The American Academy of Family Physicians lists these common risk factors for ear infections in children:

• Being around cigarette smoking.
• Having had ear infections before, frequent colds, or having a family history of ear infections.
• Going to a day-care center.
• Being born premature or at low birth weight.
• Going to bed with a bottle or using a pacifier.
• Being male.
• Having allergies that cause congestion.

Secondhand smoke increases children’s risk of developing asthma, ear infections and cavities and increases infants’ risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Here are some healthy habits and guidelines for parents and caregivers to follow when caring for young children prone to ear infections;

• Breastfeeding appears to lower an infant’s risk of ear infections.
• Children under age two should not lie flat when they bottle-feed.
• No one should be allowed to smoke around children. Secondhand smoke increases a child’s risk for ear infections. In fact, even smoke from wood stoves can irritate breathing and increase the risk of an ear infection.
• Children in day care centers tend to have more colds and a higher risk of ear infection. Although it would be best to keep an ill child at home, this may not be possible. Parents should work with day care center staff to ensure proper hand washing, tissue use and cleanliness.
• Regularly practice proper hygiene in the home to reduce spread of germs that lead to infection; regularly wash and disinfect all surface areas, toys and play things and common play areas, teach children to always wash their hands after sneezing or coughing into them.

Sited & Related Links;
HealthDay | Ear Infections
HealthDay | Almost half of kids still exposed to secondhand smoke
NY State Health | Ear Infections [*PDF]
American Academy of Family Physicians | Ear Infections in children; What you should know

Looking for a simple craft project for the kids? Here’s a good one. These kits come complete with stickers, stamps, paint pots and brushes. Use this as an opportunity to talk about all the different ways people earn money, the positive impact of saving money. Financial advisers and academics alike all say to start young when discussing the importance of having a healthy relationship with money. Any opportunity to get them thinking about the value of money, saving and saving their pennies – is a good thing.

Crayola Oink! Oink! Piggy Bank- Paint your Own Piggy Bank Kit
Melissa & Doug DIY Craft Piggy Bank
Melissa & Doug Decorate Your Own Piggy Bank 2-Pack

Related Articles;
University of Minnesota | Teaching children money habits for life
Institute of Consumer Financial Education | Children & Money
CNN Money | Money 101
Yahoo Finance | How to teach your children the value of money

Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants on 1898 in New York City, the young William James Sidis could read the New York Times by 18 months, reportedly taught himself eight languages (Latin, Greek, French, Russian, German, Hebrew, Turkish, and Armenian) by age eight, and invented another, which he called Vendergood.

Some consider Sidis the smartest man who ever lived, with an estimated IQ of 250 to 300. In comparison, you only have to have an IQ of 136 to be a mere run of the mill genius, and your average person is somewhere in the 85 to 115 range.

He gave a lecture a Harvard at nine and entered Harvard at 11. Whereas I, at the age of 11, had mastered Pong.

Related Articles:
Cracked.Com | 8 Child Prodigies So Amazing They’ll Ruin Your Day
Wikipedia | William James Sidis

For those fortunate enough not to be privy to advancements in the food stamps program, the paper coupons were replaced with plastic EBT shopping cards in 2004. They look like bank cards and can be used on the same swippers at the checkout.

My wife called them to ask them whether they accepted EBT (food stamp) cards and the Customer Service Rep explained to her that the company was not in the position to re-program all the machines to accept the (EBT) cards. I realize we are living in tough times and companies need to watch their bottom dollar and some could argue that your food stamp dollars could go much further at other stores, but there is no logical reason for a major Grocer not to accept food stamps. It is not only compassionate, but it’s good for their bottom line.

Previous reports show that Eric N. Gioia, a city councilman from Queens has given Costco a run for their money back in November with a full-on campaign to push the Fortune-500 company to accept food stamps. In a recent report out of Pittsburgh, co-founder Jim Sinegal stated they generally don’t have customers with food stamps. With more and more upper and middle class families finding themselves cutting back or out-of-work, it is a question of time before that theory is debunked and their membership starts waning.

