Month: July 2010

Bilingual Education: A Two-Way Street of Learning

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When people ask me what language I learned first as a child, I find that question difficult to answer one way or another.  The fact is both my parents had recently left Europe when I was born a mere few weeks later in the United States.  I assume that I heard them speak both languages (Greek and English) and just used English more during my scholastic years.  It actually wasn’t until my early twenties that I had a renewed interest in speaking more Greek among my peers when I joined young adult groups through the Greek Orthodox church.  I was thankful that my mother had instilled a basic vocabulary in me so that I could build on it.

After I found out I was pregnant with my son back in 2007, I knew immediately that I wanted to speak to him in Greek.  When folks would ask me if I would I answered them affirmatively.  Then I realized that I did know a little bit of French from my school years and would also like to share that language with him while also learning more myself.

The first year of my son’s life I found it quite easy to settle into speaking Greek to him when home alone with him.  Usually my words were simple and sentences short, I figured this would be easier than I thought. How silly right?

Now as my son has barreled past his 2-year-old birthday, I have begun to realize my limitations.  Reading his English books have become a little more complicated in Greek, explaining things around us like a mini-lecture series for toddlers has also become dicey in Greek.  In fact, I’ve been humbled by the fact that my vocabulary is limited in Greek and now I need to learn more.  So together I’ve sat with my son through Greek video or computer programs.  My mother-in-love sent us the Rosetta Stone for Greek.

As my son T.A. spouts out words in both English and Greek everyday, my husband and I find ourselves going to “school” at night with our educational assistance.  It turns out that teaching your child another language benefits yourself as well.

I still share some French with my son and am blessed by the fact that there are loved ones in his life that also know French like his great Aunt and music teacher.  I have asked these ladies to let loose in French to him, I suspect it’s also been great practice for them.

Then there is the peer exposure.  My son and I have started a friendship this summer with another mother and son–the mother is from Slovakia.  She and I continue to chat in English while we also speak our Greek and Slovakian to our sons together.  We have noticed how the boys have swapped some words with each other and use them in their limited toddler conversations.  “Kok” means kick in Slovakian and my son says it repeatedly now when we go swimming in the pool and ocean.  I get a kick out of the fact that my son is speaking even one or two words of Slovakian without me even trying to teach him.

If you haven’t begun another language for your child or children, it’s never too late.  What’s better is if you participate in their learning process, even if you have a foreknowledge of the language.  I believe there are only benefits to knowing another language or two or three, et cetera. 

Many in the U.S. will pick Spanish as a second language to teach their children, that’s not a bad thing but it’s also not the only language you need to consider.  Try to pick something you and your partner in parenting will both be enthusiastic about so that the child(ren) will sense that this is something worthy to know and speak.

There is so much I can say on this subject but I just wanted to get the message out that teaching your kids more than just English is really a great idea and promotes extra-curricular education for both you and your child.  We have so many resources at hand now, like children videos, computer software and even classes for little ones pre-kindergarten.  If you have older kids, pick a country/region you would really like to vacation to one day as a family and make it a goal to learn that language on a conversational level.  Bilingual education is most effective when it becomes an activity involving the entire family, not just sending the kids to a language class in school.

RVSB

Mosquito Warning For South Florida Parents

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If you are a parent in South Florida, you may have seen the recent news release this past week about the Dengue fever outbreak that’s been discovered in Key West.  You can Google search the Palm Beach Post’s headline from Wednesday, July 14: “Surge of dengue virus hits Key West”.

Here’s the short list of what Dengue fever is:

  • Also known as “break-bone fever”
  • High fever, pain behind eyes, bone and joint pain, nausea and vomiting
  • Symptoms start within 4 days of bite, pass in usual less than a week
  • There are more severe forms that would require medical attention because of internal and external bleeding (3-4 of the cases in Key West involved bleeding episodes)

At the same time, we must remember that even if this Dengue fever spreads north to the rest of Florida, we still have another disconcerting mosquito-borne illness to contend with.  No, it’s not just West Nile virus—an illness that most people get through unharmed if contracted.  Evidently there was a recent death of a horse attributed to Eastern equine encephalitis.  Thankfully, even with the high mortality rate in people, Eastern equine encephalitis only claims 5-6 human cases every year.

