Interview: Queen Bee of Tweens

My original phone/video interview of tween/teen expert and author Rosalind Wiseman got discombobulated by YouTube, so I'm posting it one more time.

Here's the orginal post and the (hopefully) working video.

What is the most important message on the minds of tweens these days? That they matter and that they have a voice and want to be heard. That's what tween expert Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queens Bees & Wannabes (which inspired the movie Mean Girls), told me in a video/phone interview in April.

Wiseman offers words of advice to haggard parents such as me, who often finds herself mystified by this irrational, emotional creature that has taken over the body of my adorable little youngster. But the tween years are a critical window of opportunity for parents to be a helpful and credible source of support, she says, and can set the stage for guiding them through such issues as bullying and the lack of self-confidence.

The body image issues are also a major factor at this age, which is why Wiseman says she joined forces with DontFretTheSweat.com. The site includes a panel of parenting experts and provides tools for parents and kids to develop confidence, self-esteem, and self-reliance.

What's Happening Highlights: April 28-May 2

Viva Los Niños

This weekend, the Día del Niños Festival returns to the Aquarium of the Pacific. This Children’s Day celebration is so big that it needs two days. The fifth annual festival features an array of performances from local youths that reflect a globe-spanning selection of cultures. There will be West African drum and dance, hula and Tahitian dance, Mexican folkloric dance and a youth mariachi, traditional Japanese dance, an international children’s choir and more. Kids also can participate in painting an ocean mural and do other arts & crafts. Aquarium admission is $23.95 for adults and $11.95 children 3-11; however, for this special children’s event, a free kid’s admission coupon (valid with a regular adult admission) can be found on the aquarium’s site.
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun., May 1 and 2
Where: Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach
Contact: 562-590-3100, www.aquariumofpacific.org

Game On

Popular board games will “come to life” at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios on Sunday.  The second annual Game Day will feature giant versions of your favorite board games. It’s a chance to meet Dora or SpongeBob, dance to music, create arts and crafts, decorate cupcakes, mingle with celebrities and more. It’s all to benefit the Lollipop Theater Network, a nonprofit organization that brings movie magic to hospitalized kids across the country through special group and bedside screenings. Adult tickets cost $200 and $75 for children 3-13.
When: noon-4 p.m. Sun., May 2
Where: Nickelodeon Animation Studios, 231 W. Olive Ave., Burbank
Contact: http://lollipopgameday2010.eventbrite.com/

From Pasadena To Pakistan

The Pacific Asia Museum hosts a special afternoon saluting the people and culture of Pakistan. This free family festival features live music, hands-on crafts, dance, demonstrations and more. You can color you own miniature artwork, taste Pakistani cuisine and listen to bhangra music. It’s a terrific, and fun opportunity to learn about Pakistani culture as well as the museum. If you come early enough, you can hear Sunny Stevenson tell tales from Pakistan during the Silk Road Storytime from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
When: noon-4 p.m., Sun. May 2
Where: Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena
Contact: 626-449-2742, pacificasiamuseum.org

Cheap Sweet Treat

This Wednesday night, Baskin-Robbins around the Southland will be serving up ice cream for a charitable cause. The fourth annual 31 Cent Scoop Night raises money and awareness for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, an organization that honors fallen fire fighters and helps their families. The iconic ice cream stores are offering 2.5 oz. scoops of ice creams for only 31 cents (with a three scoop limit), and Baskin-Robbins will donate $100,000 to the charity. You might even meet one of your local firefighters scooping ice cream for you.
When: 5-10 p.m. Wednesday, April 28
Where: All Baskin-Robbins locations
Contact: www.baskinrobbins.com/31cent

Trippin': Break Out For Spring Break

Alas, spring break is upon us! But what to do? Here are a couple of travel tidbits that might spur you to hit the open road:

An American Girl in Chicago: Head to the Affinia Chicago hotel for its American Girl Place Package ($229 standard, $289 deluxe) that includes a doll-sized bed, pillow and blankie so your child's American Girl can sleep in comfort. The package also includes a turn-down treat for the child and the doll and a custom welcome note. The deluxe package includes an AG keepsake, Affinia Chicago rubber duckie, breakfast for a child in C-House, dining discounts and other fun stuff. The hotel's concierge staff can help make reservations at the American Girl Cafe. The packages are available through December.

Special Menu: Kids and food allergies make for difficult traveling companions, which is why Jim Lindfors, executive chef at Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa's BIN189 restaurant, is willing to create special menus for special appetites. Simply contact the resort two days prior to your arrival with your dietary needs, and Chef Lindfors will create a menu with your child's name that suits his dietary needs. Lindfors, whose son is on a restricted diet, says he creates the menus "to make these kids feel special, not different." Call the restaurant directly at 909-337-4189 to set up a menu for your stay at the resort, which is situated on the shore of Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino National Forest. The luxury lodge, located about 90 miles east of L.A., offers 173 guestrooms, a spa and other amenities.


