Tag Archives: Mary Poppins

Disney’s 10 Best Non-Animated Features

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We’ve talked about the best animated features, but Disney makes non-animated features as well. Some are great, some are classics and some are just films that could have been so much more. We’ll talk about the bad movies later, but for now, let’s look at my top ten picks for best non-animated features. 10. Rocketeer (1991). In this utterly charming, live action pulp comic, Bill Campbell plays a young Cliff Secord, a pilot who stumbles over a rocket pack and uses it to stop the Nazis. Sure, it’s pure cheese, but it’s sharp cheese. 9. Sky High (2005). Heroes are … Continue reading →

Pop Culture Milestones: Cyborg Makes History and Bono Marries

I’ve said it before and I will say it again—-I am continually shocked by how much people are willing to shell out for pop culture memorabilia. Yet another auction record was broken last week when a cyborg skeleton from “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” brought in nearly $500,000 during a sale of Hollywood memorabilia. According to auction officials, the T-800 Endoskeleton used in the 1991 film brought in $488,750. Meanwhile, a full-scale tyrannosaurus rex head from “Jurassic Park” was the second priciest item of the day, raking in a cool $126,500. Other “Terminator” props brought in five and six digit figures … Continue reading →

Protective Behaviors at Bath Time are Lush.

Bath time is an excellent time to begin talking about Protective Behaviors. While washing children you can tell them about their private parts: the parts that nobody can touch unless it’s Mom or Dad giving them a quick wash or putting medicine there, or the Dr. or Nurse having a quick check to make sure all is well. The private parts are the body bits covered by our underwear or swimming costumes. Private means, “This is my body and it’s not for sharing. If you touch, I’m going to tell.” Although this seems super easy to me, many parents struggle … Continue reading →

Umbrellas and Parrots to Help Play Protect our Children. Thanks Mary Poppins.

I’m back and how I have missed my friends at families.com. However, my recent Protective Play tour to Maryborough was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I was guest speaker at the breakfast launch of Sexual Violence Awareness month and facilitated a four-hour training in the BITSS model of Protective Behaviors. Twenty-one social science professionals attended the training and we played with everyday toys and household items in an effort to discover novel ways to instill protective behavior teachable moments into families’ homes. Of most interest to me was the revisit of the umbrella as a protective play tool. Umbrellas are useful for protection from … Continue reading →

Mary Poppins was Written by a Child in Need of Protection.

Mary Poppins was a nanny with pull. She knew which strings to pull to keep her charges in line and, even when she introduced them to risky situations, she worked hard to keep them safe. She knew how to shape Mr. and Mrs. Banks into responding to the needs of their children and she frowned upon their constant absences. What a shame the parents of the Mary Poppins author were unable to offer the same level of care and child protection. Mary Poppins was not merely a spoonful of sugar! Written by a woman who had experienced a childhood that … Continue reading →

Nanny McPhee Availible Today on DVD

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If you think your children are misbehaved, check out the Brown children in “Nanny McPhee” released today on DVD. After his seven children drive away their 17th nanny by making her think they had cooked and eaten their youngest sibling, Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) is desperate to find a replacement. The local nanny agency has closed its doors to the Brown family, and without a nanny the widowed Mr. Brown has no one to take care of his children. Enter Nanny McPhee. Nanny McPhee isn’t like any other nanny. She doesn’t work for any nanny agency; she instead goes where … Continue reading →

Mary Poppins: A Film Classic Oft Overlooked

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It recently came to my attention that some of the younger members of my family had never been introduced to one of my favorite family films, Mary Poppins. I gasped. I guffawed. I made many noises that were probably none too appealing. I vowed to change this injustice. No little one should go without introduction to Julie Andrews’ Mary Poppins and if you’re no longer “little” and still haven’t been introduced, I think now is a fine time to rectify that situation. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Miss Poppins, the film follows the Banks children, two … Continue reading →