My son and I have already earned our summer season welts and broken skin bites on our legs, arms, back, belly and neck.  I feel slightly remiss as a parent for not trying to protect ourselves better.  But what are our options these days?

Off! and other brands that are known for their sprays, wipes and lotions with DEET concern me and I tend to avoid them unless absolutely necessary.  Basically I was “turned off” to Off! after an experience over a year ago that I’ve since recalled to many friends:  When my son was an infant, one of my ways of exercising in his first year was to put him in my Bob running stroller.  In Florida, the peak times for the mosquitoes seems to be early morning and late in the day.  My runs were usually in the morning and I would clip a couple of Off! fans to the stroller for the baby but I would still spray myself with Off! because my arms would take a hit otherwise.  One morning I came to the stroller and picked up my Off! spray bottle that I’d left on top of the stroller.  To my horror, I realized as I lifted the bottle that some had spilled on the see-through plastic intended to spy on baby while using and the Off! had eaten a large hole in it!  After that I realized that the chemicals in this stuff were too toxic for our skin, let alone our children’s.

I have found the bug bands to be useful, you can find them at stores like Gander or even Bed Bath and Beyond.  They are plastic, adjustable bands that have certain oils (like geranium and lavender) that help deter the blood-sucking mosquitoes.  The only downside is they are temporary and disposable.  They usually last up to 72 hours if used consecutively.

There are also some natural products that are out there, like at Whole Foods stores for instance.  Those are hit and miss though.  Some are not really affective, some too oily/greasy and others just difficult to find or too expensive.

You can always look at getting an electric bug zapper or this new thing available at Home Depot that is the size of a large sippy cup and runs with a little bit of gas and helps keep mosquitoes away at a certain perimeter.  Some gardening catalogs like www.gardeners.com have some great anti-mosquito products.

Those who are veteran Florida parents also know about ways to help keep the mosquito population down: getting rid of standing water, treating small ponds with mosquito repellents that are biologically safe.

It’s a sad truth, but we have to face the mosquito questions every year in Florida and those who have children are especially on high alert.  Arm yourselves with what you think is right for your family and hopefully you can minimize this season’s bites.

RVSB

Who is Salt?

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Perhaps it’s best that one of the action flicks of the summer 2010 would be entitled “Salt”.  Although the film starring Angelina Jolie has little to nothing to do with nutrition, the connotation is valid as the concerns over sodium in our American diet has the recurring headline theme in many media pieces including today’s Palm Beach Post article in the Accent section “Is Salt At Fault”.  You can find Ms. Staci Sturrock’s report online at http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/why-salt-in-your-diet-could-be-the-783042.html

It was probably about five years ago that I really started to pay attention to the salt buzz.  I admit I scoffed at the idea of cutting down my salt intake as I am a professed lover of salty things divine such as Greek feta, Kalamata olives, other tangy cheeses, chips and the list goes on.  

Being a busy twenty-something with nothing but career-climbing and a young husband in mind, I figured that we were healthy and didn’t need to worry about salt unless we were diagnosed with something that prescribed omission of the condiment.  How very ignorant I was, the proverbial blissful existence was what I was leading.

It wasn’t until we had family that was facing health issues that demanded attention, including cutting the salt, that we finally started to examine the idea more closely.  If you get to read Ms. Sturrock’s piece, you may learn for the first time that many of our processed foods already include an incredible amount of salt and you may not recognize it in the ingredients listed.

My daily dinner menu for my family now focuses on trying to put together meals that come from the freshest possible items.  By cutting out the processed foods I have more control over just how much seasoning is used, including salt.  In the process I’ve learned some fun tricks, like how lemon or lime can help season certain vegetables like artichokes and asparagus, thus reducing the reliance on salt.

