http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog Notes from a couple of new parents Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:23:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If you have a toddler, we're probably preaching to the choir here about how great the Melissa and Doug floor puzzles are.  They don't get every puzzle right; they have tried a few variants of their standard formula, with mixed results.  But in general, the quality has been excellent: the ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=19 I found this site the other day when I was doing some reasearch on toddler aggression. Dealing with anger or behaviors like hitting and biting is always a sensitive parenting subject. I don't know one parent that finds it easy - though may can talk the talk succintly, ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=16 Having started our child in pre-school, we frequently monitor his feelings about the place, and occasionally reflect upon the effect the whole experience is having. Our main goal with pre-school was the socialization aspect -- it is great to see our child increasingly confident and social with other children and we ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=17 We have lots of family pictures on our digital cameras.  However, getting them to our archives (and bypassing photo edit software) is an interesting challenge.  Camera vendors give you software, usually, for this.  However, it sometimes doesn't work the way you want or comes with added ware that you don't ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=18 Having started our son at preschool 4 months ago, we thought we'd pass along some things we learned, based on both advice and experience. A safe, (reasonably) clean, and healthy environment is important. It shouldn't be a toy jungle, bathrooms should be clean, snacks can be fun within reason The teacher/caregiver ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=12 In a sea of many useless, overly loud, overly intense (and sometimes overly boring) "activity centers", one is lucky to find this gem: the Fisher Price Learning Home. The good: Lots of activities: You can open and close the door, ring the doorbell, open and close the window, turn on/off the radio ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=4 Do you have a toddler that loves to dance? Do you not want to order each and every song he/she likes and compile your own custom mix of songs? Do you like to experiment and find new artists? Look no further, we have a recommendation for you about ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=8 Our son really enjoyed the "Meet the..." series from Preschool Prep. A friend of ours recommended the series and, being curious, we ordered a couple just to check it out. First, about our TV watching policies, so that you know where we're coming from. Like many parents, we try to ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=7 On February 10th, an important new law will go into effect that has lots of implications for the production and purchase of products for children (under 12). Due to recent problems in lead poisoning from Chinese made products, the U.S. passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=15 If you have a toddler or youngster that is really into cars, we suggest you check out the Automoblox line of cars. These things represent the culmination of a nice little story - a young college student designs a wooden car for a school project. Student goes to work for ... http://www.parenting-ideas.com/blog/?p=14