26 brave students will make the trek from Sandy Hook, Connecticut, to the Big Easy for Sunday’s red hot Super Bowl match-up to take part in the pregame festivities.

The Sandy Hook School Chorus will sing “America, the Beautiful” in front of the packed stadium and in front of millions at home watching their TVs. The performance will take place before kickoff. Alicia Keys, songstress and mom to adorable son, Egypt, will sing the national anthem.

Hats off the NFL for choosing to honor the surviving children of Sandy Hook and all of the families who lost loved ones in the horrible tragedy. While it won’t replace the pain any of them are experiencing, it is a beautiful honor for these children to pay tribute to the country they love, the classmates they miss and (maybe even) the football team they’re rooting for.

Are you touched by this? Will you watch?

Plus, more from The Bump:

Brave Sandy Hook Students Return to School

Parents React With Fear, Empathy and Sadness After School Shooting

After School Shooting, Pediatricians Recommend Turning the TV Off Around Kids

It seems we’re all still deeply saddened by the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and as we try to make sense of what happened, it’s understandable that you might be glued to your TV or internet news reports to hear the latest developments. But, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says to be extra careful about watching or viewing scary media while your kids are around.

In a statement released Friday, AAP President Thomas McInerny, MD, FAAP, said, “As in any frightening situation, young children should not be exposed to the extensive media coverage of the event — in other words, turn off the TV, computer, and other media devices.”

McInerny also encouraged parents to use resources available to them to help them talk to their kids about the disaster, including their child’s pediatrician. Not sure where to turn or what to say? See the AAP’s resources to help families cope.

Do you have kids old enough to explain the shootings to? How did you talk with them about the tragedy?

I believe there are two types of children in this world: those who adore sitting on Santa’s lap and telling him what they want for Christmas, and those who wouldn’t go near a strange fat guy in a red suit even if he were covered in gumdrops and handing out winning lottery tickets. My kids were always the second type.

It’s not that surprising, since the whole “mall Santa” experience was not a part of my childhood. I admit, I find the concept a little creepy. “Go on, sweetie! Go sit on that bearded stranger’s lap and tell him all your deepest desires. Sure, you can take a candy cane from him!”

But there’s no denying that a picture of a sweet little cherub perched on Santa’s lap is adorable. Even if the kid is wailing. Especially then. There are entire web sites devoted to funny pictures of kids with Santa. How could I miss out on that?

There’s a mall near us with a really authentic-looking Santa Claus. A real, snow-white beard, a plush, red velvet suit, shiny black boots, the whole bit. A grandfatherly type, not creepy at all. I figured if I was going to force my precious babies to sit on a stranger’s lap for a photo opp, this would be the place.

For a couple years, neither one of my boys was having it. But last year, things changed. During a trip to the mall, they both decided they wanted to visit Santa. OK, the five-year-old decided and his little brother followed. I think they didn’t want to take any chances with their Christmas lists. Better to tell Santa directly the exact kind of remote-controlled monster truck you want, rather than risk ending up with some off-brand piece of junk under the tree.

So we waited, and waited, and waited in line for our turn with Santa. Then the little guy chickened out. He dug in his heels like I was dragging him to the doctor for shots. Even when Santa himself tried to gently coax him over, he wouldn’t go. His big brother did, though. Little brother witnessed this and went nuts.

In typical toddler fashion, he changed his mind and decided he did want to sit on Santa’s lap after all. So again, we waited. And waited. And once again, he got cold feet when he got to the front of the line. No friendly elf could persuade him to get within arm’s reach of St. Nick. He did accept a candy cane, though.

Oh, well. At least we gave one of our kids the mall Santa experience. Somewhere, the in-laws have the pictures to prove it. They weren’t as hilariously awful as I’d hoped.

Will you take your child to visit Santa this year?

No, this gift isn’t for baby — it’s for the older kid in your life. The hot toy this year has got to be the LeapFrog LeapPad2 Explorer. Not only is it fun and has tons of cool games and apps, it will hopefully get your kid away from your gadgets for a little while.

Why we love it: This kid-friendly tablet is filled with art projects and counting games — and you can make movies with it.

Price: $99

Buy it

See more of the best holiday gifts for kids at The Nest.

Every year I put tons of thought into my holiday card (see past photos here). I come up with a theme, I get props, I go all out. My friends have begun to expect, even anticipate what I’ll put out every year. So when one of my friends was telling me that she couldn’t have a fun holiday card because she could never get her girls to sit still for a photo I thought, “But why do they have to?”

