meta-dad

The cough & cold conundrum – Should they stay home?

Every parent, has struggled with this problem at some time, do I send my marginally sick kid to daycare or school or should I keep them home? The boogery truth about this is most of us parents have probably dropped off our dosed kid to school wondering if they were going to be able to make it through the day or would we get a call from the school nurse saying that we need to pick up our feverish kid.

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 More »

5 helpful Dad ‘hacks’ for babies

I know very little about parenting, the number of questions, curiosities and perplexities of being a solid Dad and raising healthy kids is breath-taking. That said, through the natural course of More »

World’s smartest child prodigy

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 More »

Costco says ‘no go’ to food stamps

Walmart accepts food stamps. Sam’s Club recently changed it’s policy and now accepts EBT cards. The Farmer’s Market also accepts food stamps. Heck, in the state of California select restaurants and even Flea Markets accept them. So why doesn’t the hugely popular Kirkland-based bulk purveyor? It is by no means mandatory and they are a member-only store, they claim that the majority of their business comes from small businesses and upper-income individuals and families. It is arguable that most recipients of food stamps are destitute and/or homeless and are far from a position of covering the basic $50 annual membership fee. But as many families are quickly finding out, it is a short road to the soup line in the current economy. More »

5 things parents should check before filing federal taxes

With everybody rushing to sign, seal and deliver their returns, you will want to take a moment to review recent federal tax changes and perhaps save a few bucks in the process.

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 More »

The ‘Great Recession’ – food stamps & the family

Everyone from the auto industry to the porn industry is looking for bailouts from a young motivated presidency still being tested in their first 100 days. The stock market is still heading south. Jobs are still wilting away with no promise of returning. This sour economy has affected many parents & families in profound ways and there is no looking back.

Regardless of whether you are an individual or an entire family in need, you need to find out the facts, the facts about what resources and services are available to you. If an individual or family is currently earning less than 130% of the Federal poverty level [FPL] and their current household assets are below $2,000 you may be eligible for More »