Manhattan FREE Family Where Every Child Matters Extra Special Activities for Your Kids
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September 2016 MANHATTAN FREE Family Where Every Child Matters Extra special Activities for your kids Turn homework into a home run How a good night’s sleep boosts learning Find us online at www.NYParenting.com When your little angel thinks he’s a daredevil... Better have a good pediatrician. Make sure your kids are covered. Contact Affinity Health Plan at 866.247.5678 to obtain more information about Child Health Plus, a free or low-cost health insurance program sponsored by New York State for kids under the age of 19. To learn more about applying for health insurance, including Child Health Plus and Medicaid through NY State of Health, The Official Health Plan Marketplace, visit nystateofhealth.ny.gov or call 855.355.5777. AffinityPlan.org/CHP MANHATTAN Family September 2016 32 20 FEATURES COLUMNS 6 Time to read 18 FabuLYSS Finds This whole family is going to hit the books BY LYSS STERN BY LISA A. BEACH 22 Dear Teacher 8 A quiet problem BY PEGGY GISLER AND Ten tips for parents with shy children MARGE EbERTS 38 BY DENISE YEARIAN 34 Ask an Attorney 10 Stitching together character BY AlISON ARDEN BESUNDER, ESQ. Lessons from a childhood sewing contest — and my mother’s words of wisdom 35 Divorce & Separation BY CAROLYN WATERBURY-TIEMAN BY LEE CHABIN, ESQ. 20 Homework star 36 Just Write Mom Ten tips for parents to make homework a BY DANIEllE SUllIVAN home run 44 Tips for Feeding Kids BY DENISE YEARIAN BY JOANNA DEVITA 30 From A to ZZZs Important info linking shut-eye to great 46 New & Noteworthy BY LISA J. CURTIS grades BY MALIA JACOBSON 32 Finding her shtick SpeCIAL SECTIONS A Brooklyn comedian’s journey to 12 Classes and Enrichment mommyhood 30 BY TAMMY SCILEPPI Directory 24 School Choices Directory CALenDAR 45 The Marketplace 38 September Events September 2016 • MANHATTAN FAMILY 3 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER Screen time, families, and children get in the elevator time consuming elec- plans to update its guidelines on It’s something for us all to con- in my office build- tronic media than they media use later this year. Current sider. Are we reading books any- I ing and I’m the only do in school, accord- recommendations are to avoid all more? Are we engaging in enough one not looking down at ing to Common Sense screens for children under 2, and to physical activity or are we sitting in my smart phone. I drive Media. Anya Kamenetz allow a maximum of two hours per front of some kind of screen? Are our the streets of our city did a wonderful piece day of high-quality material for older kids getting enough exercise or are and narrowly avoid pe- on this topic for NPR children. I would like to repeat that they also sitting on their backsides destrians looking down that caught my ear the line about avoiding all screens for too much? If those hours logged are at their screens instead other day and prompted children under 2. How often I’ve seen correct, then they certainly are not. of looking where they’re me to download it. tablet devices propped up in front of We need to address that quickly, going. I’ve seen moms Some of the facts she babies in restaurants, apparently to especially as school begins and new crossing streets with strollers and si- pointed out are that tweens log 4 1/2 pacify them into silence so the par- patterns emerge after the summer multaneously looking down at their hours of screen time a day, seven ents can enjoy their dinner. vacation. device. No matter how often the days a week, 52 weeks a year. For Parents have to set the example dangers of driving and texting are teens, it’s even higher; nearly seven and, personally, one sees far too Thanks for reading. pointed out, we still have people hours a day. And that doesn’t include many parents concentrating on their ignoring the warnings and inviting time spent using devices for school own screens rather than on their accidents and possible death. We are or in school. children. It used to be they were screen people without a doubt. Digital devices are more integral merely talking on the phone, now I’ve been asking the question every year, with research available they are also scrolling and texting. about how all of this is affecting our to support both the benefits as well This kind of distraction takes away Susan Weiss-Voskidis, children. It seems that most Ameri- as the dangers. Anya writes that precious time for focus on the chil- Publisher/Excutive Editor can children actually spend more the American Academy of Pediatrics dren and supervision/guidance. 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CALENDAR EDITOR: Joanna Del Buono Join the conversation on Facebook. 4 MANHATTAN FAMILY • September 2016 Child Health Plus +++++ with Fidelis Care Affordable health insurance for How much does Child Health Plus cost? children under 19. Coverage may be free or as little as $9 each month, based on household income. For families at full WYLTP\TSL]LS-PKLSPZ*HYLVќLYZZVTLVM[OL See top-quality providers, close to home. lowest rates available. How do I enroll my child? Checkups, dental care, hospital care, Through NY State of Health at nystateofhealth.ny.gov. and more! Apply by the 15th of the month to have coverage for your child on the 1st of the following month. +Fidelis Care is a top-rated plan in the Fidelis Care is in your community! 2015 New York State Consumer’s Guide =PZP[ÄKLSPZJHYLVYNÄUKHUVѝJL[VZLHYJOMVY[OL to Medicaid and Child Health Plus. JVTT\UP[`VѝJLULHYLZ[[V`V\ 1-888-FIDELIS • ÄKLSPZJHYLVYN (1-888-343-3547) TTY: 1-800-421-1220 To learn more about applying for health insurance, including Child Health Plus and Medicaid through 5@:[H[LVM/LHS[O;OL6ѝJPHS/LHS[O7SHU4HYRL[WSHJL visit www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov or call 1-855-355-5777. 'ÄKLSPZJHYL September 2016 • MANHATTAN FAMILY 5 Time to read BY LISA A. BEACH raphies, historical fiction, and lots of depth magazine articles and real This whole non-fiction catered to the boys’ ever- books. ack when my two boys were changing interests. And we practi- And then I read a blog post by an family is younger, we read books every cally lived at our public library dur- author lamenting her lost love affair B single day. Reading was as ing our homeschool years, borrow- with books and how she’s going to much a part of our daily rhythm as ing dozens of books a week to feed right that wrong this year. She de- going to hit eating. We’d snuggle on the couch to our voracious book habit. cided to designate an entire day once read picture books. We’d read during But then, technology slowly crept a week to reading. This inspired me. breakfast if we were eating by our- in and almost killed our passion. I love her idea and decided to steal the books selves. We’d read on the back porch One by one, screens sneaked it for our family, with a bit of a twist. and in the car and even in the pool. into our lives, transfixing our atten- As a busy family with work, school, We filled bookshelves in almost tion with videos, GIFs, games, apps, homework, soccer, band, and more, every room with mysteries, classic memes, social media, and e-mail. we could never devote a whole day literature, poetry, trivia books, biog- Screen swipes replaced page turns. to reading as she does. But we could Bite-size online content replaced in- devote 30 minutes one night a week. If we could make time for an epi- sode of “Modern Family” each week, we can surely squeeze in the same amount of time for reading. With school back in session, it seems like the perfect time to insti- tute Reading Night with our two boys.