Child Care Blog

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Photo:  Andres Rueda, Flickr

My kids have been asking when they can have cell phones. They are 6 and 9 years old, and wow, this topic is so off my radar, I can't even begin to consider arming them with something so extravagant. I don't think I had a cell phone until I was married -- do they really need one any earlier?

Then there are credit cards. They haven't asked about these yet, but there's some chit-chat out there about when it's appropriate for kids to pack some plastic. Take a look, consider all the angles and tell us what you think.

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Photo: The Lightworks, Flickr

On Fridays, we list the links we love and point to the hot topics at our favorite sites.

U.S. babies are getting smaller, says Lil Sugar, and pregnancies are getting shorter, too. Hmmm.

I loved my Barbie dolls back in the day. ParentDish reports that fashion designers are loving Barbie, too.

MomLogic is talking about whether or not Tiger Woods is a role model. What do you think?

Need some slow cooker meals you can simmer all day while you're running all over town? Parents.com has what you need, and let me just say: Mmmmm.

Everything you ever wanted to know about kid nutrition and fitness -- right here.

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Photo: Raúl A., Flickr

So, sleep is important. You need it, your kids need it, your babies need it. Yet none of us gets enough of it. The funny thing is, we tend to obsess over how much our infants get, and then once the wee ones make it to preschool age, we drop the ball, letting them stay up later and later. And watch out on weekends, when late-nighters are no-brainers.

Turns out even minimal amounts of sleep deprivation -- like one hour per night -- can leave our childrens' brains a little less developed than they should be. Too little sleep can make our sixth graders think like fourth-graders, and our tweens' moods can become even more exaggerated after losing some shut-eye. Yikes!

It's all very interesting, this sleep stuff, and that's why author Po Bronson writes about "the lost hour" in his book NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children. You should grab your self a copy, or borrow one from your library. That's what I did, and I'm making my way through the book right now. Good stuff. I promise.

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Photo: Kid's Birthday Parties, Flickr

On Fridays, we list the links we love and point to the hot topics at our favorite sites.

How do you get your teen to clean his room? ParentDish has the scoop.

Some parents go way overboard on loot bags at kids' birthday parties, and some parents don't give out a thing. Lil Sugar wants to know if you're a fan of party favors.

Money, money, money. We're all a little worried about it, right? Which means we really should be teaching our kids how to manage, budget and save, says Divine Caroline

What's better for obese teens -- diet and exercise or surgery? That's fit weighs in.

What do you tell your kids when they ask how the baby gets in the tummy? One MomLogic writer shares how she talked sex with her young daughter.

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