HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's about 11 PM here on the Eve right now.
DH, Katie, and I made it back around 7:30 - a normally 6.5 hour car trip turned itself into about a 9 hour one back from the ILs due to loads of snow and ice on the roads (how does that sound Bec - so different from your 105!) - bunch of accidents (happily not us this time!), etc, etc - fortunaely Katie was quite the trooper - I sat in the back with her for a good part of the trip just to entertain her. She has LOADS of new toys from all the family we've been seeing.
Hmmm....sorry I missed chat last night, sounds as if it was quite interesting :wink:
Thoughts about recent conversation....
ADHD/TV - I've got loads of thoughts on ADHD, don't really know if it results from TV or not, but I would tend to think it has some sort of genetic link, as most of the kids who I have taught who are truly ADHD seem to have parents whose behavior is remarkably similar to their childrens'. Interestingly enough, they recently discovered the gene (well, genes, I think it was more than one) responsibly for dyslexia, so it does seem as if a good deal of it does have some sort of genetic basis. They can do such ridiculously cool stuff with brain scans these days, it's nice to be able to prove things like learning disabilities really do exist instead of just blaming the kids for not working hard enough.
Another tangent -- I said "truly ADHD" above because I tend to think it gets overdiagnosed - kids are just active kids, or have some other sort of issue or just need a different kind of learning environment and they get slapped with the ADHD label and put on medication -- which is also so overused these days too. I don't doubt it exists though and that medication can benefit some kids, as I've worked with some kids who truly are ADHD and who are helped tremendously with medication. Has to be such a hard decision for the parents though - I always think about what would happen if Katie's teachers wanted her labeled and put in special ed.
I always wonder if the ADHD label/TV link comes from the fact that some people let their kids watch WAY too much TV (as in, not a few Dora videos, but the parents who let the kids have a TV in their room when they're 6 and watch whatever whenever) which in turn can lead to them not having enough sleep, which can certainly lead to behavior problems. I worked with a 3rd grader once who was having all sorts of trouble in school - turns out the kid went to bed around 11 every night - his parents said something like "well, he just doesn't want to and we don't know how to make him" - but with such a severe lack of sleep, he was such a behavior issue - no impulse control, no ability to handle things, you get the picture....
The point is, I think ADHD has to do with a whole lot of things and blaming it solely on watching TV when kids are little is, IMO, thinking way too narrowly.
All this being said, I think I miss my hyperactive 8th graders that I used to teach
Anyway, I'm off - almost 11:30 now, I've had my NYE glass of wine (which may explain the rambling above, though it all does seem to make sense - one glass of wine goes A LOT farther than it used to
)
Hope everyone is doing well!
I've enjoyed seeing all the pics, and reading about everyone's holidays (though Ankie and Cathy, I did not enjoy the stories about your LOs sad accidents! - glad to hear things seem to be better!)
Oh, New Year's Resolution--
EXERCISE AND EAT BETTER!!! - DH and I are getting a treadmill as a Christmas present to each other - I think I weigh more now than I did when Katie was 3 months old - lots of crappy eating and not enough exercise, but will change all that with the new year!