FREE APRIL 2011 Our Annual Earth Day Issue! ‘Radical Homemakers’ The Environmental Power of Domestic Bliss Why We Love Nature Camps Taming Media Madness Summer Camps Section contents This Month in Metro Parent This Month on the Web: Serving the Families of the Portland Metropolitan Area Exclusively on Metro-Parent.com: Metro Parent P.O. Box 13660 Read the special online-only article Navigating Urgent Portland, OR 97213-0660 Care: Tips for Parents When Dealing with Injuries and Phone: 503-460-2774; Fax: 503-331-3445 Illnesses by Dr. Kelly Leaf, medical director of Doctors Express of Lake Oswego Publisher Martin Griffy, 503-460-2774 Enter to win a Cloth Diapering Basket valued at over [email protected] $150! Editor Check out our Family Fun Pages for reviews of GREAT, Marie Sherlock, 503-460-2774 family-friendly outings and our Parents’ Calendar, [email protected] featuring parent education offerings and other parent- Managing Editor ing-related events. Emily Puro Stay informed and connected all month long! [email protected] • Sign up for our e-newsletter Calendar Editor Teresa Carson • Follow “Metro_Parent” on TWITTER [email protected] • Become a fan of “Metro Parent (Portland, OR)” on Contributing Writers Ages & Stages: FACEBOOK Melissa Favara, Anne Laufe, Julia Silverman Advice for every phase of childhood ....14 Advertising Account Executives Raising Media Literate Kids Westside/National/Outside Metro Area In Every Issue Debbie Dille, 503-997-4044; fax: 503-352-4373 Let’s face it: Today’s kids are growing up in a media- [email protected] saturated world. In this article, we explore how Editor’s Note .......................................................6 Eastside/Vancouver/Washington media is influencing kids today and what we can do Raising Media Savvy Kids Ali King, 503-331-8184; 360-695-0455 to help them learn to filter it, think critically about it, fax: 503-331-3445 and stay safe and in control of media interactions at Parent Postings .................................................8 [email protected] every age. Announcements, community events, fundraisers and Design & Production Susan Bard other useful information The Early Years (2 and under) ........................ 14 For distribution issues, The Family Plan: Establishing Media Guidelines e-mail us at [email protected] Family Fare .................................................... 36 The Preschool Period (ages 3 to 5) ................. 16 For calendar submissions, Burgerville Educational Media: There’s an App for That! e-mail us at [email protected] Elementary Concerns (ages 6 to 10) ............... 18 Going Places with Ramona ...................... 38 To subscribe to Metro Parent, Peeking Behind the Curtain: How to A Theatrical View of the World e-mail us at: [email protected]. Help Kids Deconstruct Media Messages A one-year subscription is $25. Metro Parent is published monthly by T he ‘Middle Ages’ (ages 11 to 14) .................. 20 Angels Among Us ......................................... 40 Metro Parent Publishing, Inc. and is copyright ‘Friend’ Me on Facebook? Kids and Social Media Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation 2011 Metro Parent Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part The ‘Radical Homemaker’ Revolution ...........22 April Family Calendar without written permission is prohibited. Metro Parent is distributed free of charge R eclaiming Domestic Life as an Act of Political, In the Spotlight .......................................42 Environmental and Personal Empowerment throughout the Portland, Oregon metropolitan Family Favorites ....................................42 area. There was a time when women had no choice Earth Day and Easter Egg Hunt Events Metro Parent reserves the right to refuse but to be homemakers. Today, we have plenty of advertising for any reason. Distribution of this choices, but many modern women are choosing to Family Calendar ....................................44 publication does not constitute an endorse- return to the home to gain more control over their ment of the products or services advertised lives, reduce their carbon footprints, build commu- Advertising Sections herein. nity and create a better life for their families and for Green Business Guide ........................ 23-26 Metro Parent does not discriminate on the themselves. basis of race, color, national origin, religion, Summer Camps ................................. 29-34 sex or sexual orientation. Summer Camp – the Way Nature Intended! . 28 Parties .......................................................51 Although every effort is taken to ensure the Nature Camps Inspire Kids to Appreciate the accuracy of published material, Metro Parent Classifieds ................................................ 