My 10-month-old daughter’s head hitting the floor was not something I saw. I heard it. The room was pitch black when she slipped off the bed’s edge – which to her might as well have been the edge of the world.
The flat clunk of skin-padded bone against rock was unmistakable in the room’s wee-hour silence. That was a head hitting a floor. A little head. A big, hard floor.
Then the crying started. Read More
The happiest I ever was when I was a child was at the Waldorf-Astoria.
Now, I don’t think a hotel is supposed to be the happiest place in anyone’s childhood. Unless you are the heroine in a Kay Thompson story, in which case I wandered into the wrong hotel. I think I should be able to fudge my happiest childhood memory a bit, and say that I was happiest at F.A.O. Schwartz or in Central Park—though I don’t recall spending much time at either of those places.
But I can go back to the first time I walked into the Waldorf. I was 4, accompanying my parents, who were in New York for the Canadian Society Ball. (We lived in Chicago.) As soon as we walked into the lobby my nanny said, “Well, this is heaven.” Because I was 4, I took her literally. I was sitting on a chair by the H. Stern jewelry shop, and there was a necklace in the window that was a rainbow of gemstones. In the lobby was a flower arrangement I still remember as the largest and most perfect I have ever seen. Someone mentioned that there was never a night when there was not a party in the ballroom. Read More
It is 6:30 in the evening in the Dolby-Frist household, and twins Violet and Julia are getting ready for bed. In their matching blue and green pajamas, toddling next to their matching cribs, the girls seem uncharacteristically poised for 16 months – at least until Drew Frist explains that their crayons had recently been switched for Etch-a-Sketches. (“They wouldn’t stop trying to eat the crayons.”) More positively, Tom Dolby remarks that the girls are at a stage where they seem to really enjoy putting their toys away, which perhaps accounts for the room’s neatness. [See the slideshow of their home, to the left.]
The bedroom’s whimsy and sophistication speak to the creativity of their two dads. The intricately carved wooden animal heads and collection of books are a nod to the family’s literary inclinations and taste for travel. The group only recently returned from visiting Tom’s family in Germany. Tom proudly notes how incredibly well the girls held up – even over the long European dinners.
When not busy caring for their daughters, traveling and decorating their new Gramercy Park apartment, Tom and Drew are immersed in the world of writing and technology. Tom is author of the popular Secret Society series of books, something of a cross between Gossip Girl and A Secret History targeted towards a young adult audience. He also co-edited the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys that inspired the popular Sundance show of the same name. And he’s branching into film – his screenplay is being turned into a film called Last Weekend. Tom will co-direct with Tom Williams; filming is slated to begin this summer in California. Read More
On Tuesday, May 8 the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation hosted its annual benefit to raise funds for childhood cancer research and celebrate 30 years of fighting the devastating illnesses. The foundation has generated over $25 million dollars towards innovative research for state-of-the-art treatment for childhood cancers, blood disorders and immunological diseases. Survival rates have risen from approximately 20% to 80% for those diagnosed with pediatric cancers.
The evening commenced with a benefactors’ dinner at The Modern, followed by a large reception at The Museum of Modern Art. Guests enjoyed free range of MoMA’s fifth floor permanent collection, cocktails and hors d’oeuvre made by Creative Edge Designs. Read More
MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE
DISNEY JUNIOR, VARIOUS TIMES
Kid Appeal: Walt’s deal with Lucifer apparently intact, as Disney characters still rock solid eyeball magnets.
Fourth Wall: Routinely violated for counting, color choices, shape identification, pointing out things the characters somehow can’t perceive despite immediate proximity.
Magic: All problems are solved using one of four random “Mouseketools” provided by floating Mickey trademark symbol known as “Toodles,” which occasionally exhibits a personality but is usually a faceless but omnipotent automaton.
Adult Appeal: Historical interest in obscure Disney character cameos; main nemesis is Pete the Bear, whose lightweight current incarnation belies his Prohibition-era origin as a malicious bootlegger.
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My wife once described cooking with kids—we have two girls, now five and seven—as harder than trying to shower with monkeys. I found that particularly funny – because in our house, I do most of the cooking.
We eat well: I’m prone to dishes like rabbit stew, linguine alle vongole, red-lentil dhal, rib eye with wasabi, mushroom risotto, and wild salmon. The one downside? Choosing between being in the kitchen or being with my girls. Make rosemary roast potatoes, or draw pictures with them? Bolognese, or a board game? Soup or a stroll in Prospect Park?
And, if I’m at the stove, there’s someone else to consider. When I’m not minding the children, my wife is. I spend far more hours typing at a midtown desk than with my rapidly growing daughters. She’s a new media entrepreneur, and thanks to her schedule, she already spends more time taking care of them than I do. Read More
“A lot of times, kids get into a sport where parents have expectations. Here, it’s just a game,” said Alissa Schmelkin, co-founder of the newly opened Gaga Center on the Upper East Side. “You don’t have to live up to standards.”
Gaga may be “just a game.” But played in octagonal pens – though rules can vary, the basic aim is to avoid getting hit below the knee – it offers a high-energy workout that kids seem to love, building endurance and flexibility, according to general manager Avi Gordon.
The Gaga Center – the only such venue in Manhattan – offers coed groups for kids under 7 and for 7- to 10-year-olds. The game – the ball is soft – is well suited toward the littler kids, though their games often devolve into simple passing of the ball. Read More
Meet Celia Babini, Bonnie Young’s 11 year old daughter, a Scooter star in her own right, who single handedly raised over $11,000 for Solving Kids’ Cancer. The organization works to find, fund and manage clinical trials and scientific programs to rapidly develop the most effective treatments and cures for childhood cancers.
Ms. Babini Read More
If you missed it — and in certain places you couldn’t — yesterday marked “Take Your Son/Daughter (or loved one) to Work Day!” Scooter dropped by Town Residential’s Flatiron, where the firm hosted a morning of fun and entertainment for staff and their families. (Another event at Town’s Upper East Side office took place later Thursday afternoon.) Town had curated a variety of special activities to help kids of all ages learn more about what their parents or guardians do, along with the opportunity to explore their workplace. Read More
Want to celebrate the magical realism of childhood in a more sophisticated fashion than your average Anne Geddes print? Of course you do – unless you really love grinning infants wearing pumpkin costumes. (I have always suspected those children are drugged). Kid-in’s take on childhood is thoroughly grown up.
If there is a child in a pumpkin costume on the site, you can be sure that it was intended as a wry and pointed commentary.
At Kid-in, an online platform on which a wide range of international and local designers and photographers focus their creative efforts on the subject of childhood, you’ll always find something fresh. Read More
