Can playing music to your baby or young child make her smarter? That was the claim of the much-hyped “Mozart Effect” several years ago, but the truth isn’t exactly black and white. Certainly, music is a great complement for stimulating babies’ brains and teaching toddlers vocabulary, but the jury’s out…
Eating a nice meal with a child can seem downright unappetizing at times if the child’s manners leave a lot to be desired. Teach your kids manners without starting a food fight. The best time to start teaching table manners is as early as they can hold a spoon. Start…
None of us want “spoiled” kids – kids who are bratty, self-centered, demanding, inconsiderate. So, what spoils children and what doesn’t? When I was raising my children, I was often told that I would spoil them if I didn’t let them cry – if I held them a lot. Fortunately,…
While you don’t want to be a high-strung parent who is paranoid of danger lurking behind every corner, it is critical to your child’s safety and well-being that you educate yourself about your house’s danger zones. It’s a good idea to go through your home every few months and evaluate…
Video games get a lot of negative press for the violent content and addictive nature of many titles. However, for every newsworthy violent game out there, there are quite a few healthy, educational titles available as family-friendly alternatives. When choosing video games for your family you need to consider the…
Having a bored child around the house is no fun for anyone. Kids have so much to entertain them these days that boredom doesn’t have to last for long, but it’s wise to look closely at what kinds of entertainment children are consuming. The most popular diversion for children is…
Are you a single mom and ready to mingle? The thought of the bar scene could be intimidating, and the pickings at the PTA meeting are slim. Dipping a toe in the dating pool could be a little easier if you start online. Online dating has exploded in popularity in…
Summer camp is a rite of passage for many kids, but choose the wrong one, and you’ll hear about it for years to come. It’s important to decide whether your child is ready for sleepaway camp or if day camp is the way to go. Kids as young as 6…
When you’re shopping for video games, you might wonder what those little monogram squares are on the front of the game case. Well, just like the Motion Pictures Association of America, which assigns ratings to movies based on their content, there is an organization that does the same thing for…
Talk about hair-owing. There’s nothing worse than spending top dollar on hair accessories, only to have them disappear after just one wear. Ribbons, bows, barrettes and headbands are just some of the standard hair staples that are part of every girl’s wardrobe. The problem is keeping track of these fancy…