In February of this year, Sam’s Club changed its policy and started accepting EBT cards. The question remains, whether this company that touts a socially aware reputation will bend its own rules and help out their members before they loose them.

Via Walter Martin & Paloma Muñoz

1. Increase in investment income amount. The amount of taxable investment income these children can have without it being subject to tax at the parent’s rate has increased to $1,800 for 2008.

2. Adoption Benefits increased. For 2008, the maximum adoption credit has increased to $11,650. Also, the maximum exclusion from income for benefits under your employer’s adoption assistance program has increased to $11,650. These amounts are phased out if your modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is between $174,730 and $214,730. You cannot claim the credit or exclusion if your modified AGI is $214,730 or more.

3. Earned Income for additional children decreased. For 2008, the minimum earned income amount used to figure the additional child tax credit has decreased to $8,500.

4. You may be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit. This credit is similar to last year’s economic stimulus payment, except that your 2008 tax information is used to figure this credit. The max. credit is $600 ($1,200 if married filing jointly) plus $300 for each qualifying child.

You can take this credit only if:

1. You did not get an economic stimulus payment, or
2. Your economic stimulus payment was under$600 ($1,200 if married filing jointly in ’07), plus $300 for each qualifying child you had for 2008.

You may be in luck, there is a website, The Savvy Source, that allows parents to anonymously rate and comment on preschools and daycares throughout the country. The Savvy Source is similar to the Great Schools website, which also has a wealth of information and resources for parents of preschool children as well as school-aged children but does not have preschool or daycare parent reviews.

Like any User driven review site, the Savvy Source is only as good as the User makes it. Meaning, if there isn’t a review for your neighborhood school your kid goes to, take a minute and do one. If the school isn’t even listed, leave a note for the school’s Director to fill one out.

Reviews include categories like “Quality of Teaching,” “Home, School Connection,” and “Discipline, Health, and Safety” to name a few. Each section is described by the School’s Director and is parent rated (simple 5 star rating system) and includes confidential parent comments, criticism and insight. The sum of these reviews will allow incoming parents to have a snapshot of what the school is like.

Sited Links:
The Savvy Source | Preschools & Daycares in California
Great Schools

This plan is designed to help people who are current on their mortgage but are in danger of defaulting on their loan in the near future due to a high combined mortgage debt compared to income or who is “underwater” (with a combined mortgage balance higher than the current market value of his house), in other words, they owe more than the current value of their house. By government analysis, as many as 6 million families are expected to face foreclosure in the next several years, with millions more struggling to stay current on their payments.

As we know the exact guidelines are going to be rolled out in the coming days. Since there is plenty incentive for both the mortgage provider ($1000 per loan modification/restructure and an additional $1000 per year up to three years, assuming the borrower stays current on payments) and the at-risk homeowners there is a lot of curiosity as to who exactly is eligible. A few things are clear;

In general, you may qualify for a mortgage modification if (a) you occupy your house as your primary residence; (b) your monthly mortgage payment is greater than 31% of your monthly gross income; and (c) your loan is not large enough to exceed current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits. Final eligibility will be determined by your mortgage lender based on your financial situation and detailed guidelines that will be available on March 4, 2009.” ~ U.S. Department of Treasury, HASP | Consumer Q & A

The property must be your primary residence (duplexes are applicable), mortgage delinquency is not a requirement (you may be current on your mortgage and still be at-risk by the general guidelines), your loans amount must conform with Fannie/Freddie conforming limits (between $417k and $625,500, depending on area), a high mortgage debt ratio [mortgage payment over 31% of monthly income],  or a high overall debt ratio [monthly debt load over 55% of monthly income].

