ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com/media/feedlogo.gif ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/New social networking service for kids and their parentshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/21/new-social-networking-service-for-kids-and-their-parents/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/21/new-social-networking-service-for-kids-and-their-parents/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/21/new-social-networking-service-for-kids-and-their-parents/#commentsFiled under:

Imbee, a new social networking service for kids, launched earlier this week. Like other services, Imbee provides blogging, photo sharing, and messaging. What makes Imbee unique is the amount of protection in place to help keep kids safe. For example, kids can't sign up without a parent's help. A parent or guardian must register for the child using a valid credit card for authentication. And the service provides tools for parents that allow them to easily monitor their child's blog posts, photos, shared music and files, and messages. Another interesting difference between Imbee and other services is that everything is private by default and isn't indexed by search engines. Only people who are invited may view a member's blog postings or photos. It all adds up to a safer, more controlled environment. Imbee offers limited free accounts and paid accounts with a 90 day free trial. [via TechCrunch]

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]]>John WatsonWed, 21 Jun 2006 11:00:00 ESTThe curbside lemonade stand has changedhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/21/the-curbside-lemonade-stand-has-changed/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/21/the-curbside-lemonade-stand-has-changed/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/21/the-curbside-lemonade-stand-has-changed/#commentsI remember setting up a lemonade stand in front of my house one Summer. I think I charged people a dime seeing as how I had no costs. My parents paid for and made the lemonade, provided the table and cups, the whole deal. Of course, I drank most of my own inventory. Tuesday afternoon I saw our and the neighbor's kids setting up a stand across the street, so I dipped into our spare change jar and moseyed on over. Boy was I lucky I was feeling generous and grabbed a handful of coins. A cup of water (no ice!) and a pack of Smarties cost me $2.00. And, sucker that I am, I tipped them each $0.25 for a total charge of $2.75. And the cups were mine! Oh, the Moms had a good chuckle as I walked back to the house.

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]]>John WatsonWed, 21 Jun 2006 09:00:00 ESTeBay and Kaboodle launch MyCollectibles servicehttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/13/ebay-and-kaboodle-launch-mycollectibles-service/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/13/ebay-and-kaboodle-launch-mycollectibles-service/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/13/ebay-and-kaboodle-launch-mycollectibles-service/#commentsFiled under: ,

MyCollectiblesDo you have a toy collector in the house? Barbies or Pez or Hot Wheels in mint condition in the original packaging? Or maybe you have a growing collection of pacifiers you'd like to share with the world. If you do, Kaboodle's new MyCollectibles service may be the perfect place to showcase and share your collection with others. At the site you can create your own collections, browse and rate collections, and meet other collectors online. The free service also integrates with eBay allowing you to easily add items purchased from the auction site to your showcase. The site was just announced Monday but already features dozens of collections from stamps to paperweights to toys.

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]]>John WatsonTue, 13 Jun 2006 16:35:00 ESTKilling our kidshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/13/killing-our-kids/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/13/killing-our-kids/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/13/killing-our-kids/#commentsFiled under:

Parking lotI honestly cannot understand how someone a) can leave their child in a car long enough for them to die (accidentally or intentionally) and b) why we (government, the public) think that a slap on the wrist warning is punishment enough for parents who do it. I've written about this every Summer when I see the stories start rolling in about kids dying from hyperthermia in their parents' car. In many cases the perpetrator is young and stupid and does some jail time (the young woman who left her kids in the car while she stopped to buy drugs comes to mind). But in many others, the parent should have known better, the child dies, and the parent gets off with a warning because the whole thing was a tragic accident. An accident! Why is it an accident when a parent leaves a child to die in a car while he goes into a store to buy groceries?

