Parenting Sites 411

Here’s a news story that caught my eye: You hear a lot about kids who get caught driving well before they’re of the legal age, but what about a six year old? A young boy, whose name has not been released, decided that he was feeling hungry and wanted to go eat at Applebee’s. So what did he do? He decided he’d drive there himself. It sounds as though he was staying with his grandmother and she had her back turned for whatever reason. So he took the keys, went out to the car, removed his booster seat from from the backseat and put it up in the drivers seat, climbed in, and went. Of course, the little fella didn’t get very far. He only made it about 75 feet before hitting a transformer and communications box, knocking out power and phones to the entire neighborhood. Did I mention he was unable to get the vehicle out of reverse? Of course, I’m impressed that he was able to get it into reverse to begin with. What I’d really like to know, however, is how he managed to reach the gas pedal. Police investigators are also unclear, apparently, on how he accomplished that as well so I’m not the only one.

This had to be pretty scary for the poor little guy. The news story said he got out of the vehicle promptly and went to tell his grandmother what had happened. At least he didn’t try to hide what he’d done, as if that would be possible (but you know kids). I wonder if she ended up taking him to Applebee’s after all. Sounds as if the kid has a real preference for that restaurant. The good news is that there are no charges filed on this incident so save for a dented fender and some time without power for the neighbors, no one is the worse for the wear. Let’s hope the child learned his lesson, however, and doesn’t try driving again until he’s quite a bit older.

Happy October, ya’ll!  I hope you survived the weekend with your family intact.  There’s a lot of parenting and family buzz on the 451Press network this morning and I’m going to give you a peek at what’s going on.

Erinn over at “Parenting Our Children” talks about a “Ban on Birthday Fun in School“.  Apparently, some schools are outlawing the distribution of cupcakes or other fatty (but fun) goodies.  At my child’s school, as with most others, you are encouraged to bring cupcakes for the class to enjoy to celebrate your child’s birthday.  I can understand the reasoning, but it seems extreme to outlaw such an innocent joy for children.

Jean over at “Parenting and Religion” discusses the touchy topic “Domestic Violence Effects Kids; How to Have a Non-Violent Home“.   Not an easy subject to address, Jean covers this one well and with caring.  October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and she plans to keep the spotlight on the issue for the next several days.  Definitely tune in and check it out.

Brian at “Sympathy Pain” talks about  “Why I Do This…“, about why he blogs about pregnancy and becoming a father.  He reveals a little of his history with his ex-wife, where she suffered two devastating miscarriages and his desire to remember that, to move forward, to mark the events as they happen.  And you know, that’s very much the same reason I do what I do as well.  My personal blog has been my salvation through some very rough times, reproductively speaking.  My only regret is that I didn’t start blogging sooner.  If you haven’t been reading Brian’s site, you need to start.

That’s all I have time for today, definitely check out some of the other wonderful sites that have updated recently while you’re at it.  There’s an awful lot to talk about in the world of parenting.

Do you recall last winter when Denver (and surrounding areas) were socked in by massive blizzards that kept the city covered in snow for 61 days?  I remember hearing about all the air traffic headaches, but apparently it was rough to live in the Mile High City as well.  People were virtually trapped in their homes without a whole lot to do.  A whole lot other than make babies, that is.  Doctors in the Denver area are preparing for as much as a 20% increase in births around the end of September and beginning of October.  That’s a lot of babies!  Stores that specialize in baby products are also having a hard time keeping goods on the shelves with blankets and diaper bags selling out like hotcakes.  Best of luck to anyone who is expecting in that particularly corner of the United States.  If any of you are reading this site, is your pregnancy due to the blizzard or just “luck”?

A lot of parents will say this news has been a long time coming and I’m afraid I may be one of them.  And, if only these ideas will spread to the rest of the states in our nation that could benefit by stricter child restraint regulations.  I know barely a day goes by that I don’t see a car go by with a child sitting in the front seat without a carseat or jumping around in the backseat entirely unrestrained.  It turns my stomach to see that, because I don’t think I would dare drive a block without my children properly restrained.  It’s just not worth the risk.

California is adopting a new, stricter carseat law that would require children to not only be six years old and sixty pounds to be free of the carseat, but 8 years old and 57 inches tall.  This is provided that Governor Schwartzenegger signs the bill on his desk.

I think this law is a fantastic idea, as statistics show that children ages 6 and 7 are more likely to die from a car accident than anything else.  With a proper carseat, these children would be 59% less likely to be injured.

Even better than your average booster is the new Britax Regent which is a booster style carseat with a 5pt harness that will accommodate a child up to 80lbs and 53inches.  That adds a lot of extra protection to set a parents’ mind at ease.  I think I, for one, will be purchasing one of these carseats when the time comes regardless of what my state’s laws are.

