For those of you looking for a modern take on the classic baby book, check out the Binth Baby Book. Entirely screen printed. Entirely original. It simple clean no-frills layout with soft muted palette is screen-printed on recycled white stock and cloth cover.

Beautiful woodland illustrations will lead you from the day of birth through the 3rd birthday celebration. With ample room for photos, and to jot down thoughts and memories. In it’s handsome keepsake box this book will become a cherished family heirloom. In it’s handsome keepsake box this book will become a cherished family heirloom.

$110 bucks [+shipping] at Binth

Most adults are likely to have a common cold two to four times a year. Children, especially preschoolers, may have a common cold as many as six to 10 times annually.” ~ Common Cold, Mayo Clinic

We all know the symptoms, it plays out like a NyQuil commercial; runny or stuffy nose, itchy or sore throat, cough, congestion, slight body aches or a mild headache, sneezing, watery eyes, low-grade fever (up to 102 F, or 39 C) and mild fatigue. In lieu of the recent trend by pediatricians and toxicologists to put pressure on the F.D.A. to clear over the counter cough & cold medicines from the shelves, what are we left to do when un-medicated kids have symptoms that linger for days and sometimes weeks?

Illness can occur throughout the year, but tends to cluster in the winter due to flu season. These illnesses can seem to spread like wild fire affecting other students, teachers, and family members. Families and schools need to balance the child’s school attendance with the risk of spreading the illness to others in the school. Sometimes even minor illnesses require the child to stay home just to prevent the further spread of a contagious disease.” ~ Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe, MD, FAAP, Pediatrics Now | When to keep kids home

So what symptoms are worthy of missing a day of school? Here’s an at-a-glance list of the deal-breakers:

• Fever: indicative an infection elsewhere in their body. A child with a fever greater than 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit needs to stay home from school until the fever is gone for at least 24 hours. If the fever does not resolve in 2 to 3 days, or if your child appears sick with any fever, call your doctor.
• Rash: many rashes will resolve spontaneously and are not reason alone to keep a child home from school. Any rash associated with symptoms such as trouble breathing or swallowing, fever, or ill appearance, should be evaluated by your physician. Rashes that are itchy or scaly may be contagious and should be evaluated before sending a child back to school.
• Cough alone may not be a deal breaker, unless it is deemed contagious or is interfering with sleep or is frequent enough to interfere with their day. If the cough is productive and has phlegm or is associated with fever or trouble breathing, keep your child home from school and call their pediatrician for an appointment.
• Diarrhea: where the stool frequency is often many times an hour. Diarrhea that is bloody or associated with fever, abdominal pain, or vomiting should be evaluated by your doctor.
• Vomiting: with or without diarrhea, needs to stay home from school. Your child can return to school when the symptoms have stopped and the child has eased back to their regular diet.
• Sore Throat: children can attend school with mild sore throats if no other symptoms are occurring. Any child with a sore throat associated with fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, or difficulty swallowing should be evaluated by a doctor before returning to school. Call your child’s school to see if strep throat is going through the school population; if so, they should be evaluated by their doctor. A child with a diagnosis of strep throat needs to stay out of school until on antibiotics for 24 hours.
• Lethargy: if your child appears really sick, keep your child home and arrange an evaluation by your doctor that day. If you can’t get through to your doctor and you are really concerned, either call 911 or bring your child to the nearest emergency room for evaluation.

And of all the popular opinions I found they all mention enthusiastically the best deterrent of spreading germs and disease is to consistently and routinely wash your hands and practice go hygiene.

Sited & Related Links:
Mayo Clinic | Common Cold Symptoms
NY Times Health | The Cough-and-sniffle Question; When to Keep a Child Home
Pediatrics Now | When to Keep Kids Home

meta-DAD | Wash your hands
meta-DAD | How cough and cold medicine can adversely affect your child
meta-DAD | Use with caution – cough and cold medicine not for the young ones

I have spent almost five years, along-side my wife in the trenches, as they like to say, taking care of the kids. Here are five simple Dad Hacks for parents of infants, babies and young children that may help some parents make their day that a little easier.

1. Changing Diapers – give them a toy (to distract them and keep there hands busy) and lift their legs from under their knees to reduce strain on their knees and ankles, opposed to the ankle grab.

2. Baby Fashion Faux Pas – never get a shirt with your kids name on it, you are giving pedophiles (and general Bad Guys) way too much information about your kid.

3. Is Baby Tired? – ever find yourself trying to figure out whether or not you kid is hungry, tired or needs to be changed? If I need to figure out if my baby is tired I hold them and stand in front of a mirror with them facing the mirror, if they turn away from their own gaze- it is nap time! Try it.

4. I.C.E. – In Case of Emergency (I.C.E.), put an entry in your every cell phone on your Family Plan (Mom, Dad + Kids) with an emergency number in case of an accident so the Paramedic, Firefighter or Police can reach your family as quick as possible in case something dreadful happens to you or a loved one. They will look for it in your address book.

Also, studies say men’s wallets with baby pictures in them have a 88% better chance of being returned, so if you don’t have any pictures in there maybe you should.

5. Bag of Tricks – I have found it to be priceless to grab a small action figure, matchbox car before leaving the hose with the kids when going out to run errands with them. In case you find yourself standing in line at the post office and the kid needs a distraction, I have something in my pocket.