Continue reading Killing our kids

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]]>John WatsonTue, 13 Jun 2006 15:30:00 ESTMake personalized toys with your own photoshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/12/make-personalized-toys-with-your-own-photos/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/12/make-personalized-toys-with-your-own-photos/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/12/make-personalized-toys-with-your-own-photos/#commentsFiled under: ,

Personalized photo toysAmit at Photojojo.com (the best photo DIY projects, tips, and gear) wrote in to us about some neat toys that you can personalize with your own photos. I love my digital camera and I take a lot of photos with it but I hardly print any. Not only are these toys fun, they're a way to preserve your precious photo memories in a physical form. Projects include jigsaw photo frames (pictured right), a custom photo Rubik's cube, photo building blocks, and a lot more.

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]]>John WatsonMon, 12 Jun 2006 17:00:00 ESTBringing Home Baby on TLChttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/03/bringing-home-baby-on-tlc/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/03/bringing-home-baby-on-tlc/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/06/03/bringing-home-baby-on-tlc/#commentsFiled under:

Bringing Home BabyTLC's new reality show Bringing Home Baby takes us along for a peek at how rookie parents handle their first few days with their newborn. Each episode showcases a different family as they experience the first 36 hours at home. Some of the upcoming episodes are 20 Year Old Mom about single mom Nataly, Preemie Goes Home about a baby born seven weeks early, and Hipster Baby about Cheyenne who won't stop crying. The wife and I recently decided that we're stopping at two so this show comes at a perfect time for us. Now we can catch two episodes of video birth control every weekday this month on TLC.

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]]>John WatsonSat, 03 Jun 2006 14:00:00 ESTTeens use ring tone that can't be heard by adultshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/30/teens-use-ringtone-that-cant-be-heard-by-adults/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/30/teens-use-ringtone-that-cant-be-heard-by-adults/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/30/teens-use-ringtone-that-cant-be-heard-by-adults/#commentsFiled under: ,

Cell phonesThe so-called Mosquito alarm is a high-frequency sound that can't be heard by most people over 20. It was invented to repel teenagers from places where they're not wanted or allowed to congregate. But some resourceful teens have recorded the sound and are now using it as a ring tone that their teachers can't hear. A teacher in Cardiff, UK, discovered the ring tone being used in his class when one of his pupils told him about it. "All the kids were laughing about something, but I didn't know what." It shows you how resourceful and how silly teens can be at the same time. I mean, why not just put the phones on vibrate? Read the full story at 24dash.com.

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]]>John WatsonTue, 30 May 2006 16:33:00 ESTToday is National Missing Children's dayhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/25/today-is-national-missing-childrens-day/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/25/today-is-national-missing-childrens-day/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/25/today-is-national-missing-childrens-day/#commentsFiled under:

missingkids.comIn 1983, Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 as National Missing Children's day as a way to raise awareness for this issue. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a 1999 study found:
  • 797,500 children were reported missing
  • 203,900 children were the victims of family abductions
  • 58,200 children were abducted by non-family members
  • 115 children were the victims of long-term kidnappings
  • 2,000 children are reported missing every day
Visit missingkids.com to find out how you can help.

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]]>John WatsonThu, 25 May 2006 07:00:00 ESTFeeding your kids' hunger for knowledgehttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/24/feeding-your-kids-hunger-for-knowledge/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/24/feeding-your-kids-hunger-for-knowledge/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/24/feeding-your-kids-hunger-for-knowledge/#commentsFiled under:

Bendable strawsWhy? Why? Why? Kids have an insatiable hunger for knowledge--not unlike Jaws' hunger for girls in bikinis. I do my best to answer the never ending torrent of questions, but one of them stumped me recently. They wanted to know how plastic drinking straws are made. And not just any straws but the bendable kind. I'm a dork, so here's what I found out. Modern plastic drinking straws are made by extruding melted plastic through a machine. I explained it by comparing it to the noodle extruder on a Play-Doh set. They're cut to length and then a crimping machine adds the grooves that allow them to bend ("then, kids, a machine bites the straw to make it bendy"). The spiral winding process used for making the first paper drinking straws was patented in 1888 by Marvin Stone but Ancient Sumerians, the party civilization of the Stone age, may have been the original inventors of the straw, using them for drinking beer. How Products Are Made is a great resource if you've got inquisitive kids in the house with manufacturing details on everything from acrylic fingernails to juice boxes to zippers.

