Gadgets & tech
Video game design for kids
Teens & tweens, Fun & activities, Education, Toys & games, Gadgets & tech
Video games and kids -- you can argue about whether or not they make a good combination, but there's no question that the latter loves the former. But even if you don't approve of playing video games, writing them is certainly a different story. Only, how the heck does a kid learn to do that? Well, in North Carolina, they can do it by going to the library.The main library in Charlotte, North Carolina is offering kids a summer workshop where they can learn the rudiments of video game design. Students have to decide where to place objects in the game, how high characters can jump, and how non-player characters react to the players' characters. Naturally, the four-day sessions only touch on high-level concepts, but they serve to get kids interested and off to a good start.
Kids like video games and learning to create them is a great way to get kids interested in software development -- a fun (for the first twenty-five years or so, anyway) and lucrative career path. It's great that the library is offering this introduction; I only wish it was the norm rather than the exception.
Radar gun toting boy aims to stop speeders
Kids 8-11, Health & safety, Weird but true, Gadgets & tech
Lots of little boys dream of careers in law enforcement. In preparation, they spend hours playing cop, arresting their little friends and writing tickets. But this sort of pretend police work is just child's play for Landon Wilburn of Louisville, Kentucky. He found an effective way to actually enforce the law and has become a neighborhood hero because of it.Like a lot of subdivisions, the one where 11-year-old Landon lives has a problem with cars speeding through the streets. Residents have complained to police and Landon and his friends regularly yell at drivers to slow down. But when these efforts failed, Landon came up with a better idea. He got out his Hot Wheels toy radar gun, donned a bright orange vest, and grabbed his siren-equipped flashlight. He set himself up on the side of the street and began tracking the speed of passing cars.
Yeah, it's a toy but it actually works! The speed limit in Landon's neighborhood is 25 mph, but he clocked some cars going close to 55 mph. At least they were until they spotted what they assumed was a police officer with a radar gun aimed at them. Neighbor George Ayers says, "When I saw it happening, I got the biggest kick out of it. People were locking up their brakes when they saw him."
Fortunately, Landon may soon find his radar gun is no longer needed. After commissioning a study on speeding in the area, speed humps are being installed in the neighborhood.
Cell-phones as 'mom-avoidance' devices
Just for moms, Teens & tweens, Gadgets & tech
When answering machines first became affordable, I ran right out and got one. How great to be able to communicate with others without having to actually talk to them! These days, of course, our options for impersonal communication have increased. With the advent of email, instant messaging and text-messaging, one could conceivably go for days without actually having to speak to another person. According to this article, such non-verbal communication has big-time appeal for the average teenager.Stephen Saiz, manager of consumer insight and strategy of the Walt Disney Internet Group's North American mobile division, says that text-messaging has become a handy parent-avoidance device for many teens. "Teens are pushing their parents to go on mobile because they don't really want to communicate with them directly," he said.
Because of this, more and more parents are jumping on the texting bandwagon. Saiz says that most of the older people using their cell phone mobile applications are mothers who were pushed into the world of texting by their kids. And why don't kids want to talk to mom on the phone? Saiz believes it is due to the fact that they are busy pursuing much more important activities: playing video games and hanging with their friends.
Does this happen to you? Do you call your child's phone only to end up in voice mail? Does your kid respond to you with a text message? Is this okay with you?
Bluetooth headset thieves grab hearing aid by mistake
Preschoolers, Gadgets & tech, Special needs
Bluetooth headsets -- the little wireless telephone gadgets -- are all the rage these days, even more so now that some sort of hands free device is required by law in order to use a cellphone while driving in California. At first, advocates for the deaf thought the fad was a good thing because it would make kids with cochlear implants stand out less.The implants consist of two parts -- an internal, surgically implanted receiver and an external unit with a microphone, computer, and transmitter. Unfortunately, there is a downside to the bluetooth craze -- the units get stolen right off of people's heads. While it must suck to have a $50 or $100 cellphone accessory stolen, having a $6,000 device that lets a kid hear stolen is downright terrible.