Imagine you have to go grocery shopping and you have six young children at home. You have to take them with you and the resulting trip is about what you would imagine it would be. You survive the trip, however, and pay the enormous shopping bill only to get home and realize the kids had snuck a purchase into your card that you were unaware of. What would you do? Most parents would confiscate the offending purchase, throw it away, give it away, or sell it at a garage sale. Well, in this day and age, eBay is basically just a giant garage sale so that is what what one desperate mom did.

It sounds like your normal “kids will be kids” sort of story, but the best part is her description of the shopping trip.  This woman can write and her account of exactly why she missed these cards going into her cart is what makes this auction so fun and so worthy of the scads of attention it has received over the last week.

She made $142.51 on the auction, but admits that it was her friend under an anonymous username that placed the winning bid.  Her friend wanted to help her out, apparently and invest in someone who she thought would be a successful writer one day.   According to the woman who placed the auction in the first place, she will not cash the check her friend sent her because she doesn’t want to take her friend’s money.  Very kind, I’m sure, but with six kids I’d think that money would come in VERY handy!

This gal has a blog too, of course.  If you’d like to check it out, you can find it at mom2my6pack.blogspot.com.  There she talks more about her family and recently, more about the auction that has launched her into super-blog-stardom.  She really is worth a read so go check her out!

I’m very sorry for the lack of posts the last day or so and the sporadic loading of this site. Apparently there have been some server issues that are out of 451Press.com’s control. Looks like everything is starting to work again so that’s a very good thing! I hope I’m able to get this post up before things go bad again! Again, very sorry and thanks for your patience!

Anyhow, I’m going to dip into the realm of celebrity gossip today, simply because this particular story both disturbs and fascinates me. I NEVER thought I would see the day where I viewed Kevin Federline a more appropriate parent than Britney Spears but here we are. Kevin Federline, just mere weeks after his divorce from Britney has been finalized, has filed for sole custody of their sons, Jaden James and Sean Preston. Here are a couple sites reporting the “big news” and I’m still stunned by it. Mostly because my reaction is, “Good! I hope he gets it!” and if you’d asked me a year ago if I would have ever thought anything about K-Fed was redeeming, I would have told you that you were nuts.  But judging from Brit’s behavior of late, I am starting to wonder if she’s really in a position to properly care for these kids.  K-Fed has kept a low profile and in the public eye, seems to be a better choice for sole custody of these children.  It’s a shame it has come to this, but what else are we to think?

Anyhow, if you’re interested in learning more about the situation, visit any of the sites I linked above to read more and join in the discussion.  Was this the right move to make? I can’t help but think that yes, yes it was.

You may recall last week when I pointed out the CPSC website and where to find recent recall information as it pertains to children and infants.  Just in time, because this week toy giant Fisher Price has issued a massive recall of nearly 1 million toys, all which contain excessive amounts of lead-based paint.  And lead is extremely toxic, particularly for children who often times put their toys in their mouths as they’re playing.  All the toys feature licensed characters (think “Sesame Street” or “Dora the Explorer”) and were manufactured in China.

If you see a toy your child is playing with after the jump, please take the toy away immediately.  Then return the toy to the store you purchased it from and you will receive a voucher to purchase a replacement toy.  If you’d like more information about the recall, call Fisher Price at (800) 916-4498 or visit their website.  You can also visit the CPSC website for more information.

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Are you children playing with a toy that has been recalled?  If they are, and it has, do you know why?  If you wanted to check, where would you look?  I’ve got that information for you here today, along with a short listing of some recent product recalls direct from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.  I think this is important information for parents, especially in this “on the go” world we have, where information about a recalled easy-bake oven might be easy to overlook.  It doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on this information and check the sites from time to time, just to be on the safe side.

• To check for recalled child and infant products, look here: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/child.html
• To check for recalled toys, look here: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html

I think it’s wise to check these lists once a week, maybe every Monday, to see what’s new on the list and make sure it’s not a product that you yourself are using at home.  The website gives you all the information on the recall that you need, including why it has been recalled and what you should do with the product or toy if you happen to have it.

