Strollerderby : expensive

Parents Forego Circumcision to Save Money

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Foreskin may be making a comeback. In these dire economic times, more and more parents are choosing to opt out of the costly and medically unnecessary procedure.

According to a UCLA report, circumcisions are down by 24 percent in the 16 states where foreskin removal is not covered by Medicaid. The average cost of circumcision is 300 bucks, more than enough money to dissuade parents who are having trouble scraping up the rent.

Although studies have linked circumcision to a lower risk of contracting certain STDs, no medical professional would argue that foreskin absolutely must go. According to Dr. Andrew Freedman, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, “The $300 is a luxury.”

For some, like those who recently marched on Washington in honor of Genital Integrity Awareness Week, that $300 is less of a luxury and more of an abomination. Perhaps anti-circumcision activists will not have to yell quite so loudly so long as the economy continues to plummet.

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Is Going Hard on Handmade Bad for Parents?

JeanneSager — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:36:00 GMT

After a year and a half of ominous warnings that toxins are lurking in our kids' toyboxes, you would think parents would be celebrating the feds' decision to move in and start busting heads.

So what's the problem here?

The over-generalized, blanket "reform" regulations of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) will be putting a lot of parents out of business.

Now who's guilty of making a broad, sweeping statement? Perhaps, but I'm not just talking about moms who make toy food and sell it on etsy. They are the parents who have spent countless hours tweeting updates on Twitter, blogging about the Handmade Toy Alliance fight, and urging us all to write to our Congressman (click here to find out how they voted on the issue, by the way, in the House and in the Senate). And there are a lot of them. I have friends who do the craft circuit for extra cash, and the "children" section on etsy has no less than one thundred fifty thousand items up for sale at the moment - most of them made by a parent. Throw in the kids clothing makers, diaper sewers, and the list goes on - even if it's highly unlikely to have lead to begin with (in organic cotton?), it will have to be tested and tagged - to show parents it doesn't.

Yes, this law will undoubtedly put these parents out of business. But I'm also talking about the parents who like to buy little doodads for their kids - be it on etsy or at the local craft fair - because they're better-crafted and often more intriguing for the little minds, because the clothes are will withstand the test of being crawled and jumped in (where do I get clothes, by the way? The CPSIA calls for anything kids can "reasonably put in their mouths" - for those of us with kids, that's everything but the kitchen sink . . . on second thought, she has tried to suck water from the spigot . . . ).

They're being given one choice now - head to the big box store and stock up on the toys and clothes every kid on the block will have under the Christmas tree. Oh, and because each and everything must be tested by an independent lab to ensure it's lead, phthalate and cootie-free, and those labs like to charge a pretty penny - the price of THOSE toys is going up too. Overall, the big manufacturers will be better able to stomach the costs, but they are sure to pass on any added processing fees to us - the big ol' saps who fall for their kids' wide-eyed, "please, oh pretty please, I want it sooooo bad, I'll be so good."

Should we be making efforts to keep toxins away from our kids? Absolutely. Lead poisioning as one mother said in TV interview I watched, does not discriminate. She said the federal government shouldn't either - at least not in their efforts to keep lead out of kids' systems. Unfortunately, the CPSIA discriminates against parents when it comes down on the side of big business. A lack of research has resulted in blanket legislation in what is supposedly a quick response to a nationwide problem (a year and a half later).

If the government wants to help parents, maybe they should check with a few before the write laws "for us."

Image: Homespuncity (an etsy buy for me - that my daughter has tried sucking on)

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Mommy's Little Tax Deduction, And How To Get It

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:33:00 GMT

You know how everyone always gives you lots of unsolicited advice before you have a baby? Like, "your life is gonna change forever!" or "sleep when the baby sleeps"? One thing people rarely tell you, but should, is this: daycare is hella expensive. Luckily, there are a few ways you can defray these costs -- either through the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit or through a Flexible Spending Account through your work.