But that's what has happened to three-year-old Jose Franco -- twice. Jose was only two when he received his cochlear implant and the device has helped him learn to speak (he's even bilingual) and sing. One day, while shopping at a grocery store, someone snatched the external unit from his head and took off with it. His mother, Hilda Giron, left him with a cashier and chased the thieves. She didn't catch the boys, but she did find the earpiece in the parking lot, still intact.
Last week, however, two teenagers grabbed the headset while Jose and his mother were having lunch at McDonald's. This time, the crooks got away. Luckily, Jose has a backup unit, but his family will be responsible for replacing the lost device. It's bad enough to take away someone's bicycle or iPod or even their computer, but to take away a child's hearing is a special kind of horrible. Hopefully, the thieves will realize that what they stole is of no use to anyone but little Jose and return it.
The pressure of being a teen
Teens & tweens, Money & work, Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, Life & style, In the news, Environment, Media, Gadgets & tech
Every generation thinks they have it tougher than the one before. And, you know what? They probably do. Like the new iphone, every generation is expected to be smarter, faster, better, and thinner than the last. So it is with teenagers, teenage girls to be exact. It's no newsflash to anyone who's ever been a teenager that being one is full of pressure. I remember an ad I saw in a women's magazine when I was a teen that resonates with me to this day: You can never be too rich or too thin (bonus points to any of you who remember what product that ad was selling).
Current research shows that not only such magazines but now too the wonderful world wide web are contributing to making girls feel miserable with regard to being, well, as rich and as thin as possible. In the Generation Under Stress Report, two out of five teenage girls felt more poorly about themselves after looking at pictures of models, music stars and actresses in magazines. And the pressure doesn't end there. Girls also reported feeling pressure to act and dress more like adults, to be sexually active before they were ready and to invest in expensive material items like Ipods, cell phones and brand-name clothing and accessories (what teenager NEEDS a Prada bag?). Add that to the eating disorders and bullying and you have a recipe for disaster.
So what do we do? Send our teenage girls off to the convent? If you have the answer, please let me know--I am about to have a daughter and am feeling the pressure before she's even been born. Not too long ago I saw a onesie that said, "Does this outfit make my butt look big?" HELP!
Pic of thin woman by The Gentle.
Ten ways to take artistic pictures of the kids
Fun & activities, Media, Gadgets & tech
I think some people are convinced that I had kids only so I could justify a top-of-the-line camera, but it's not true -- I also needed someone to take pictures of. Taking pictures of people -- especially kids -- can be challenging, however. Making them look better than the standard kid-in-a-frame shot is even more difficult.To help with this, the Digital Photography School has put together ten ways to kick your photos up a notch. Some of these techniques we see a lot in the Images of the Day here on ParentDish, but I know I don't always stop and think about what makes these images so special. Now DPS has spelled it out for you, with stunning examples of each.
One tip I can offer -- hold your camera sideways next to your knee, with your finger on the trigger. Pretend to be looking straight ahead, even though the camera is actually pointed at your subject on your right. Make sure you're far enough away that your subject will be in the picture even if your aim is off. For kids, this not only catches them off guard, it also puts the camera down at their level.
So there you go -- ten tips plus a bonus one (don't ever say we don't go the extra mile -- or extra tip, anyway -- for you here at ParentDish!) Now, go forth and photograph!
DailyDish: Turn off your cell phone
Fun & activities, Life & style, Gadgets & tech, Home remedies, Resources
Turn off your cell phone.
Censorship in toys
Babies, Toddlers, Fun & activities, Media, Education, Toys & games, Gadgets & tech
About a month ago my husband was playing around with one of our son's toys and realized it was censored. The toy in question is a Leap Frog brand caterpillar called an Alphabet Pal with letters on each of its twenty-six legs. Among the things you can do with the caterpillar are set it to play different kinds of music (each leg plays a different song) and say the letters on the legs. You can also set it to pronounce the sound the letter makes when it is spoken. So, if you hit the leg with the letter "B" on it, you hear "Buh." As a joke my husband tried to sound out a dirty word. The caterpillar denied him! Instead, if you, say, try to sound out "fff" then "ugh" you get a "heh heh, that tickles!" before the caterpillar will pronounce the "kuh."
