crazedparent

Ode to rick...

For me to begin this tale, I must admit a sordid secret. Friends who read this already know the truth, well partially. But now, I come clean. And just remember, at the end of it all, I'm doing this to make a point.

Ok here goes. Deep breath.

I love Rick Springfield. Yes. The Australian guy who wishes he had "Jessie's Girl." Dr. Noah Drake from the soap opera General Hospital. (Stop laughing...there's more.)

I have adored him since I was 8 years old, since the very first moment I spotted him on Solid Gold strutting across the stage while the Solid Gold Dancers shimmied behind him. Now, while I am at the ripe age of 30-something and he just had his 55th birthday, I still adore him (and he's still hot). Oh, no. Even better! I managed to write a story about him for the San Francisco Chronicle. It was by far the best interview I've ever conducted, probably because I was on the verge of ecstasy the entire time we spoke.

Why in God's name would I share this with friends of crazedparent? Here's the point...

Today, my son was playing with his train set in our living room while we had a radio station playing in the background. Suddenly, my son started yelling "Mommy! All night! All night!" This happens to be the chorus to a Rick Springfield song (from the Working Class Dog album in case anyone cares). This particular song was not on the radio, but I listened closely and it was actually "Jessie's Girl," which has received some serious airplay over the past few months thanks to the Jennifer Garner movie "13 Going on 30."

Bottom line, my son actually recognized the voice and made a direct connection to a song he remembered. This leads me to conclude two things.

1. I MUST be playing Rick Springfield much more than the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends in any guidelines it publishes. (My loving husband has been saying this for months but hey, why should I agree with him.)

2. My son has a very good ear!

Seriously, young children love music so this is fantastic time to expose them to all sorts of tunes and genres. Go beyond Mother Goose Rhymes (although this is a favorite in our household). My friends swear their 7-month-old daughter, Clara, loves Frank Sinatra.

So go ahead. Try some Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Break out your Earth Wind & Fire CD. My son loves the song "Suavemente" by Elvis Crespo. (And it provides Mom the opporunity to teach her little boy to salsa, a dance every man should learn.)

Who the heck is Elvis Crespo? Find out yourself. You're asking the gal who loves Rick Springfield.

Sidebar from crazedparent, which shows how damn crazed I am...

During any car ride when my son starts acting up, we throw on this Springfield acoustic number called "Shoot Your Guru" from his latest album. My son calls it the "pretty guitarra" song (adoration aside, it is a beautiful song) and requests it over and over and over. We're at the stage where I'm ready to call Mr. Springfield himself and beg for an acoustic album.

My little chef...

When my son was only a few months old, I would put him in his bouncie chair, prop him on the kitchen table, and make dinner with a running monologue of every step I took. His eyes would widen as I'd chop vegetables. I'd bring over spices for him to smell. It was like a private cooking demonstration.

Now my son is 2 1/2, and he LOVES the kitchen. If he sees me getting ready to cook, he drags a chair over the the counter, asks for his mini-apron, and says "I want to help!" And he does.

He's learned every spice in the spice drawer and when I ask for one by name, he can pick it out and bring it to me. He knows all his cooking utensils and appliances. And he most assuredly knows better then to touch a hot stove or plugged in chopping tool. He makes a mean PB&J, and always makes me crack up when he asks for a "chai latte."

As a parent it's always amazing to see your child's mind develop, which brings a new understanding of how quickly they learn and desperately they want to learn.

So let them.

The kitchen is a great place to start. They can practice recognizing numbers and letters, count, learn about fruits, vegetables and nutrition. It's also a great place to reinforce listening skills when giving your kids instructions. But the best part is spending time together creating and showing your kids how their efforts paid off with an amazing result, whether it's mac & cheese, chocolate pudding or homemade pizza. The proud smile on their face is reason alone.

Some fun links and books to help make your little one the next Thomas Keller or Mollie Katzen.

Family Kitchen Fun

Kids Cooking Club

Pretend Soup: A cookbook for preschoolers and up