A Letter to My Daughters

Heartwarming words written by president Barack Obama, sharing his deep love for his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha 7.

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey. When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation. I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity. I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other. Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country—but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free—that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

Bumper cars at the Iowa State Fair in August 2007.
That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something. She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better—and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be. I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential. These are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure. I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.
Love, Dad

A better world for our children

My daughters woke up this morning, like any other morning, but they have woken up to a world that did not exist before.
If they had woken to the world 150 years ago, they would have woken to a world that still used shackles around a man's ankle as a form of currency.
If they had woken a century ago, they would have woken to a country that still hung men from oak trees for walking on the wrong side of the street.
If they had woken to the world 75 years ago, they would have found a country that believed one sort of man did one sort of job, another man did the other.
If they had woken up 50 years ago, they would have hopped onto a bus that only allowed the back seats for 'coloureds'.
Even 10 years ago, the suggestion - the very suggestion - of a man like Barack Obama walking through the doors of the White House would have been fiction.
But the very reason the idea of "fiction" exists is that life is constantly unfinished. So my children woke up to a brand new world, a new generation. A moment of history being coded. A tremendous energy flowed, as after accepting the oath, Obama stepped up to the podium and announced: "My fellow citizens, I stand here today humbled by the task before us . . ."
Tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after, the country that my children will wake up to will be rife with problems both old and new. But just because times are tough doesn't mean that they are without joy and without hope.

A lifestyle revolution for women

A new pill promises a lifestyle revolution for women, by eliminating periods. The oral contraceptive is the first in the world designed to do away with menstruation completely. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals claims it is safe and does not do any permanent damage to a woman's fertility. Normally a woman takes the pill for 21 days and then stops, or takes a dummy or sugar tablet, for seven days. During this time she gets a monthly bleed. The new pill, called, Lybrel is the first designed to be taken 365 days a year without a break. There is no medical reason why women cannot take the existing pill without a break. However, when the oral contraceptive was launched in the 1960s it was thought retaining an element of the monthly cycle would help make it more acceptable to women. Surveys in the 1970s reinforced that belief as women said it made the process feel normal. But since then attitudes have changed, prompting Wyeth to create the first pill designed to be taken continuously. There is actually little chemical change in the new pill although the dose will be varied so it can be taken non-stop. Could this pill mean the end of menstruation as we know it? Some say why medicate away a normal life event? On the other hand for women who don't want to have a period often this is a very good option. Most importantly however it provides women with a choice.

Money, money, money

The life-long benefits of teaching children good money habits make it well worth the effort. Children who are not taught these lessons pay the consequences for a lifetime.
The problem is a lack of financial education. Why don’t we teach kids about money in school? Wealthy or not, smart or not-so-smart, we all use money. Yet, while there are a few schools beginning to offer some financial education, it seems that most educators believe money isn’t a subject worthy of the hallowed halls of our learning institutions.
There is virtually no formal financial education in our school systems. Most education comes in the form of a very broad overview of economics. Okay, understanding how the economy works is important, but it is also very dry and has little to do with personal finances. Ask any student in high school how a mortgage works or what the APR on a loan or credit card actually means and you would likely be faced with a blank stare. They might be able to recite every bone in the human body or ask where the post office is in French but couldn't explain what a credit score is or how compound interest works.
First, debt is not necessarily a bad thing. Debt is simply the leverage of using other people’s money. The London Stock Exchange does it, people who buy homes do it, it can be a great wealth building tool. The root of the problem is not with debt itself, it is that people don’t use debt as a tool for financial gain. Instead they use debt because they fail to understand the consequences of using it ineffectively.
But their problem isn't credit cards — it’s a lack of financial know-how. And at the root of that lack of knowledge is our school system and its archaic curriculum, which is out of touch with the way people really live.
The more children learn about money, the more they will be able to make wise financial decisions as they grow older. If the schools fail to educate our children it is up to us the parents. Lead by example and ensure your children are on the path to financial independence from day one.

Two pancakes short of a stack

Baking with your little girls is not only fun but it can also provide the perfect opportunity for some incidental learning to occur (not to mention spending quality time with your little chicks).
The kitchen is a great vehicle to learn reading skills; maths skills; science skills; and don't get me started on the organizational and sanitary skills it teaches. Look at the kitchen as the ultimate science laboratory where you can create and eat your own experiments. What is so wonderful about baking with your children is that without even thinking about it - they will have learned so much. And don't think that this is the end of it! Your kids will see the same concepts they learned about while baking with you in school during science and maths class. However, these topics of science could never have been presented to them in a more delicious manner than you did, and with so much love! Right now, you are probably wondering if I am "two pancakes short of a stack" for advocating you to join your children in the kitchen. All you probably see is the mess that they will make. Okay, they will probably create some sort of mess. But I am way ahead of you. There is more to baking than just getting the baked good into the oven. Teaching kids how to see tasks through and clean up after themselves is an invaluable lesson.