Travel to Trees: Doubletree Hotels have partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to bring a 2,500-square-foot traveling Exploring Trees Inside & Out exhibit in which kids can crawl around the logs, listen to the sounds of the forest and even become a forest creature through the wonders of technology. The exhibit will travel to the California Science Center June 1-Sept. 6. Or see it at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia through May 2 and enjoy the hotel chain's new Bed and Breakfast package (free full breakfast buffet for two adults and two children!).

Rooting for a Tree

Students at the Highland Hall Waldorf School in Northridge received a valuable message in tree hugging last month when a mulberry tree that was blocking the construction of a new theater building was moved rather than tossed to the chipper-shredder.

The specimen in question was no sapling. It topped out at 40 feet and weighed nearly 35,000 pounds – so transplanting the tree was no small feat. But the tree has played an important role in the school's 43-year history. Its leafy canopy provides a shady meeting spot for the gardening class, and the community often feasted on its abundant mulberries in the spring.

"Many students are here from preschool through high school and have grown up with the tree," says Highland Hall gardening teacher Juanita Gilmore.

So kids and parents raised the necessary funds, and a crane was brought in to carefully lift the tree, place it in the back of a truck, drive it to its new location 125 feet away and plant it with the same orientation as it had in its original spot.

Will it survive the big move? Parents, teachers and community members who came out to watch the big move hope so.

"The students were very intrigued about the process," Gilmore says. "They enjoyed watching what the workers did each day. Some were very excited, some were worried about the tree. Many of them were sending it magic through their fingers (their idea!) as they watched it being moved. I think the general feeling was that they were grateful that it was being saved."

Mulberry trees are known to be hardy, and this one is already sporting buds and "doing great," reports Martina Turner, who's in charge of communication and outreach at Highland Hall. Gilmore adds that it's even putting on mulberry flowers.

Now that's an Earth Day lesson for us all!

Trippin'

I know it's only February. But this year, darnit, I am determined to plan a summer vacation early enough that maybe, just maybe, we can venture out beyond L.A. County. Besides the fact that our passports are burning a hole in our "important documents" drawer, I'm excited that the kids are old enough to do something big, now that they don't require a strict nap time or diaper changes and might actually remember seeing something besides the interior of a stroller.

I collected several travel tidbits in the course of researching a travel-planning story for the March issue (coming to stands on Feb. 22), but here's a sneak peek at some travel news that might just spur you into action, too:

• At the James Chicago, a tony boutique hotel in the Windy City, families who book a suite receive Clek car seats in Paul Frank fabrics that can be used in the chauffeured Audi SUV or in a taxi – and then handily folded into a tote. Older kids receive the booster seats – again in Paul Frank designs. Then check out the hotel's Weekend Adventure Package (starting at $279 per night) that comes with passes to five of the city's top attractions, including the Museum of Science and Industry. And of course, you receive milk and cookies with your turndown service. If you can't bring the kids, then you can still read them a bedtime story using the rooms' in-room web cams.


• If your vacation is taking you to the kid-loving 50th state, you’ll find several resorts with top-notch kids’ amenities. The Hilton Hawaiian Village on the family-friendly island of Oahu features Camp Penguin, named for the eight African black-footed penguins that reside at the resort. Kids at Camp Penguin absorb Hawaiian culture through storytelling, games, music, lei-making and excursions to the Honolulu Zoo and the Bishop Museum, among other outings. Full day is $90 per child or $65 for a half-day (Camp Penguin hotel packages are available, too).


• Weave your way to Bermuda by booking passage with Craft Cruises, a travel agency that pairs the cruise experience with specialized activities. Craft Cruises partnered with The Handwork Studio to craft a cruise with workshops that teach kids about the needle arts. The seven-day Holland America Line cruise (starting at about $999 per person) departs New York City for Bermuda on June 20 and is geared for children ages 5-15. Workshops include a sunset knitting circle, embroidery, crocheting, and hand- and machine-sewing.


• Of course, the biggest news for die-hard Harry Potter fans based here in the U.S. is the grand-opening last spring of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a 20-acre themed area at Universal’s Island of Adventure ($79 adults, $69 ages 3-9) at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. Hogwarts Castle will immerse Pottermaniacs in the state-of-the-art Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey experience, which uses technology to bring the characters to life. Post-castle, you can wander into Zonko’s joke shop for Sneakoscopes or Ollivanders wand shop, where the wand chooses you.


• If authentic castles are what you crave, hop across the pond and head to the Irish countryside’s Ashford Castle, set on 350 acres in County Mayo. The hotel offers some unique packages, such as Hogwarts Halloween in the fall, a Shrek Family Package in February and the Summer Family Falconry Package, which includes falconry lessons for all. It’s not cheap – packages start at about $700 per night – but the gorgeous castle, which dates back to 1228, has a resident owl named Dingle.