It's too late to sign up for an FSA for 2008, but for those trying to figure out what will work best for 2009, here's a handy calculator.

For those without an FSA but looking to claim the daycare credit (which is left unclaimed by thousands of parents who are eligible), the National Women's Law Center has assembled this useful resource. Thanks, women!

More by this author:

Uninsured Children Turning to Alternative Medecine

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:00:00 GMT

For the first time, the government has officially studied the use of alternative medicine among kids, and the results are both exciting and discouraging. As someone who recovered from a severe childhood kidney disease using a combination of alternative techniques and low-impact mainstream interventions (I refused to do chemo against my doctors’ wishes), I find it exciting that the government is studying alternative medicine in the first place—and that nearly 12 percent of children are making use of unconventional techniques like meditation, acupuncture, and herbal supplements.

Being exposed to these techniques at a young age gave me a holistic approach to my mental and physical health that is invaluable to my well-being as an adult, so I hope the percentage of youth using non-traditional treatments continues to increase—but not as a replacement for traditional health care.

Unfortunately, the study also found that children are more likely to use alternative medicine when their families can’t afford traditional care. Appropriate nutrition and vitamins, no matter how useful they may be, are no substitute for necessary pharmaceuticals and regular doctor visits. Furthermore, studies on the benefits and risks of specific alternative treatments for children are few and far between.

Let’s hope the field of alternative medicine continues to grow in this country, right alongside the number of children with health insurance.

Photo: Shiatsuhealing.com

A Perfect Xmas Present - Buy Bronte’s Dollhouse!

SunnyChanel — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:30:00 GMT

I’ve been searching for a whimsical and wonderful dollhouse for my daughter for Christmas. I’m looking for something unique, special and fun. And I think I just found it. Thing is it’ll cost me about $12,000. Yeah, that’s a bit more than I had budgeted this year. Why would this dollhouse be so spendy? Because it was created by Jane Eyre author Charlotte Bronte.

While Bronte worked as a governess for a rich family in Yorkshire, England, she redecorated this “Geroge II grained four-room ‘baby’ house circa 1750”. The doll house will be up for auction at Christies. The original owner bought it for a song for £400 in 1974, the new estimate is up to about £8,000. The director of the auction said, “I am not aware of any other recorded item that has been decorated by Charlotte Bronte, which gives this piece a unique and charming personal connection with such an iconic figure.”

Sigh, if only I had a spare twelve grand laying around. Nope, there is no way my kid will be getting a dollhouse decorated by author Bronte, instead she’ll get one decorated by her mommy blogger. My dollhouse search continues.

Via: Jezebel / Telegraph

How Much Would You Pay for an Organic Thanksgiving?

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:30:00 GMT

Nothing puts the price differential between organic and non-organic eating into perspective like a Thanksgiving Day meal. Paying $2 more for organic blueberries or $1 more for organic milk may seem like an easy decision, but what about spending almost $80 more for one meal's worth of Turkey?

As the New York Times reports, smartmoney.com has done some investigative reporting on the real costs of an organic Thanksgiving Day meal. Shopping organic as thriftily as possible at Whole Foods, Associated Supermarket, and the Food Emporium, the financial advice Web site found that an organic traditional Thanksgiving Day meal cost $126.35 more than a non-organic meal. According to Smartmoney, this constitutes a rip-off.

126 bucks is certainly a prohibitively hefty price tag for many families, but let's keep in mind that there are thriftier ways to buy organic than shopping at Whole Foods in Manhattan. For instance, I shop at a co-op and I would bet that buying an organic meal there might even be cheaper than a non-organic one bought in traditional supermarkets. And if you can afford to pay a little more for farming methods that are easier on the environment, by all means do. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?

Photo: New York Times

Childcare Relationships and Bickering Parents Affect Kids' Stress Hormones

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:30:00 GMT

It seems self-evident that kids with poor childcare relationships or parents who frequently fight are more stressed than other kids. But now two new studies have established this common sense theory from a biological standpoint, by monitoring the levels of cortisol (the human stress hormone) in preschoolers and 6-year-olds. As parents across the country struggle to afford high quality childcare and to maintain a stable home environment, these studies are unfortunately quite applicable to these trying economic times.

