On a short leash.

According to Wikipedia, a leash is a rope or similar material attached to the neck or head of an animal for restraint or control. On the animal, some leashes clip or tie to a collar, harness, or halter, while others go directly around the animal's neck.

Again, a leash is meant to be used on an animal!!! Not on a kid!!!!

I have read a lot of posts and articles on the subject and I still cannot figure out what kind of parents use a leash on their kids. Come on, how about teaching them to hold your hand and stay close to you. I understand it for some extreme cases like non verbal autistic children but most people I see using them are just lazy parents who would rather be yapping on their cell phones or texting on their crackberries while enjoying a cup of overpriced coffee instead of spending some real quality time holding and talking to their kids.

And please spare me this kind of excuse: "As a parent of 3, I LOVE knowing that I am doing everything I can to keep my children safe. And if that results in having people judge my parenting skills, go for it. Just remember parents do this out of love, not laziness." Blah, blah, blah!!!

If you love your kids so much teach them to stay close to you, teach them to hold your hands, teach them about the dangers they would encounter by not staying by your side, otherwise the day you will take that leash off, they will still want to wander away and then what?

This kid gets it.

Eileen sent an email to the entire family yesterday that I want to share with everyone. However, before I do that I need to let you know a little more about her and Matthew.
Not only she is a huge Yankees fan, she is a great Baseball fan. She has an understanding and knowledge of the game and its history that could rival Mike Francesa's and John Sterling's combined.
And since the apple does not fall far from the tree, at only five years old, Matthew is not only a die hard Yankees fan but a great fan of the game as well. He has already been to many games and knows all the retired players and their respective numbers. He could also talk to you about the Babe and Yogi, the M & M boys etc...
What he loves most though is broadcasting (or at least pretending to broadcast) and doing play by play. By the way at two years old he was already doing a perfect impersonation of Chris "Mad Dog" Russo that you can enjoy by clicking here.
So you can imagine what a day yesterday was like in our household with the passing of George Steinbrenner and the all-star game.

Here is now the email that Eileen sent. The subject read This kid just "gets it".

As you can imagine on this rainy day, the day George S. died, the TV was on here for many hours (ESPN, YES, MLB network...)
Matthew's "thing" these days is sports reporting. Just a few minutes ago, this was his report word-for-word:
"This is Matthew O in the YES studios with the All-Star pre-game show. I know you're all excited about the game but George Steinbrenner died today and he is much more important than the game. You can be happy about the all-stars but sad about George Steinbrenner."
How proud am I?