In their recently released book, “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games,” authors Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson tell parents not to panic about video game violence.
According to a study of 1, 250 kids aged 12 to 14 in the United States over two years, asking them such questions as what video games they played, when they played and what they thought about violence in the games, kids were playing for fun, and to relieve stress.
“Also many children were using games to manage their feelings, and this seemed to be especially true for kids who played violent games like ‘Grand Theft Auto,”‘ said Olson.
With just a few small changes you can not only make a positive impact in the environment, but in your child’s life as well. If you teach your child how to respect and care for nature, they will grow into adults who care about protecting it.
Here’s how you can raise your child green!
Many parents are delighted when their baby’s first words are either “mama” or “dada.”
Beyond the obvious, Mommy and Daddy are always there, languages in many cultures have apparently made the task easy by creating words for mothers and fathers that feature patterns of repeating sounds, a new study suggests.
Brain activity increased in the babies’ temporal and left frontal areas whenever words that end in repeating syllables, such as “mubaba” and “penanathe repetitious words were played. Words with non-adjacent repetitions (”bamuba” or “napena”) elicited no distinctive responses from the brain.
This would suggest that babies first words are a result of science instead of nurturing alone.
To read more about this study continue here.
According to Canadian Living:
The arrival of a new baby brings you joy-and mountains of stuff! Some of it is essential, much of it is useful, but you’ll find some items just take up space and you’ll gladly unload them at your next garage sale.
What follows is advice for making wise choices on some of the big-ticket items that you’ll need in the first six months of your baby’s life. The essentials are a crib, a high chair, a stroller, and a car sear. Buy the best you can afford, because you’ll use these items every day for the longest time. For more information on products, contact the Infant & Toddler Safety Association (ITSA) It offers safety fact sheets on many types of products.
Yesterday, my wife and I took Roxana to her second doctor’s appointment. I will add some notes from that meeting later on, but I thought it would be good to transcribe a FAQ based on our first appointment, two weeks ago when Roxy was 2 weeks old.
Q - Parents should obviously not smoke cigarettes, but what is a grandparent, aunt or uncle smoke and the smell of smoke sits on their clothes. Does this cause a problem?
A - Yes and no. Our nurse said that so long as the smoker in question does not smoke at home, smokes in an outdoor area where the smoke blows away from them and washes their hand, the smell of smoke on one’s clothes is nothing to worry about. However, our pediatrician did say that the smoke residue found in a smoker’s clothes will invariably land in the child’s breathing zone. Yes, I’m paraphrasing that last part. I personally think you can ask someone not to smoke before they see and hold your child, but there’s a million other things you can worry about too.
Q - Newborns usually eat 8-12 times in a 24 hour period… but our newborn was eating every hour, but with each session not lasting that long. Is this normal?
A - Yes. Kids are all different. So long as she is eating and you see both wet and stool in her diapers, then the frequency and length of each nursing session can vary.
Q - Is the newborn better off being a bit too hot or a bit too cold.
A - Well, I would say she should be neither hot or cold, but if you had to err on either side, go with a bit on the cool side. So from what I have been told, there are no side effects of air conditioning for a child. In fact, the rule of thumb is that the child will usually be requiring one layer more than you to stay warm and comfortable.
Q - When can you take a newborn out of the home?
A - Technically, anytime… but we waited until her first doctor’s appointment one week after she was born… now we take her for a walk every evening. I think she likes the outdoors, when she cries, I will take her outside on our balcony (bundle her up though) and just rock her a bit, gently… she falls asleep as she basks in the sunshine. Even at night, she seems to welcome the outdoors and sounds and sights of the ongoing traffic.
Q - How soon can she fly?
A - Again, we were told any time… though I presume the pressure will make her ears pop and she might cry… but on this issue, ask the airline you are considering flying with for guidelines and requirements, if any.
Q - Crying? How much is too much.
A - Believe it or not, newborns are expected to cry for 4 hours per day… spread out. If a child cries non stop for no reason (she’s been fed, burped and isn’t sleepy) then it might be colic… but human beings like to express themselves… so if she (or he) is crying a bit, it’s not a big deal. It’s their way of talking.
Q - My newborn cries, but I don’t see any tears? What gives?
A - Again, normal. Kids only start to tear weeks, if not months after they are born. Generally speaking, when a child cries, it’s their way of talking.
