brother and sister were at school, it was a peaceful and quiet show that suited my shy 4 year old nature just fine. From a child's eye, Mr. Rogers spoke directly, simply and unhurried, a half hour seemed far longer spent learning about how the world works, how friends and neighbors get along and imagining new places, like the Land of Make Believe.

Rogers, a musician since his childhood, used simple but beautifully written songs to help children understand the complexity of emotions likes jealousy, anger and sadness. He introduced children to people of different colors, abilities and talents.

I tuned in even as a teen and an adult long before I had my first child, because of the reassuring feelings and memories I had watching the show which remained with me.

When my son was a toddler, Mr. Rogers suited him just fine too. My boy's reflective nature saw something in the show that spoke to his own likes and dislikes: the idea that it's okay to imagine characters and places that sometimes don't always fit neatly in real life but that work out right to a child.

When Yo Yo Ma talked with Mr. Rogers on the show about his cello and his love of music, something clicked for my son. He decided then and there that he wanted a cello of his own to play. He's never stopped playing since.

Fred Rogers' respectful and gentle nature allowed so many children like mine to understand what happens when you have to visit the doctor, stay in a hospital, go on an airplane, go to day care or move to a new home. He patiently recognized the fears and concerns children have growing up.

Moving the show from it's late morning schedule to a 6 a.m. time slot in Chicago did nothing to help further the show's viewership. It seemed it was only a matter of time before station heads made the final call for cancellation. In a fast paced, increasingly digitally designed PBS schedule, there was no room for Mr. Rogers who'd open the show with nothing more than a song, a smile and a change into a comfy sweater.

Perhaps it was too difficult to quantify the amount of cognitive benefit children received from the show, not enough measurable standards or something like that. But the emotional benefits and self esteem kids gained from knowing there was a place, even if it was imaginary, where they could be accepted just as they are will always, always remain immeasurable.

-photo credit Family Communications