Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

And your kid, if so named, will look like the one on the cover. Which I'm sure you did.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ima...283155&s=books

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Update: This has totally done the trick. L'il Ty keeps slipping away to read it.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...A240_SH20_.jpg

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

The latest additon to the sandwich clan arrived about a week ago. He's a handsome little guy. He has joined a rather noisy household populated by three older sisters (ages 7, 5, and 3).

And with that, I am done procreating.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Congratulations. Your daughters must be beside themselves.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Congratulations!!

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Congratulations!

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Thanks all. Yes, the older sisters are crazy about him.

Wanted: Chastity belt for 14 year old boy
 

Nearly unanimously voted duke of homecoming of his freshman class by school's female populace.

Senior girls have started calling.

Dad is simply unable to give him any kind of advice.

Re: Wanted: Chastity belt for 14 year old boy
 

Tell him to be nice -- he likes hockey, right? Tell him that the chicks much prefer* the Lady Byng winners to the Maurice "Rocket" Richard winners.** And to always wear a condom (phrased as "look, don't be stupid, but if you're going to be stupid, don't be a complete idiot") while throwing him a box of these:

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives...oduct_shot.jpg

*Response to the obvious snort of laughter to follow: "well, the smart ones do."

**For those non-hockey fans, the Lady Byng award is given to the player who best exhibits "gentlemanly conduct," while the Rocket Richard award is given to the regular season scoring leader.

Re: Wanted: Chastity belt for 14 year old boy
 

He would be neither. More likely to show up on This video

Books for a kid.
 

Highly precocious 11 or 12-y-o boy. Last Xmas, he was reading some series where animals talked and kind of fought or something? I don't think there were people involved. I seem to remember a central badger figure, but could be wrong about that. Requesting books anywhere from 300 to 2,000 pages. That we think he would like. Because I am sooooo in touch with the mind of an 11 (or 12) year old.

Ideas? He's definitely read all the ones by the Half Magic author, and Narnia. And Harry Potter, of course.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

at 13 my daughter gave me Choke by Chuck P. I'd clear it with the parents first.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

My slightly older than that niece is a fan of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers (a movie based on the first book is about to be released). Caveat -- my other slightly older niece is Not a Fan. Both of them love Harry Potter.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

I have heard good things about The Lightning Thief and the series that follows.

At a certain point, you'll have to decide whether it is inevitable that he'll become a Sci-Fi geek. At least temporarily, it's a good thing -- keeps him reading and away from girls. But no one I know who's hung on to Sci-Fi long enough to get into Castaneda has turned out okay.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

I have read the first two of the Twilight series, and I have been informed by the mother of an eleven year old friend that a) I'm the coolest person the eleven year old knows and b) I have been deputized into movie chaperoning upon the eleven year old's insistence.

The eleven year old is sort of gothy and moody and therefore a vampire love series is right up her alley. I think she spends most of her class time doodling the name Edward with hearts all around.

It's quite an insipid series, but it keeps the kids off the streets.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, recommended to me by either by my 11 year old nephew or the 15 year old one. I also highly recommend it.

I also read The Lightning Thief and the next one in the series also recommended by the 11 year old nephew and found them only so-so but they may definitely appeal to that age group more.

What about the Philip Pullman books?

I think the Twilight books are very chick-lit not sure an 11 year old boy would enjoy them.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Oh and just remembered, what about The Dark is Rising series, by Susan Cooper. about an 11 year old boy who enters the fight against evil on his 11th birthday. very Arthurian and English, and captivating.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

Lightning Thief is a very good series and a great way to get a kid interested in Greek Mythology, but may be a bit young.

The Twilight Series is fun, but more romantic. All the girls he knows will be reading it, but none of the guys. This could be a good thing. Also, the last book is a way more adult oriented. Tell the parents to read it before they give it to him. The same author has an adult oriented novel, The Host, that is good but probably of more interest to his female peers. It is odd that it is considered adult lit when it has less graphic scenes than the last book of the Twilight Series.

Truesight is a good book that reminds me of the better short stories that got me interested in fantasy. I don't know if the rest of the series holds up.

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie is a somewhat light hearted look at how a teens life is turned upside down when his brother is diagnosed with cancer. Very good book, but it won't make you the fun one in the family.

The Theif Lord is a nice introduction to Venice. Every kid should want to go to Venice, even if it is only to live with a bunch of thieving kids.

