KIDS ARE SAFER IN CRASHES WHEN GRANNY OR GRANDPA IS DRIVING

A report published in the August 2011 issue of the medical journal PEDIATRICS showed findings that were just the opposite of what the researchers had expected. Since most of us grandparents are in an older age group that has a higher risk of severe crashes, the researchers thought that grandparent-driven children would be at higher risk of injury. However, they found that children are actually safer in a crash when grandma or grandpa is behind the wheel.

The study authors examined five years worth of crash data, including more than 2,000 children. Grandparents comprised 9.5 percent of drivers in crashes (the rest were parents), but resulted in only 6.6 percent of the total injuries. Nearly all children were reported to be restrained at the time of the crash. However, children in grandparent-driven vehicles were less likely to be optimally restrained. Despite this, children in grandparent-driven crashes had half the risk of injuries as those in crashes when parents were driving.

We grandparents probably drive more cautiously when we have “precious cargo” on board, but our precious passengers would be even safer if we followed current child restraint guidelines. So we need to be more familiar with the best child seats -- and how to use them.

METAMORPHOSIS

I just heard a wonderful activity story from Super Granny Mary Heath, gardener and grandmother of six, that I have to share. I’ll let Mary tell it in her own words. And be sure to look at the photos on the screen:

On June 18 when three of my granddaughters -- Rachel, age 7, Hailey, 6 and Taylor, 3 -- were out in our garden, we found a black swallowtail caterpillar on my parsley. I have an herb garden and that species especially loves parsley, dill, cilantro, and carrot tops. We got the "bug house" container, which I had ready and waiting. This is something we've done before, as far as catching bugs and watching them. We put the critter into the container and then I suggested we look it up on the Internet. The girls liked that idea. We learned that getting them to pupate and develop into a butterfly is really not too hard. So, back to the garden we went to find more parsley, dill, and cilantro leaves. This caterpillar ATE everything. We were putting in food twice a day. Rachel thought he needed water, so we spritzed it a couple of times, just to keep it moist.
Two days later, on June 20, I put a small stick into the container, because we had read how they crawl up the stick to pupate. Sure enough, almost immediately, the thing crawled up the stick. By the next morning, it was hanging from the stick, just as it's supposed to do, but we didn't know if it would actually spin a cocoon. The girls had to come over (they live a few blocks from us) every day to see the progress. On the morning of June 21, the cocoon was formed! It was in that state until June 29. Nothing happened all that time, and I was afraid our little creature was dead! Then, on the 29th, I was working by the sink, and heard a little rustle and looked over at the container... the cocoon was TWITCHING. I called the girls immediately and they came right over. They got to see this periodic twitching... like a cat in a bag. The girls were truly amazed and their interest now was regenerated for sure. We didn't know how soon it might emerge, so we watched and monitored it almost every waking hour! The day following there was no movement, and again I was afraid the caterpillar was dead. The girls and I had talked all along that sometimes, in nature, things don't work out like we hope they will, and that we needed to be very patient. It might turn into a butterfly and it might not. I don't think either of them had doubts like mine.
On July 1, we noticed a color change... definitely a good sign, as it turned blackish and you could actually see the yellow dots of color on the wings, right through the cocoon. Rachel, the oldest sister, could begin to imagine, I think, that there was a butterfly in there. We talked about how it might be a very small butterfly because the cocoon didn't seem very big.
On July 2, my husband got up at 5:30 a.m., and said the cocoon was intact. By the time I got up around 7, I looked in the container, and could hardly believe what I saw... we had a wet butterfly! I waited until 8 and called the girls. They came right over and by then the butterfly was pretty well unfurled, and drying off. It was beautiful... really was. The girls thought it might be hungry, so we talked about the food it liked. No longer was it dill or parsley, but now it would be nectar from flowers. We gathered a couple to put in the container. Nothing happened. The butterfly was still sort of stuck to the wall of the opposite side of the container.
We had read that after a couple of hours, the butterfly would be ready to fly. We talked about letting it go or keeping it. While Hailey seemed reluctant to release it, Rachel reminded her that that's what butterflies do… they fly away, and maybe it would be happiest if it could do that. Hailey seemed to agree. Just about then, the butterfly flew a little inside the cage and found the flowers. We decided then, to take it outside, near some flowers.
We gathered around, with camera in hand, and gently lifted the lid. It was a few minutes before it actually took off, but it was big and beautiful and landed across the yard near some flowers, then off in the yards around us.
We've never seen it since, but I told the girls, when they see a black swallowtail butterfly, they will have to wonder, was that ours?

new book about sexuality for grannies -- and grandpas too

By the time we become grandparents we have reached an age about which discussions of sex are often either patronizing or dismissive. But attaining middle or even old age doesn't mean that we have turned into nonsexual beings. Joan Price’s first book about sex in later life, "Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex after Sixty," talked about the joys of sex at this time of life. After that book was published, Joan received letters from people asking questions about making sex better. And so she wrote her just published new book, “Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex.”