Now, I can assume my kiddo isn't going to be using this caterpillar to sound out dirty words. Most children who are the age the caterpillar is designed for--between one and two years of age--don't even know what those are. But it still brings up an interesting point: Isn't that censorship? I mean, whoever designed this toy, which is a lot of fun and a great educational tool (it also says the colors of each letter on each leg in another setting), had to think that someone like my husband would try some funny business and came up with a plan to avoid the caterpillar saying bad things.
I'm starting to wonder if this was a one-time thing or if all toys of this nature are set to ensure they don't spell or say dirty words. Also, who decides such things? And does that person get to decide what constitutes a dirty word and what doesn't? At home with television and the Internet, for example, parents can set their own standards for what their children are allowed to watch and read or look at. The maker of this toy did that for us. Thoughts??? Should companies be censoring toys for us or are they doing the job of the parents?
Pic of caterpillar by j / f / photo.
Mini-Vespas for kids?
Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Health & safety, Life & style, Weird but true, Toys & games, Gadgets & tech, Extreme childhood, Shopping & recalls
A while ago now I read an article, found here at Pop Sugar's LilSugar site, about Vespas for children. I didn't react to it right away because I wasn't sure I had an opinion on the subject. Still not sure that I do!
A Vespa, for those of you unfamiliar, is like a motorized bike. They run on gas and come with helmets and are in the same vein as motorcycles, only not as fast. They also tend to come in pastel colors and aren't ridden around on by Hell's Angels clad in black leather (most of the time). Vespas are great for city driving where they can get through narrow, crowded streets and the like. They are not designed for the highway.
Now the Vespa folks have come out with a mini-version for kids. At $450, the mini-Vespa ain't cheap. Sure, it's less expensive than a regular, adult-sized Vespa, but I don't think you could pull buying one for your kids and then riding it yourself. The minis really are smaller, designed for kids ages three to seven (not the kid in you).
Would you buy one of these for your child? Are they no harm, no foul and all in fun or are they unsafe and do they promote the possibility of them riding around on motorcycles when they're older (black leather optional)?
Hysterical pic of God creating a Vespa by giopuo.
The new milk jug makes its debut
Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, In the news, Gadgets & tech, Mealtime, Resources
Would you use the new milk jug? Or, are you wedded to the cardboard cartons of what is soon to be the past? I remember when I was a kid and we got milk delivered to our house every week in a glass bottle. Nothing tasted more refreshing. By the time I was a teen those days were gone and we got cartons. Now, those cartons are being replaced by something less expensive to produce and more environmentally sound.
Sound good? It is. Still, the new concept has some consumers fuming, or at least perplexed. The problem with the new milk jug is that it SPILLS. Kids drink more milk than anybody, and this new design, being favored by places like Wal-Mart and Costco, which is becoming more available by the day, is not easy to use.
Kids have trouble pouring anyway, but the new milk jug, so foreign in its design to many, makes that simple task more manageable. Some sellers have taken it upon themselves to educate consumers on the how-to, to make pouring from the jug easier. Folks still are a little unnerved by the square shape of the jug--and they're not convinced the same old milk is in there. I had the same problem with Parmalat. Now I love it, but it was hard getting used to it at first.
What about you? Had any experience with the new milk? And???
Teen takes advantage of unlimited text plan
Teens & tweens, Gadgets & tech
How many text messages do you send in a month -- five? fifty? What about your teenaged kids? More like 500? And you think that's a lot? Well let me tell you some thing... that's nothing. In fact fifteen-year-old Paige Horne does that in a day. Yep, she averages 15,000 text messages a month which works out to around 500 a day, every day.She only knows this because the technician suggested that her heavy usage might be the reason her phone died when she took it in to be fixed. Naturally, in order to keep up that kind of traffic, she's a touch-textist: "I just don't look," she explained. "I guess I had the phone a long time and I just know where the buttons are and I just hit them."