51 Publishing Inc. and its agents and employees Great Outdoors cannot be held responsible for the use or mis- The Portland metro area is brimming with oppor- Advertisers Index .....................................51 use of any information contained herein. The tunities to explore nature, from mountains, lakes and contents of Metro Parent and its Web site are for informational purposes only and are not rivers to working farms. Find out how kids benefit intended to be a substitute for professional from nature-focused experiences at camp, and what advice or treatment. options are available locally for kids of all ages. 4 METRO PARENT • metro-parent.com • APRIL 2011 editor’s note Raising Media Savvy Kids Everywhere we turn these days, someone is tell- use media and technology wisely and in modera- ing us what we should do to be good parents – or tion – in other words, help them learn to control perhaps worse, what we shouldn’t do. But let’s face their interactions with mass media rather than be it, none of us is perfect. We do the best we can, controlled by them. but every once in a while we’re going to let our One of the most challenging aspects of all this, kids eat too much candy or stay up way too late, for parents at least, is keeping up with the ever or we’ll drive them to school when we really could changing media landscape. From television and have walked, or we’ll sign them up for too many video games to social networking to smartphone (or too few?) activities. apps to online gaming to whatever the next big So what? thing will be, we need not only to do our homework I for one would be happy if we could just agree but to keep the lines of communication open with to disagree on certain points and refrain from our kids and share these evolving media experi- judging each other. We all make our own choices ences with them. and create our own family cultures. What works With that in mind, we explore the roles media for my family might not work for yours, but that play throughout our children’s lives in our Ages & doesn’t mean one approach is inherently better Stages feature this month, offering some tips for than the other. approaching the issue thoughtfully and realistically This is particularly apparent when it comes to so you can determine how and when your children screen time. will interact with electronic media – and how you Some families shun electronic entertainment can help them become savvy media critics as well altogether. Others seem to center their lives around as informed consumers. screens and online media. Most of us fall some- Our best advice? Try not to be intimidated by where in between, but whether you embrace the the sheer volume of media surrounding us. If you ever-expanding realm of mass media or reject it learn to sift through the garbage to find the hidden – at least within the walls of your own home – it’s gems, focus on meaningful ways to share them with difficult to deny that our children are growing up your kids – with an eye always to keeping screen in a media-saturated world. You can limit their time in balance with other pursuits – you’ll do just exposure to it. You can monitor their interactions fine. with it. But ultimately, they’re going to be bom- barded with it on a daily basis. As parents, the best thing (possibly the only thing) we can do is teach our children how to sift through the onslaught of commercial and social Emily Puro, Managing Editor messages, make their own informed decisions, and [email protected] PHOTO BY STUDIO ESS 6 METRO PARENT • metro-parent.com • APRIL 2011 177 N.E. 102nd Avenue Portland, Oregon 97220 Office 503-254-1399 Toll Free 800-652-1399 Fax 503-256-1340 www.gatewaywomensclinic.com Robert D. Dyson, M.D., Ph.D., FACOG Dina J. Levin, M.D., FACOG Asma S. Ahmad, M.D., MPH, FACOG Kimberlynn M. Heller, D.O., JFACOG Clea Caldwell, D.O., JFACOG Jennine M. Varhola, DO, FACOG Natalia Korneeva, MD, JFACOG Karen M. Rash-Gitner, C.N.M. METRO PARENT • metro-parent.com • APRIL 2011 7 parent postings Can your family Win a $4K Oregon College go “screen-free” Saving Plan account! for one week? The Oregon College Savings Screen-Free Week (formerly Plan recently announced “You “TV Turnoff Week”) is April 18- Can Get There,” a contest for 24. Will your family unplug in children 18 and under. To en- order to reconnect? ter, kids write a brief paragraph During that week, families about what they’ll be when they across the country will refrain graduate from college. Each of from electronic entertainment and five winners will receive a $4,000 rediscover the joys of connecting MD4KIDS, available for iPhone and online, can Oregon College Savings Plan help you decide when to call the doctor – or 911 with one another. For informa- – and when to play Dr. Mom or Dad at home. account. Enter by April 30 at tion about the effects of exces- oregoncollegesavings.com/news/ sive screen time on children and get-there-form.shtml. resources for making the most of home care for minor illnesses and your unplugged family time, visit injuries as well as weight-based commercialfreechildhood.org/ dosage tables for commonly used Free developmental screenfreeweek.