My tween wants a cell phone. Correction, she wants a cell phone that allows her to text, play games online, send emails and lastly, make phone calls. Yesterday, she told me that more and more of the girls in her class (We’re talking 4th grade folks!) are getting cell phones for their 10th birthdays. She doesn’t want to wait a year. She wants one now. The question is, is my tween ready for a cell phone?
Photo Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake
It’s not surprising that two days after the Oscars everyone still buzzing about the display of fashion on Hollywood’s biggest night. What may be surprising is the lady getting the most attention is none other than Jenny Beavan, who took home the trophy for Best Costume Design. The twist is it’s not her award-winning designs from Mad Max Fury Road that has the internet all atwitter; rather it’s a dust-up about her choice to wear an off-the-rack faux-leather jacket and slacks to what is considered a traditional black-tie and formal frock event.
What do you get when you cross 100 professional bloggers with a perfectly organized conference in a luxurious resort with staff who love that you’re there? Many, many happy, relaxed hard-working people with huge smiles. At the Beaches Resorts Turks and Caicos in October for Social Media on the Sand, I participated in an instagram scavenger hunt called #BeachesGoSeek (which has subsequently been nominated for a prestigious social media award). Although my family was not with me to help, I was determined to complete the challenge with creativity.
Beaches Turks and Caicos is divided into four distinct villages each representing a theme – Caribbean, French, Italian and Key West. Not only did the scavenger hunt allow us to discover most nooks and crannies of the resort, but we experienced the helpfulness of the butlers who interrupted CEO Adam Stewart’s evening so that I could snap a selfie, or the front desk staff who brought out the resort train for me and Stephanie Sassy Modern Mom on a day when it was not running. The staff loved every second and appreciated the buzz we were all creating for the resort. Though I did not win the scavenger hunt after a random draw of those of us who completed the full challenge, I couldn’t have been more thrilled with having participated and experienced the property to its fullest.
Instagrams below include many of the talented and kind women I have grown to love in the business including Colleen Padilla (challenge 48), Connie Peters (photo 11), Vera Sweeney (photo 25), and many fabulous beloved characters from Sesame Street!
The Instagrams (in random order!):
I became 4 again today… #giddy #BeachesMoms @BeachesResorts
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This is my wet. No makeup happy look. @LandsEnd @beachesresorts #beachesGoSeek #BeachesMoms pic 47
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The staff at @BeachesResorts have unbelievable smiles! #beachesGoSeek #BeachesMoms pic 40
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Toes in the sand at @BeachesResorts! #FlipOutSandals #BeachesMoms #beachesGoSeek pic 2
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@SandalsResorts gives me energy and relaxation! #BeachesMoms #beachesGoSeek Challenge 5
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Scuba diving is included at @BeachesResorts. #BeachesMoms #beachesGoSeek challenge 44
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@BeachesResorts sunset #TurksandCaicos #familytravel #BeachesMoms #beachesGoSeek Challenge 34
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Nothing like Valentines Day to announce to the kids that we are off to Disneyland! I was honoured with an invitation to Disney Social Media Moms in April and decided to do a reveal to the kids on a romantic Valentine night.
We showed the kids our enthusiasm with Mickey hands, sparkly red heart balloons and mouse ears.
They ate Mickey Grilled Cheese and extra special cookies. I am such a kid!
Have you done a special Disney reveal for your kids? Tell us about it!
I don’t usually write rants. So brace yourselves. Last week we saw Alicia Silverstone mushing up food in her own mouth and feeding her child with a bird-like mouth-to-mouth technique on Youtube (link below). Today as I scanned Facebook, Babble asked it’s fans when their menstrual cycles returned after their children were born. (And the question received 150 comments and 41 likes within 4 hours.) Seriously? Is this a productive way to spend our time, bare our souls and reflect positively on the art of Motherhood? I think not.
I was introduced to a website recently called STFU, Parents. (You can guess the acronym). With categories such as ‘Spoiled Brats’, ‘Mommy Drama’ and ‘Bathroom Behaviour’, it is a brilliantly curated compilation of Facebook missteps by parents. The site “reaches thousands of daily readers and averages 1.5 million pageviews per month”. And no wonder. I could lose hours staring incredulously at the inane things that parents feel the need to share. I chuckle at the inappropriateness of the posts and yet I also feel sad and mortified. That there is a site like this makes a statement about our society. In my opinion, we have crossed a line where nothing is sacred to us or our children. What will Johnny think about the poop-smeared crib photo when he’s 13 and looks back at the Facebook legacy of his childhood that lives in perpetuity?
Having a laugh and feeling connected makes social media valuable and enticing. Friends joking with each other and revealing tidbits about their day is interesting and also a great way to lesson a geographical distance. But people must realize that this information is ‘out there’. Potential employers have asked recent graduates for their Facebook login information, and reputations and careers have been ruined. Posting negative or embarrassing information about your children could come back to haunt them – or potentially harm the trust within your parent-child relationship in the future.
The internet allows us to access information and have our questions (sometimes) answered without needing to communicate in person or search out a book. Information on bodily functions, sex, and other taboo dinner-table topics from reputable, research-based sites are an excellent source of information. But when I look to social networking sites for camaraderie, friendly laughs and the sharing of knowledge, I really don’t want to hear about vomit in your minivan. Nor do I want to see a photo of the placenta. And I most certainly don’t want to know the specifics of your teenager hitting puberty. The value of social media is knowledge – real information that enhances our collective experience of our world. We have incredible tools at our disposal and we are littering them with inappropriate information.
The Mouth-to-mouth feeding video.
What are your thoughts?