Q - How often should I bathe my newborn?
A - Well… initially you should not bathe or shower a newborn, but simply wash her with a damp cloth. A newborn is generally clean, but make sure the trouble spots are cleaned thoroughly: for example, she might have milk residue underneath her chin… and if she pees or poops, it always is nice to clean the private parts well, too. We were told that you should wash her hair every two days… unless she pees or poops on herself at which point you should clean her as frequently as needed. Roxana is now 4 weeks old and we wash her every 2 days… but some days if the diapers give way, then we might clean her more often than not… be careful with the water temperature, of course.
Q - Pacifiers: good or bad?
A - Read more on that, here. For more, our doctor referred to pacifiers as the newborn’s cigarette. Not sure if that is the best analogy, but it was pretty funny.
Q - Can I leave my windows open?
A - Yes, so long as it’s not too cold or hot and there is no breeze coming in.
Q - Can you take your newborn to the park or in a backyard despite the potential presence of pesticides?
A - Surprisingly, yes, this is not a problem. In fact, the following does not apply to newborns, but toddlers, but one reason why in the 20th century you had an outbreak of some diseases amongst children was because they never played outside and their immune system did not develop enough. Without going to extremes, it’s good for a baby to be in the outdoors specifically to become accustomed to things she will encounter as she develops. Of course, you do need to bundle your newborn if the weather is cold, cover her head if it is too sunny, etc.
I think those were all of the questions we asked on our first doctor’s visit… I will post our questions from our second appointment, at four weeks, soon.
VANDALIA, Ohio, May 1 /PRNewswire/ — Babies, get ready to say “Cheese” as Evenflo launches the second annual “Baby, You’re a Star!” nationwide photo contest in search of a new face for the company. The contest, open to children between 2 - 24 months, begins today at http://www.evenflo.com/ where parents can upload a favorite photo of their little star. Parents can also enter their little ones in person by bringing their babies to photo shoots that Evenflo and exclusive host Babies “R” Us will hold at select Babies “R” Us stores across the country.
In addition to becoming a face of the Evenflo 2008 marketing campaign, the winning baby will receive a $10,000 college scholarship and a prize package filled with Evenflo products babies need to grow, go, play and thrive.
All “Baby, You’re a Star!” pictures taken at Babies “R” Us stores and those submitted online by parents will be posted at http://www.evenflo.com/, where Evenflo will ask Americans to vote for their favorite baby. The winning baby will be determined by the total number of votes received online at http://www.evenflo.com/. Parents also can share their baby’s photo with family and friends via e-cards available on the site. The grand prize winner will be announced in November.
Last year, America cast more than 340,000 votes for their favorite babies at http://www.evenflo.com/ and selected Daniel Vlasak from Schwenksville, Pa., as the winner of the “Baby, You’re a Star!” photo contest. Daniel was among nearly 8,000 babies who were entered into the contest through the photo shoots and online entries.
“Baby, You’re a Star!” Photo Shoot Tour Dates at Babies “R” Us Store Locations
Professional photographers Steve and Lisa Green will direct photo shoots at each stop at Babies “R” Us. All parents who attend a photo shoot at Babies “R” Us can order one free professional photo of their angel face at http://www.evenflo.com. The “Baby, You’re a Star!” tour starts in Tampa, Fla. on Saturday, May 19. Below is more information about the tour schedule.
Tampa - Saturday, May 19, 10:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Babies "R" Us - Tampa 3908 West Hillsborough Avenue Tampa, Fla. 33614 Cleveland - Saturday, June 2, 10:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Babies "R" Us - North Olmsted 26520 Lorain Road North Olmsted, Ohio 44070 Minneapolis - Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Babies "R" Us - Richfield 900 West 78th Street South Richfield, Minn. 55423 Denver - Saturday, July 28, 10:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Babies "R" Us - Aurora 24101-A East Orchard Road Aurora, Colo. 80016 Seattle - Saturday, August 25 10:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Babies "R" Us - Tukwila 17500 Southcenter Parkway Tukwila, Wash. 98188
“Baby, You’re a Star!” Web Site
Information about “Baby, You’re A Star!” can be found at http://www.evenflo.com/. Parents can visit the site to submit their baby’s photo, view city tour images, vote for their favorite baby, and forward contest and voting information to friends and family via e-mail. The site includes helpful tips from photographers Steve and Lisa Green to help parents capture beautiful photos of their babies at home. Parents can also find city tour dates, times and locations, as well as contest rules and regulations.
