Obama Early Education Plan To Be Detailed In Georgia Speech
President Barack Obama is traveling to Georgia today to press a plan he announced in his State of the Union address to dramatically expand preschool. The plan would include smaller class sizes, better-paid teachers, and exams for 4-year-olds. (via Huffington Post)
Girl Who Lost 90% of Skin After Allergic Reaction to Children’s Motrin Wins $63M Verdict
Samantha Reckis, who was only 7 when she took Children’s Motrin for a fever and subsequently went blind and suffering a horrifying allergic reaction, has won $63 million in compensation from Johnson & Johnson. (via NY Daily News)
Older Fathers Can Be Better Dads the 2nd Time Around
At 60, Arthur Schwartz sees many of his college friends talking about retirement and grandchildren, but he is energetically immersed in the busy lives of his two young daughters, aged 9 and 7. (via Yahoo News)
Do Good Grades Spread Like Measles?
Students surrounded by friends who earn better grades than they do tend to see their own grades rise over the next year, according to a new study. (via Live Science)
Study: Praise Children For What They Do, Not Who They Are
Toddlers develop a greater preparedness for future challenges when their parents celebrate their efforts instead of their innate qualities. (via The Atlantic)
More U.S. Women Using the “Morning-After” Pill: Report
More U.S. women are taking the “morning-after” pill, but generally just once, according to the government’s first report on how the emergency contraception drug has been used since regulators eased access to it in 2006. (via Reuters)
This week, Sirius XM Radio launched a new radio program to celebrate kids’ birthdays nationwide. Laurie Berkner, the former preschool teacher and award-winning children’s singer and songwriter, will host the eponymous show Laurie Berkner’s Every Day Birthday Party.
The show will appear on Sirius XM Kids Place Live, a 24/7 interactive talk show featuring music, talk shows, and on-air games for kids.
Each month, Berkner will select a group of toddlers and preschoolers (ages 1 to 5) to feature on the show. Each lucky toddler will receive a personal birthday salutation and hear a special “kindie rock” musical performance by Berkner herself.
Laurie Berkner’s Every Day Birthday Party airs Monday through Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. ET and 2:30 p.m. ET on Sirius XM Kids Place Live channel 78.
Parents can submit requests to kidsplacelive@siriusxm.com. The deadline for September shout-outs is August 20, 2012 5 p.m. ET. (The SIRIUS XM website also recommends including a 30-minute window of time you listen to the show during the day.)
It’s dinnertime: The phone is ringing, your testy toddler is throwing her peas on the floor, your eldest is refusing to eat, and the dog is barking at nothing (again). And you? You lose your cool and have, regrettably, a mini mommy-tantrum.
If you’ve ever had a toddler, this scenario probably sounds familiar. Even the most patient of parents can find themselves at wit’s end when dealing with a tricky two-year old. However, frequent outbursts of agitation may be negatively impacting your child’s social development—and prolonging those temper tantrums. A study from Oregon State University and various contributing institutions found that parents who over-react and anger easily have toddlers who experience more meltdowns than normal for their age. The way you handle everyday annoyances in your child’s first few years of life is directly linked to your toddler’s behavioral development, researchers say.
Of course, you’re only human, and sometimes stress just gets the best of you. But instead of taking your anger out on the dog, take a time out and try our sanity-saving mommy midterm. By the time you’re done with this de-stress test, you’ll have forgotten all about the picture your toddler just drew on the wall.
Mothers Like Chubby Toddlers, Study Suggests
Mothers of overweight toddlers often mistakenly think their children are normal weight, and mothers of underweight toddlers often wish they were plumper, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Olympics-London Games Venues Opened to ‘Babes in Arms’
Babies will be allowed into London Olympic venues without a ticket if they are firmly fastened to an adult, organizers said on Tuesday in a climb-down after complaints from angry mothers.
1 in 8 Teens Misuses Prescription Painkillers
One in eight older teens has used powerful painkillers when they weren’t prescribed — and many of them start misusing the medications earlier than was previously assumed, according to new research.
Combined Vaccine Not Tied to Seizures in Older Kids
Although the combined vaccine against measles, mumps and chickenpox comes with a small risk of fever-related seizures in toddlers, a new study suggests that’s not true in older children.