My favorite photos of kids are always the ones where they have cake smashed on their face, where they’re playing on the swing set or holding out their sticky hands toward the camera. Kids are active and messy, so why do they have to sit still for a posed photo?

So I proposed a solution: let’s let the girls throw flour all over each other to capture the holiday spirit. The girls got really into it, and we all had a blast. And I think the result was pretty close to perfection.

Are you sending out a holiday card this year? What fun ideas do you have for family photos?

Cute holiday card ideas from The Bump

Have you ever been concerned your child wasn’t developing on track?

The answer to that question is probably yes. As a mother and a speech pathologist — almost every parent I’ve talked with has worried, at some point, that their child might not be within the normal range for some development milestone.

As a first time mom and a medical professional, I was extremely nervous for my son to reach each developmental milestone. There were some he hit right on time, some he hit early, and some he hit later than I expected. Each time he was even just a smidgen behind, I would practically panic over it, wondering what I could do to help him get to the next step. I would constantly provide activities and input I believed would be helpful to him. I consulted other therapist friends to get their opinions on his motor and speech development. I watched children who were ‘ahead’ of the curve interact with their parents, so I could change and modify our interactions to be more like theirs.

One day, while we were “playing,” I was very therapist-like, directing our play, and I realized that it just wasn’t fun.  I had a great activity planned, but he just wasn’t feeling it, and I was forcing it. Neither my son nor I were actually having a good time, it was more me trying to push him to attain some silly goal.

So, I relaxed.

Part of the process, for me, has been distancing myself and my child from my career. I know how to provide him the proper input to learn. What I needed to discover was how to give him the time and space to do it on his own terms. Instead of comparing him to friends’ children who excelled or developmentally delayed children at our outpatient therapy clinic, I needed to only compare him to himself.

After having my son, I’ve realized that each child, whether way ahead of the milestones — or with developmental delays — are learning, growing, and doing things on their own timeline.  Sure, in some cases, a little (or a lot of) outside or early intervention can be very beneficial, but the majority of children will learn those skills you’re so panicked about on their own timeline. And by accepting our children for who they are, and learning to love how (and at what pace) they grow, we will all benefit — the parents and the children.

By sitting back for a little while and actually just observing how my son progressed and acquired new skills, I began to understand who he is. Instead of pushing to get him to the next stage  in my own way, I now know how to help him to achieve those goals himself.

And in doing that — as a parent — I’ve begun to meet some of my own goals.

Nobody wants to think about having to take their child to the hospital in an emergency, but kids do get hurt no matter how much babyproofing you do. Last week I had the unfortunate opportunity to take my own 2 1/2 year old son, Holden, to the emergency room after he suffered a bad fall that happened in the blink of an eye. The fall resulted in a Stage 3 Supracondryal Humeral Fracture (fancy term for severely broken elbow) and he wound up in surgery with three pins holding his bones together. During this harrowing experience, we got amazing last-minute help from friends and family, but it really got me thinking — how prepared are most families for a situation like this? What would you do if your child was in an emergency, especially if there is another child that needs to be cared for? Here are my top 5 lessons learned:

1. Know who your backups are
My wonderful co-worker and friend, Lisa, watched our older son while I met my husband and Holden at the emergency room. It is important to know who you can call to be there in an instant to help with the non-injured child while you rush to the hospital. Make sure your children are familiar with this person and have some level of relationship with them, especially if it’s someone they may see sleeping on the couch if they wander out in the middle of the night. Murphy’s Law states that when you need your backup, they will probably be out of town or unavailable — so have more than one, and have their phone numbers readily available at all times. Make sure they know that you have chosen them for this important role!

2. Familiarize yourself with the hospitals in your area
Holden had to be transferred from the hospital near our home to one with a pediatric orthopedic specialist who could do his surgery. This meant an ambulance ride, at 1:00 AM, to a hospital we knew nothing about and subsequent middle-of-the-night phone calls to our pediatrician to verify this was an OK thing to do. Don’t assume that your child will be treated in the facility near your home. Learn which medical centers in your area have children’s hospitals, and what they specialize in. Get recommendations from your pediatrician while your child is healthy for where you should go in an emergency.

3. Stock your medicine cabinet
For minor bumps and scrapes at the playground, it’s always helpful to have a stockpile of age-appropriate pain meds like ibuprofen and acetaminophen in your medicine cabinet. Holden’s doctor recommended good old children’s Tylenol for pain relief after his surgery. Also helpful to have on hand are a first aid kit, Pedialyte (great for replenishing fluids after tummy viruses), various sizes of bandages and Neosporin. Check dates periodically to make sure everything you have is current, and replace any expired medications.

