Peaceful 'Ohana
Family / Children
Resources for families and children
New Baby Expo: This weekend!
May 14th
We’ve been to the New Baby Expo at the Blaisdell Center a couple of times. Lots of interesting exhibitors, stuff for toddlers to do (like visits with TV characters — my son met Curious George!), and even a crawling contest for babies. It’s happening again this weekend, May 15th and 16th. If you sign up for their newsletter you get the chance to win free tickets and learn about the event in advance.
See you there!
Got kids? Got iPhone? Got apps?
Jan 27th
Count Caddy app by Tickle Tap Apps
Looking to keep your child entertained and even have them learn something while you get a break? Have you considered how handy some of the iTunes apps for iPhone are? Following up on my previous discussion of “Kid-friendly iPhone and iPod Touch” is a review of another dozen apps for toddlers I’ve written on the Hawaii Mac Apple User Society (HMAUS) website: “More Great iPhone Apps for Toddlers“. With most apps under $2, isn’t it worth getting a couple of minutes of “quiet” time?
And related:
Need to unwind yourself? Check out “Zen Apps for iPhone/iPod Touch“
More Guilt: "Save the Planet: Have Fewer Kids"
Aug 5th
Those who are concerned about their “carbon footprint” have started looking at individual’s decisions, including those about reproduction.
A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environment-friendly practices people might employ during their entire lives — things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs. [LiveScience.com]
It does make perfect sense. And, yet, we have another child coming soon…
Should there be a limit on how many children a family can have, as they do in China?
Tour of Kaiser's Moanalua Labor and Delivery Ward
Aug 4th
With Masako approaching her 8th month, we wanted to see the facilities where we plan to deliver our new son. For our first child, Mason, we were with HMSA and delivered at Kapiolani on Punahou. It was a fine delivery, very nice room, great staff, no problems. 
So, after we switched health plans to Kaiser we wanted to see what theirs was like. They recently had renovated the Labor and Delivery Ward, and it shows. It’s really very nice. We joined a tour of the facilities with about six other couples. (Note: if you take the tour, be prepared to stand for a while. You may want to bring some water with you also.)
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Kid-friendly iPhone and iPod Touch
Jun 17th
If you’ve been thinking about an iPhone or iPod Touch, or already have one, here’s some pretty cool things you can do that will provide even more value to you as you extend it to your family; I’m talking about making it “kid-friendly”.
I moved from having Palm PDA’s for years to an iPod Touch. The Touch does all the things I needed my T|X to do (wireless, applications, calendar, note taking, etc.) but with a much better web browser, incredibly easy-to-use iTunes integration, and — with using Plaxo — syncing my calendar between work PC and home Mac.
But the apps are what really make this thing kid-friendly. My two and a half year old sees me working on it and says “I play papa game!” He loves to try out the fun of using that touch screen to make things happen. And, as I’ve learned from other parents, having an iPod Touch/iPhone that can hold MOVIES can be PERFECT for long flights, like to Japan! This device has probably helped lower my blood pressure level significantly (no more wandering child, screaming of boredom).
So, here are a couple of great toddler-friendly things for your iPhone or iPod Touch:
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聖バレンタインデー
Feb 21st
アメリカでのバレンタインは愛する人へ贈り物をする日。チョコレートとは限らないし、女から男へというものでもない。
なので、日本にいたときほどドキドキすることもないし、気を使うこともない。
今年うちでは私は夫にチョコレートケーキを手作りし、夫は私にパジャマをくれた。
日本の甥っ子が保育園で女の子からチョコレートを５つももらったそうだ。
１歳５ヶ月の息子はＹＭＣＡのキッズクラブで、同じクラスの子の父兄からちょっとしたお菓子やおもちゃをもらった。そうか～、アメリカでは子供のお友達にこんな気の効くことをするんだ～♪来年は何か準備しておこうっと。
ハワイのプレスクール事情
Feb 14th
去年ハワイのプレスクール取材のお手伝いをさせてもらった経験、そして自分の息子のためのプレスクール見学、それから回りのウワサ、友達から聞いた話などをモトに書いてみました。
まずプレスクールとは幼稚園に入る前のスクールで大体２，３歳～４歳が対象。義務教育ではありません。プレスクールに行かない子もいます。オムツが完全に取れてしまう３歳頃から通う子が多いみたいです。オムツが取れていないと値段も高い。
月謝は＄５００～＄９００くらい。平均は＄７００くらいではないでしょうか。
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Things to do in Honolulu for kids
Feb 11th
A friend of mine is visiting Hawaii for a couple of days and wanted to know some fun things to do with his son. Since there might be other people looking for activities for children on a visit here, I’ve expanded on that email to him:
- Mason likes the Honolulu Zoo (www.honoluluzoo.org) a lot — we have a yearly membership — you can spend a good 1/2 day there (petting zoo, walking around, snack bar, gift shop, oh and animals!).
- The Waikiki Aquarium (www.waquarium.org) is a bit expensive and kind of small — you can do the whole thing in about an hour. The dragon fish and jelly fish are my favorites, but they have some sharks and a small petting pond.
- Bishop Museum runs different exhibits for kids from time to time — right now it’s “Animal Grossology” about gross stuff animals do: www.bishopmuseum.org — should be a good 3 hours, but requires a car or sitting on a bus and walking to get there. One of the best parts of the museum is closed right now (the Hawaii exhibitions), but the air-conditioned planetarium show is really nice after walking around in the sun.
YMCA KIDS CLUB
Jan 9th
生後１８ヶ月から入れるキッズクラブというのがYMCAにあると聞いて、子供が１０ヶ月の頃から申し込み、空きを待っていたら１６ヶ月で「空きがでましたよ。見学に来てください」という電話があった。
ここは他のジンボリーや音楽教室と違うのは保護者が付き添っていていなくて良いということ。
朝９時半～１１時までの１時間半、子供を預けて自分は買い物をしたりお茶したりできる。
私はYMCAの同ビル内のジムで身体を鍛えようと思って、コレだ！と前から決めていた。
うちの子も最近子供同士で遊ぶことができるようになってきたみたいだし、プレスクールに行く練習にもなると思う。「独立心を早くから培うことができるのでは」と期待している。週２回で月謝が＄９５。時間割りにすると８ドルくらいかな（安い）。実際見学をしたら、「お教室」というよりは「預かり所」という感じで、先生が何かを教えてくれるわけではない。先生は若いお兄さんとお姉さんが１人づつ、年配のリーダーのような人が１人。子供の数は多くて１５人とのこと。今日は６人だった。最初の４５分間は自由遊び、そしてサークルタイム（輪になって歌や手遊びをする）、スナックタイムで終わりとなる。「ま、始めるか！」と決めているけど気になることが一つ。お兄さんがとっても優しいのだが、かなり（正真正銘、太鼓判付き）音痴なのだ・・・。私のかわいい息子がこの音感を体得してしまわないように祈る。
Family Friendly Church Service
Dec 26th
For Christmas eve service we went to the Central Union Church (on Punahou and Beretania). Neither my wife nor I are terribly “religious”, the closest we would come to is Buddhists, however, since it was Christ-mas eve, we thought going to a Christ-ian church would be nice. We arrived for the 5:30pm service and sat in the back row since it was our first time there and we might need to make a quick escape with our crying son.