SPONSORED BY: DETROIT WAYN E STATE UNIVERSITY RENAISSANCE MEDIA, PUBLISHER OF THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.SEMJALLIANCE.ORG family portrait Talia and Ari Dolgin, Birmingham Talia and An Dolgin recently moved to Birmingham after living in Chicago for eight years. An is from New York and Talia grew up in the Metro Detroit area. They met at the University of Michigan. The Dolgin's moved back to Michigan to be near family, to become active members of Temple Israel and to be surrounded by a wonderful Jewish community. Talia is currently working as a speech pathologist and An is a commodities trader. They love spending time with friends and family, enjoy being outdoors and traveling. The Dolgins are thrilled to be back in Michigan and are excited about starting the next chapter of their lives in such a welcoming community! neighborhood happenings tickets available for purchase. All proceeds support the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit, which provides a "home away from home" for families whose children are hos- pitalized nearby with serious illnesses. For more information, call the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit, (313) 745-5909 to pre- register or visit www.rmhc-detroit.org . MICHIGAN RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL Saturday, Aug. 21- Sunday, Oct. 3 Holly, Ml This annual event takes you back in time to the Renaissance era with knights and old villager attire. Festival is held on weekends and Labor Day, rain or shine. Visitors may also partake in games of skill or enjoy non- stop entertainment where belly dancers, sword swallowers, musicians, comedians and sword fighters provide merriment for all ages. For more information, www.michrenfest.com SHABBAT IN THE PARK Friday, Sept 3, 6-8 p.m, Burns Park, Ann Arbor Don't miss out on this great YAD tradition with the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor! Set aside one evening to rediscover the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary. For more info, contact Cindy Adams at 734-677-0100; cindy@jewishannarbor.org . BEEKEEPING 101 Saturday, Aug. 21, 10 a.m. Lloyd A. Stage Nature Center, Troy Take part in National Honeybee Awareness Day by learning from expert beekeeper Dennis Holly of Holly Honey Farms. Cost: $17/non-residents, $12/residents. For more information, (248) 524-3567. Arts, Beats & Eats 3rd ANNUAL CHILDRENS DAY RALLY 2010 Sunday, Aug. 29 Beginning at the McDonald House, 2985 Walton Blvd, Rochester Ending at Christie's Bar and Grill, 95 E Clarkston Road, Lake Orion. Take a ride for charity and support the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit. Participants can drive on their own or choose from the 10 a.m., 11 a.m. or noon pack rides. The rally will end with food, drink specials and live music. Cost: $20/rider, includes one raffle ticket. Additional raffle Friday, Sept 3-Monday, Sept 6 Downtown Royal Oak - NEW LOCATION! Entering its 13th year in a new location, the Arts, Beats & Eats festival continues its tradition of being Metro Detroit's entertain- ment destination of choice over Labor Day Weekend. This year in downtown Royal Oak, the four-day festival features local and national musical acts, fine art exhibitors from across the United States and mouth- watering culinary offerings from some of metro Detroit's best restaurants and cater- ers. Many new attractions are expected to be unveiled throughout the summer and leading up to the festival date. www.artsbeatseats.com The Electronic Babysitter With the boom of new screen tech-nolo- gy, kids are spending more time then ever with the gadgets made available to them. From iPads, the wii, to just plain old TV, there is never a shortage of screen-based entertainment — and experts say that this can't be doing anything good for our kids. Most kids venture into the world of technology long before they enter school. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF): • 2/3 of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of two hours a day • Kids under age 6 watch an average of about two hours of screen media a day, primarily TV, videos or DVDs j rid • Kids and teens 8-18 years spend nearly four hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost two addi- tional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) playing video games. This is substantially more than The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends. Their guidelines suggest that children under age 2 not watch or engage in any screen time at all and that those older than 2 limit their daily viewing to a two-hour maximum. It is recommended that during a child's first two years, TV and other such media can affect important social and physical development processes. After a certain age, often 2 years old, children are prone to become less inter- ested in social engagement and are overly saturated and stimulated in screen-based activities such as TV, videos, computers, handhelds and cell phones. The result is a decreased interest in physical activity, social exploration and a negative effect on schoolwork. This is not to say that there are no benefits at all to the new developments in technology, or that children and teens should not be put in front of screen tech- nology in some cases. With educational programming, kids can be assisted in their learning at school and at home, and toddlers can start learning colors and shapes with Baby Einstein before they even start a playgroup. But despite these obvious advantages, the fact that the balance is so out of whack that kids are spending more than the recommended time in front of the tube to entertain themselves is causing our community severe consequences — namely, childhood obesity. Here are some ways to enforce healthy screen time habits in your home: 1. Track the amount of time your kids are spend- ing in front of the screen (track TV, computer, Nintendo DS, etc. sepa- rately). 2. Explain the importance of moving your body and how it can affect your health and energy. Set a good example of incor- porating more physical activity/ less screen time in your own life. 3. Set official "House Rules" for screen time. If you show your kids you stick to the rules, too, they will be more likely to do the same. 4. Create screen-free bedrooms. Kids who have a screen in their room spend almost two hours more in front of it then those who don't. 5. Turn off the TV during family meals. This can be a critical time for families to talk to each other, and often the only time to catch up on their day. 6. Help prevent kids from making screen time their go-to entertainment habit. Make sure to have ideas ready for your kids for activities to do. 7. Don't involve screen time in punish- ments and rewards. Don't encourage your kids to think screen time is more impor- tant than it actually is! For more information on the Kaiser Family Foundation, please visit www. kff. org. For more information on The American Academy of Pediatrics, please visit www.aap.org . If you would like to submit any events, information or would like to be featured in our section, please contact Rachel Lachover at (248) 351-5156 or rlachover@thejewishnews.com . JOIN US ON FACEBOOK; search our group name and fan page "SE MICHIGAN JEWISH ALLIANCE" August 19 • 2010 21