On Center Street
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05/16/12To vaccinate or not vaccinate, that is the question.Some of the most common questions I receive from new parents are about vaccinations. Most parents know the importance of their child receiving vaccinations, but many of those same parents have also heard rumors and news stories linking vaccines to side effects and health concerns. I always stress the importance of vaccines to my worried parents. Vaccines are perfectly safe and protect your child from developing a number of serious, and sometimes life threatening, illnesses like rubella, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenze type B (Hib) and diphtheria. If you are thinking that you have never known anyone with these diseases, so a vaccine is not necessary to prevent it in your child, think twice. The reason you don’t hear much about these diseases is because... |
05/16/12The Extreme Water Park at the Oklahoma Aquarium Set to OpenThe south grounds of the Oklahoma Aquarium are being transformed from an open, grassy field into a summer fun zone. The Extreme Water Park at the Oklahoma Aquarium will welcome its first adventure seekers during a VIP Grand Opening event Friday, May 18, 4:00 p.m – 9:00 p.m. Additional guests may attend for half-price admission. The Extreme Water Park officially opens to the public at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 19 and is tentatively set to run through Labor Day weekend. The Extreme Water Park features a wide range of slides and splash zones to appeal to toddlers to teens to adults. The biggest attraction is the Extreme Water Slide, the largest of its kind in the world, standing more than five stories tall. The Extreme Water Park will also offer a variety of admission... |
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05/16/12Playdates Remind Me to Play NiceI love my kids. You know when someone starts a blog post with "I love my kids," there's probably about to be a big "but, [insert various reason your kids drive you crazy here]." I will refrain from telling you any reason why any of my kids my drive me crazy on a day to day, or sometimes minute to minute basis. Instead I'd like to share about a little parenting lesson I'm learning. Playdates are good for me, probably even more than my kids. Not the playdates where my mom friend comes with and we sit and sip coffee or cocktails and ignore the children making chaos upstairs because we need "Mommy Time." No, playdates where I invite other people's kids over to play with mine and I actually make an effort to provide interaction and... |
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05/14/12Make Your Own Montessori MomentsIt's easy for me to get into a rut when planning activities for my family. I have my staples...the Tulsa Zoo, Zink Park, the OK Aquarium. And while I'll always be a zoo groupie, there are SO many places around Tulsa that just can't be overlooked. Case-and-Point: Saturday morning, my sister, mother and I took the kids (ages 7, 3 1/2 and 2 1/2) to Woodward Park for the scavenger hunt that the Tulsa Garden Center created. While the scavenger hunt wasn't what I originally expected (I was thinking "go find a pine cone," etc.), it lead us on an adventure that turned out to be fun and memorable for all. Like most activities there are tons of distractions that make it even more fun. My sister and I like to call them our "Montessori Moments."... |
05/11/12I guess I was rightEight years ago, during one of our homestudies, our caseworker asked me what worried me the most about becoming a mom. I remember I told her that I was most concerned about the times when our daughter would be hurt or sad and I couldn’t do anything about it to make her feel better. We talked about that for a few minutes – about how that would happen throughout my daughter’s life, from the bumps and bruises of childhood to the emotional pains of adolescence and beyond. And we agreed that often there really would be nothing I could do about it other than hold her, comfort her and just be there for her. I think one of us added that those would be the times that she would grow and that might be more painful for me as her mother. After that, my caseworker... |
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05/10/12Saving Big with Museum MembershipsSchool will be out before you know it, so parents might want to think about family museum memberships. Not only will they save you money, you’ll get to take advantage of members-only events and special discounts on classes, the museum store and public events. Many people don’t know that the state has an Oklahoma Museum Network with five museums. If you buy a membership one of these museums, for $40 more, your family can enjoy membership to all five. The Oklahoma Museum Network has five partners SCIENCE MUSEUM OKLAHOMA JASMINE MORAN CHILDREN’S MUSEUM IN SEMINOLE TULSA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM & PLANETARIUM LEONARDOS DISCOVERY WAREHOUSE IN ENID MUSEUM OF THE GREAT PLAINS IN LAWTON A savings example: The Tulsa Zoo... |
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05/10/12Is a Rabbit the Family Pet for You?Rabbits can make charming pets. They are gentle, intelligent and relatively easy to care for. Here are some tips to help your pet rabbit lead a longer, healthier life. Cages should be approximately three times as long, two times as wide and two times as tall as the length of a full-grown rabbit (at least 2’ x 4’ x 2’). A smooth, flat floor is best. Wire bottom cages can injure rabbits’ feet and cause serious infection, especially in sedentary or overweight rabbits. Many bedding choices are available. Avoid aromatic wood chips such as cedar which may irritate the rabbit’s airways and lungs. Many rabbits will learn to use a litter box. Place the litter box in the part of the cage where the rabbit normally defecates and change the littler... |
05/10/12Keep Your Kids Safe and Healthy this SummerThis summer your kids will be up early to eat a healthy breakfast before going outside to skate, play baseball, ride bikes and climb trees, right? No? Let me guess. If your kids are like most kids these days, they are more likely to choose sleeping late, eating cereal in front of the TV, snacking while playing computer games, then more snacking while texting their friends and watching a movie. “In Oklahoma our childhood obesity rates are insane,” said Laura Hailey-Butler, vice president of mission advancement at YMCA of Greater Tulsa. “Even with limited time for structured physical activities, kids are more active during the school year than they often are at home in the summer.” While there is a place for TV, cell phones and computer games, especially... |
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05/10/12Zarrow Center for Art and Education Opens This MonthThis summer children and teens will have an opportunity to discover and create art in an urban environment at the new Zarrow Center for Arts and Education in the Brady District. Housed in the renovated three-story Matthews Warehouse, the Zarrow Center includes gallery space, four art classrooms and studio space for Tulsa University’s Master of Fine Arts program. The Zarrow Center for Art and Education will open May 15, 2012, and The Gilcrease Museum, which is managed by TU, will hold its youth educational outreach programs at the center. Sarah Wright, Associate Curator of Family and Youth Programs for the Gilcrease Museum said it is exciting to introduce the facility to the city for summer art camps. “We are not only introducing the Zarrow Center but also the... |
05/10/12How to Approach Your Teen about Taking ResponsibilityQ: When I approach my older teenage son to talk about important topics like college, living arrangements, work, etc., he reacts negatively and gets angry and disrespectful with me and my husband. We are afraid that he is not succeeding in the way that he’s capable of doing. We are at the point where we are hesitant to bring up issues that we feel need to be talked about in a mature way. He should be old enough to handle it, but he isn’t. This is causing conflict in our family. What can we do differently? A: Often, as kids approach adulthood, this might become a common situation. There may be several things that it could be. It sounds like a new behavior and therefore even more confusing. Do you or your husband have any ideas about the reasons for this recent... |
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