Parenting

What to do about toys? Your kids want them. You love seeing their little faces light up when they open that perfect gift. Yet finding that perfect gift nowadays seems to mean so much more than a hunk of plastic eye candy. It has to be a balance of fun, safe, eco-friendly, not plastic and not made in China yet still doesn't break the bank. What's a time-challenged parent to do? Luckily, Healthy Child, Healthy World has put together a comprehensive crash-course guide to purchasing toys.

WREXlabs is everything that is right with parents today. This awesome site crafted by a father son team, Tim and Declan, is a forum for curiosity encouraging kids and parents alike to take stuff apart and see how they work.

Parent advice blog Urban Moms posted an article by Rob Stringer, "an award-winning educator and Parenting & Youth Coach," titled "Teaching Kids About Money Makes Good Cents". This how-to article lists some very practical, very easy ways to teach children about money management. The tips are basic helping to bridge the gap between what they are taught in the classroom and their handling of money in real life situations. Some of my favorite tips include:

Your kids like tats but are years away from real ink. You want them to be safe. They can name ever Star Wars Clone Wars droid yet can't remember the important stuff like, oh say, their phone number, food allergies and...um...name. Check out these sweet temporary Child Safety Tattoos from SafetyTat. They're customized to order with one to two lines of information perfect for multiple phone numbers.

Current tip lists for flying always have their uses, not that many of us nowadays can afford to travel on our own let alone bring the entire family. And my tip for hitting the blue skies with a tot in tow is simply don't do it. However, sometimes this hell is thrust upon you like a heatwave in the middle of October and you have no choice. What then?

A recent Newsweek article titled "Struggling School-Age Boys" discusses concerns over the growing epidemic of boys failing to succeed in school and the problems being caused that are plaguing families because of it.

An article posted in the Detroit Free Press titled "Shy Kids Require Encouraging Parents" reads like a "How-to" for any parent struggling with a shy child. Chock full of suggestions this article tackles timidness head-on and is a call to action for parents stating "Childhood shyness is a common concern for parents, who fear their youngsters may be lacking or missing out on social situations.

This past summer we began an allowance program for our 8 year old son. Something we'd really been against because we really are trying to teach our son that helping out around the house is something we do for each other because we're family and we're a team and teams work together that's why it's called teamwork. Our son actually had bought into the whole idea of being a team player and took his responsibilities very serious and completed them with minimal complaining (that one surprised us too).

A recent Associated Press post "More Flu Vaccine Aimed at Key Flu Spreaders: Kids" discusses reasons for a new plan of attack against the vicious, icky flu. The article explains "Flu-shot season begins this month, and for the first time vaccination is being pushed for virtually all children — not just those under 5. It's a huge change, and one bolstered by provocative new evidence that children are key flu spreaders.

A recent Scientific American article "Gifted Children: How to Bring out Their Potential" examines whether acceleration or enrichment is the best path for bringing out a gifted child's true gifts.