And to make this even more impressive, the phone is turned off by 9pm on school nights -- there's no late night, under-the-covers texting for her. And if that isn't enough, she plays on her school volleyball and basketball teams and maintains a 3+ GPA. Personally, I don't get the whole texting thing, but as long as she is able to keep up her grades and all, I don't see a problem. I'm sure glad I'm not her thumbs, though!
Tried and True: Wii get physical!
Welcome to Tried and True, a monthly feature where cool products are put through the ringer -- from our family to yours.Let's travel back to an extremely different time in my life, say, three years ago. Three years ago, I was prancing around town in my J. Crew suits and pointy-toed flats, working a great job and living it up. Between social engagements, I would hop on over to the gym for a quick kickboxing or Yoga class. I had all the time in the world to focus on being physically fit, with complete flexibility of my schedule.
Fast forward to the present. The suits are packed away in the closet (but the shoes remain, God as my witness) and the gym membership has been canceled. My schedule, like many stay/work-at-home-parents, now revolves around a child, which leaves about NO time for myself. At this stage in the game, being the sole caregiver for a toddler during the hours of 9am to 6pm puts a tiny damper on the whole getting fit dynamic.
Going to the gym? Not feasible. Running with a jogging stroller while a toddler protests at ear-shattering levels? Yeah, right. Sneaking out of the house while your child naps? Hello, CHILD SERVICES.
Sure, exercise DVDs are a great at-home option, but what happens if the motivation starts to wane? Who's going to notice if you sit down during the workout? Is the instructor going to motivate you personally? "Hey! You in the juice-stained shirt, get off your butt!" Unfortunately, I think not.
What's a parent to do?
Enter the Wii Fit. Your virtual personal trainer.
Teens ignore bans on cellphones in cars
Teens & tweens, Health & safety, In the news, Gadgets & tech
Surprise, surprise, teens aren't paying any attention to laws barring them from using cellphones while driving. According to a survey released Monday, in fact, cellphone usage actually went up slightly after North Carolina enacted such a law in 2006. In the months leading up to the ban, researchers observed eleven percent of teen drivers using their cellphones as they left school. Five months later, the number was almost twelve percent."Cellphone bans for teen drivers are difficult to enforce," says Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety who conducted the survey. "Drivers with phones to their ears aren't hard to spot, but it's nearly impossible for police officers to see hands-free devices or correctly guess how old drivers are."
There needs to be a better way to enforce these bans or else they really don't do much good. I'm not sure what the answer is. We've got a similar law taking effect next month and I suspect kids will ignore it and keep on talking and texting while they drive.
ParentWish Dad's Day: For the Urbanite
Item: PortaMEe Hip Carrier
Price: $179
Why we love it: This carrier is cool, hip, and most importantly allows daddy to do the heavy lifting.
Where to buy it: Giggle
This stylish baby carrier combines the best of slings and front carriers, but with a longer life for parents on-the-go. Including an adjustable, gel-padded shoulder strap, lumbar support, cell phone pocket, water bottle holder and wallet compartment, this carrier is the tops. Suitable for children ages 5 months to 3 years.
ParentWish Dad's Day: For the Techie
Item: The Sanctuary Charging StationPrice: $129.95
Why we love it: Say goodbye to messy, tangled cords. This charging station will reduce a father's clutter. (If only it could make dirty socks disappear.)
Where to buy it: Red Envelope
Compatible with over 1,500 devices, this universal charging station allows up to 12 devices to charge at the same time. GENIUS. Also included is a reversible, fabric-finished tray that will catch all of the whatnot coming from his pockets at the end of the day. Measures 9"x9"x1 3/4".