In most people, cortisol levels decrease throughout the day. But for many children in full-time daycare, the stress hormone increases as the day progresses. Researchers found that class size clearly affected children’s moods, with preschoolers in classes of 10 or fewer children producing less cortisol than those in classrooms with closer to 20 other kids.

Children with poor relationships with their daycare providers became more stressed after one-on-one interactions with the teacher, while clingier kids had higher overall cortisol increases throughout the day.

Similarly, a study of 6-year-olds with bickering parents found that those who were very involved in and distressed about the fights produced more cortisol than other 6-year-olds. Since high levels of cortisol have been linked to health and psychological problems, this finding offers a biological understanding of why kids who get very upset by their parents’ arguments are more likely to have psychological problems later. (Whether higher levels of cortisol are a cause or an effect of psychological disorders is not clear.)

The study’s authors hope that understanding the biological basis of stress in young children will change the way kids in these common problematic situations are treated. For instance, monitoring kids’ levels of cortisol could help indicate whether a given intervention is working to relieve stress or not.

Day Care Enrollments Plummet as Families Struggle to Pay the Bills

Is Cutting Your Sitter's Pay the Best Way to Save Money?

Photo: pregnancy-depression-help.com

Day Care Enrollments Plummet as Families Struggle to Pay the Bills

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:13:00 GMT

New Horizons daycare center just outside of Chicago has seen its enrollment cut by 50 percent in the last three months. And a San Gabriel, California daycare saw its enrollment go from 51 kids last year to 15 this year.

As the economy goes from scary to terrifying, parents around the country are being forced to cut back on childcare or pull their kids out of daycare altogether, relying instead on extended family or drastic changes to their own work lives.

"It is not about people making choices to drive a second car," said Diane Stout, who is the executive director of New Horizons. "For many low income people it is making a choice for food." And, with yearly day care costs averaging between $3,380 and $10,787 for childcare for one preschooler, even middle income families are being faced with the need to cut back on childcare.

Providers say they are seeing increased disciplinary problems amongst kids who are stressed by their families’ financial problems and by the loss of many of their friends in daycare.

And many fear that kids will be placed in dangerous situations as their parents’ desperation increases. Even families who qualify for aid often don’t bother applying since the waiting list is so long, being forced instead to put their children in questionable situations while they work to pay the rent and put food on the table. One woman, was instance, was leaving her four-year-old daughter in her car while she worked at a shoe store, checking on her every hour.

As the executive director of Child Care Solutions, a New York referral agency put it, "We are driving people into an unregulated system."

Photo: AP

Is Cutting Your Sitter's Pay the Best Way to Save Money?

Disney: Not Your Kids' Company Anymore

JeanneSager — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:59:00 GMT

When did Disney stop being the company for kids? I know it went from being a Mickey Mouse corporation to a media conglomerate years ago, but a piece in yesterday's New York Times explores Disney design that's stepped beyond the characters.

Today's Disney sells $3,900 wedding dresses with nary a mouse ear in sight, and $2,800 leather club chairs (at that price, there better not be a Pooh bear embossed anywhere). Their chandeliers go for somewhere in the $6K range. Some items keep the characters, but downplay them in favor of pure couture touches courtesy of the likes of Dolce and Gabana.

So what's the deal? Are Mom and Dad's pocketbooks too tapped out, forcing Disney to move on? Or is this simply the next step, an attempt to capture the rest of America?

There are only so many Tinkerbell towels and Cinderella sweatshirts America's adults can buy. I confess my own Disney wear is mostly limited to pajama time - I can't take myself seriously stepping out of the house with Pooh bear on my chest. The sole nod to a love of the bear of very little brain (hatched in my childhood when my mother read the A.A. Milne books to me) is a small silver fob on my keys, a present from my in-laws. The rest of the Disney love I leave to my princess-loving, Monsters Inc. quoting pre-schooler. Although I can't say I'll be dropping $2,800 on a chair (and my wedding dress days are long over), I'm not against the idea of a grown-up version of what our kids are sporting.