Of course, the inevitable next question was "why did they drink beer?" Are you kidding me? Can you imagine raising kids in the Stone age? I'd need all the beer I could get my hands on.

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]]>John WatsonWed, 24 May 2006 15:01:00 ESTThe Slip 'n Slide is my secret weaponhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/24/the-slip-n-slide-is-my-summer-secret-weapon/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/24/the-slip-n-slide-is-my-summer-secret-weapon/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/24/the-slip-n-slide-is-my-summer-secret-weapon/#commentsFiled under:

Slip 'n SlideSome days you just can't win, but I have a secret weapon. To children, a little water and some plastic can equal happiness. And since their happiness is my happiness, on Saturday, despite not having a working air pump, the Slip 'n Slide came out of storage. A Slip 'n Slide is a magical device that works like this: you put water and children in one end and ecstatic, slippery children come shooting out of the other end at high speed. A distant cousin to the Slip 'n Slide of my forefathers, this beast has no fewer than six inflation valves and a splash down pool at the end. But I'm nothing if not a giant gas bag, so a bit of minor dizziness and ten minutes later, the slide was ready for action. Putting lips to valves that have been in storage on the garage floor for nine months is disgusting, in case you were wondering, but it was worth it. On Saturday I was king of the world. I'm so grateful that sometimes it's this easy to make them happy.

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]]>John WatsonWed, 24 May 2006 13:03:00 ESTMy kids have ESPhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/20/my-kids-have-esp/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/20/my-kids-have-esp/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/20/my-kids-have-esp/#commentsBut not the good kind. Not the kind that can predict lottery numbers or tell me if I'm going to regret eating an egg salad sandwich. What they do have is an uncanny ability to find me and ask me for something at precisely the moment when I least want them to. At first, it's unbearably frustrating, but as the years pass and you mature as a parent, it becomes maddening. It seems to be a truth, unfortunately, that the slowest way to get children to come to you is to call them. The quickest way is to use the bathroom.

Children also seem to have a third-sense about who is the tiredest person in the family at any given moment. They know who has had the least sleep. And this weird sense leads them to that person whenever they are bored or hungry. Which is unfortunate, because the only other two senses that children are known to possess are boredom and hunger.

Do your kids have some kind of weird clairvoyance that tells them when you're on the phone or want to have some alone time with your spouse? Do your kids have ESP?

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]]>John WatsonSat, 20 May 2006 15:00:00 ESTHappy Mother's day to my lovely and talented wifehttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/14/happy-mothers-day-to-my-lovely-and-talented-wife-may-god-have/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/14/happy-mothers-day-to-my-lovely-and-talented-wife-may-god-have/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/14/happy-mothers-day-to-my-lovely-and-talented-wife-may-god-have/#commentsOver the years I've learned that mothers, by and large, are Good. A powerful, positive force in the universe. My lovely and talented wife, for example, is a wonderful mother. Her momstincts are so strong that they block out rational thought. I know this because she allowed an entire person to grow inside of her. Twice. Of course, when I married her, she was not a mom. In fact, she was very happily not a mom for a long time. And then, very quickly, she transformed into one. Like a butterfly, it seems it was always inside of her, the chrysalis of pregnancy bestowing her supermom powers. And she's beautiful at it. And I love her. And I wonder now how I got by for so long living with a mom larva.

I might not even be writing for Blogging Baby today if someone had only warned me that marriage would triple the number of people in my life who treat me like a child. But what's done is done. And now I couldn't be happier. Not legally. Dear wife, I love you. I love you enough to endure the hell that is shopping with two small children and letting them choose your gifts (but which eventually evolved into "choose anything on this 2-inch area on the second shelf"). You're worth it, babe.

To my lovely and talented wife, and to mothers everywhere who continue to raise children against their better judgment, Happy Mother's day.