Entering “Baby, You’re a Star!”
There are two ways to enter the “Baby, You’re a Star!” contest: online or at one of the photo shoot tour stops. Printable entry and authorization forms are available for parents participating online or in person. Online entries will be accepted May 1 through September 30, 2007
PASADENA, Calif. and BETHESDA, Md., April 30 /PRNewswire/ — How does a hip cell phone designed for tweens offer service within a thriving and social virtual world? Fun and customizable chat bubbles! Whyville.net, the longest- running virtual world for tweens, has partnered with kajeet, the first pay-as- you-go cell phone service made from a kid’s point of view, to allow its community of over 2 million citizens the chance to create their own chat bubbles and easily connect with their friends.
Chatting is one of the most popular features in Whyville, so citizens have jumped at the chance to customize their experience and creatively express their personalities to their online friends. Tens of thousands of Whyville citizens have already visited the “kajeet Chat Factory” in the Whyville mall during the first four weeks of its grand opening, and are using their virtual money, called clams, to purchase and design their chat bubbles by choosing the color, border and dialogue style. The Chat Factory also offers Whyville citizens an opportunity to meet and interact with the six animated characters (kajeet calls them dudes) that represent the unique personalities and attitudes of the customers that kajeet was designed to serve. Additionally, kajeet is offering an online Friend Finder service that allows a citizen to contact another with a personal invitation to meet and hang out at a cool Whyville destination.
“Partnering with Whyville makes sense to us for a lot of reasons, as we’re both companies that respect kids, believe strongly in educating them about technology and that look to them to help create the products they’re using,” said Daniel Neal, CEO and founder of kajeet. “kajeet and Whyville are empowering kids to communicate with each other in new and exciting ways online, just as our cell phone service allows them to do so offline.”
In addition to enabling personalized customization among kids, Whyville and kajeet have designed tools within their respective products to allow families to safely integrate technology into their daily lives. For example, Whyville requires all new citizens to take a test before they can chat. The test is designed to teach not only the rules of Whyville, but safe and appropriate chat behavior in general. Even the names of each company reflect their dedication to tweens: kajeet is an anagram of the founders’ children’s names, while Whyville is named for its founding principle that asking why is a necessity of learning.
“We know tweens and, to a tween, being connected is a top priority,” said Jay Goss, Chief Operating Officer of Whyville’s parent company, Numedeon, Inc. “Now with this partnership with kajeet, tweens can not only be connected in Whyville, they can also personalize their experience. It is the best of everything for a tween.”
Swivel Media, kajeet’s experiential agency with marketing expertise in real and virtual worlds, saw the potential for seamlessly integrating the kajeet brand into the communication culture of Whyville, by creating the concept for the “kajeet Chat Factory” with customized branded chat bubbles.
“We understand that both companies share similar ideals about talking with tweens and making sure what they offer involves what kids want most: the ability to make it all their own,” said Erik Hauser, founder/creative director of Swivel Media. “Our goals were to ensure that Whyville citizens saw kajeet as synonymous with a fun and personalized way of connecting and communicating with their friends, and we’re clearly off to a great start!”
About Whyville
Whyville.net is the longest-running virtual world for boys and girls, ages 8 to 15. For eight years, the site has successfully created an environment that engages its vested “citizens” to learn about life, while having fun. Inside Whyville, tweens play, earn, socialize, learn, design, eat, dance, govern and much, much more. For sponsors, Whyville enables organizations to be on the inside of the virtual world, providing them with the means to truly interact with this hard-to-reach demographic. Numedeon, the parent company of Whyville, was created by scientists from Caltech who combined research expertise in neuroscience with education experience to conceive of an innovative way to harness the power of the Internet for the purpose of engagement and real learning. In addition to its flagship property, Numedeon has developed a number of virtual worlds using its proprietary technology.