And here is a small listing of some recent recalls in both gear and toy categories:

• Remote Control Airplanes
• Pottery Barn Kids Crib Bumpers
• Easy-Bake Ovens
• Playskool Sippy Cups
• Children’s Earrings Sold at Wal-Mart Stores in Florida
• “Soldier Bear” Toy Sets
• Children’s Clog Shoes
• Mag Stix Magnetic Building Sets

Have you heard this story yet? In Masonville, Colorado, 1 year old Booker was visiting his grandparents and splashing in the birdbath in their backyard when a rattlesnake came out to see what the fuss was about. And apparently, something pissed him off because he rattled and made a move to strike the baby. Enter 5-pound chihuahua, Zoey. She literally positioned herself in between the baby and the snake and was struck four separate times from the poisonous rattler. That is when the grandparents heard the dog yelp and came to intervene. For a time, it didn’t appear as though the tiny heroine would pull through, but now it looks as though she’ll make a full recovery. What a good dog! I know my useless mutts would never do something so brave. Baby Booker owes that little ankle-biter his life.

I saw this news story this evening and it just turned my stomach.  Partially because I live in Reno and I feel that because this happened in “my town”, that it touches me somehow.  That somehow, however illogically, I’m at fault.  And also, I’m an internet junkie myself (”NO!” you say in mock disbelief) and somewhat of a gamer as well.  I guess that’s why I can see HOW the potential for this story can happen, but in reality?  Are you kidding me?

So the short and ugly is these young parents were arrested (and pleaded guilty, like, I HOPE SO) for extreme child neglect when their children (aged 22 months and 11 months) were found extremely malnourished and in pretty bad shape.  Their excuse?  They were playing games online.  Yes, seriously.  The girl had to have her head shaved because her hair was matted with CAT URINE.  How does that HAPPEN?  The boy had severe genital infection, I’m assuming, from sitting in an unchanged diaper for so long.

Good grief, people.  There’s loving the internet and then there’s LOVING the internet.  Let’s all just agree that we know when we need to step away, oh I don’t know, FEED and BATHE our children, mkay?

Hi everyone!  I’m the new writer for Parenting Sites 411!  You may recognize me, either from the other 451Press blogs I write for (Watching Reality TV and Watching Desperate Housewives) or from my personal blog (slackermama . com) or even from the blog design business I’ve been known to dabble in (Lilac Pixels).  So yes, I am no stranger to the world of blogging, particularly the world of parenting blogs.  I hope to focus this site on parenting blogs mostly, as well as talking about all of the other websites and news out there for today’s parent.  This is a subject near and dear to my heart and I am so excited to share it with you all.

Also, if you think there’s a fantastic parenting website or parenting blog out there that I might not know about, let me know!  Leave me a comment here or use the contact form here on this site to let me know about any sites you think I need to check out.  I’m hoping that I will discover a bounty of new blogs and sites over the weeks and months to come.  Join me, will you?

It is being reported that Disney is launching their own parent to parent site.

…the new site is a one-stop site for parents, especially mothers, providing everything from Internet search to user-generated articles on key topics such as education and food, and, eventually, a “ParentPedia,” a compilation of information on 1,000 topics that can be expanded by users.

The site, to be announced Tuesday in Los Angeles, will go live later this week at http://www.family.com and remain in beta, or testing, stages until the summer, said Paul Yanover, executive vice president of Disney Online, a unit of the Walt Disney Internet Group.

It sounds like something very similar to the current form of Club Mom- some established mommy bloggers, parenting experts, and information from other parents. The announcement comes tomorrow, so I look forward to checking it out when the site goes live.

It brings a new meaning to “mouse” and “computers.”

Disney, Disney Family site, Clubmom, Family.com, parentpedia

I have to admit that right now I am trying to find my blogging path with this site. I want to review websites, but really I am finding that it can be a bit of a burden to do five days a week. So, after looking over some other websites, I thought that Fridays would be a good time to point you toward some notable parent or family related news stories from the past week.

Since I have been forging my way through the land of stay at home moms (I’ve only been doing that for a month now), I have decided to watch the news while I fix dinner in the evenings. It helps me keep in touch with topics for another one of my blogs, and it gives me a sense of knowing what is going on in the world, beyond Fuller’s indecipherable monologues. (He is on the verge of a language explosion. Today he actually responded to a question with a polite, “No” and then gave me his preference in the situation. “No, Mommy. No outside. Inside.”)

Amilia Taylor, who lives in Miami, went home this week. Amilia was born at 22 weeks in October and she weighed only 9 ounces.

Even the daughter of the world’s richest man has a limit on her recreational computer time. Bill Gates revealed that his daughter is only allowed 45 minutes of computer time during the week. On the weekends, she gets an hour.

Dean Foods has announced that it will refuse milk from cloned cows.

Our neighborhood is raising the final dollars for a new playground that will be built by the community in March. It will be part of the last real greenspace in our neighborhood and include a walking track and pavilion for picnics. This article on kids living near greenspaces being less overweight made me even more excited to see this playground be built.

Have a great weekend. I plan on soaking up all the good weather before it rains on Sunday. What are you going to do?