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]]>John WatsonSun, 14 May 2006 11:01:00 ESTCaffeine can make them say "Yes, Mommy!"http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/07/caffeine-can-make-them-say-yes-mommy/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/07/caffeine-can-make-them-say-yes-mommy/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/07/caffeine-can-make-them-say-yes-mommy/#commentsFiled under: ,

I loves me some coffee. I pay too much to grind my own beans and use a French press to brew it (which really makes better coffee and isn't nearly as snobbish as it sounds). So I was amused to learn that a study from Down Under claims that caffeine consumption makes people more susceptible to persuasion. And I found myself wondering if there isn't some truth to it. Today, inexplicably, I skipped my morning coffee. Normally, the boy can ask to play with a box of razor blades and, after I've had a cup, I'll just reply, "OK, but share with your sister." But today I've been grumpy and skeptical of everything the children have said.

Continue reading Caffeine can make them say "Yes, Mommy!"

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]]>John WatsonSun, 07 May 2006 12:01:00 ESTGame shows difficulty of curing children's cancerhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/04/game-shows-difficulty-of-curing-childrens-cancer/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/04/game-shows-difficulty-of-curing-childrens-cancer/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/05/04/game-shows-difficulty-of-curing-childrens-cancer/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Butterfly gameA Children's Cancer Research Fund online game shows how only 8 in 10 children survive cancer. Try as often as you like, you cannot win. The game asks for a donation of $75 to receive a free copy of The Blue Butterfly, the story of a young cancer patient "whose life is forever changed by a journey into the jungle to find the most beautiful butterfly on earth," before it is available in stores on May 23.

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]]>John WatsonThu, 04 May 2006 18:31:00 ESTParental paranoia at all-time highhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/26/parental-paranoia-at-all-time-high/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/26/parental-paranoia-at-all-time-high/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/26/parental-paranoia-at-all-time-high/#commentsFiled under: ,

Baby oxygen maskThe Seattle Times Health section has an interesting article today about how paranoid we parents are lately. Are we more worried about "bad things" happening to our kids now than our parents' or grandparents' generations? I don't know. Possibly. Certainly we know more about things like second-hand smoke and viruses and seat belts. The article quotes some morbid statistics about child mortality as well from the National Center for Health Statistics from 2002. Among children aged 1-4, there were 31.2 deaths per 100,000 with the leading causes being accidents, congenital deformations, cancer, and assault homicide. Yowza.

What do you think? Are we really more paranoid about protecting our kids, is the world really a more dangerous place, or are we just more educated?

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]]>John WatsonWed, 26 Apr 2006 17:03:00 ESTThink you're not the father? You're probably wrong.http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/25/think-youre-not-the-father-youre-probably-wrong/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/25/think-youre-not-the-father-youre-probably-wrong/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/25/think-youre-not-the-father-youre-probably-wrong/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Man pushing strollerElizabeth sent us a note about a study that found that more than 70% of men who deny paternity are wrong. Over 70%! On the other hand, men who believe that they are the father are right 96% of the time. It's interesting, isn't it? What does it say about a man who knows that he's the father? It says he trusts his partner. It says he takes responsibility for his actions. Men who believe that they are the father (even the 4% who are wrong) are probably the type of guy you can trust. And men who say they're not the father and are wrong? These are guys who don't trust their partner and who won't face consequences. I just hope the 96% group is bigger.

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]]>John WatsonTue, 25 Apr 2006 18:03:00 ESTNo one ever told me three-year-olds are non-stop talking machineshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/24/no-one-ever-told-me-three-year-olds-are-non-stop-talking-machine/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/24/no-one-ever-told-me-three-year-olds-are-non-stop-talking-machine/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/24/no-one-ever-told-me-three-year-olds-are-non-stop-talking-machine/#commentsFiled under:

The BoyI've never met anyone who talks more than a three-year-old child. If only we could somehow harness the verbal energy and convert it into electricity we'd never have another energy crisis. Three-year-olds have an astoundingly large vocabulary as well and can -- I'm not making this up -- have actual thoughts. This is in direct contrast to infants who usually just loaf about and gurgle (which, it turns out, is really a very sophisticated mind-altering device that makes affected parents say things like "Oh, how cute!" and "What smell?"). At some point in their lives they become sentient beings, capable of sophisticated behavior such as, not only wanting cookies, but seeking them out, building a platform out of chairs and boxes, grabbing the cookie box, and hiding under a table in an attempt to consume them before being discovered.