Arizona Governor Signs Law Banning Most Late-Term Abortions
Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed into law on Thursday a controversial bill that bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, giving Republicans a win in ongoing national efforts to impose greater restrictions on abortion.
School Bus Driver Who Passed Out Behind Wheel Dies
The Washington state school bus driver who passed out, prompting a 13-year-old student to get behind the wheel, has died, NBC affiliate KING5 reported Thursday, citing his family.
Spring cleaning may still be months away, but it doesn’t hurt to keep your kid’s playroom clean during the winter season when bacteria and germs are more likely to spread.
Melissa Homer, Chief Cleaning Officer at MaidPro and busy mom on-the-go, specializes in helping other busy moms like you maintain a clean home in no time at little cost. Below, she shares four strategies for organizing and cleaning a playroom.
Disinfect the Toys – A toy must be completely disinfected for it to be clean. Soak the toys for 5 minutes in a solution of 3/4 cup bleach mixed in a gallon of water. Rinse and let dry. For large toys, use a disinfecting multipurpose spray cleaner and wipe them dry with a clean rag. One of Melissa’s favorite mommy time savers is making a large batch of bleach water in the bathtub to disinfect a large number of toys at once.
Give Each Toy a Home - Keeping things clean with kids is already hard enough in a cluttered, disorganized room. To keep things under control, use tubs, baskets, and shelves to place and store toys in a neat and compartmentalized way.
Keep Toys in Rotation - If you have too many toys to keep in one place, try rotating toys regularly (every few weeks or months). Keep a majority of toys stored away (e.g. basement, garage, storage closet, etc.), but leave out an interesting and varied mix to keep your little one entertained.
Enlist the Help of Professional Cleaners - Cleaning tasks should be divided and shared between both parents. If there isn’t time, make room in your budget for a professional cleaner to take care of deep scrub cleaning once a month. This way, you can spend less time maintaining the house the rest of the time so you can spend more time with the family.
Most parents love to write about and to post pictures of their children on Twitter and Facebook. According to a study conducted by AVG last fall, 92% of U.S. toddlers have an online presence by the time they reach the age of 2. If parents are already writing about their kids online, is writing as their kids the next trend?
Gary Shirley, a dad featured on MTV’s reality show Teen Mom, is one parent jumping on this trend. On Tuesday he created a Twitter page for his 2-year-old daughter, Leah, and began tweeting in “her” voice. Shirley immediately received harsh feedback, forcing him to tweet again: “You guys, it should be obvious that Leah has no contact w Twitter. This is just a fun concept that will in no way affect Leah herself.”
Keeping up with your own social media sites can be time-consuming enough, so should you be making accounts for your kids? Judging from the negative comments Shirley has received, the answer is “no.” Most people who responded to Shirley thought that pretending to be your child is creepy, not cute. Still, more than 5,000 people seem to think otherwise — because that’s the amount of followers little Leah has amassed in just a few days.
Would you make a Twitter or Facebook account for your child?
Can your little cutie be a little meanie in disguise? If your toddler pushes, hits, or hurts another kid, is he a bully and will he grow up to be one?
TODAY Moms has a fascinating article about whether pre-K kids should be labeled as bullies if they show aggression toward others. According to Dr. Heather Wittenberg, a child pyschologist and parenting expert for Parents who was quoted in the article, it’s typical for toddlers to be more aggressive, but they’re still too young to hurt someone deliberately, with premeditation. It’s not until age 6 when kids start to understand the concepts of power and right vs. wrong. Other experts disagree, saying toddlers understand the concept of bullying at age 4 — and it only gets worse from there.
Take our poll and share what you think in the Comments area — do toddlers understand what it means to bully?
This week, Sirius XM Radio launched a new radio program to celebrate kids’ 
It’s dinnertime: The phone is ringing, your testy toddler is throwing her peas on the floor, your eldest is refusing to eat, and the dog is barking at nothing (again). And you? You lose your cool and have, regrettably, a mini mommy-tantrum.
Spring cleaning may still be months away, but it doesn’t hurt to keep your kid’s playroom clean during the winter season when bacteria and germs are more likely to spread.
Most parents love to write about and to post pictures of their children on Twitter and Facebook. 