Baking with kids can be one of the best experiences you will ever share with your children. Creating lifelong memories of the luscious baked goods you have prepared as a "team" truly evokes the love that you share.

Once upon a time

In all most all fairytales, girls and woman play a significant role. This alone is a good reason to take them seriously. Fairytales teach us that nothing is impossible. They show us, figuratively, that difficulties always lead to emancipation if you do not run away from finding a way through, from taking on the challenge!

The person who has a good heart will gain access to the wisdom. Fairytales teach us that all problems can be solved as long as you accept the challenge, follow your own path and don't give up. A heroines journey.

What about Barbie?

Barbie has been around - and adored - for 40 years, and millions of Barbies have been sold, so the chances are good that some day your daughter will own a Barbie. Barbie looks exactly like a marketing strategist's idea of the average man's dream woman: a slender, long-legged, young woman with long blonde hair and a full bust. So what should we do about Barbie? Maybe we should turn our attention back on ourselves. Examining our own beauty ideal before we decide whether or not to buy our daughter a Barbie doll. The pressure on woman to look good is so great that most woman bow to this dictate - and of course we pass this pressure to conform on to our daughters. In the end, either buying or not buying Barbie is okay. Either way, explain to your daughter your own position on Barbie, and what feelings this doll triggers in you. Make it clear to her why latter-day Barbies have tilted feet, ready-made for high heels - and tell her all the things you cannot do in high heels. Make your own decision. I didn't buy Eva and Bianca Barbies, but their grandmother did but, rest assured if she hadn't, Barbie would have moved in with us via pocket money anyway. *(^_^)*

I am angry and it's okay.

Learning to accept and understand feelings is a big part of growing up. Anger is a feeling everyone knows, and it has an important function: it helps us take responsibility for ourselves and tackle tasks-in short, it gives us courage. People who suppress anger are living unhealthily. Sooner or later, suppressed anger will emerge as a stomach ache, a headache, or as fear. Every child feels fear sometimes and that is okay. But whereas men are expected not to show their fear, women - especially little girls - are allowed to.

Could excessive fear in girls be connected to overprotective caring they might receive from parents? If we allow our little girls to have quite normal experiences, which include accidents like falling over, will they learn to deal with such mishaps as a matter of course. Do we as parents often encourage our girls to give up, because we regard certain things as too dangerous, or unsuitable, for girls. We must remember that children may be even more likely to have accidents if we constantly protect them from experience. For example, a child must learn how to fall over in order to learn how to stop herself falling over.

The Mozart effect for babies

From the moment Paulo bought me the Mozart Effect for Babies Collection I was hooked. I immediately went online to research it and was captivated. The girls listen to it every evening before bedtime. Eva and Bianca both love it. Eva calls it her ballet music. The Mozart effect first came to light in a 1993 when Fran Rauscher, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, showed that college students who listened to Mozart's Sonata for 10 minutes performed better on a spatial reasoning test than students who listened to new age music or nothing at all. Scientists argued over whether the phenomenon had a relatively simple explanation, such as just improving a person's mood, or if the effect was tied to a unique quality of Mozart's compositions. One study reported that the particular rhythmic qualities of Mozart's music mimic some rhythmic cycles occurring in human brains. Rauscher team at Stanford University in California, think they have found the molecular basis of the Mozart effect. Their study used rats, which, like humans, perform better on learning and memory tests after listening to the sonata.The researchers found that these smarter rats had increases in neural growth, a learning and memory compound, and synapsin I, a synaptic growth protein, as compared to control rats who had listened to equivalent amounts of white noise. So does the Mozart Effect exist? Well, some say the Mozart Effect is life-changing music and is medicine for the body, the mind, and the soul and many disagree. You decide, I defiantly would suggest a closer look.

If nothing else the music certainly leaves you jubilant and exhilarated, and that is always a good, NO great thing!

Eva's First Apple

Are our children trading ABC’s for QWERTY’s? Computers in preschool? Keyboarding and mouse skills for toddlers? In our current era, a growing number expect their toddler to be as comfortable with the computer mouse as she is with Mickey Mouse *(^_^)* and our little Eva is well on her way.

Computers are here to stay and while the keyboard may eventually give way to some new technology, the computer will become even more vital to tomorrow’s workforce. Many parents hope to give their children an edge by encouraging computer literacy at an early age. Software designed for children under age five is one of the fastest growing segments of the educational software industry.

While the experts debate the merits and pitfalls of the various media marketed towards preschoolers, we the parents are snatching them up. According to researchers in the US, toddlers who use a computer develop better learning skills than other toddlers who do not use a computer. Researchers studied 122 children, aged 3-5 years. The kids who used a computer three to four times a week got better scores on a test aimed at gauging school readiness and cognitive development. This new study comes after previous ones which indicated superior motor, numerical and literary skills among toddlers who regularly use computers.