What a winter!

I live not far from a lovely park. That park has a sizeable hill and all winter long the kids have been having a blast. While the rest of us have been somewhat grumpy and grumbling about this year’s winter weather, the kids have been having a largely different experience. Sleds, toboggans, saucers, and tubes; they have been climbing and sliding and enjoying the winter in a way only children can. The skating rinks have been busy and just in time a handful of new rinks were readied in the various boroughs, and they are beautiful!

In spite of the winter fun that many have been enjoying, hopefully this month we’ll experience a hint of spring. It will be fantastic to put aside these boots, hats, scarves, etc. and lighten our load. The kids will be happy too, I have no doubt and spring fun will begin with team sports and outdoor practices and the parks filling to capacity.

So at this point in the late winter/early spring we’re thinking a lot about summer and are highlighting summer camps and programs. Not too early in the least to start making some decisions for the summer. There are early-bird discounts that one shouldn’t miss and all the Directors are hoping for a sensible sign-up season and not everyone waiting until the last minute. Why is it that so many people wait until the deadline to do everything?

We have some very thought provoking articles this month like the bad language so many children are using on a regular basis. Our Award Winning writer Risa Doherty once again has tapped into a provocative topic and her piece in this issue is a must read. I know I’m not the only parent concerned with the way youngsters are expressing themselves and how if makes me feel to be hearing them.

Christa Melnyk Hines has written a piece on Keeping Your Kids Safe that is also a must read. All of us have experienced the anxiety associated with the thought of losing a child. This article will help give you some important steps to take to keep such a thing from happening.

Tammy Scileppi chimes in with an interesting article on a new app that can help us create time and commitment to achieve inner peace through meditation, and there’s Allison Plitt’s review of “It’s Not About the Broccoli” and an interview with its author Dr. Dina Rose.

And in continuing on the health topic, a potential cure for peanut allergies is addressed by Alex Bigwarfe in an interesting article about new studies and potential cures. A lot to read and we hope you find it as interesting as we did.

Wishing you a good month and an end to snow and ice. We’re all ready for a change and for those early spring plants to come up and let us know that spring is truly on the way.

Thanks for reading!