The first time you see the chair, the open pantry door, the trail of wrappers and crumbs, and find your child under the table with his hand in the bag -- it's pretty magical. The third time, not so much. But that first time is pure gold. Especially when you ask what he's doing and your sentient, non-stop talker can only turn his large, innocent eyes upwards, shrug his shoulders, and with a mouth full of illicitly-gained baked goods, mumble, "What cookies?"

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]]>John WatsonMon, 24 Apr 2006 16:33:00 ESTInfant Bereavement Photographyhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/20/infant-bereavement-photography/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/20/infant-bereavement-photography/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/20/infant-bereavement-photography/#commentsFiled under: ,

Maddux Achilles Haggard 2/4/05 - 2/10/05Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep is a non-profit organization that arranges for professional photographers to offer their services free of charge to parents of dying children. Their mission is to provide beautiful and compassionate bereavement photography to help parents honor and cherish their babies. The organization was started by Cheryl and Michael Haggard last year after they lost their son Maddux just 6 days after he was born. The Haggards feel that the photographs made of their son in the NICU the night Maddux died have helped them heal. Their story, told in a letter to their son, is heart breaking.

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]]>John WatsonThu, 20 Apr 2006 09:33:00 ESTDo your kids make you feel old?http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/18/do-your-kids-make-you-feel-old/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/18/do-your-kids-make-you-feel-old/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/18/do-your-kids-make-you-feel-old/#commentsAs I sit here, eating candy I borrowed from one of the kids' Easter baskets, I've come to the conclusion that nothing makes you feel older than children. It's actually a proven scientific fact: Einstein's theory of relativity says that if you travel in a spaceship with a child at the speed of light you'll age 1 month for every time he asks you "why." But, if you really want proof, you just need to buy some alcoholic beverages at your local grocery store where the impertinent whelp running the register will have the audacity not to card you. Until I had kids, I didn't even feel like a proper adult. I was just a big kid with some independence and some money. Now that my kids have taken away my independence and my money... now I feel like an adult. A few weeks ago I saw a fetus crossing the street wearing a "Class of 2007" sweatshirt. That kid -- on the cusp of adulthood, mind you -- was born in 1989. 1980 frickin' 9, people! And if he was working the register at my market, I know the brat wouldn't have carded me.

Continue reading Do your kids make you feel old?

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]]>John WatsonTue, 18 Apr 2006 12:03:00 ESTPhoto exhibition of crying babies at Paul Kopeikin galleryhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/13/photo-exhibition-of-crying-babies-at-paul-kopeikin-gallery/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/13/photo-exhibition-of-crying-babies-at-paul-kopeikin-gallery/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/04/13/photo-exhibition-of-crying-babies-at-paul-kopeikin-gallery/#commentsFiled under: ,

Mercury by Jill GreenbergThe Paul Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles will be showing a photo exhibition called End Times by photographer Jill Greenberg featuring photos of crying children with titles like "Left Behind", "Shock and Awe", and "Armageddon." The images are powerful. But here's the thing: she got them by making these babies cry in her Los Angeles studio. Greenberg said, "I had to learn the hard way that they had to be no older than 3 because beyond that they just don't cry so easily. At that age, one needs to merely give them a lollipop and then take it away, et voila - pain and agony." The gallery owner, Paul Kopeikin adds, "Greenberg is a master at her craft, she subtly uses the tools of her trade for effect, as one might use punctuation, 'but the words' -- the kids and their expressions of grief -- are real."

It's just wrong -- children are not objects to be manipulated. I guess the parents of these kids must really love "art." And what's an image of a child in anguish worth these days? $4,500 will get you a lovely 42x50 inch print.

The exhibition runs from April 22 through May 27. The opening reception is on Saturday, April 22, at 6pm. You can preview the gallery and read the press release here.

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]]>John WatsonThu, 13 Apr 2006 16:01:00 EST