Moms and dads make mealtime confessions

According to a recent survey/fess-up sponsored by Parenting Magazine and America Online, moms and dads have some true confessions to make regarding mealtimes:

• More than three-fourths of families sometimes have the TV on during dinner.
• Half of moms say they finish what’s left on their child’s plate when he’s done eating.
• Twenty-seven percent of moms say they’ve tried to pass off a prepared or frozen entree as something they cooked from scratch, but only 16 percent have succeeded.

Turn your trash into treasured toys

The next great toy for your kid could be something you considered throwing away. Here are five suggestions for make-believe playthings, from Family Fun magazine:

• A mailbox. Mount it on a playroom wall, set up a letter-writing table with envelopes, paper, markers, rubber stamps and stickers, and let your kids play post office.
• An old suitcase. Let your kids fill it with doll or dress-up clothes and whiz across the room to board their planes. (A line of chairs makes a good plane, train or bus.)
• An old iron. Cut off the cord and wrap the cut edge with duct tape, then let your kids iron their dollies’ clothes. A laundry basket and clothesline strung across the playroom are great additions.

Book tells children history of Passover

Passover is a special holiday for many Jewish families, but for Rebecca and Josh, the children featured in “Rebecca’s Passover” (Frances Lincoln), it’s the preparation for the seder they most look forward to.

It’s while they are setting the table with the special dishes that they listen to Granny Sarah retell the story of Passover.

The book then goes back and forth between past and present, and is peppered with questions from Rebecca and Josh that likely are common among many of today’s children.

Why is the Passover meal called the seder? Why don’t we eat bread?

The answers to age-old questions can be found in the book by Adele Geras and illustrated by Shelia Moxley as Rebecca and her brother then sit down with Grandpa Simon and the rest of the family for a memorable meal.