Does your school have wireless internet access? If so, have you or other parents you know ever worried about the health effects of Wi-Fi on children?
According to recent news reports, some parents in Ontario, Canada are http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/08/15/ontario-wifi.html blaming Wi-Fi in schools for causing symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, rashes, sleep and behavioral changes, and racing heartbeats in their children. According to the parents, these adverse symptoms are showing up in their children during the school week but disappear during weekends, when they are not in school.
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Do you ever find yourself at a loss for what to pack in your child's school lunch box? I've been there, believe me. It's definitely not easy trying to come up with creative ideas for the lunch box while juggling work, home, and family every day.
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As many as one-third of parents think that playing with their children is boring, says a new study out of Great Britain. The study of 2,000 parents and 2,000 children aged 5 to 15 also revealed that a third of parents play video games with their kids instead of engaging in interactive play such as going to the playground or playing board games with them. But the great majority of kids -- 3/4 of the kids surveyed -- said that they'd prefer to play more interactive games with their parents.
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Nearly 60 percent of people who travel want families with children to fly in a separate section of an airplane, says a new poll released by a Skyscanner, a fare-comparison website. And 20 percent said they'd prefer to board child-free flights altogether.
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Many younger grade-schoolers love getting a note from mom and/or dad in their lunch box, especially in the beginning of the school year, when they may be experiencing separation anxiety.
An ingenious little device invented by a mom allows parents to actually record a 30-second message to tuck into a school lunch box. These fun and colorful little button-like devices, called Talkatoo, can record messages for kids to play whenever they are away from their parents, either during the school day or when a parent goes away on a business trip. They retail for $16.99 and can also be worn as a pendant or even clipped on to belt loops. For more information, check out Talkatoo.com.
As the fall approaches, so does flu season. While there is a lot less hype about the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu virus of 2009, pregnant women will still be given the option of receiving the regular flu shot. It is currently recommended that all pregnant women be given the seasonal flu shot by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The nasal vaccine is not recommended.
...I'm noticing a trend and I wonder if you see it too - people who are really upset when they don't get pregnant the first month or so that they are trying to conceive. Don't get me wrong, I get why they'd be upset pregnancy-wise, but realistically and statistically, conception doesn't work that way.
...One of the important reasons that many families list for breastfeeding is that it is free. This is a true statement. But I'm here to offer you some advice. Set some money aside for breastfeeding costs. You might use this money for a lactation consultant, a nursing bra, a breast pump...
Wordless Wednesday Submissions
Photo © A. Nagel
Labor Day is next Monday in the US and I have always thought it was funny to be in labor on Labor Day. I actually came very close two years ago, having my daughter on Labor Day Weekend. But she was born the day before Labor Day, August 31st. It was a lovely water birth, though I hadn't planned on the water birth!
...Is your preschooler ready to go to summer camp? Many preschool summer camps operate out of nursery schools and daycare centers, but there are some things parent need to take into account before they send their preschoolers to camp.
...Not sending your kids to summer camp this year or going on a vacation and need some things to do with your kids during the long summer months? Taken from our guide Terri Mauro's great Camp Mom tips, here are some great ideas to make the summer days with your kids, entertaining, enlightening and a whole lot of fun.
...Apryl Duncan, one of our About.com guides, came up with a wonderful idea of parents coming together in a co-op babysitting group where parents would watch each other's kids for free, thus saving money and never having to worry about scarmbling for a teenage sitter you may not know or trust.
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This week's highlights include one moms' concerns about the extent to which her son was medicated as a young child for mental disorders, a revealing study about the impact of father-son relationships, the perplexing issue of how young is too young to babysit, and more.
...Do you still need to squeeze a trip to the hair salon into this weekends' activities? You're not alone, and the good news is that this little bit of "procrastination" can help you save money on your kids' back-to-school clothing. Just head over to your local Great Clips and, with every haircut, receive a coupon for $10 off of any purchase of $50 or more at Old Navy. For more information, or to find a Great Clips salon near you, visit Great Clips online.
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Chances are, you're managing several schedules at once. There's your work schedule, the kids' school schedules, soccer schedules, and ballet schedules, not to mention your social life! To help manage it all, spend a few minutes updating your calendar. In addition, get into the habit of adding dates to your master calendar as soon as your kids' school papers begin coming home. For example, instead of placing the invitation to your kids' Back-to-School-Night in a pile (where it can easily get lost), write the date and time on your calendar, and throw the invitation away.
...Have-To versus Want-To originally appeared on About.com Marriage on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 06:10:37.
According to a reader's comment on our blog, there is a rumor going around the Internet that Bob and I are divorced. This rumor is NOT true! We will be celebrating our 47th anniversary on November 2nd.
We're NOT Divorced!! originally appeared on About.com Marriage on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 16:06:50.
Marriage and Porn Advice originally appeared on About.com Marriage on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 05:46:28.
We seem to be too worried about 'the rules' and enforcing them, that as parents we aren't looking at the big picture of our children's lives. It's in the big picture where positive values and morals are seen. It's not whether your teen got an 'A' on his science project, it's if he values what an education is going to do for him. Which is a catch-22, because if he values the education, he'll strive for the 'A'. Learn why it's important to teach values with this article.
Share your tips for teaching values at home in our comments area.