Sometimes we need a little love too.

Image: New York Times

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The Return of the 10 Grand Birthday

Kelly Mills — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:01:00 GMT

Write about parent-y stuff long enough and you'll notice certain stories cycle in and out again and again. One of the modern classics is the super-duper expensive birthday party for kids. Yes, some parents are hosting shindigs that cost up to $10,000, and there's even companies like Over the Top Productions that will help you ~~spend your money~~ plan your kid party. These stories usually have quotes from some parent who says it was worth it to "create a memory" that will last a lifetime (though often the kid is so young it's unlikely they'll make a mental snapshot of that pony ride) and then there's a few folks who didn't exactly mean to spend so much, it just sort of happened.

The counterpoint to all this is the idea that lavish events send the kids the wrong message about consumption, and the notion that parents are doing it to keep up with other parents, and feeling undue pressure. Are there actually parents out there who worry, "Well, the Finkleberg kid had that sweet affair at the Ritz, so how are we gonna top that?" Sigh. Then there's tips on throwing an inexpensive event. Call me crazy, but I think if you show your kid love year-round, how you celebrate birthdays is probably not going to rank very high in importance, and you should just do the kind of party that feels right to you.

Welcome to New York. If you have children, please leave.

Brett Singer — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:00:00 GMT

New York Magazine has an item about a change in how children are accepted into the gifted and talented programs in the Big Apple (G&T, in the parlance). In addition to a gigantic increase in the number of applicants, the notification letters for these special public schools now come at the end of March. Why does this matter? Because by then all the private schools will have sent their letters and demanded that you turn over your ATM password - er, I mean ask for a deposit - to hold a spot. Of course, that's assuming that your child got in to private school and you have that choice to make.

If you're unfamiliar with the kindergarten application process in Manhattan, let me break it down for you. IT SUCKS. If, for whatever reason, you don't want to send your little one to the local public school, you need to start requesting applications several months in advance from the various alternative learning venues: the independent (private) schools, and also the public schools that are either above average (G&T programs) or are public and free yet exist outside of the influence of the city bureaucracy (Hunter). No matter what route you choose, there are tests, a different one for independent schools than for the others. Then you have to spend many hours going to tours and interviews. If you forgo the independent schools, you don't have to spend as much time interviewing and touring but you are also putting all your eggs in one basket.

That basket has gotten much, much smaller while the number of eggs has grown by - wait for it - more than 25 percent since the year 2000, according to the article. (An official at a local child services organization at a meeting I went to recently backed up this frightening stat. And I apologize for working the egg/basket metaphor so hard, but Easter was this week.) Why are there so many kids in NYC? Mostly it's the economy, stupid, or at least, it was. The economy was doing well, so people had more kids and rather than move those kids to the suburbs, they stayed in town and bought bigger apartments. So when the economy declines they'll move, right? Not really. Think about it: you spent a fortune on a huge apartment, and now the value of that apartment isn't as high because of a sagging economy. You can't sell, so you stay. (That particular line of reasoning I can't back up with outside opinions; it's just my speculation.)

At the moment, we have one kid who is already attending an independent school and another who we deeply hope will be accepted to the same place when the time comes, which isn't for another couple of years. The idea of the application process being more frustrating than it was when we did it a couple of years ago is hard to fathom. Everything worked out for the best for us, and therefore all the time we spent was worth it (cough, cough). Maybe by the time we need to do it again everyone will have moved to Scarsdale. But I kinda doubt it.

image: AlbertMohler.com

Parents Spent $3,000 On The Kid's First Birthday Party

Kelly Mills — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:35:00 GMT

A while ago the parenting story of the day was paring down parties for kids, and how these celebrations should be small and cost nothing and we should all forgo the party favors. There was even an online movement called Birthdays Without Pressure, for people who were kinda grossed out by the excesses of it all, and the word on the street was that big parties had more to do with competitive parents than the kids. At the time, I came out in defense of the lavish affair. However, I'm here to tell you I do have my limits, and they are definitely shy of this one-year-old's birthday.

