ROBIN'S SHOW REVIEW: Rated P...For Parenthood

Book and Lyrics by Sandy Rustin
Music and Lyrics b yDan Lipton and David Rossmer
Directed by Jeremy Dobrish
Featuring Courtney Balan, Chris Hoch, David Josefsberg and Joanna Young

Rated P…For Parenthood chronicles various stages of modern-day parenting, from conception to college. The likeable, versatile cast of four takes the audience through the ups and downs of childrearing through a series of comic and musical vignettes in under 90 minutes. They play both adults and kids of varying ages, some more convincingly portrayed than others.

Not much surprising here in the material, but two scenes featuring dad characters were particularly refreshing and witty. In Mind Over Playground, two fathers watching their children navigate a playground find themselves attempting to navigate a potential friendship (thinking in silence, yet aloud to the audience, what the other might be imaging about them). In a rap duet with the two dads, in Parent Teacher Conference, the fathers bust a move anticipating the challenge of speaking with their respective kids teachers, only to find out that they're doing well in school.

The simulated mom/dad texting (peppered with sexting) on the illuminated set backdrop contributed the most to comical moments, which often didn't come across all that well through the quick skit format.

All in all, if you crave a moms night out, you might want to check out the show. No doubt you'll find something to relate to, even if no particular revelation is shared.

Visit http://www.ratedpthemusical.com.

In need of babysitting? Playtime! is the first program to provide childcare during theatrical shows in NYC. It is available for Rated P...For Parenthood, as well as other shows. Check it out at http://www.playtimenyc.com.

Playtime! was established to bring parents back to the theater by providing excellent childcare at (or steps from) the theater at an extremely affordable rate. The service is available to any type of ticket buyer for participating shows, regardless of the price paid for the ticket, and is just $15 per child. Sitters Studio is fully bonded and insured, and their rigorous background checks and training ensure that they provide not only an artistic and fun experience for children, but also one that complies with top-notch safety standards. It is available for children ages 4 - 12.

Teens & Anxiety by Sharon O'Donnell

Sometimes the things your children are going through take over your own life; it's what consumes your thoughts and fills your days. Seeing your child suffer from anxiety is one such thing that does this. Anxiety is an awful, insidious thing that hits hard when it hits. Usually, you don't see it coming and then -- bam! It hits with a full force.

My soon-to-be 17-year-old son has been battling anxiety since November when he started an ADD medication to help him focus better after years of time management issues that plagued him. He did well in school, but it was a constant struggle with his going back to finish tests, late nights of homework, working one-on-one with him a lot (myself, his dad, and tutors), getting him out the door in the mornings (slow as molasses), etc. He'd had speech difficulties at the age of 3 that required therapy that continued into elementary school, and once that was cleared up, there were reading and reading comprehension problems. He could read text well and even remember details but would sometimes miss the main idea totally. In early middle school, I'd read the same books he would read and quiz him on it to make sure he didn't miss things. In late middle school, I stepped back to see if he could do it on his own -- sometimes he could, other times he struggled.

Testing showed he had processing difficulties which led to his slower work speed, but medication was suggested only if our son felt he absolutely needed it or we felt he needed it. When it was put that way, we all decided to try to make do without it. He still made honor roll at school and excelled at sports, but it was a challenge for him to juggle everything and to succeed at the level he wanted to do without lots of stress on him and on my husband and me. He was a great kid, but he was high maintenance. He often forgot items needed for school or even his baseball equipment before baseball games; it was a thin line for us as parents to decide whether to help him out when he did this or if we would be an 'enabler' or a helicopter parent. We wanted him to succeed but we also wanted him to be independent.

In middle school he also had a problem with indigestion and would sometimes have to leave a restaurant before we even ordered because he felt sick. I took him to the doctor about this, and he said this seemed to be some anxiety, but it was mild at the time. This totally stopped by the end of middle school.

