RESOURCES

Jazz, Baby, and (especially) Dad

A new CD collection of light jazz melodies, Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby, was created for parents as well as their babies. Available in stores, Golden Slumbers features standard songs and new compositions performed in combinations of voice, piano, saxophone, trumpet, and guitar. A dozen musicians and composers who recently became fathers, godfathers, or uncles contributed. They were led by brothers Dave and Jeff Koz, who say that they wanted to record music as appropriate for a busy, stressed father holding or walking his baby as it is for the baby.

Pleasant and unsentimental, some of the songs recorded are "When you Wish Upon a Star," "You Can Close Your Eyes," "Isn't She Lovely," "Blackbird," and "Brahm's Lullaby," along with others composed for this CD, such as "Charlotte's Song," and "Lullaby for Isabella."

In addition to ordering information, the Golden Slumbers Web site ( www.goldenslumbers.com ) offers parenting resources and an interactive section where new parents can create and send electronic birth announcements with photographs. For information, call Sheryl Northrop at 818-986-5200, ext. 221.

Nutritional guidance and recipes

Registered dietitians Joanne Saab and Daina Kalnins wrote Better Food for Kids: Your Essential Guide to Nutrition for All Children from Age 2 to 6 to meet the challenge of getting children to eat food that is good for them. The first half of the 288-page book covers nutritional advice by age, essential nutrients, vegetarian diets, choking, obesity, and dental care. The authors answer common questions—"Is it possible to give a child too much juice?" "How can I get my 4-year-old to eat vegetables?" and "What's the best way to encourage my child to be more physically active?" to name a few.

The second half of the book includes recipes organized by the basic three daily meals, plus snacks and desserts. Examples: "soft banana and oatmeal cookies," "frozen yogurt pops," "baked vegetarian chili with carrots," and low-fat zucchini sticks.

A list of related books and organizations and a readable index complete the book. Better Food for Kids is available in bookstores, at www.Amazon.com , or by calling 800-387-5085. Published by Robert Rose, Inc., as a paperback, the book sells for $17.95.

Tunes for the potty-challenged

Potty Power for Parents, 10 original songs with lyrics written by a pediatrician and a mother of three, is produced in CD and video format. Upbeat messages, coupled with energetic hiphop, reggae, and rap music styles, get children dancing, singing, and proud to be moving up in the world. Sensitivity to a child's specific worries also help the child who can't remember in time. Songs are given such titles as "I Have the Power," "I Gotta Go!" and "Washin' My Hands." The creators report that they have child-tested the songs. Motivation for this project included their belief that a pediatrician's creative input is a major plus for a child who is being toilet-trained, and for his or her parents. For information, call 847-818-0089 or visit Vickilew.com and WalMart.com.

And consider these . . .

• Need help with hand-held (personal digital assistant) technology? Try Pediatrics On Hand, run by Children's National Medical Center, of Washington, D.C., a nonprofit organization. The Web site provides an advertising-free source of drug data, technology advice, and other useful information at www.pediatricsonhand.org .

• Parents who want to ask their pediatrician for advice on nonemergency matters may find easier access to the physician through www.MDhub.com . From that Web site, their question is sent by fax to the pediatrician's office on their behalf. The advantage for physicians? An opportunity to pull a chart at their convenience and have it in hand for the return call to the parents.

• A 28-minute video and parent handbook, Vaccines and Your Baby, uses simple graphics and parent and pediatrician commentary to explain the mechanisms and purpose behind childhood immunizations. Visit the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Web site ( www.vaccine.chop.edu ) for this and other educational videos. The video is narrated by Paul A. Offit, MD, chief of infectious diseases at the hospital's vaccine education center.

 

Resources. Contemporary Pediatrics 2003;1:113.