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Super Secret Sauce

My 3-year old hates lettuce, carrots and cucumbers. Offer him some and he’ll say, “No, thanks!” Force him to eat it, he’ll simply spit it out.

But he loves salad.

The difference? My Super Secret Sauce.

I mix hard boiled eggs with four parts mayonnaise and one part catsup, preferably the banana flavor. Sometimes, I add more mayonnaise. Sometimes, I add more catsup. It depends, I guess, on my mood.

I offer this to my 3-year old. He’ll eat the lettuce, carrots and cucumbers with it—with gusto.

“You want the Super Secret Sauce?” I asked my 3-year old one time, when my wife fried some chicken and tossed some salad.

“Yah!” he shouted, dancing even.

“OK, now,” I said. “We need to keep this secret, OK?”

My son looked at me. Then smiled.

“But it’s just catsup and this white thing, Daddy.”

OK. I admit. It’s not a recipe you’ll find at Food Network. It’s not even a sauce; it’s a dressing. But it works.

Need a new recipe tonight? Visit recipesecrets.net

If only they ask parents like you

Ever wonder how much time and money researchers would save if only they ask you? Consider what researchers found out recently:

• Breast-fed children cope better with stressful situations. This is according to a study by Dr. Scott Montgomery, an epidemiologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Montgomery, quoted by a Reuters report (08/02/06), remains uncertain why breast-fed babies are less anxious. He, however, suggests that—among others—the physical contact between the mother and the child during breastfeeding may have something to do with it. The study took 10 years to complete.
  
  
• Children who are read to at an early age—possibly as young as 14 months—have better language skills and cognitive development. This is according to a study published in the Child Development journal, as reported by the United Press International (07/17/06). In that study, children who were read to starting at about 12 to 14 months of age appeared to possess more advanced language comprehension skills compared to children who were read to starting at 2 or 3 years old. The study involved 2,500 families in 17 communities across the United States.
  
  
• Homework should not be done in front of a television. This is according to a study published by UCLA psychologist in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Study co-author Russell Poldrack, a UCLA associate professor of psychology, say multi-tasking (like doing homework while watching television) impairs a child’s ability to learn. “When distractions force you to pay attention to what you are doing, you don’t learn as well as if you had paid full attention,” Poldrack, as quoted by the Psych Central (07/06/06), says. The study used functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI), an expensive technique to spot active brain areas.

Where can I find the lowest prices on baby items online?

One of those days

My 1-year old loves to drench himself in milk. After each feeding (he is bottle-fed), he takes what’s left and drips it down his hair and face.

I say, “No.” He smiles.

I remain firm and say, “No!” He giggles.

My 3-year old joins in and shouts, “NO!” My 1-year old laughs. He thinks it’s funny—and so does my 3-year old.

Now, both of them are laughing their hearts out.

I call my wife in her office.

“Mommy,” I tell her. “I think both of our kids are nuts.”

Three things I’ve learned (so far) from reading to my kids

• The name of a popular children’s character is spelled Humpty Dumpty, not Humpy Dumpy.
  
  
• No matter how much I—and most others—admire it, Winnie the Pooh is not the only children’s book ever published.
  
  
• Between reading a book and watching TV, a child would prefer to read.

I know. The third sounds unbelievable. Until—

“Do you want to read a book with Daddy or watch TV,” I asked my 3-year old one morning. The Backyardigans, my son’s favorite, is showing.

“Read with Daddy,” my 3-year old said without hesitation.

I was particularly lazy that morning. So, I tried again, pushing for the watch-TV option.

“How about read with Daddy or watch TV and eat Popsicle?” My son loves Popsicle.

“Um … read with Daddy.”

I felt proud. So I read him a book.

Two pages into reading Michael Frith’s I’ll Teach My Dog 100 Words, my son looked at me, smiled and whispered, “Daddy? Can I read with you and eat Popsicle?”

Smart kid.

Rashes and Danny Phantom

“Your little brother has the rashes,” I tell my 3-year old. “It’s called Roseola infantum.”

My 3-year old looks at me.

“Do you know what Roseola infantum is?” I asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“What is it?”

“It’s Danny Phantom,” he said.

I get the connection, I guess. Phantom rhymes with infantum. The connection, however, ends there. Danny Phantom, a character at Nick TV, is a kid who could turn ghost to fight bad ghosts. Roseola infantum, according to WebMD, is a mild illness common in children 6 months to 2 years old.

I tell my 3-year old this. I tell him Roseola caused the high fever that his little brother felt for the past three days. I tell him Roseola also caused the rashes appearing in his little brother’s face, arms and legs.

“These are the symptoms of Roseola infantum,” I tell my 3-year old. “Sudden high fever that suddenly ends two to three days later, followed by rosy-pink rash lasting one to two days.”

My 3-year old looks at me, saying nothing.

Then he smiles.

“Nah,” he said. “You’re kitting me. It’s Danny Phantom!”


For more information about Roseola infantum, visit WebMD. Although Roseola is considered a mild illness, consult with your doctor if your child suddenly develops high fever or rashes. I did.