…was delightful! We spent a week in a small town, Contres in the Loire region. It’s about 2 hours from Paris and home to the founder of Bonne Maman confiture. We stayed with my aunt & uncle who picked us up from the airport in Paris and drove us to their home. Here’s a pic of the kids in front of their lovely house.

We saw several castles, Chambord, Cheverny, Blois, Amboise & Leonardo Da Vinci’s last residence, Clos de Luce. As well as a visit to the farmer’s market with the BEST fromage de chevre I’ve ever had. We also enjoyed a local organic vineyard and tasted several wonderful wines, we did not bring any back because we didn’t think we could take it carry on. Dinners were en famille and movies every night in the home theater.

Excuse my frenglish, just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about:
confiture – jelly
fromage de chevre – goat cheese
en famille – with family

I was very happy to receive a review copy of The Real Age Guide to Raising Healthy Children: Good Kids, Bad Habits by Jennifer Trachtenberg, M.D. a few weeks ago.

I’ve been looking it over for more than a week now and am amazed by the wealth of info in it. I knew much of what is in the book, but over the years have slacked off with the enforcement of it. The best thing about this book is that it reminds us that is not our kids that are bad, it may be the habits we are giving them and we are in control of much of their environment.

I witnessed a child today that was very bossy and demanding, she let everyone know what they were expected to do and took a lot of time to explain what she wanted. The other girls looked at her and obeyed, my husband was quite surprised to see the way she acted, but it was totally what I expected as her mother is the same way. She will always have that attitude but it didn’t have to be that way. She observed and learned how to act that way.

I especially liked the section about bullying and standing up for yourself. Dr. T makes a great point when discussing not buying the latest “x” item just because “everyone else” has them. The earlier children learn that things are done differently in your home, the better off they’ll be and less likely to succumb to peer pressure later in life. I had a mother tell me that she always bought name brand items for her son (who’s in my son’s K class) including $60 roller sneakers because she wants to be sure he fits in. I didn’t say anything but told her that I would not have any part of that, the difference in the money on his apparel goes to his Tap lessons, seasonal sports and saving for college. Not to mention it’s not that great an idea to get kids hooked on labels or fads at 6 years old!

Just a few points to take out of this book:

* What Dr. T calls Label Lessons, “teach your kids how to compare labels … find the one with the most fiber.” (p. 70)

* I agree with the Dr.’s anti clean plate club attitude (p. 73)

* Slather on the Sunscreen SPF 30 ** “50-80% of a lifetime of sun damage happens during childhood” (p. 221)

* UNIVERSAL CHOKING SIGN * (p. 222)

And a lot more great info! This book has lots of info and was easy to read.

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