He continued to do well in high school with fewer struggles but still some (there was one particular world history course that was one of those where you study the study guide and then half the stuff on it wasn't on the study guide). Then last fall as he struggled to study for the SAT, keep up with his Honors courses, play on the basketball team, etc., he came to us and said he couldn't focus in class and it was bothering him. He wanted to look into taking an ADD med. So I took him to a psychiatrist who, after having us fill out some questionnaires and talking to us for an hour or so, he officially diagnosed him with ADD-inattentive type (not hyperactive) and prescribed an ADD medication. Long story short -- he did great for three days, making high A's on tests instead of his usual high B's. Then he crashed. And I mean crashed. He was depressed and started having Obsessive Compulsive thoughts that repeated in his head so that he couldn't focus on anything else. The psychiatrist was out of town, and I ended up taking him to our trusted long-time pediatrician. We took him off the ADD med and started him on an anti-anxiety medication, which took a week or two to officially kick in. Suffice it to say, that those two weeks were the toughest two weeks of my ever being a parent. Our son had also had strep throat at the same time, and we found out that that could have had something to do with it too.

Then through the rest of November and December and in to January, he seemed fine, but he was still on the anti-anxiety med. In mid January, he came to us and said he was having trouble focusing again and wanted to go back on an ADD med -- but a different one this time at a lower dose. We talked with the doctor, and our son started the ADD drug soon afterward. He did great with taking both the meds from Jan-mid April. Then the anxiety and thoughts of 'what is the purpose of life?' started coming back to him, which believe me - is the scariest thing a parent can hear their children say. We tried counseling for him again, and this time, the doctor we went to seemed to connect with our son more than the others we'd tried. We are going to go to another psychiatrist next week to discuss his medications and the possibility of changing or stopping one or both. Our son's psychologist doubts that there ever was an ADD problem but that it had all been anxiety-driven, even when he was younger.

Our son is better now, but it is still a delicate situation. There are certain triggers that can make the anxiety worse, only we don't know what those triggers are until it's already happened.

What has really concerned me is the number of other parents of teens who have come to us when they find about our son and tell us about similar struggles their children have had. It concerns me that our son's psychologist has said how the number of teens with anxiety he has seen has increased tremendously in the past few years. There is so much stress these days. Yes, I know teens have always had stress, but not like they do now. It is SO MUCH harder to get into college these days with AP classes and other expectations of colleges like community service and extracurricular activities. The 'best' students are a lot more accomplished than the 'best' students of my generation; heck, I didn't know what an SAT prep course was, but now some students start prepping for the SAT in middle school. All this makes everything more competitive. There's also terrorism and nuclear melt-downs in the news, and for people prone to anxiety, that is not good. You want your kids to be informed, but you don't want them to worry.

I'm really concerned about this generation of teens and the frequency of anxiety problems. What do we do about it? I'm not sure, but I will definitely be thinking about it. I think one problem is so many of them are sleep-deprived. I've heard parents at church many times say that their teen stayed at home to sleep in because they really needed it. Sometimes they need a chance to breathe, to catch their breath, to not always have something on their schedule. Our son has taken the SAT before and did okay on it -- not great -- but okay. He was scheduled to take it again today, but with his anxiety this past week, he didn't feel comfortable taking it today. I looked at the SAT study guide on the kitchen table, and I thought about how the next time he would be able to take it wouldn't be until October - which will be his senior year. He'd be cutting it close with college applications if he waited until then; taking the test today would probably be better -- ideally. But life is not an ideal situation. Despite the studying and the careful planning, our son didn't feel he could take the SAT today in the frame of mind he's been in lately, didn't think he could focus or that the OCD thoughts might come back during the testing. We knew we needed to listen to our child.

And so as my first step in helping him to catch his breathe, my son is not taking the SAT today. His health and his smile are way more important to me than any SAT score could ever be.