Eragon and the rest of those books are far better than the crap movie made from them.

Inkheart is another good Dragon book.

I really like the Golden Compass books by Phillip Pullman, but the end is a bit dark and people with a religious bent may not like the fact that Pullman is an atheist and the church is the society of bad guys in this series.

Ranger's Apprentice is a good series for kids his age. Lots to read and several different lots to juggle throughout.

The Last Apprentice is a bit darker than the Ranger's Apprentice series, and they are unrelated.

Peak is a great reality based fiction book for his age group. It is about an Everest Expedition including a character his age. Well done and gets him away from the sci-fi crowd a bit.

If he has any sport inclination I heard that Last Shot by John Feinstein is good.

(I read everything my kid reads so I have more knowledge of literature for this age group than I care to reflect on.)

Re: Books for a kid.
 

Thanks for all the good ideas!!

Would boys like the Twilight series?

Hm. I could get off wayyyyy cheap at Xmas this year by giving him all my sci-fi. Or chunks of it.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

Boys who are able to discuss the Twilight series will be very popular with the girls. I don't know if they'll actually like the series though.

I discovered the Anne McCafferty Pern universe when I was about that age. I think the Harper Hall Trilogy was supposed to be young adult, whereas the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy were more contemporary adult sci-fi. No graphic sex though, so it should be ok with the parents. I stopped reading Pern books somehwhere in the late 80s, but I noticed from Wikipedia that the universe is huge now. (Note: This could be the start of the road that Atticus warns about, below.)

I tried to read Eragon, that 1436 talks about below, when it first came out, and I found it to be ridiculously derivative of the McCafferty and Tolkien.

I think I started reading the Madelean L'Engle books around 11 or so. A Wrinkle in Time isn't a bad thing to have on a shelf.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

For a 12 yo lad I dont' think you could have gone wrong with a supscription to Playboy. For the aerticles, of course.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

I stopped the Pern books in sixth grade because there was no way I would carry a book entitled Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern around a schoolyard.

Wait two years and give him all of the Hitchhiker's Guide books. Then make sure he quits sci-fi cold turkey by sophomore year, no matter how much he says it hurts. You cannot succeed in college if you lack the capability of being embarrassed by what you are reading. Either say you're reading Camus or say you don't read anything at all. No one ever got laid carrying an Eddings, Donaldson or Heinlein.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

My 12 year old son likes the Twighlight series.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

You really will want to read the last one before he does.

After I read it I kept humming "One of these is not like the others."

Re: Books for a kid.
 

Agreed.


I can't really defend it against that criticism. It is also very derivative of the Star Wars plot, which is derivative of several other plots. But then, how many 12 year olds will catch that?

The best thing I can say about it is that it was written by 19 yo which can be inspiring to a young person interested in literature.

Oh and the movie sucks beyond all comprehension. Really, really bad.

Re: Proud (??) Parenting Moments
 

Yesterday morning my six year old daughter asked me if I had already "sent in your vote for Mr. Barack Obama."

Last night after her bath, this daughter stepped out of the tub and told me: "I have to whiz."

Stay classy, honey. I told my wife that with my parenting style we have to take the bad with the good.

S_A_M

Re: Proud (??) Parenting Moments
 

My kid would have just peed in the bathtub. You done good, Mr. Secret Agent Man.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

dude. you can't say that for sure, at least based upon your sample. the fact that you were always wearing your D&D elf robes may also have had something to do with the "no girls for 4 years" thing.

Re: Books for a kid.
 

I gave the Eragon books to my (now 15-year-old) nephew, and both he and his 11-year-old brother have greatly, greatly enjoyed them. Bonus on this one is that the third and final book just came out at the end of September, so you should be able to get that new-book discount on a boxed set. Unfortunately they didn't have a third-book-plus-three-book-box set, so my nephew has the first two in a box and the third one alongside.

Last year I gave him a bunch of Dumas, which didn't go over nearly as well, though he liked the idea of it.

My 10-year-old niece, also a precocious and voracious reader, has really enjoyed the Artemis Fowl books (by Eoin Colfer) I've given her. I think there are five or six of them.

And it's not accidental that these favorites are series. One-off books just don't hold much truck with this age group.

tm

Re: Books for a kid.
 

