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• You Might Like Wall-E But Don't Trust Him With Your Kids

  Robots have kind of a mixed rep. From loveable, cuddly characters to cold killing machines, it's clear we have some ambivalence about what it means to have this kind of technology in our lives and on the horizon. While I personally have a strange affection for robots, I can see how others are raising the alarms. So parents, would you let a robot watch your children?  You may have to make this decision sooner rather than later, because... Read More... Posted Jun 27 2008, 04:58 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: parenting, education, technology, society, childcare, schools, robots, artificial intelligence, development, Wall-E, emotions, babysitter

• Goodbye Recess; Kids Don't Need Play

  An essay from the latest issue of Greater Good magazine talks about the disappearance of childhood play, and while I had heard all about kids sitting in front of their TVs or computers all day or kids getting roped into adult-led activities that will eventually earn them a spot on the PGA tour or get them into Yale, I was surprised to see recess was being axed at school after school. Recess. Kids can't even have a half hour during a 7-hour school day to burn off some steam? Is that what we've come to?   Read More... Posted May 09 2008, 10:29 AM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: play, development, smart kids, receess, dumb parents

• Five Kinds of Moms and How They Mess You Up

  Jezebel reports on a new book by clinical psychologist Stephen Poulter called The Mother Factor: How Your Mother's Emotional Legacy Impacts Your Life. The gist is that your bond with your mom can have a big ol' influence on your emotional development, ability to form meaningful relationships, and so on. (Do the dads do anything? Cuz we should share the dysfunctional love!) Anyhow, according to the book, there are five kinds of mothers. This immediately begs the question: Which mother are you?  The five types are... Read More... Posted Apr 26 2008, 11:33 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: parenting, kids, parents, mothers, moms, therapy, psychology, relationships, jezebel, perfectionism, development, book, types, emotions

• Crayola Intros Kid-Named Colors

  In case you hadn't heard, Crayola has slid in eight newly-named colors to the big box of crayons. Now if I were them, I'd spend my development money adding some structural reinforcement the black crayon, since its frequent use means it's the first one to break in half and force you to do outlines with that annoying little stubby crayon. Ahem. Anyhow, the new color names aren't as descriptive as you might hope, and I think the whole kid-named thing is a sham.  So, what kind of monikers do we have in the box now? Read More... Posted Apr 14 2008, 02:31 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: kids, products, toys, art, bloggers, names, Gawker, development, crayons, colors

• Cribsheet: Development

  Average weight gain in a child's first two years: 400% Age at which brain has reached 55% of adult size: 2 years Age at which brain has reached 90% of adult size: 6 years Amount of sleep a newborn needs each day: 20 hours Age at which a baby recognizes your face: 3 months Age at which most babies begin to smile and laugh: 4 months Age at which most babies can roll over in both directions: 6 months Age at which most babies sit without support: 7 months Age at which most babies crawl well: 10 months   Read More... Posted Apr 02 2008, 02:00 PM by editors with | with no comments Filed under: development, cribsheet

• Science Finally Explains Why the Terrible Two's Are Terrible

  If kids could skip an entire year and go from one to three, that would be just fine with me. My younger son is in the throes of the Two's about now (even though he's four, just doing things on his own timetable), and it is like living with the Toddler From Hell.  At that point they are all action and will, but little direction. So guess who bears the brunt of their frustration that Life Isn't What They Thought It Would be? That's right, you and me. And this is why: Read More... Posted Feb 22 2008, 06:10 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: toddlers, frustration, terrible twos, development, two-year-olds

• Raising Funny Kids: Please Remember to Tip Your Parents

  Once upon a time, my brother responded to one of my wisecracks with a deadpan, "Jessica, you are your own best audience." Thank God, I became a parent because now at least my kid is laughing along with me. Our mutual hilarity thrives upon his developing sense of humor as well, which, of course, mostly involves poop and some strangely tangent comment about "and his nose!" My nearly-three-year old is now adept at laughing at comedy there is no way he can get, giving an abruptly ending courtesy laugh and also repeating jokes over and over and over until we have to laugh just to make it stop. These tactics, I like to think, are the buds of comic genius and clearly as much hereditary as just him. Read More... Posted Sep 12 2007, 06:36 PM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: humor, funny kids, development, jokes