Tag Archives: contact

Making Contact: Setting Comfortable Limits with Our Child’s Adopted Siblings’ Families

One of my fears in preparing to meet my either of my sons’ siblings or adoptive families was what if they’re hopes for the degree of contact differs greatly from ours? I thought quite a bit about this and played out different scenarios in my mind. Part of me worried the families would rather not have any contact. When we first became a family, we had the constant reminder of adoption. We wanted to move on with life and feel normal. For this reason, I certainly would have understood my childrens’ birth siblings’ family wanting to move forward or have … Continue reading →

Making Contact: Finding My Child’s Adopted Siblings

After three years of playing amateur private investigator, I finally found the rest of my son’s birth siblings’ adoptive families. I desperately wanted more information on my son’s family medical background than I was given by our state. I wanted to know if the other families got more information on my son’s birth parents character as well. Here is the story on how we made contact. For easier reference and safety purposes, I will refer to my son’s birth siblings by their maternal birth order rather than their names. My son is the 6th child of 8 by his birthmother. … Continue reading →

Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends

Of all of the children’s programming available on cable television, there is one that I find particularly intriguing. “Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends” is a show about a family of bugs and, I just found out, is based on a series of books by David Kirk. The show stars Miss Spider and her mate Holley. They are mother and father to several bugs, many of whom are adopted, and they take their parenting very seriously. Miss Spider (Flora) makes sure that all of the vegetarian meals that she prepares for her family are very healthy. She was raised by a … Continue reading →

NOGGIN Shorts

Much in the way that Playhouse Disney and PBS Kids Sprout have what I like to call “mini-shows,” NOGGIN network has what they like to call “shorts.” These are little shows that are in between the regularly scheduled programming. Bruno Bruno loves to play with you! He is a little grey monkey who is always playing and being silly. The educational part of “Bruno” is that there is always something that has to do with math when he plays. Cooking for Kids with Luis When it’s snack time on NOGGIN, we know who to call. Luis is a little boy … Continue reading →

Wonder Pets!

Linny, Tuck, and Ming-Ming, too. We’re the Wonder Pets and we’ll help you. We’re not too big and we’re not too tough, but when we work together we’ve got the right stuff! “Wonder Pets!” is all about three preschool classroom pets — a guinea pig, a turtle, and a duckling — who go around helping animals in trouble. At the beginning of each episode, once the classroom is cleared of students, the pets usually get a call on their tin-can phone. Then sing a song about the phone ringing and that there is an animal in trouble. Linny is the … Continue reading →

The Good Night Show

PBS Kids Sprout has something a little different for our nighttime kiddies. Whereas NOGGIN network signs off at 6 p.m. (EST) every night and switches to “The N,” Sprout has a special show beginning at that time. “The Good Night Show” runs every night until 6 a.m. the following morning. Hosted by Emmy-nominated children’s favorite, Noel MacNeal and his friends Star and Lucy, “The Good Night Show” combines Sprout favorites with song, dance, and stories. You may know Noel MacNeal better as the voices of Bear from “Bear in the Big Blue House” and Kako, the best friend of the … Continue reading →

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

My daughter has a new favorite show on Playhouse Disney — “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” My daughter just calls it “House.” No, it is not reminiscent of the old “Mickey Mouse Club” where you had Mouseketeers shouting their names and performing cute skits. This show is completely animated and involves Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and their old nemesis Pete. The show begins with Micky Mouse greeting the viewers. In order to make the clubhouse appear, you have to say the magic words with Mickey — “Meeska, mooska, Mickey Mouse!” The oddly-shaped, Mickey-Mouse-like clubhouse then appears in the middle of … Continue reading →

READ ME NOW!

Aren’t you just a little bit curious about this blog? Well, come on in and sit for a spell! Okay, now that I have your attention, I would like to take this opportunity to say: READ MEDIA REVIEWS! Reading blogs in Media Reviews is like taking a break from your day. You get to read about children’s books, adult books (but not TOO adult), children’s videos and television programming, music, and websites. I have made it a personal goal to try and get more Families.com members to read from Media Reviews. Here I am reaching out to you, the reader. … Continue reading →

PBSParents.org

I was watching PBS Kids Sprout with my daughter yesterday when I saw an ad for PBSParents.org. Of course, I had to check it out. It has all kinds of advice for parents, and it contains activities, games, and even recipes that relate to your children’s favorite shows. There are nine parents guides, as well as six tabs across the top of the page to help you navigate the site. Each section relates to parents and their children. There are tips on child development, how to talk to your children, and even a place where you can pose questions to … Continue reading →

Nick Jr.

Posted on by

Nickelodeon has something a little different these days from the programming they had when I was younger. I remember the video show “Nick Rocks” and the funny yet disgusting “You Can’t Do That on Television,” where now-popular music star Alanis Morissette got her start. “The Monkees” in syndication made me fall for Mickey Dolenz who, unbeknownst to me, was already in his forties by then. The all-knowing “Mr. Wizard” and “Pinwheel” were the only educational programs that I recall seeing. Nowadays, Nickelodeon features Nick Jr. during the day. Fun, educational shows are the focus of this part of Nickelodeon. Of … Continue reading →