Odd, no mention of how Eragon is just a Luke figure in dragon clothes? (Smiles to RT)

Mine didn't like these, but I thought the one I read was fun. Colfer also wrote The Wishlist which is a bit darker but very good.

The second best thing that happened yesterday was my daughter showing me that she was reading The War of the Worlds. We had listened to a radio program about the various radio programs on WoTW and she finally picked it up. Today she is reading HG Wells and seeing the after glow of an historic election. My heart is so full of pride!

Parenting advice needed
 

So a friend of my older son's was over (the friend is 9), and they were playing something or other with my little guy (who is 6). During some disagreement over the game or whatever they were playing, the guest called the little guy a "bitch".

Now, my kids are hardly model citizens, but one thing they don't do is say "bad words". I am reminded every day that I am not a perfect mother, but this is something I feel strongly about - that kids shouldn't say bad words. Would that I could follow my own advice, but I think it sounds especially vulgar and trashy when kids swear.

My question is -- do I mention this to the kid's parents? (Not to advocate any particular course of action w/r/t their kid, just to inform them -- because I'd certainly want to know if my kids were swearing out of my earshot.)

Re: Parenting advice needed
 

You should absolutely mention it to the parents.

Re: Parenting advice needed
 

Now who's being a bitch??

I kid. Of course you say something. You'd want to know. I'd want to know. These parents want to know.

Re: Parenting advice needed
 

I could tell you stories about how little some parents "want to know" that will curl your hair. Many don't.

And you are missing the point if you focus on the parents. do you think your kids are exposed to swearing at school?

2 point plan: remind your kids that you feel cursing makes one seem vulgar or dumb or whatever, and that you do not want them to swear, even if their friends do.

then, the next time you hear the kid, tell him you like him and would appreciate it if he would not swear in your home as you think it vulgar.

Re: Parenting advice needed
 

Absolutely.

But Hank's advice on how to deal with the kids also seems very good.

Re: Parenting advice needed
 

Oh, I did mention it to the kid! Just a mild sentence about how that sort of language isn't allowed in our house. He looked a little embarrassed, but seemed to get over it quickly.

Thanks for all the responses. It's an awkward conversation to have, but it's better that I mention it. Thanks for confirming my (seldom perfect) instinct.

Re: Parenting advice needed
 

We have faced the issue a lot in another context. We live in a grammatically pristine neighborhood - we are surrounded by academics, many of whom come from abroad and so learned English formally and without the swears. But, our kids have a couple of activities that bring them into the inner city - one is involved in a singing group with a lot of kids from all over Boston, and two are part of a community sailing program in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. Well, there is a sizable crew of their peers who know every word on the street, and have a casual and often quite colorful and versitile ability to utilize language from which our children have been sheilded. Their dexterity and skill extends to Spanish and often Creole variations. Their linguistic flexibility is not only accepted but revelled in, and parental supervision often occurs with the same color.

In this environment, we've accepted a lack of control over some of the language, but encouraged our kids to maintain their high-fallutin language. In the sailing program, they've been nicknamed "the Europeans" because their speech is viewed as so, well, unAmerican (and, one of the friends participating in it is a German import, so, well, they must all be from somewhere else).

Around the neighbhorhood, we'd stick to your perfect instinct. In this other context, though, we've compromised. Are we bad parents?

Re: Parenting advice needed
 

It's not realistic to think that your kids won't curse, or hear bad language. I think it's important to start talking about context with them as soon as you can, so they understand that in some situations it's not okay for anyone to use certain words. So far, I've found that doing this -- acting like cursing is not the forbidden fruit, but just another thing that they need to be careful about -- Sidd Jr. doesn't get the illicit thrill from cursing that I did at his age, and doesn't want to do it so much. If he says a word to me, I won't get mad at him but will make sure he knows that what's okay to say to me in the car isn't okay to say in school or in front of his little sisters.

About the worst word he says with any frequency is "fart". On a recent vacation, in order to avoid having his sister learn that word (she 3, and would repeat it constantly), we renamed the word "cheeseburger." That way, we could be standing on line and say to each other "oof, it smells like someone is grilling cheeseburgers here!" Good times.

Re: Parenting advice needed
 

Not for your kids or my kids, certainly. But dtb's kids exist in a land of privilege and wealth. If she is careful of staff hires it is quite realistic that she can protect these children until they are off to the University.