Exactly what kind of incentive is there for Homeowners? By design this plan provides incentive payments as a borrower makes timely payments on the modified loan. The incentive will accrue on a monthly basis and will be applied directly to reduce your mortgage debt. Borrowers who pay on time for five years can have up to $5,000 applied to reduce their debt by the end of that period.

Even though the details and guidelines of the plan are going to be revealed in a few days, you may not need to do a thing. The mortgage companies and loan providers may contact you. They have been given plenty of financial incentive. Some consumers may be aware of this since some loan providers have declared a temporary moratorium on foreclosure proceedings.

Why have they stopped on foreclosure proceedings, you ask? Servicers will receive an up-front fee of $1,000 for each eligible modification meeting guidelines established under this initiative. Servicers will also receive “pay for success” fees – awarded monthly as long as the borrower stays current on the loan – of up to $1,000 each year for three years.

Because loan modifications are more likely to succeed if they are made before a borrower misses a payment, the plan will include an incentive payment of $1,500 to mortgage holders and $500 for servicers for modifications made while a borrower at risk of imminent default is still current.” ~ U.S. Department of Treasury, HASP | Fact Sheet

So if you happen to get a call or a notice in the mail saying that you may be eligible for a loan modification or a mortgage reduction and the notice is coming from your loan provider you should do three things, a.) understand that this may be the real deal and save that notice until you have a quiet moment to read all the fine print and see what they’re really offering, b.) educate yourself; get a copy of the HASP guidelines and read all the fine print and empower yourself with the “facts” and c.) be prepared to supply the following information;

• information about the monthly gross income of your household including recent pay stubs if you receive them or documentation of income you receive from other sources
• your most recent income tax return
• information about any second mortgage on the house
• payments on each of your credit cards if you are carrying balances from month to month, and
• payments on other loans such as student loans and car loans.

Sited Links;
U.S. Government | Financial Stability
U.S. Department of Treasury Housing Affordability Stability Plan, Fact Sheet [*PDF]
U.S. Department of Treasury | Emergency Economic Stabilization Act [*PDF]
U.S. Department of Treasury | Homeowner Affordability Plan, Consumer Q & A [*PDF]
Tampa Bay Business Journal | Bank of America extends foreclosure moratorium

When will the state income tax refunds be mailed out? Who will benefit and who will be laid off? And of course, how will the school systems fair in all of this? So many questions. How will the national Stimulus Plan offset some of these state cuts? I hope to share with you as these details come online.

The financial package includes tax hikes, spending cuts and borrowing billions of dollars more. How will the tax increases affect the average Californian family? Here is the at-a-glance breakdown;

• The are four types of tax increases in the current package; personal income tax, vehicle license fee increase, dependent tax credit and a sales tax increase. Recent legislative analysis of these four tax increases, an average family of four with an annual income of $75,000 would pay $963 more a year in taxes. That’s quite a punch in the gut, to say the least.
• May 19th, 2009 is an important date, mark your calendars. There will be a vote to move $226 million from mental health programs and $608 million from programs aimed at children younger than 5 years old.
• The state ultimately will resume paying all its bills, including tax refunds. But doing so could take weeks, so the exact date when California income tax refunds will start being mailed has not been announced. Mr. Chiang (State Controller), we are waiting with baited breath for your word.

Sited & Related Links:
Los Angeles Times | California Budget Plan; Key Elements
Los Angeles Times | The California Budget: A timeline for the events to come
meta-DAD | California state delays income tax refunds

The short answer to the first question, “will I be getting a check for this Stimulus Plan?” seems to be “not really,” the benefit to American citizens by-in-large seems to be coming in the form of increases to existing tax credits and new tax credit incentives rolled out over the next two years. Unemployed individuals will get a little more money, and Social Security recipients, poor, elderly and veterans receiving disability or pensions will receive one-time checks, although the amounts do not seem to be finalized (*current estimates provided below).