This one is really comprehensive: it doesn’t leave out any subject that's relevant to sexuality for people in midlife and beyond. She and her impressive array of expert contributors cover topics with such expertise and such love for her readers that I as a reader felt well taken care of, with so many answers both to questions I have had and those I never thought of but should have. An abundance of quotes from people aged 50 and over describe their experiences with sex, talk about problems, ask questions, tell what works for them. Much sound practical advice gives resources and solid suggestions. And best of all, the book has heart as well as a healthy dose of lust. This is a book about sex that also talks about love -- which many do not.

Of course Joan Price is up-to-date -- she's on Twitter, she's on Facebook, and she has an award-winning blog about sex and aging: http://www.Naked at Our Age.com

NEW INTERVIEW WITH GLOBE-TROTTING TEACHER

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Matthew Finch, a young British writer and teacher, who until a short time ago was working as a curriculum consultant with a literacy organization in New York City. He has taught every age group from four years old to 40, working as a classroom teacher and outreach specialist, and he holds a PhD in History from the University of London. He has taught Shakespeare and German in junior school, cultural studies to Aimhigher students, and James Bond to undergraduates. I hope he’ll be teaching the grandparent generation one of these days! Matt is currently training teachers in Ayacucho, Peru, but before he left for South America, he conducted a lively interview with me. To read it, go to http://booksadventures.blogspot.com/2011/04/interview-sally-wendkos-olds-super.html And to keep up with Matt's adventures in Peru, go to http://lavidaidealist.org/2011/04/09/escrutineo/

IS MY FACE RED!

I had forgotten that I have to moderate comments to my blog before they can be published, and today I just came across a slew of wonderful comments that I had not seen before. I want to thank all of you who have been reading my posts – and been sending good wishes and kind comments.

For the next week I’ll be busy kvelling over my daughter, Jenny (not a grandchild this time!), who’ll be playing in an International Amateur Pianists Competition, so I won’t be back in these pages for a little while.

Meanwhile, if you’re on facebook, look for the page for “The Complete Book of Breastfeeding.” I try to keep it interesting!

Thanks so much for your interest.

THIS BLOG JUST WON AN AWARD!

GRAND Magazine just named http://omasally.blogspot.com one of the Top 12 GRANDparent Blogs Award, "in recognition of your commitment to grandparents and their grandchildren while providing outstanding content. The winning blogs were chosen based on content, ease of navigation, web traffic and overall look and appeal." Thanks, GRAND!

My colleague Rosemary Carstens was absolutely right when she wrote on my Facebook page that this blog must be a joy to write. It is – especially now, capping a week when I had two Red-Letter Grandma days.

The first one was last Sunday when I was in contact with every one of my five grandchildren, either by phone or email, hearing about what they’re up to. And the second was the day before yesterday when I spent a wonderful day with Anna, the college freshman who is – happily for me – attending a university only an hour’s drive from my house. I saw her dorm room, I met her lovely roommate and another nice classmate, we had a good lunch, and lots of good conversation. I am a lucky granny indeed.

NEW 4TH EDITION OF "THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING"

When I wrote the first edition of this book back in 1971, I started off the Introduction with the following paragraph:

"If you were living at some other time or in some other place, you might not need this book. You might even wonder about its purpose, since you would be getting much of the information in these pages from your mother, your aunts, your older sisters, and your neighbors. They would share with you their breastfeeding experiences and those of their mothers before them. As you saw them suckling their infants, you would pick up the “tricks of the trade” without even realizing it. It would never occur to you that you would not nurse your baby, because every baby that you had ever seen would have been fed at his mother’s breast—except in the extremely rare case when a mother was too ill to nurse."

At that time I knew hardly any grandmothers who had nursed their own children and who could therefore be helpful to their daughters when their babies were born. Now, 38 years after that first edition was published, the situation is very different. Many of today’s young moms were breastfed themselves and so do have the benefits of motherly help. Still, we grandmas don’t know everything about breastfeeding – aside from the fact that our nursing days are long behind us. Furthermore, there’s so much new research about breastfeeding and so many lifestyle changes in our daughters’ lives that there’s still room for a book a new mom can keep by her bed, underline, and consult without turning on her computer or getting out of bed. One new section in this edition is addressed especially to grandmothers -- focusing on how we can be of most help to the woman breastfeeding our grandchild.

And so I hope that this brand-new 4th edition of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING will become the breastfeeding “Bible” for still another generation. The beautiful new edition is just coming into bookstores now. For this edition I consulted Laura M. Marks, M.D., a Connecticut pediatrician who nursed her own three children and counsels mothers about breastfeeding and other child care issues. Laura has another connection to me, too. Her mother, Lynne, is one of the super grannies whose story of an activity she has done with her grandchildren is in SUPER GRANNY.