What are your recommendations for good baby and toddler books in English? [more inside]
posted on May 17, 2008 - 16 answers

Our kids, 5 and 7, haven't singled in on any specific instrument yet (nor, perhaps, will they ever), but they do love listening to, humming/singing, and dancing to all kinds of music, and playing the various "minor" instruments we've got. We're thinking about buying some sort of simple music machine/synth to have in the house for them play around with. Any recommendations?
posted on May 13, 2008 - 14 answers

1 parent traveling with child needs notarized letter of authorization to enter or leave USA? [more inside]
posted on May 8, 2008 - 11 answers

At what age do kids usually learn about time? [more inside]
posted on May 7, 2008 - 20 answers

Is there a blog that would allow me to blog about my daily activities and my kid within the same blog? [more inside]
posted on May 7, 2008 - 5 answers

What do you do once you have a kid and family problem stakes seem higher, i.e. you're concerned about exposing your child things that go against what you believe? [more inside]
posted on May 6, 2008 - 27 answers

Children's backyard play structure filter: recommendations wanted. [more inside]
posted on May 3, 2008 - 7 answers

An email from one of my wifes co-workers - "Last night when I picked up [Child], he was playing outside. I mentioned to one of the PT older caregivers that I was going to get him a tricycle and asked if he rode them there. She said no and pointed to the older kids’ side and indicated that they were all over there (these are kids ages 3 on up) and said that the funny thing about the boys is that they sit on the tricycle and try to push it with their feet…and don’t use the pedals. She said EVERY single one of them do that…" Why? My son does the same thing. He won't use the pedals.
posted on Apr 30, 2008 - 20 answers

High-efficiency gas furnace installed where previously there was mid-efficiency. So it vents straight out the wall while the old furnace used the chimney. The vent is right next to the sandbox. How bad is this? [more inside]
posted on Apr 26, 2008 - 5 answers

We actually want to spend 15-20 days this summer driving around America, buying gas and seeing stuff. The questions are, how to get to the stuff from the east coast, and what stuff? [more inside]
posted on Apr 22, 2008 - 21 answers

How to augment lackluster 1st grade teacher's performance? [more inside]
posted on Apr 21, 2008 - 9 answers

When asked, I couldn't recommend any good Computer Science or Engineering books for kids. Do such books exist? To avoid buying a stack and going through them myself, can anyone recommend any? [more inside]
posted on Apr 20, 2008 - 8 answers

Give me some suggestions for classic movies that my kids (ages 19 and 15) will enjoy. I have tried so hard [insert martyrdom here] to get them to appreciate the classics, but they mostly seem to react with "meh"... [more inside]
posted on Apr 20, 2008 - 60 answers

My kid is going to be six next month and he wants a party. We are very short on cash. Suggestions? [more inside]
posted on Apr 19, 2008 - 42 answers

How can I give my 9 year old more privacy? [more inside]
posted on Apr 15, 2008 - 15 answers

What is the current recommendation on how much "screen time" kids should be allowed? I'm especially interested in "Professional" (i.e. American Association of Pediatrics or similar) recommendations. [more inside]
posted on Apr 14, 2008 - 5 answers

Looking for questions to ask my son 'through the years' (more inside). [more inside]
posted on Apr 11, 2008 - 24 answers

How can I support my daughter's interest in the agrarian lifestyle with my urban, black-thumb sensibility in the Bay Area? [more inside]
posted on Apr 9, 2008 - 17 answers

Looking for modern, easy-to-understand references to The Emperor's New Clothes that would help 5th graders understand what a literary reference is (and why it's useful to have a more-than-passing familiarity with source material that writers tend to reference.) [more inside]
posted on Apr 7, 2008 - 6 answers

I'm a Flikr newbie. We just returned from holiday and I posted our snaps on the site. Yesterday my wife calls me at work creeped out that someone has favourited a picture of one of our daughters in a market in Vietnam. She's seven. All the users other favourited and personal pics are likewise of young girls. [more inside]
posted on Apr 5, 2008 - 25 answers

What is an appropriate way to discipline strangers' kids? [more inside]
posted on Mar 29, 2008 - 34 answers

What do I do when my kid has outgrown his balance bike but doesn't want to pedal yet? [more inside]
posted on Mar 29, 2008 - 11 answers

My neighbor is very generous - too generous! Her young son and my kids play together fairly often, and each time my kids go to their house to visit, my neighbor sends my kids home with several gifts. Sometimes if she sees my kids playing in the back yard she just hands gifts over the fence. Last time it was a large tin of cookies, a box of Whoppers candies, and a Vitamin Water style drink. In the past gifts have included a hand-knit scarf, brand new clothes, a doll, a box of donuts, and a large plate of homemade fried chicken. At Lunar New Year she gave each of my kids ten bucks plus a box of sweet rolls. I don’t know this woman well at all. We’ve said ‘hi’ a few times but her English is limited and I don’t speak her language which I believe is Thai. I get the sense that our different expectations around gift giving are related to cultural differences (she’s an immigrant from SE Asia, I’m white, born and raised in California), and maybe also that she is just a particularly (or maybe compulsively) gift-giving person. [more inside]
posted on Mar 20, 2008 - 23 answers

my wife and i are both at the life junction that we have to decide if we want to have kids, ever or never, due to our age, also due to peer and family pressure. the problem is that we both are not that enthusiastic about introducing someone addtional into the family or in between. recognizing the highly private nature of this issue, we still want to do a quick & unscientific poll to to see if it will help us move a bit closer to a decision: 1. for those couples who made a conscientious decision to stay kid-less: how long have you two decided on this issue? any regrets so far? 2. for those couples happily living with kid(s): if you can have the kids bearing and rearing experience all over again, will you do it again? please, no rants or raves on how great or how nightmarish kids are. heard too much of that already. thanks,
posted on Mar 11, 2008 - 65 answers