A bipartisan Congressional Budget Office did an analysis of one of the latest versions of the plan and of all the line items, they point out that of all the money earmarked as “direct payments to individuals” are funds being used in the following categories;

• Assistance to unemployed families
• Health insurance
• Health information technology
• Medicaid
• And a large general heading of Tax Provisions (simply described as Tax Credit Payments)

Digging further the Tax Credit Payments have been itemized this way;

Proposed Tax Credit to Individuals: The bill provides a $500 credit per worker and a $1,000 credit per dual-earner couple. The full credit would be paid to people making $70,000 or less ($140,000 per dual-earner couple). It would also be refundable, which means that even very low-income families who don’t make enough to owe income tax would be able to claim it. [*estimated cost: $139.4 billion]

One-time Direct Payment: For seniors who don’t work, disabled veterans and retired railroad workers, the bill provides a one-time $300 payment. [*estimated cost: $17 billion]

Proposed Tax Break for Higher Income Families: A proposed one-year provision to protect middle- and upper-middle-income families from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax.  [*estimated cost: $70 billion]

Temporary Deduction for Car Buyers: Those who buy a car in 2009 will be able to deduct the interest they pay on their car loan as well as the sales tax charged in the purchase. Ironically, if you notice the ads on TV and in print, most dealerships are offering O% APR. The full deduction would be available to those earning less than $125,000 ($250,000 for joint filers). [*estimated cost: $11 billion]

Temporary Credit for Home Buyers: The bill doubles the size of an existing temporary home buyer credit to $15,000. It also would allow all home buyers to claim it. And it removes the requirement under current law that the credit be paid back. [*estimated cost: $39 billion]

New College Credit: The bill introduces the American Opportunity Tax Credit, a $2,500 credit for higher education expenses. The full credit would be available to those making less than $80,000 ($160,000 for joint filers). [*estimated cost: $10.3 billion]

Pell Grants: The bill increases the maximum Pell Grant by $281 in the 2009-10 academic year and by $400 in the 2010-11 academic year. [*estimated cost: $14 billion]

Unemployment benefits: The bill provides jobless workers with an additional 20 weeks in unemployment benefits, and 13 weeks on top of that if they live in what’s deemed a high unemployment state, of which there are about 30 currently. [*estimated cost: $27 billion]

In addition, the weekly unemployment benefit will temporarily increase by $25 on top of the roughly $300 jobless workers currently receive. I assume this increase is per check but my sources don’t elaborate. [*estimated cost: $8.8 billion]

Plus, the first $2,400 of benefits in 2009 would be exempt from federal income taxes. [*estimated cost: $4.7 billion]

Also included in the bill is an incentive for states to provide unemployment insurance coverage for part-time workers and for workers who quit their jobs for compelling family reasons. [*estimated cost: up to $2.6 billion]

Food stamp payments: The bill includes a provision would increase food stamp payments by 12%, so a family of four would see an additional $71 on top of the $588 per month they receive currently. [*estimated cost: $16.5 billion]

Help for needy families: The bill provides $2.3 billion to states to create a contingency fund through 2010 for the welfare program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which provides cash assistance to the needy. [*estimated cost: $2.3 billion]

Aside from the tax credits to individuals, state and federal will bolster is state and federal programs and infrastructure with the hopes of saving what has been deemed vital services (ex. education sector, health and commerce and justice sectors of the government (ie. police and fire departments), as well as new projects to create a new efficient energy/renewable-energy systems. What this means for us is more jobs, more government contracts and tax credits for individuals and families in the near future.

Sited and Related Links:
Associated Press | A comparison of economic stimulus plans
Washington Post | Taking Apart the $819 billion Stimulus Package
IRS | Supplemental Security Income Payments
CNN Money | How stimulus can help your wallet

meta-DAD | What the new Stimulus Plan will mean for American families
meta-DAD | California state delays income tax refunds
meta-DAD | Stimulus Check Disbursement Schedule