Ms. Sturrock’s article does a good job of stating statistics sourced from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as polling from health specialists.  She reports that the FDA is “considering a plan to place restrictions on the amount of salt that manufacturers are allowed to add to processed foods.”  Toward the end of Ms. Sturrock’s piece, Dr. Andy Larson of South Florida’s JFK Medical Center brings up another valid concern about our diet saying ” ‘are we sure that we want to single out salt when the real problem is the junk calories in the food — the processed flours and unnecessary vegetable oils that have the calories.?’ ”

My one political comment concerning Ms. Sturrock’s report would be that I’m not so sure that I support government mandates on what food producers put out on the consumer market.  As a proponent of personal responsibility, I truly believe if Americans en masse start shopping for fresher or low-sodium alternatives, companies will take notice and react accordingly to supply the demand of the consumers.  More government intervention means more tax dollars out the door and so I think we are adults that can be responsible for the choice of getting the white-caked french fries or finding another choice of potato preparation.

My husband and I have noticed how the overall reduction of salt in our diet has benefited us health-wise.  Of course we’re not perfect and there are times that we probably far exceed the daily recommended 2300 mg (a teaspoon size) of sodium–especially when eating out at a restaurant or the ever-forbidden fast-food joint such as McDonald’s (you know that’s not fairy dust on the fries).

It turns out that if you can try to weed out processed foods in your daily diet, you’ll end up tackling other nutrition pitfalls.  I’m not suggesting you go for the “raw diet” that has become quite the fad in some circles, but there are ways you can incorporate more simple ingredients.  For example, when you make pasta dinners, why not reach for a can or jar of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce sans salt and then add your own Italian flare: it can be fresh or dried herbs of your own choice and perhaps just a pinch of sea salt and sugar, voila spaghetti sauce a la your creation!

Who is Salt? I still want to watch the Jolie movie, hopefully the subliminal effect of its title will help us remember to pay a little more mind to sodium’s place in our diets so that we don’t have to halt the salt completely when we hit our sixties or seventies.

Note: For those already above the aforementioned age-group, I hope you’re mitigating your diet as needed, for more information you can check our government’s guidelines: www.fda.gov

R.V.S.B.

The Best Wealth in the World: Family Reunion Reflections

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People often make the assumption that because I’m a first-generation Greek-American, my family life must resemble the circus-like daily drama as seen in the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” several years ago.  Yet in my case, I came from parents who each were without siblings to begin with and beyond that scarce on aunts and uncles.  In the end, by my teenage years, my family consisted of myself, my mother and my younger brother and sister.

Having shared that information I must quickly follow up and make it crystal clear that I love my small family fiercely and although we have our differences as all kin do, I’m ever grateful that I have them to share the burdens and joys of this earthly existence.  At the same time, as I approach my tenth wedding anniversary this month, I’m also overwhelmed with gratitude for the family I inherited through marriage to my husband.  I refer in heart and mind to my in-laws as “in-loves” since that is how I received them from the moment I said “I do”.

This sentimental post comes on the coattails of a long road trip that my husband and son took up north to gather with the families that get together every two years in a different location to celebrate our family as a whole and as individuals.  Some years we can make it and others perhaps not, but I always endeavor to try especially now that my 2-year-old can truly appreciate the fun he can have with his countless cousins.  So far extended in either direction is this family that it’s actually easier to just refer to many as our “cousins-in-loves” since we have no idea how complicated the family chart could get in connecting it with proper titles.

As we relaxed by a lake and chatted with family members both young and old and in the middle of the rat race such as my husband and I,  we found common ground to share as well as new experiences to swap since we last all saw each other.  My heart continued to burst every time I saw my son enjoying playing with the other children, all his family that he’s inherited from his parents.  It’s the best wealth in the world that we can leave to him even after we may leave this earthen plane.

If you’re part of a family that has reunion get-together and haven’t been yet, I highly recommend it.  Perhaps you may need to spear head such an event if it’s never been done in your family clan. 

I know there are those that would rather skip the intermingling with their family because of issues like “Omigosh, do we have to listen to Great Uncle So-and-So drone on?”.  My only caution is that we shouldn’t let petty annoyances get in the way of touching base with extended family because there is a priceless wealth in what we can learn about ourselves, our spouses and our children by listening to the oral histories of family.  Note: Of course, in cases of domestic abuse and other such tragedies, it is acceptable to avoid contact such as I must in the case of my paternal side.

Life is full of so many hectic days that we often lose touch with our families–no matter that we have iPhones and e-mail and whatever the latest networking technology is.  Family reunions make us literally carve out time to just dwell among the team made up of blood and marriage ties that weaves a tapestry richer than money could ever buy.

R.V.S.B.