84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 10, 1996
Taking
Time
by
Rebecca
Escott
Daughters and Dads
At a recent parenting seminar, I
was surprised and challenged by
one toother’s assessment of her
daughter’s relationship with her
husband. She said. ”1 think dads
who have sons have it easy. They
have lots of things in common and
can do lots of things together. My
husband and my daughter don’t
have anything they like to do to
gether.”
Nothing they like to do togeth
er! How sad. Dr, T. Berry Brazel
ton, a well-known pediatrician
and parent educator, comments,
“Everything we know shows that
when men are involved with their
children, the children’s IQ in
creases ... The child is also piore
likely to have a sense of humor, to
develop a sort of inner excitement,
to believe in himself or herself, to
be more motivated to leant.” Both
boys and girls are positively af
fected by interactions with their
dads.
These exciting results occur
when dads spend time with their
children, providing both limits
and love in a balanced way. Fol
lowing that seminar, I wondered
what I could do to encourage dads
to spend time with their daughters
even when it’s easier to hang
out with their sons? I decided to
ask daughters what they like to do
best with their dads.
Right from the source, here’s
what the elementary school and
teen daughters like best:
Playing board games Mono
poly. Candyland (“we usually
end up laughing and telling funny
stories”), playing in the snow,
sledding, skating, skiing, playing
computer games, playing team
sports and getting coached on
sports skills, going to sporting
events, backyard basketball and
baseball games, making popcorn
and building a fire in the fire place
for “game night,” fishing and
Enjoy More Retirement Income
Than You Ever Thought Fbssible
Now you can turn your farmland into a retire
ment income you can't outlive, with tax and financial
advantages you never thought possible.
A "Farm Trust," administered by the bank or trust
company of your choice, makes it possible for you to
sell all or a portion of your farm, penalty capital gains
tax free, increase your income, decrease your federal
and state taxes, plan your estate for the benefit of your
heirs, and benefit health care in northern Lancaster
County.
For more information and a confidential no cost
proposal on the ECH Foundation Farm Trust program
please call
Bill Treible,
Development Officer,
Ephrata Community
Hospital Foundation,
today
(717-738-6569)
hunting, camping, hiking, wrestle
with dad, playing Frisbee, putting
together puzzles, playing check
ers, running laps around the
house, kicking the soccer ball.
Shopping, traveling, visiting
the zoo, going to this office, going
to the library or book store, going
on a motorcycle ride, going on er
rands, going on business deliver
ies with my dad, shopping for my
Mom, driving with the music real
ly loud.
Making breakfast, going out for
breakfast or lunch, cooking with
dad, baking bread and making
“monster" (plate size) chocolate
chip cookies, daddy/daughter
“dates” for lunch or dessert.
Cleaning, washing the car,
planting garlic with him, learning
to use his tools, fixing up the
house, cutting grass, drying dish
es, building sheds and rabbit
hutches.
Completing school work, read
ing, telling jokes, helping me with
my numbers, talking about school
and politics, learning how to take
care of and show cattle, singing
stupid songs changing most of
the normal words to make them
funny, practicing musical instru
ments.
Listening to music (The Grate
ful Dead and Rod Stewart!), going
to concerts, dancing, dancing
around the house when my mom
isn’t home.
I love what one teen told me,
“Unlike a lot of fathers, I can go
shopping with him, cook, listen to
music, fix up the house, and al
most anything I’d do with my mo
ther.” She said, “unlike others” yet
I found that on every list there
were some stereotypical female
things cooking, shopping
and some stereotypical males
things hunting, roughhouse
play, sports. Another reflected, “I
was Daddy’s little girl.” It was ob
vious from the responses that dads
bring an element of risk and ex
citement to daughters’ days. They
push the limits a bit—listening to
music really loud, making mon
ster-sized oxides, wrestling. Not
that moms couldn’t but they are
less likely to bring this quality to
their child-parent interactions. Be
cause moms contribute other im
portant things, children need to
spend time with both parents.
For me this “survey” of daugh
ters was a wonderful experiment!
If you ask children themselves,
they will tell you the things that
they like to do best with parents
during one-on-one time. I have no
doubt that if a daughter is asked
she would be able to list things
she’d wish she and her dad could
do together.
Father-daughter times are so
important. Even if it seems you
have nothing in common, lake a
risk and invite your daughter to
join you in an activity. You’ll both
benefit immensely.
Strawberry
School To
Be Held
LEESPORT (Berks
Co.) —Varieties, earliness tech
niques, and pest management are
topics for discussion at the South
east Pennsylvania Strawberry
School on March S. The meeting
will be held at the Berks County
Ag Center, Leesport, with
registration beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Pre-register with Berks County
Cooperative Extension, PO Box
520, Leesport, PA 19533-0520,
phone (610) 378-1327, Fax (610)
378-7961 for the meeting by
February 27. Registration fee is
$l5 which includes the noon meal,
refreshments and reference
materials.
Stop by and see us at the
Keystone Pork Expo
Let’s talk about your farm insurance package and well
explain our...
“Premier Farm Owners
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies • Home Office: One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH 43216
Nationwide* Is a registered federal service mark of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Sewing Guide Altered
(NAPS) —An -updated
sewing guide buttons up
today’s sewing needs.
“Reader’s Digest Com
plete Guide To Sewing:
Revised and Updated”
($:!()) answers (piesliimM
for both novice and ad
vanced sewers.
Which are the best scis
sors to use on thick fabric?
How should a pattern be
altered to accommodate
my height? Which materi
al is best for covering our
living room sofa? How can
I sew buttons on my terry
cloth robe so that they
stay on?
These questions and
others are answered with
well-illustrated, simple
to-follow instructions and
valuable information in
the book.
Among revisions in the
“Reader’s Digest Com
plete Guide to Sewing:
Revised and Updated”:
• the latest sewing
supplies, materials and
equipment;
• descriptions of 190
different fabrics;
• new color wheel with
complementary colors;
• metric and standard
measurements (many
European patterns and
sewing machines use
metric only).
The book also covers:
• basic construction
techniques;
• necklines and col
lars, waistlines and belts,
sleeves, pockets, hems
and other finishes;
Lebanon Fairgrounds, Lebanon, PA
Wednesday, Feb. 14
Package Policy”
Designed especially for Farmers
NATIONWIDE
H 1 INSURANCE
Nationwide is on your side
Agrißusiness Division
1000 Nationwide Drive, P.O. Box 2655
Harrisburg, PA 17105-2655
717-657-6493
Fax - 717-657-6573
To fasten buttons to
heavy or bulky fabrics,
such as a lerry-clolh robe,
use a thread shank. The
shank keeps the material
from pulling unevenly.
• men’s and children’s
clothes;
• home furnishings;
• fastenings—from zip
pers and snaps to buttons
and frogs.
Here’s a simple button
sewing tip from the book:
to fasten buttons to heavy
or bulky fabrics, such as a
terry-cloth robe, use a
thread shank to keep the
fabric from pulling un
evenly around the but
tons. Shank length should
equal garment thickness
at the buttonhole plus Vs
inch (3mm) for movement.
To make a thread shank,
secure thread at button
mark, then bring needle
up through one hole in
button. Lay a pin, match
stick or toothpick across
the top of the button. Take
needle down through sec
ond hole, make about six
stitches. Remove pin or
stick, lift button away
from fabric so stitches are
taut, and wind thread
firmly around stitches to
make shank. Backstitch
into shank to secure.
The book is available at
local stores. Or call 1-800-
793-BOOK, Dept. 039-03.