meta-dad

Women, Infants & Children (WIC) for Unemployed

All fifty states subscribe to this federally funded program which provides nutritious foods, nutrition education, and referrals to health and other social services to participants at no charge. The WIC Program serves low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, and infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk. Benefits allowance is based on four factors; Categorical (pregnant or postpartum women, infant (up to a year in age) and children (under 5), Residential (you must apply in the area of your residence), Income and Nutrition Risk. Glancing at the staggering (and steady) rise in unemployment, knowledge of these federal programs may prove to be invaluable.

WIC is not an entitlement program; that is, Congress does not set aside funds to allow every eligible individual to participate in the program. Instead, WIC is a Federal grant program for which Congress authorizes a specific amount of funding each year for program operations. Furthermore, in 1992 Congress in established the Farmer’s Market Nutritional Program to provide fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables to WIC participants, and to expand the awareness, use of and sales at farmers’ markets.

If moms or dads out there have recently been unemployed and you are scrambling to cover your bases and keep food on the table while searching for your next job, follow the links below and go to your regional office and find out your eligibility. Let me say again, if dad has been laid off and is collecting unemployment benefits and mom is either pregnant or you have a child under the age of five, you may be eligible for aid. In most cases, you need to bring proper identification for you and your children. You will need to bring your children with you (they will be weighed), and if applicable you will need to bring proof of unemployment. This is the basic requirements in the state of California.

If you are eligible for benefits, you will receive a monthly package of provisional vouchers on behalf of the mother and individual children to buy necessary nutritional foodstuff like cereal, eggs, milk and juice. The WIC program identifies an explicit grouping of food brands it deems healthy (ex. Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Kix, etc.), it’s a short list but it makes sense. It only makes sense they sponsor healthy items.

These programs are in place for all of us, if you ever find yourself unemployed use it.

Sited Links;
Food & Nutrtion Service | WIC Program
Farmer’s Market Nutritional Program

Beautiful Blocks with a Twist

Almost everyone selling toys these days tries to tell us that their toys are educational. But these eco-friendly and non-toxic classic action block sets from Haba are the real thing. Children, playing and experimenting freely, inventing their own rules and structure as they go along or using no rules at all, will acquire and maintain new motor, cognitive, and creative skills when they engage in genuine play with almost any toy offered at TurnerToys.Com.

An explicitly didactic toy is boring. A toy with a predetermined set of goals, with a “right answer”, is not a toy at all. It could be argued that play with such a “toy” is not play, but work. An automated toy holds attention for a while, but pretty soon, after it has done its thing, a child gets bored with it and moves on (it’s a closed system, of course). It is the toy that requires thought and effort from a child, and rewards new efforts with new effects, that really teaches. There is a place for real, structured learning even in the life of an infant. But such behavior is never play and shouldn’t be confused with play.

These classic alphabet blocks feature real embossed (not just printed) letters and numbers. This standard set now includes 28 blocks, providing 4 complete alphabets, 3 sets of numerals, and 28 different animal pictures.If that doesn’t do it for your tots, try adding motion and excitement to your unit blocks with our rock maple ball tilt. Infinite variety of kinetic and dynamic designs unleash a child’s creativity in all four dimensions: length, width, height, and time.   Excellent medium for enhancing problem solving abilities.

These are all simple and beautiful classic toy solutions for kids this holiday season!

$30-75 bucks [plus shipping] at TurnerToys.Com

Be Smart & Lay Away the Holidays

Remember a few short years ago when there weren’t ATM machines at every lobby and corner? Remember when having a credit card was a big deal? I realize that was a little more than a few years ago, but it is important to remember how a person made purchases back then. If we didn’t have the cash and we simply had to have it or the sale was too good to pass up, we put it on a layaway plan!

What is the advantage to doing a lay away as opposed to simply charging it? When you charge something and don’t pay it off within that first 30-day billing cycle the credit card company makes money from the finance charges, this we know. When you put down payments onto a store layaway you are curtailing those finance charges by paying installments in front of the final purchase. This is potentially a huge savings for you this holiday season, assuming you can get organized with you holiday shopping (personally speaking, anyway!).

One of the tried and true retailers that still honor the classic lay away plan is Sears, which is great since they’re a monster department store. So, whether it is a new cordless drill for dad (*hint), or a new winter coat for mom or maybe replacing that blender in the kitchen that has slowly dieing for the past year - you can do a Sears Layaway and get an additional discounts.

Parent Meetup Groups

Yes, there are a ton of online parent chat groups available to every imaginable parent type (gay, lesbian, single, incarcerated, pagan, et al.) and they all aim to serve their purpose. Heck, you can find them on CraigsList these days. I think that’s great, as they say, “it takes a village…”. On the dad-side of things, there seems to be a growing trend on Stay-at-Home-Dads (S.A.H.D.’s), which is kind of a sad anachronism (pun - intended) but a earnest group nonetheless.

Of all the outlets available online, I have stumbled on to Meetup.Com. According to their site, they’re the world’s largest network of local groups. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.

What I like about the concept is Meetups are real people, with real connections, forming real
communities making a real impact. In other words, you are using the internet to get off the internet and talk with people! Meetup is not about virtual relationships, but face-to-face, honest-to-goodness interaction between neighbors.

If you are the more voyeuristic type, stick to the parenting chat groups, there is plenty of drama to be had (I know from experience), but if you want to throw yourself out there and meet up with people going through it just like you, check out MeetUp.

Related Links:
MeetUp.Com
Yahoo Parenting Groups

And Now for Our Moment of Zen…

How’s that for a morning commute?

Stunning Wall Art for Kids Room

Always searching for the perfect art for my kids’ rooms, I stumbled upon the coolest reusable wall decals at WallCandyArts.Com. Aside from a great selection of contemporary designs, the have some really clever decal kits that become instant chalkboards for your kids room.

Check out the sale section, you’ll find kits as low as $25-32 bucks, not bad.

$55-60 bucks [plus shipping] at WallCandyArts.Com