This news struck fear into my heart at the thought of having to take away some of my son’s favorite toys: The manufacturer of the popular Thomas & Friends wooden trains is recalling a number of models because of a high level of lead in the surface paint. It recommends you take the trains away […]
As a someone who turns a disturbing shade of Barbie pink when left in the sun too long, I read with interest of new evidence that “overall sun exposure in childhood, not just burns, is a big key to who later develops deadly skin cancer.” The study, at the University of North Carolina, indicated that
I may be the last person in the country to discover the wonders of a safety can opener, which takes off the top of cans without leaving a sharp rim. It was always a point of pride with me that I used a simple Swing-A-Way opener. The Swing-A-Way was classic. It did the job it
Earth Day 2007 is tomorrow, so I thought I’d start a thread on things we do as parents to protect the environment and save energy. From carpooling to soccer practice to favoring toys with minimal packaging, how do you take care of our planet? How do you teach your children to do so? Where do
Preschoolers are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when the produce comes from their own garden rather than a supermarket, concludes a study by researchers at Saint Louis University. More specifically, preschool children from rural southeast Missouri were more than twice as likely to eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per
In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the American Association of Pediatrics has compiled a list of resources to help children cope with this and other disasters. In addition, they include more general information on violence prevention, school safety, and promoting mental health. ParentDish also has links to a few other resources to help
A new study has found that “couples who showed a good marital relationship before the birth [of their child] seemed to do better when dealing with a fussy and uncooperative baby when compared to those couples whose relationship was not as good.” This seems pretty obvious to me, but according to the lead researcher, there
This afternoon, my son and I were watching a free Sesame Street short from iTunes called “Happy, Healthy, Ready for School.” In it, Elmo prepares for his first day of preschool in his typically upbeat manner—just the kind of tone I want to set for my son, who will start school himself this fall. I
Today’s guest post comes from Paula Gregorowicz of The Paula G Company. As a life coach, her goal is to help each of her clients “design a successful life that works without the burnout and compromise.” This sounded like advice that would benefit moms (and thus our children), and so I asked if she would
A few items from round and about: Überblog BoingBoing reports that the “non-dairy” smoothie additive used by popular chain Jamba Juice in fact contains non-fat dried milk. Something to keep in mind if you have food restrictions in your family. Scientists at the University of Toronto are are using a combination of ultrasound and blood