These fall activities for teens can be done individually, with friends or with the whole family. Each week has four different types of teen fall activities: Make This (Recipe), Craft This, Learn How and Get Out and Go! Each activity idea is fun for your teen. Check out week two's fall activities for teens now.
...Remember that even though you may not like each other everyday.....it doesn`t mean that you don`t love each other everyday!
The National Adoption Day Coalition has announced its new celebrity spokesperson for 2010. This award-winning actress/writer/director and adoptive parent, adopted a child from foster care in 2008. Yes. It's Nia Vardalos who served as the National Adoption Day...
Grandparents Day is coming up and it's not just a day to celebrate and honor grandparents, but also a day for grandparents to show their love for their grandchildren. I believe that grandparents are a very important part of the childhood experience. How many of us have special memories that surround our grandparents in some manner? I know I do.
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Another year has gone by and it's amazing to me that it has now been 15 years since the . I think I remember things because I document almost every major event in my journal.
...Let's review an older post and the blog comments that were posted on the subject of private or public school choices for adopted children. The subject came about because of the following email.
...I would really enjoy reading more adoption stories here on About Adoption &Foster Care.
It's quick, easy, and free to post your adoption story. There is no sign-in to fuss with and I can always assist you via email if you're having trouble. You can even post a family picture! Take a few minutes and share, those waiting to adopt may need to hear your story. Click here to share your adoption story.
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Stop by here every Saturday for a family activity, a site for the kids, a shopping site, a site offering humor or inspiration about parenting children with special needs, and a site that's just silly or fun, all designed to get you through your weekend with kids amused and spirits intact. Today's list:
- Activity: Origami Folding Paper Toy
- Kids' Site: The Great Word Quest
- Shopping: The Little Stamp Company
- Humor: ABCs of Diabetes
- Just for Fun: "Glee" in the 2010 Emmys Opening Skit
I've spent much of this summer driving with my daughter to the community college she'll be attending this fall -- getting her familiarized with the route she'll be driving, the buildings she'll be entering, the lengthy and maze-like hallways she'll be navigating. After several months, she's finally to a place where she can drive herself there, find her classrooms, even pick up her pre-ordered textbooks at the bookstore. Practicing and practicing new places has always been a good strategy for her, and it continues to work. So I was glad to see this tip from reader RainMomKelley on the Readers Respond page for preparing the school for your child with autism, and would recommend it also for your child with anxiety issues or really any sort of school challenges at all:
"My son is always getting moved around to a new school each year and I often don't find out where until mid August. When I do find out the location I start taking him to the school's playground and familiarize him with the place and with going to that building. It may seem like a small thing but it has made all the difference in the world on the first day of school."
Check with your school to see if walk-throughs are allowed; sometimes I've had to arrange for an administrator to sign us in and accompany us around, while other times we've walked freely unaccompanied. Explain that your child requires practice for a new routine, and you should be able to get access. My son and I took a stroll through this year's high-school classes yesterday, and it made both of us feel a little better about the upcoming year.
Do you have some good strategies for preparing the school for a child with autism or other special needs? Share them on the Readers Respond pages.
Here's a list of posts that have received one or more comments over the past week:
- Fears for the Fourth-Grade Year
- Wordless Wednesday: September Is Starting
- When Do Kids Graduate From the Pediatrician?
What's on your mind today? Speak out in the comments below, or add your opinion to the posts above.
Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
I got an e-mail from a reader today asking if there are better colors to paint the walls of a bedroom for child with Asperger syndrome. I'm probably not the one to ask about that -- though my daughter and I love watching HGTV shows together, all our walls are blah white. I know there are some theories of creating sensory rooms that stimulate with bright colors or soothe with lighter ones, but I'm not sure how that would apply to a bedroom.
So I turn the question over to you readers: Have you painted your child's room a particular color for sensory or special-needs purposes? How'd that go? Are there any colors you'd advise against? Help a parent out.
Photo by Terri Mauro
I've always been a big believer in being active in my kids' school, but I didn't know there was any money in it. According to a , schools in Delaware and Houston have "plans to start paying parents to attend school events such as parent-teacher conferences." Free cookies on back-to-school night were always enough of a draw for me, but I'm easy.
Now, it's for sure that parents are becoming less and less engaged with their schools. Volunteer participation is down, conferences go unattended, teachers can't get moms and dads on the phone to discuss grades or projects or the time of day. My kids' high school has a student body of 3,000, and when they get a dozen parents at the PTA meeting it's a big night. On the one hand, I can see how administrators, out of desperation, might feel the need to buy some involvement. On the other hand, there have definitely been school events about which the thought has crossed my mind, "You couldn't pay me to go to that."
Still, if the schools want to try bribes, I think they could be a little more creative than handing out taxpayer dollars. I bet you'd get some parents if you handed out coupons good for letting your kid skip homework one night. Tardy passes for your child on those mornings you just can't get it going would be of some value. Instead of giving parents the money, you could buy them out of a year's worth of fundraisers; who wouldn't be happy to show up for that? You'd still never get the parents who really don't give a darn about their kids' schooling, but you might motivate the ones who put the dates of the meetings on the calendar but are too exhausted or overworked or aggravated by school politics to actually get themselves there.
What would it take to get you out of the house and into a classroom on a school night? Share your thoughts in the comments; and for some other reasons to get involved, read my articles on the advantages of working in the school library, seven ways to volunteer even if your availability is limited, and ten good reasons to go to back-to-school night.
Photo by Terri Mauro
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