The key is to keep them item as a surprise and hang onto it until they are at the end of their ‘rope’. If it is a well chosen toy, it may keep them entertained long enough to get to the front of the line. I also keep sheets of paper in my glove compartment for the same reason. In case of a parking lot emergency, I can whip out a couple sheets of paper and fashion a triangle football or paper airplane to entertain them while Mom runs in-n-out of a store while I wait in the car with the kids.

PayJR.Com has an allowance system that is based on paying your kid’s allowance vis a vis a refillable Gift Card, specifically a Target Gift Card, branded as a PayJR. Visa Buxx Card. Parents can use this system to their benefit because it is complete with custom a Chore Chart and email notifications for both kid and parent.

Personally, I think this would work best if employed with a built in matching system. That is, what ever they earn on their Buxx Card will be matched in their savings account, this way they are learn about healthy money management.

So if you want your kid to get a jump on next year’s testing or needs to play catch-up, check out his tests, he covers all the bases. At the end of each section he offers summer reading for that grade level, as well as other helpful sites with quizzes and tips.

He  frequently adds new activities, so check back often. Please check the keyboarding section- it’s new!

Henry Anker’s Tests

1.) Shave and a haircut- get him a gift certificate to his favorite barbershop or coiffeur. To make it extra special, get him the Works complete with a barber shave- find a place that gives the old-school hot towel & straight blade service, there’s nothing better.

Here in LA, there is Denver-based Floyd’s Barbershop is a solid option. The shop is wrapped in Rock n’ roll posters, the haircuts are straight-forward and the shaves & 30 second shoulder massages are memorable.

2.) Rejuvenate- maybe dad will appreciate a good massage or yoga class. The key is to find a place that comes close to fitting his sensibility, the key is to give him an experience he will be open too. Not every dad will appreciate being thrown into a two-hour yoga class, if so- it is a wonderful way for him to re-boot.

Locally, my preference is Burke Williams Spa for massage in Santa Monica, or Exhale in Venice for yoga.

3.) Give him the Gift of Food- Maybe the guy appreciates a good BBQ, most do. Introduce him to different type of BBQ. Get him a gift certificate to a Korean BBQ restaurant, Southern BBQ or Brazilian BBQ.

4.) A Night Out- Maybe he likes bowling, or likes to shoot pool or maybe catch the game on the big screen. Package a night out with a (handmade) coupons to the local bowling lanes, that auto show coming to town or find the place with the best pool tables in town and pre-pay a night out for him. The idea is to treat him to a night he may not normally indulge in.

5.) Booty Bucks- Wives can take advantage of my article from last year and download printable ‘Booty Bucks’. They only come in denominations of ’10′ so you will have to be creative when giving change.

Related Articles;
Unique Father’s Day gift ideas from a Dad
Free money for Father’s Day

The popular model of praising a kids intelligence or talent galvanizes the idea that their gift is static or fixed. This sets them up for failure when they are faced with tough challenges because they have the expectation that that any challenge should be easy and achievable. Simply put – the growth mind-set upgrades the saying, “learn from your mistakes,” and presents mistakes as problems yet to be solved. It motivates your kid to actually adopt a mastery mind-set and look forward to challenges rather than be intimidated by them. What is most interesting about these studies is they imply that this growth mind-set not only applies to academic arenas but all aspects of ones life – from ones athletic or physical abilities to one’s inter-personal or social approaches.

So next time your kid throws you that, “look Dad, I did it!” look, think twice before throwing them that verbal dog biscuit and praise the effort or action rather than the results. He’s some variety to consider;

• You should be proud of yourself!
• You did a lot of work today!
• You’re getting better every day!
• Keep up the good work!
• I am very proud of you!
• You really outdid yourself!
• Great effort today!
• You make my job so much easier, thank you!
• You’re really on top of things!
• That’s sensational!
• Good thinking!
• Great effort!
• That’s what I call a fine job!
• You’ve really improved!
• Now you’ve figured it out!
• You worked really hard on that, great job!
• You’ve got your brain in it today!
• Way to go!
• You’re really concentrating!
• How did you think of that!

Sited Articles:
Scientific American | The Secret to Raising Smart Kids
Wikipedia | Benjamin Franklin

Motivating kids to be achievers
Breaking the Cycle: Fostering a Loving Relationship Between Siblings

Related Articles:
Stanford Magazine | The Effort Effect

Books:
Siblings Without Rivalry
How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
Parenting From the Inside Out

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

Premiering on October 16th, is a Spike Jonze adaptation of Sendack’s famed story, starring Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener and Max Records. Jonze, director of Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and many memorable Beastie Boys music videos, this film should be an interesting ride.

Evidently there are a lot of lessons to be learned from this classic. Whether you are willing to admit it or not, as a parent you are your kid’s first teacher, so pull up a chair and create a custom ‘Wild Thing’ word puzzle and show him or her how it’s done.

Lesson Plan’s Page – Math & Social Studies Lesson for Kindergarten

Easy Fun School – Literature Unit for Pre-k

The Teacher’s Corner – Where the Wild Things Are custom crossword puzzles

A Guide for Using Where the Wild Things Are in the Classroom

Other Related Links and Articles:
Where the Wild Things Are [Amazon]
Where the Wild Things Are [Google Books]
Where the Wild Things Are [movie]

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.