Steven's Thoughts

My 6 year old son's playlist

My six year old son Sebastian loves music. We always listen to it together, but he definitely has his own favorites. This is Sebastian's current playlist: 

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name 

The Raconteurs - Consoler of the Lonely 

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army 

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk 

MGMT - Kids 

MGMT - Electric Feel

The Fiery Furnaces - Even in the Rain 

Anarbor -You And I

 

Michael Jackson - Human Nature 

Jackson Five - I want you back

 

Quality of NYC Public Schools

Just in the last week two parents asked me about the quality of education Sebastian is received in the New York public school system. I am positively surprised how good the experience is.

When Sebastian was in Pre-school I agonized about where to send him. I knew that there were great private schools in the city, but I strongly believed in supporting the public school system.

But I was still concerned whether a public school could provide more than an adequate education. I wanted and still want Sebastian to have a great education. 

Well, I have to say Sebastian is definitely learning. He loves reading and enjoys writing stories. And he is getting his math basics down. But more importantly he is surrounded by teachers who care about his individualized educational growth. 

One of the latest initiatives that impressed me about his school are his individualized goals. Sebastian, together with his teacher, have created specific objectives for him. So now he, his teacher and his parents are all on the same page of what he should be accomplishing in the next month. 

My verdict after one and a half years of NYC public schooling is that kids can get a very good education. My six year old son is proof.

A Father's LOVE

Sebastian was born on December 3, 2002 and my life changed instantaneously. I learned the true meaning of love, the true meaning of unconditional love. After the first couple of weeks I started calling my parents everyday to tell them how much I appreciated them, knowing that I had neglected to tell them for all these years. Before I had Sebastian I didn’t understand the amount of love that a parent can have for their child. 

After one year, Sebastian’s mom and I decided to separate. The separation was from her and not from Sebastian, which was clear from the beginning to me. I know many fathers in the past associated their child with the relationship to the mother. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore for my generations’ dads.

Sebastian has always been an early riser and when I say early, I mean early. It is still completely dark outside and I suddenly I hear in my dreams a little boy screaming - PAPA, PAPA, PAPA. Sebastian never understood the concept of “it is to early, everyone is still asleep”. I wake up and wander, half asleep, over to his room.  Even though I promised myself that when I had a child I would not use the TV as a crutch, I quickly got over that. Sesame Street or Biene Maja (Maja, the bee) are good ways to keep a two-year old busy before breakfast at 6:30 a.m. After I got a few more minutes of rest we would have lengthy breakfast and then head over to the Tompkins Square Park playground, just a half a block from our house. To my surprise I would find I was not the only one there. There were usually about 5 other dads with their little ones. Some have their kids in a sling and others are pushing their kids on a swing.

This seems to be more and more the scene that you see in New York City. My fellow dads are so much more hands on involved with their kids then our dads ever were. Not that our dads loved us any less, but their role was quite different then ours is today. We dads want to be equally as much involved as the moms. I feel like in many ways that we over compensate for the lack of time and involvement that our dads had in our lives.

The involvement that we have with our children is clearly documented as being beneficial to our kids. Some interesting facts from education.com show that:

• babies as young as three months old can tell the difference between their mother and father. They can tell by the way each speaks to them, holds them, and by their different smells.

• research has shown that children whose fathers are involved in rearing them score higher on cognitive tests (they seem smarter) than those with relatively uninvolved fathers.

• improved cognitive abilities are associated with higher educational achievement. In fact, fathers who are involved in their children's schools and academic achievement, regardless of their own educational level, are increasing the chances their child will graduate from high school, perhaps go to vocational school, or even to college.

• research shows that fathers who are more involved with their children tend to raise children who experience more success in their career. Career success can lead to greater income and greater financial stability.

• father involvement is associated with positive child characteristics such as empathy, self-esteem, self-control, psychological well-being, social competence, and life skills.

I know none of these statistics really matter to any of us dads. We just want to be with our little ones.   For me, wanting to be with Sebastian is done out complete selfishness. I get so much out of being with him. Sebastian has taught me what true love means.

Health Conscious Kids

My parents were vegetarians and we only had healthy food at home. As a child, I took every chance that I could to eat junk food.

Kids today are different. My 5 year old, Sebastian, and I were at our friend Irene's place.  We ordered  pizza from Gruppo and one of  Luna's four year old friends told me that she was vegetarian and could only have pizza without meat.