I need a good chant for my team of 5-year-old soccer players to use at the end of practice and before games. Do you know any?
posted on Mar 6, 2008 - 29 answers

Help me think of tricky spelling words to challenge my daughter! [more inside]
posted on Mar 5, 2008 - 39 answers

I'm looking for ideas for things to give my daughter before I go away for 3 weeks. [more inside]
posted on Feb 11, 2008 - 26 answers

Seeking ideas for healthy, balanced, kid-friendly meals that use local (ideally Ontarioan) ingredients, don't require the expenditure of electricity, and could be made by an 8-year old with minimal supervision? [more inside]
posted on Feb 10, 2008 - 9 answers

Are there any expandable multi-handset wireless phone answering systems that have a system wide ringer mute feature? I'm trying to keep my kids from getting woken up during nap time. [more inside]
posted on Feb 8, 2008 - 4 answers

Novel research Filter: What were immigration requirements for kids in 1970's. [more inside]
posted on Feb 5, 2008 - 3 answers

I'm looking for recommendations for books, movies and even music that might be relevant for a group of middle school (7th & 8th grade, ages 12-14) kids who are going to Rome over spring break. [more inside]
posted on Feb 3, 2008 - 8 answers

I'm helping a friend with her baby room this weekend and am looking for tips about working with a limited space and organizing it for two kids! [more inside]
posted on Feb 2, 2008 - 11 answers

My significant other said this to me today: "over the next 5 years or so you should build an argument for kids," but I can't think of where to start. [more inside]
posted on Jan 29, 2008 - 40 answers

Election blogs for kids? I'm looking for resources to help my elementary-school-age child follow the presidential race -- not just encyclopedia-style background information, but frequent updates from the news. Has anyone found good resources for (or by) kids?
posted on Jan 29, 2008 - 2 answers

I'm having a birthday pool party (indoor) with a group of 20 kindergarten-age kids. They'll be in the water most of the time, but they'll be in a charming little holding cell for the first part of the party. Any suggestions for an activity or craft that would work well in this situation? [more inside]
posted on Jan 26, 2008 - 10 answers

My niece's mom is an alcohol/drug addict. My niece has consistent contact with her mom over the phone. Did I do the right thing in letting her know about her mom's problem? If not, can I mitigate the damage I've done? [more inside]
posted on Jan 25, 2008 - 31 answers

Having kids or not when you have chronic health issues: how did you decide and come to terms with it? [more inside]
posted on Jan 21, 2008 - 12 answers

Looking for a good piano teacher for my six-year-old son in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [more inside]
posted on Jan 8, 2008 - 5 answers

My teenage son (fifteen) has decided he wants to play the guitar. What guitar? [more inside]
posted on Jan 4, 2008 - 23 answers

Non-violent, non-scary movies for 3 year olds? My daughter likes watching movies as a special treat but is scared by Disney's trademark ultra-villains and even shouting or dark scenes are a bit much for her. So far the only two movies she loves beginning to end are the newish Curious George movie and My Neighbor Totoro. I looked long and hard and can't find any others. Any ideas? [more inside]
posted on Jan 4, 2008 - 79 answers

Looking for positive experiences where single parent and young child(en) were separated by great distances. Specifically, I am curious to know how it was made to work. [more inside]
posted on Jan 3, 2008 - 9 answers

I'm looking for flash "games" suitable in content for a preschool child (ie: no gore, violence, etc.) where you click the mouse or press a key and something happens, but where you're basically just creating random action. For example, clicking the mouse on the screen might cause a "firework" to deploy or a bubble to be created or burst. Any suggestions?
posted on Dec 31, 2007 - 22 answers

Imminently divorcing parents, naive and idealistic father, playing therapist to adults - the works. Help me not hate my family! [more inside]
posted on Dec 27, 2007 - 23 answers

Family and extended family vacation in Tulum area of Mexico? [more inside]
posted on Dec 23, 2007 - 6 answers

MeFi Parenting filter: What are appropriate consequences for an 8-year-old who has a history of carelessness with belongings, and has lost his $250 glasses? [more inside]
posted on Dec 21, 2007 - 60 answers

My kid is transposing "s" to the end of the word, line snow->nows. I am curious is this is a common thing, has a name, or just something they go through... [more inside]
posted on Dec 20, 2007 - 21 answers

How much do parents tell each other about the stories/secrets their children thell them? [more inside]
posted on Dec 20, 2007 - 32 answers

Relationshipfilter: I'm agnostic. She's Christian. We've been dating for four months. We fit eachother well and are very happy together, but of course clash over our deeply-held ideologies. Should we worry about the ideological clashes now, or be happy with eachother now and worry about how to raise the kids if/when we have kids? [more inside]
posted on Dec 20, 2007 - 76 answers

Help me find a way to keep my son's clothes on. [more inside]
posted on Dec 19, 2007 - 24 answers

We bought a Wii for the kids for Christmas and we're trying to find out what accessories are musts. [more inside]
posted on Dec 15, 2007 - 22 answers