I end up in these situations where I need to buy a gift for a kid in the extended family, but the idea of just buying regular toys always seems lame. I like being a creative gift-giver.
Can you give me some ideas for unique gifts for kids that would go over well?
[more inside]
posted by dosterm
on Jun 18, 2013 -
25 answers
How can I spend more time around children? I basically have zero interaction with any children, ever, and it's sort of getting me down.
[more inside]
posted by showbiz_liz
on Jun 4, 2013 -
31 answers
What are some good games to play on a long train ride with a small child (age 4)? The ipad makes him motion-sick. He gets frustrated with drawing or dot-to-dot because of the bumpy movement of the train. We have audiobooks but they won't cover the whole ride.
posted by xo
on Jun 2, 2013 -
15 answers
A friend of mine refuses to address his anxiety issues. I don't want to lose him as a friend, but also don't know how much more I can take. Please help.
[more inside]
posted by stedman15
on May 28, 2013 -
15 answers
I'd like the mailbox to have something fun for my six-year-old son from time to time without breaking the bank, or putting him into a toy-acquisition frenzy. Any suggestions?
posted by popechunk
on May 24, 2013 -
42 answers
My precocious but angry 2.75-year-old and I just got fired from our home daycare situation. I feel like I need Super Nanny. What now? How do I get him to stop being so rude?
[more inside]
posted by woodvine
on May 23, 2013 -
26 answers
What are some great gifts I could bring from the US (northeast) to kids in Germany who range in age from 3 to 8 years old? What cool kid stuff is available in the US that might be novel for kids in Germany these days?
posted by plantbot
on May 8, 2013 -
6 answers
We have received services from the school district and we are about to lose our teachers due to our daughter aging out of the program. We'd like to give nice and appropriate gifts to the teachers who have helped our daughter for the last two and a half years.
[more inside]
posted by look busy
on Apr 18, 2013 -
16 answers
I bought my son a low-end Android tablet and now I want to load it up with quality applications. I'm looking for equal parts entertainment, education, and beautiful UI.
[more inside]
posted by Mo Nickels
on Apr 5, 2013 -
8 answers
My preschooler is getting just old enough to have a proper social life (playdates, birthday parties, etc.). I've got some specific questions about the parental etiquette expectations surrounding these kiddie get-togethers.
[more inside]
posted by Bardolph
on Apr 5, 2013 -
24 answers
My kids (a boy and a girl) are now five years old, and my wife or I read to them every night before bed. I'd like to start reading larger books to them which we can stretch out throughout a week or more, by reading them a chapter a night. Please help me put together a great reading list of age-appropriate books that will capture their imaginations and inspire happy dreams.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Apr 2, 2013 -
61 answers
One of my friends wants to have lots of kids because she loves the idea of having many miniature versions of her husband in the house. Now, I've heard of people wanting to have kids so they can have miniature versions of themselves around the house, but wanting a miniature version of your partner was a new one to me. Are there any other surprising/non-cliched reasons to have kids?
[more inside]
posted by dede
on Mar 19, 2013 -
71 answers
I am teaching English to a 4 and a 7 year old (separately) and I am looking for tips, games, ipad apps, or resources.
[more inside]
posted by saul wright
on Mar 16, 2013 -
6 answers
Tell me about your daily schedules, parenting logistics, etc., with a newborn
plus a toddler or older child.
[more inside]
posted by Bardolph
on Mar 7, 2013 -
15 answers
Mr. BlahLaLa and I are considering buying Kid BlahLaLa a laptop for his 10th birthday. (We want him to be able to play Minecraft and browse the internet.) We're a Mac family but I'm pretty sure this computer will have to be non-Mac because they're so much cheaper, which in turn opens up a whole world of internet security questions that I usually don't think about on my mac. Plus the whole idea of "Now I'm giving my kid a computer, what do I need to think about?" type of stuff.
[more inside]
posted by BlahLaLa
on Mar 2, 2013 -
13 answers
I'll be spending the day with my two year old son in New York (staying in Cobble Hill, probably heading into Manhattan) on Sat. 3/2, and am looking for suggestions for fun, reasonably-priced activities that we can do together.
[more inside]
posted by ryanshepard
on Feb 15, 2013 -
14 answers
My wife and I are taking care of our out-of-town niece, who is a month short of her fourth birthday, this weekend (and possibly our nephew, who is six months younger). We don't have kids of our own, so we're kind of clueless about how to entertain children that age. What are some fun and not-too-expensive kid-friendly things to do in Toronto this weekend?
[more inside]
posted by The Card Cheat
on Feb 15, 2013 -
13 answers
For kids under the age of three, what household objects have been the most entertaining for your kids? I'm looking for household objects that your kid discovered and ended up being a cherished play item, not things bought in a toy store (e.g. buckets, bags, boxes, dead remotes, phones, etc.)? No electronics please.
posted by benzenedream
on Feb 14, 2013 -
70 answers
Please help me thrill my 4 year old daughter with suggestions of songs that have the singer saying "Hey!" more than once.
She told us awhile back that she loves songs that have "Hey!" in them, so I want to make a playlist of "Hey!" songs. The "Hey!" should be punctuated and repeated at least once - preferably more than once. The songs don't have to be songs for children, but should be at least semi-appropriate for 4 year olds (i.e. profanity is out, but innuendo that they won't understand until they are much older is ok).