Anu send me a link to a similar story:

...you make tortillas for the 4th grade "Mexican fiesta!" and a 9-year-old girl asks you, "Is that organic beef?" and when you say no, she doesn't want one.

Wow, our kids are better then we were. Now, as an adult, I appreciate my parents healthy vision and I try to pass it on to my son.

My kid loves good food

When Sebastian was still very little he ate everything from sushi to gnocchi with gorgonzola. Over the last year he decided he didn't like fish anymore and I thought that he might be losing his taste for good food.

The other day we were eating cheese and Sebastian told me that he thought that people were missing out who don't like gruyere and fresh mozzarella. I'm happy that his little palate is still developing and he'll share my passion for food.

Sebastian loves Rock - Care Bears on Fire

Sebastian has always loved music. Starting from being a big Bob Marley fan to just listening to the cars movie soundtrack. But now he has found a band where the members are close to his age.

Care Bears on Fire are three kids from Brooklyn and met in kindergarten. In 4th grade they began playing music together. Now Sophie, Izzy and Lucio are 11 and 12 years old and are becoming local celebrities and inspire kids of all ages. They where first featured in a New York Magazine article and last year the New York Times profiled them as an example of a larger burgeoning Brooklyn "kid-core" scene.

I hope that Care Bears on Fire will continue to make some catchy songs, because I can't take "Life is a Highway" from the cars soundtrack anymore.

Innovative ways to fundraise for your school

My son, Sebastian, just started at a public school in in the Lower East Side of NYC. One of the reasons we chose a public school over a private is that I believe that every kid deserves a good education. But a good education also requires money. And not everyone in the city can afford to spend $30k a year on schools. But if New Yorkers are committed to public education, we can work together to make these institutions a better place for all kids. I hope to use my business and non for profit experience to help raise money for the school, and at the same time find ways to educate our kids to be socially conscious.

I am always looking for socially aware alternatives for everything I do -- and after a little online research I found some progressive methods for school fund raising. Here are a few tips I found for innovative fund raising techniques:

Raising money and educating our kids

• One of my favorite fund raising options are both educational and socially responsible. Global Goods Partners (GGP) is an example of that. More than a typical "fundraiser," this program provides schools with an innovative and accessible way to incorporate lessons about other cultures, current affairs, social responsibility and how our purchases in our local communities can impact the lives of people living in other parts of the world.

• Another innovative and high-yielding fund-raising option is recycling cell phones and printer cartridges. Since most families change their cell phones annually and toss out an average of three to four printer cartridges per year, and local businesses throw away even more, this is an easy market for school groups to tap. It's also a good way to teach kids about recycling. Recycling companies pay anywhere from 50 cents for simple ink jet cartridges to $5.50 for high-end laser cartridges. One organization that facilitates this is Planet Green.

I hope to introduce these processes to the school and we will be able to raise the money we need to provide our kids with an excellent education as well as educate them to be socially responsible and aware.

Sebastian has a twin

Sebastian was invited to a birthday party of one of his many neighborhood friends. The little boy is named Andre and he happens to look like Sebastian. A LOT like Sebastian as a matter of fact. We got to the community center where the party was held and a woman we never met before asked us if Sebastian's name was in fact Sebastian. Word had spread that Andre and Sebastian looked like they had been separated at birth. Here he is. Sebastian's twin.

My Little Yankee Fan

I love watching the world through my four year old son's eyes. His excitement for life makes me recapture my first moments.

Sebastian went to his first Yankee game on Tuesday. We arrived at the 161st St./Yankee Stadium stop and Sebastian could not contain his excitement and started jumping up and down.

He entered the stadium fascinated by its size, the height and steepness of the upper deck and masses of people. We were sitting behind the first base foul pole and Sebastian could not even say a word. Everyone was anticipating A-Rod's 500 home run. He was thrilled about the five peanuts he found in his Cracker Jacks.

After 6 innings, we left and we were both very satisfied. I left with the memory of the Yankees franchise high eight home runs, none by A-Rod, and Sebastian left with a favorite player, the eighth batting, Andy Phillips, who went 0 for 4.

Sebastian helped me remember my first game. I can't recall the outcome of that game, but I do remember being in awe of the enormity of the stadium. 

The most amazing dad

Dick Hoyt is the most amazing dad I have heard of. All of us dads love our children more then we love anything. But Dick Hoyt is truely an inspration. 

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

An amazing story that made me cry everytime I saw it. Enjoy,