About kajeet(TM)
Founded in 2003, kajeet may be based in Bethesda, MD, but kids are the center of our universe. kajeet is the pay-as-you-go cell phone service made from a kid’s point of view, a new word for a new world of mobile entertainment, customization and communication. kajeet reduces parents’ stress about getting a kid a cell phone by offering a service that features no long- term contracts, no surprise overages and no expiring minutes. Oh, and no buzzwords. No kidding. kajeet and kids: use it for talking, use it for texting, use it for sharing, use it for playing … use it for good.(TM) http://www.kajeet.com/.
/24-7PressRelease/ - PLEASANT GROVE, UT, April 27, 2007 - Lone Peak Business Solutions has found that more and more of their clients who are mothers are entering the workforce. Lone Peak Business Soutions’ estimates that in 2006 90% of their clients that are mothers were working. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the percentage of working mothers (between 15-44 years old) went from 53% in 1994 to 55% in 2002. Out of the 82.5 million mothers in the U.S., that is a1.65 million jump of mothers in the workforce. In 2002, mothers with children age 1 and older were in the labor force at a higher rate (72 Percent) than mothers with infants (55 percent). Among mothers with infants, 61% of those 30 and older were in the labor force compared with 39% of those ages 15 to 19.
This rise in working mothers could be attributed to many factors. One of the largest reasons is families that feel they need the additional income. With inflation, rising oil prices and increased cost of living, many families feel that they can’t survive without the additional income from a working mother. In addition, there are a lot of single mothers who are the only source of income for a family.
Along with the increasing reality of two parents working and single parents working, there is also the increasing need for quality child care. There are roughly 687,000 daycare providers of which roughly 618,000 are self employed persons. Many mothers prefer the atmosphere of the self employed day care providers because they often work out of their homes which provide a homey atmosphere that a large facility can’t produce.
One of the major problems with mothers working is the cost of these Day Care facilities. Christopher Anderson, Vice President of Lone Peak Business Solution, Inc. said, “One of my clients is a family where the mother started working in 2006. She made roughly $12,000 but she had to pay out $9000 in day care expense. Her day care took 75% of her income. After taxes were taken out of her paycheck she made almost nothing.”
These self employed Day Care Providers have created an optimal position for themselves for three main reasons.
1. The self employed Day Care Provider is now able to stay home with her/his own children instead of relying on others to take care of them.
2. While able to stay home, the self employed Day Care Provider is still able to provide the much needed second income.
3. When set up properly, the income a self employed Day Care Provider makes can be received in many tax free ways. Through tax deductions for business and deductions specifically for Day Care Providers, much of the income that a self employed Day Care Provider earns can be written off.
Kathy Anderson, President of Lone Peak Business Solutions, says, “I have worked with many Day Care providers in my 26 years in business. Those who have taken the time to get the proper licenses and set up the proper safety rules, are successful, work with happy parents and children, and often continue even after their own children go to school.”
For more information about starting a Day Care business go to http://www.lonepeakbusiness.com/products/day_care.html.
CARMEL, Ind., April 26 /PRNewswire/ — According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, today’s overscheduled youth spend an average of 44 hours per week staring at some kind of electronic screen, creating America’s first generation to grow up disconnected from nature. Rather than “going green,” children are “going screen,” a trend Wild Birds Unlimited is combating with its new Pathways To Nature for Kids initiative.
“Today’s youth spend less time outside than any previous generation, depriving themselves of the emotional and physical benefits that come from having a bond with the natural world,” said John Schaust, Chief Naturalist at Wild Birds Unlimited. “For years, our mission has been to bring people and nature together by offering products that make enjoying the outdoors easier. With Pathways To Nature for Kids, we’re investing in children so they can reconnect with nature, and live richer, fuller lives.”
In cooperation with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Wild Birds Unlimited Pathways To Nature for Kids is sponsoring the National Wildlife Federation’s Green Hour(TM), a new program aimed at helping parents get their kids and themselves outdoors for at least one hour each day. At the program’s website, greenhour.org, caregivers can find helpful tips and share their own ideas and backyard adventures with other members of an online community.
“By getting more kids outside, they will connect with the natural world and be inspired to preserve it for future generations,” continued Schaust.
Research shows that children who spend quality time outside are healthier, play more creatively, have lower stress levels, have more active imaginations, develop stronger immune systems, experience fewer symptoms of ADD and ADHD and have a greater respect for themselves, others and the environment.