Some examples of stuff that we already have: "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by the Beatles, "She" by the Monkees, "Get Off Of My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones, a couple traditional Greek songs. Any genre or time period is fine!
ULTIMATE FOUR YEAR OLD HEY! PLAYLIST - GO!
posted by stefnet
on Feb 10, 2013 -
114 answers
I have a beautiful, curious, 8 month old daughter. I love her, but I don't know how to play with her. Help!
[more inside]
posted by elizamina
on Feb 7, 2013 -
21 answers
I'm the program developer at a gymnastics club, and my latest assignment has be wracking my brain. We have outside daycare groups come and visit us once a week for around an hour, and my boss wants us to add on an additional activity to make us a more appealing choice. Help?
[more inside]
posted by hasna
on Jan 29, 2013 -
19 answers
I've been wracking my brains trying to remember the identity of this female folk singer from the 1980s-1990s. She made at least a few albums targeted at kids, incorporating many environmental themes. And I can't for the life of me remember even enough to do a proper Google search. Gah!
[more inside]
posted by valkyryn
on Jan 28, 2013 -
7 answers
My five-year-old son and I just finished reading
Bone, and we need a new comic to read together. I'd prefer something with an ongoing story, but good non-serial comics are also welcome.
posted by mokin
on Jan 21, 2013 -
19 answers
How possible is going back to school as a single parent. Straight up; I need to know everything. How much did having children affect your attendance and grades and how did school change your relationship with your kids? Did you pass? Was it worth it? Would you recommend it?
[more inside]
posted by tenaciousmoon
on Nov 28, 2012 -
31 answers
It's time to switch my kids from regular car seats to booster seats and I can't figure out which to buy or what features I should be looking for. If you've gone through this, can you please share your experiences to help me make a decision?
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Nov 18, 2012 -
8 answers
Please help me keep our 4.5 year old insomniac daughter from crawling into her parents bed in the middle of the night before I lose what's left of my mind from sleep fatigue.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Oct 22, 2012 -
52 answers
Can you recommend an excellent board game (preferably involving some skill and thinking, and not an e-game) and an excellent illustrated book with a girls' sports theme (preferably soccer but not necessarily) as gifts for a 4 year-old girl?
[more inside]
posted by Dansaman
on Oct 19, 2012 -
8 answers
How old was your child when you first started leaving her with babysitters who weren't relatives? How long would you leave them for?
posted by gerryblog
on Oct 3, 2012 -
31 answers
Looking for child development milestones, with an emphasis on experiments, neural processing goobles, and mad science shenanigans! Tell me what weird experiments I can conduct with my child....
[more inside]
posted by amanda
on Sep 20, 2012 -
8 answers
AdviceFilter: What life experiences (or fun things) should my partner and I make time for, before having a baby?
[more inside]
posted by amoeba
on Sep 19, 2012 -
19 answers
Looking for lists of memes, themes and repeated elements in children's stories that I can use in entirely new stories I'm making up for actual children.
[more inside]
posted by booksherpa
on Sep 13, 2012 -
8 answers
Moving to a better school zone. Should I do it? Tough decisions concerning moving, staying put, and financial future.
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Aug 25, 2012 -
19 answers
I have a 4 yo and another on the way. We camp a lot. We have a VW jetta wagon, but it's getting cramped and we need something bigger. I like the Mazda 5 but my wife thinks it's "too minivan looking." ANy suggestions for maxi-wagons that have that third row of seating that can fold down into cargo space? We do not want an SUV but may have to consider something on the small end of the SUV range ... and we're hoping not to spend more than 24k. Used/new/prev lease all are options.
posted by luriete
on Jul 30, 2012 -
22 answers
She's not into what she thinks girls her age are "supposed" to be into. How do we show her that what
she likes is what's normal, and maybe encourage her to reach out to find the other kids that like that stuff too? Is that what we
should be doing?
[more inside]
posted by kostia
on Jun 11, 2012 -
97 answers
So what's the norm for kids running around the neighborhood and playing these days? As a parent, what would you like to happen when the kid down the street knocks on your door and asks if your child can play?
[more inside]
posted by Ostara
on Jun 10, 2012 -
21 answers
I'm looking for websites that have cool, educational, entertaining and kid-safe stuff I can share with my two 4 year olds, perhaps similar to
the kids should see this, and/or sites that suggest neat projects and how-to's my wife and I can work on with them to open their eyes to the wonders of the world around them. All suggestions welcome!
posted by zarq
on Jun 10, 2012 -
4 answers
What
non-computer based activities can I use to teach video game development to 10-12 year olds?
[more inside]
posted by atlantica
on Jun 6, 2012 -
21 answers
Do you know any good videos for young children to learn a little Russian?
[more inside]
posted by spbmp
on May 17, 2012 -
11 answers
I'm a mother (of a toddler) who works part time and is looking to make some extra money. I've considered babysitting jobs, but aside from raising my own son, I don't have much experience with kids aside from babysitting jobs I had when I was a teenager. No recent references. Could I get hired?
[more inside]
posted by trillian
on May 2, 2012 -
12 answers