How do you spend that much on a kid birthday? These parents did it by renting a room at a country club, hiring a magician, having pony rides, buying a giant castle cake, providing a buffet and pinata, all for almost 60 guests. ('Course that party would cost $5,000 where I live.) They also flew out the grandparents, and I think that part is sweet. But mother Sheila Chapman's motivation behind the affair was reportedly to make it memorable for her son. Um, bad news: He's one. He isn't gonna remember a thing about it. She also wanted her son "to know how important and special I think he is." Okaaaay, for a one-year-old, I think you can accomplish that with a hug and thirty minutes in the sandbox.

Kids Can Manage Cash If You Don't Become Credit

Kelly Mills — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:26:00 GMT

There's stuff you can do at different ages to educate kids about money, according to the WSJ, and presumably, they know about money and all. I like these tips for a number of different ages, but let's look at the ones for five-to twelve-year-olds, because, well, my kid is six and I would prefer she not end up broke and alone later in life.

They suggest: giving the rugrats an allowance and then sticking to it (i.e. if they don't have the cash for something, don't make up the difference); ask kids to save a portion of money gifts; don't let them "pay you back later" (that's called credit); and explain how you make money decisions (luckily, as a professional writer, I don't even have money to make decisions about). We just started an allowance for my child, and we've already screwed up on all of these. Debtor's prison for her! Maybe from now on I'll just explain that I could loan her the money, but she'll have to pay it back with interest, and if she can't, she'll get incessant threatening phone calls and then a couple of intimidating people in sunglasses will show up and take her Polly Pocket pink jeep away. Real world, people, real world.

Baby Bargains 7th Edition Out Now: Bugaboo Stroller Smackdown Included

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 15:42:00 GMT

Baby Bargains, the Bible of all deal-shopping parents everywhere is releasing its 7th Edition soon. Baby Bargains showcases great deals, including a list of the best Bugaboo stroller knock-offs, crib reviews, booster seat and clip-on high chair round-ups, and a grazillion other supplies.

Know a parent-to-be who needs a shower gift? Job not as family-friendly (remunerative) as originally thought? Your 3 year-old's birthday party break the bank and force you to find spare change at the bottom of your Kate Spade bag? This book might be just the ticket, friend.

The book also includes a summation of the world of carriers (a confusing world full of crazy patterns and large metallic rings), which on its own would make it a worthy investment of $17.95 (plus s&h).

To preorder your copy, go here.

Strollerderby : expensive

Parents Forego Circumcision to Save Money

Is Going Hard on Handmade Bad for Parents?

Indian Child Welfare Act: Bad for Parents?

Five Easiest - and Cheesiest - Christmas Gifts to Make With the Kids

Your Mother-in-Law Really Is Bad For Your Health

Handmade; Organic; European Toy Producers at Risk

They Say – Most Toys Are Toxic

Teen Has Cancer and Lives in a Car

Mommy's Little Tax Deduction, And How To Get It

Uninsured Children Turning to Alternative Medecine

A Perfect Xmas Present - Buy Bronte’s Dollhouse!

How Much Would You Pay for an Organic Thanksgiving?

Childcare Relationships and Bickering Parents Affect Kids' Stress Hormones

Day Care Enrollments Plummet as Families Struggle to Pay the Bills

Disney: Not Your Kids' Company Anymore

The Return of the 10 Grand Birthday

Welcome to New York. If you have children, please leave.

Parents Spent $3,000 On The Kid's First Birthday Party

Kids Can Manage Cash If You Don't Become Credit

Baby Bargains 7th Edition Out Now: Bugaboo Stroller Smackdown Included