Wild Birds Unlimited is the original and largest franchise system of backyard birdfeeding and nature specialty stores with more than 300 locations throughout the United States and Canada. Wild Birds Unlimited specializes in bringing people and nature together with their birdfeeding and nature products, their expert advice and educational events. Visit our Web site at www.wbu.com and www.pathwaysforkids.com.
NEW YORK, April 25 /PRNewswire/ — GoCityKids (www.gocitykids.com), the Webby award-winning online city guide for kid and family friendly activities and services, expands its reach with the launch of two new featured cities: Las Vegas and St. Louis. These two cities join GoCityKids’ expanding coverage area that already includes sites servicing San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and more. Families living in, or visiting, St. Louis and Las Vegas will now be able to find comprehensive listings of kid and family friendly activities in those areas, as well as shopping, events, restaurants, schools, services and more, all searchable by a child’s age and interests.
The site’s expansion will go even further this summer, allowing parents and users to add their favorite local restaurants, events, stores and more, in all regions, cities, small towns, and rural areas across the country. The new design for the GoCityKids site will also allow for registration, more personalization with “snagging” features and a “My Stuff” area, and a mapping feature to make it easier for users to see what’s in their neighborhoods and beyond. A GoCityKids calendar “widget,” which is a tool that can be placed on a websites or a blog and provides local event information that is automatically updated, is also now available for free on GoCityKids.com (see the “Widget” link at the bottom of every page on the GoCityKids website).
“With the addition of Las Vegas and St. Louis to the GoCityKids website, its expansion under the Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group umbrella has increased from 14 to 22 cites, and we’re looking forward to adding even more cities and countries later in the year. In addition, our new user generated content feature will serve families outside of major cities by connecting them with the best their local area has to offer, coming directly from other local parents,” said Tanya Van Court, Senior Vice President, Preschool and Parents Online, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. “With the new features we’re adding, GoCityKids is becoming the ideal one stop shop for parents looking for family friendly activities and everything kid- related in their area.”
GoCityKids also recently launched a “Deals & Steals” section that provides parents with discounts and bargains from local vendors; it will include a national Deals area concurrent with the site re-design. In addition, GoCityKids is partnering with local Comcast Cable affiliates in Boston and Salt Lake City to provide cable subscribers with discounts, free meals and gifts from participating retailers, eateries and recreational institutions. Comcast subscribers can redeem the discounts at participating locations by presenting their cable bill upon admission/checking out, or via the coupon they receive in their bill. A list of participating retailers for the promotion is available on http://www.gocitykids.com/comcast. The promotion will run through May 16 in Boston and throughout the month of July in Salt Lake City, and will be supported by Comcast with a series of local spots.
Beginning April 27 and running through May 21, GoCityKids will host a “Best of My City” sweepstakes where one lucky family has the opportunity to win an action packed weekend stay at the GoCityKids city of their choice. The grand prize will include airfare for one family, hotel accommodations for three nights at the GoCityKids member pick for best hotel in that city, passes to the GoCityKids Best Spots of the City of their choice, and passes for the best family friendly museums, amusement parks, restaurants, and shows. Five first prize winners will receive a Family Fun Day prize pack, featuring passes to a GoCityKids Best Family Friendly Attraction in their local city. Users can enter the sweepstakes on www.gocitykids.com. The sweepstakes will be supported with TV spots and banner advertising on Nick Jr., Noggin and the channels’ affiliated websites, along with ads on Nick at Nite and ParentsConnect.com.
Launched in 2000, GoCityKids has a passionate and loyal audience of parents in the cities it serves and has been recognized with three Webby nominations in the family, travel and lifestyle categories. The site offers more breadth and depth than any other city guide for parents and features information on top destinations for family travel. Its free weekly local newsletters have been described as a “must” for locals and visitors alike. Since being acquired by Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, the site has broadened its reach from 14 to 22 cities, servicing San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Minneapolis/St Paul, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, San Diego, Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix and new additions, Las Vegas and St. Louis.
GoCityKids is the one-stop resource for local families and travelers. The award-winning site is a family’s best online tool for finding the hidden gems in their local city, and a valuable guide when traveling to a new city with the family. GoCityKids combines the great insights of local city editors with the collective wisdom of other parents within the local community, providing an up-to-the-minute, parent-informed lens into the best of what cities have to offer kids and families.
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