FAMILY FINDS: Toys, Food, Fashion by Robin Gorman Newman

Periodically I will be blogging about some discoveries I've made that I can't wait to share, so here goes my take on some family finds:

BEYBLADES
Hasbro's BEYBLADE: METAL FUSION battling-top toy line allows kids to collect, customize and compete with a new, metal gear system and the introduction of an online virtual battle component. With a focus on customization and high-performance competition, each top comes with five interchangeable parts, ready for kids to build and rebuild to maximize performance for battle. To get the action started, kids pull the top's ripcord, the tops go into high speed action, and the last top spinning wins.

There are many tops to choose from, and lots of cool accessories, including launchers and a carrying case that turns into a battling stadium.

My son LOVES BeyBlades, and we've had fun playing them together.  He said to me one day that "they're his new favorite toy."  That means a lot from a kid who has much to choose from.

They are available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

BLENDY PENS
Kids can create cool color fusion with just the twist of a Blendy Marker!  Blendy Pens are fun for all ages, and easy to use.  Just insert any two Blendy Pens into the fusion chamber, and gently twist each one in the opposite direction. Watch inside the fusion chamber as the colors combine to create a new color.  You can mix up your shade creations by fusing together various markers.

As seen on TV and affordably-priced, Blendy Pens are a blast, and Giddy Up™ offers a wide variety of Blendy Pen Kits. Perfect for gifts, parties, classrooms, rainy days…or just as a great addition to any young artists’ activity collection.

The pens and kits come in a variety of sizes.  Your child will enjoy, and I've had fun using them too.

SPRAYZA® 
GiddyUp™ helps color your child’s world with creativity by expanding its line of innovative arts and crafts kits to include the clever and creative Sprayza Airbrush System. Kids can create very cool airbrushed effects with the Sprayza Airbrush System. Just insert one of the Sprayza Pens into the Sprayza Tool, and blow – to create airbrushed art. Kids can also use the Sprayza Pens on their own to add detail to their pictures..

The Sprayza system is completely kid-powered. No batteries, no set up. It's easy, and moms will enjoy as well.  My son and his friends had a really good with Sprayza.

As seen on TV,  Sprayza Kits make memorable gifts for any budding artist.  They are ideal for the child who has everything, because they won't have anything like this. Various size kits are available including markers, tools, stencils, instruction books, posters, etc.

Visit http://www.giddyup.com/.

FRESHOLOGY
The nation’s only gourmet home-meal-delivery service, offering an all-natural, preservative-free, flash-frozen diet system for even the most discriminating of palates, offers a one-of-a-kind program designed to keep your calorie in-take in check.entitled Lifestyle-Grab and Gourmet.

Freshology has been grabbing headlines since the program launched in 2005 as the diet delivery that served up weight loss for Jennifer Lopez, Ricki Lake, Mel B and many others.  They have a large selection of choices, and I recently had the opportunity to sample a few entrees and desserts.  My favorites were The Ham and Egg Layer Cake - a nice option for breakfast, and the Italian Sausage Pizza with Braised Kale, - a uniquely healthy spin on pizza.  Six Freshology meals are priced at $39.95.

If you need a break from cooking, want to get your calories in check, and have been wanting to treat yourself to a healthy, balanced-diet, home delivery service, even if just for a period of time, Freshology is worth a look.

TE AMO
Te Amo offers hot trends and celebrity looks for girls and the young-at-heart who want to keep up with the latest styles without a hefty price tag.  Whether for a fashion conscious mom or the teen in your life, the Te Amo collection offers a wide selection of quality, bold, fun, hip and girly fashion-forward clothes. The line incorporates embellished leggings, shredded denim, flirty dresses and rocker jackets in a variety of prints and vibrant colors.  I personally liked  some of their stretchy tank tops and flowy, soft looking blouses.  If you're parenting a girl, you might want to pay a visit to Sears or KMart, where the line is exclusively sold.



Note: Thanks to the above companies for providing product samples.