4. Carry a phone charger with you at all times
Your phone becomes even more important in an emergency! From contacting your spouse to alert them something happened, to updating your family, to reading more about the injury (a supracondryal humeral WHAT?!?), your phone is your lifeline in an emergency. Since you have no idea when you’ll be getting home again, you can steal some power anytime you’re near an outlet if you have a phone charger with you. This can bring your parental anxiety level way down, trust me.

5. Download a medical history app
Related to the lesson above, it’s a good idea to have a record of your family’s medical history available on your phone. We have the iPhone app My Medical which gives a profile to each family member where you can keep important information like blood type, past history, allergies, medications and more. It’s hard to think straight when you’re exhausted and nervous for your sweet and hurt little baby. Eliminate the need to remember such critical information and keep it with you on your phone!

Have you ever been in an emergency situation with your child? What helped you the most?

Last week my husband went out of town for work (the nerve), and he took all sanity and order with him. Here’s a diary of how the week went, and what I learned about the parent I am and the parent I’m not (but need to be).

Day one: I have this image it will be fun to do a sleepover with the kids in my bed. Fun! Ha! They party in my bed until I finally, after, like 17 warnings, kick them out at 10pm. Yelling and crying (from all three of us) ensues. Not a good start.

Day two: Daughter wakes up with a hoarse voice from crying so much the night before, just before she is to narrate the year’s most important play at school. But with my magic warm honey water elixir and encouragement, she pulls through! So proud and relieved, I cry (again).

Day three: Worrying about things going wrong and breaking while genius, engineer husband is away. Dear friend delivers an anxiety-busting blended mocha to my door, like a fairy godmother. I’m so exhausted from long day at work and keeping up with chores alone that I crash in bed before the kids fall asleep…at midnight.

Day four: Serve macaroni and cheese in the pot it was cooked in, with three plastic forks for dinner, and we eat it on the floor picnic style. Kids think I’m the best parent ever, but I harbor guilt over not serving a single veggie even though I’m usually the veggie-pusher of the house. Sane husband not here to talk me out of guilt.

Day five: Have epiphany when I realize as parents, my husband and I have our good cop/bad cop roles down to a science, and I’m struggling because I have to be both cops when I (thankfully) so rarely have to be. Vow to get in touch with my inner mean mom.

Day six: Practice using a new “do as I say or else” voice today when the kids are incessantly fighting. It works! I can do this!

Day seven: Get over my pride and call a babysitter to help me out for a couple of hours so I can go to the grocery store in peace. Feel slightly ridiculous paying a sitter for this but relish the time on my own and push the cart extra slowly down each aisle.

Last week taught me that while disciplining is not my strong point (I’m the one kids go to for affection, advice and healing their physical and mental owies), I can and will do better to be a more well rounded parent. I don’t regret the mac and cheese picnic, though.

We recently came across this DIY frozen fruit pop recipe on Pinterest from the blog SkinnyTaste.com. These pops are a healthy and simple summer treat for your little ones (and you!). “My one-year-old probably had as much fun playing with them as she did eating them,” says SkinnyTaste.com blogger Gina.

To make the pops,

“Combine diced fruit in a bowl and fill each 5 ounce cup with fruit. Add 1 tbsp of juice and insert craft sticks into each cup (they easily stay in place because of all the fruit). Place in the freezer a few hours until firm. To remove the pops from the cups, run under warm water a few seconds. Enjoy!”

Get the full recipe at SkinnyTaste.com here.

Tell us, what are your favorite summer snacks?
Plus, more treats from The Bump:

Chocolate Chip Gender Reveal Cookies

No-Guilt Raspberry Turnovers

Peanut-Butter-Chocolate-Chip Energy Bars

One of our sisters at The Blush recently discovered how great baby products can be for adults. I don’t have much time to stock up on personal beauty products, so I’ve reached for the kids’ Burt’s Bees lotion or California Baby body wash in a pinch plenty of times. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well they’ve worked for me too! Now when we travel I can just pack one set of shampoo/conditioner (my fave is the Circle of Friends line). Using them not only makes my hair easy to comb but I come out smelling like bananas, how great is that?!

You’d also be surprised with all the ways Lansinoh nipple cream can come in handy. Another time, perhaps.

Plus, more from The Bump

You Know You’re a Mom When…

New Mom Beauty Tips and Favorite Products

Postbaby Skin and Hair Issues