Know someone born in the 7th month? They’ve got a few advantages
If you were born in July or have a little one with a July birthday, keep reading because summer babies, particularly people born in July, are good leaders, creative, and often left-handed. July babies also share a birth month with Princess Diana, Robin Williams, Jennifer Lopez, and so many more.
People born in July are either Cancer or Leo.
People born June 21-July 22 are born under the sign of Cancer. They are highly intuitive and like their celestial animal, the crab, tend to have a hard outer shell that can be hard to penetrate, so they can be slow to open up to others. People born July 22-Aug 22 are born under the sign of Leo. Full of passion and vivacity, Leos love to be in the spotlight. They are known for their ambition and bravery.
They are funny—and super-devoted to their families.
Astrologically speaking, babies born in July are known to be devoted family members, especially if they are Cancer. You know what that means, Mom and Dad? Your darling baby bundle will grow up to be a caring kid… and a loyal adult child. They’ll always be there to help you (and their siblings) out, even when they have a family of their own.
They may not see you, though.
Get your vision insurance plans in order. An Israeli study of 300,000 military applicants found that June and July babies have a higher risk of suffering from short-sightedness. According to the study, the more sunlight a newborn is exposed to, the higher the risk of myopia (short-sightedness). But it’s not all bad news. Lead researcher Michael Belkin of Tel Aviv University said there’s a simple solution to help summer-born eyes: Sunglasses (which are, by the way, totally adorable on babies).
They’re happier.
Summer baby = happy grown-up? Possibly, according to a Vanderbilt University study that suggests babies born in the summer are less likely to be depressed than their winter-born counterparts. Researchers believe the happy quotient may have to do with a newborn’s “biological clock” being permanently stamped by the summer’s light cycle. In other words: They start sunny… and stay that way!
They are good leaders.
People who are Leos are known for their strength, optimism, and refusal to accept. They often inspire others and tend to take charge in the workplace, all traits of a good leader.
The July birthstone is Ruby.
Rubies are one of the gemstones that are often read about in history. They symbolize wealth and prosperity, and passion. Medieval Europeans often wore rubies, as they were seen as a sign of prosperity. Ancient Hindus would offer rubies to the god Krishna in hopes of being reborn as an emperor.
July babies are often left-handed.
Of the 10% of left-handed people in the world, according to this study, many of them are born in July. The reason? They aren’t quite sure.
Whether you’re stepping on a sea of toys or the kids’ closet is stuffed to the gills, it might be time to create a family storage plan. If that seems daunting, take a peek at some solutions that might just revolutionize your home. From garage storage ideas to kid cubby storage ideas, these are our favorite storage hacks that are both clever and easy to do. If you feel like tackling specific areas in your home, check out our pantry organization ideas and toy storage solutions!
Puzzles. They're great for building problem solving skills in kids, but when it comes to storage, they have parents scratching their heads. Luckily, Days With Grey has a simple solution you can easily re-create with your own puzzles.
Rise and shine! It's time to streamline that morning routine. We love this brilliant hack by Systems for Sensory Kids that makes the back-to-school morning routine as easy as 1-2-3! You'll need a container, cups, and labels (waterproof is best) to get your little learner ready for school.
Squeaky clean! As far as cool bathroom toy storage ideas go, this one's easy-peasy. Mama Shannon over at 8 Foot Six, upcycles a hanging fruit basket to organize tub toys (genius!), which leaves you more space for other things.
Waste no space! Help half-pints get ready quickly on school mornings with The Organized Mama's twist on storing kids' clothes: you can fold clothes for easy outfit picking and make more space when you use bins inside the drawers.
Help little cooks organize their play kitchen with this sweet toy storage idea. Hop over to Hello Baby Brown for her clever use of a tiered rack that keeps cookware and toy food off the floor and within easy reach of little hands.
We got this stuffed toy storage idea straight from the horse’s mouth. You’ll need to be a little handy to complete this project and can follow the step-by-step over at Shades of Blue Interiors. Your tots can have easy access to their favorite toys through the paracord and keep their rooms clean to boot.
Kiddos can’t get enough of dressing up, but finding ways to store all of the costumes and accessories in one place is almost impossible. Luckily, this DIY Dress-Up Storage Center from Old House to New Home is an awesome fix. This piece will require some legit construction, but the final product is totally worth it!
Try storing your favorite art supplies in mason jars. Remove the lids from these adorable glass containers, and add personalized labels to keep just about anything organized and easy to access.
If your kids love playing outside, you probably know the struggle of organizing all of their outdoor toys. These labeled metal buckets are as far as toy storage ideas go from Domestic Charm to keep all of their goodies together without bringing them into the house.
To keep everything at your family’s fingertips, get inspired by Hey Let’s Make Stuff’s incredible peg board. This is a cute way to make sure everything goes back where it belongs.
This hack from VanHook & Co. is here to save the day. This budget-friendly idea only requires a couple of $4 Ikea wastebaskets. All you have to do is secure the baskets to any wall or door, and you’ve just created a cool new storage system.
Your little ones have made your car their second home, and with that comes a whole lot of stuff. But that doesn’t have to mean the end of the organization in the mommy mobile. According to HAPPYnings, it’s all about shower caddies. That’s right, those funny things with the big pockets that you hang in your shower. It turns out, they’re a pretty fantastic organizational tool for everything from hair brushes to sunscreen and so much more.
If you’ve ever felt the pain of stepping on a stray LEGO, you know that proper toy storage is an absolute must. One of our favorite ways to store your little one’s toys is the Swoop Bag. This versatile bag lays flat and can be gathered up quickly to store the tiniest of toys. Of course, this is perfect for classic faves like LEGO, cars, train sets, and more.
Who doesn’t love play dough? But, storing all of those little canisters so your fam can play with any color, any time is just really complicated. Not anymore! Brilliant Mama Aimee Geroux has got you covered. Her idea to use a coffee carousel for play dough toy storage is a brilliant idea that is nothing short of pure genius.
If you’re a parent with a gaming kid under the age of 16, chances are good that you’re already familiar with Roblox, the hugely popular multiplayer online gaming platform that seemingly came out of nowhere to capture the attention (and obsession) of kids all across the globe.
While you also may know about Robux, Roblox’s in-game virtual currency, which consistently ranks among the most-requested gaming gift cards for kids, you may not be aware of many other details about the game itself and have lots of questions about safety, security and excessive screen time related to Roblox gameplay.
Worry no more: Our guide to Roblox for kids will hopefully answer many of the questions that you might have but are too afraid to ask! Read on to learn more about the seemingly ubiquitous gaming phenomenon.
What Exactly Is Roblox?
Simply put, Roblox is a persistent (meaning, it’s online all of the time, 24/7), multiplayer gaming platform that lets millions of users around the world create, share and play 3-D games and virtual experiences with one another—all in real-time.
Roblox can be played on a variety of devices and operating systems, ranging from smartphones and tablets to laptops and gaming consoles—even VR headsets. Because of Roblox’s wide accessibility, relative ease of gameplay and freemium cost model, young gamers (especially those under age 13) have latched on and propelled its popularity in recent years, making it the most popular entertainment app for that age group.
After creating and logging into free-to-play (more on costs later) personalized accounts, players choose from more than 40 million games and experiences, in which they virtually interact with other players using customizable avatars, audio chat or text chat.
Many games are freeform and immersive explorations in virtual environments. Some popular ones focus on building homes and tending to pets and babies, while others are more action-oriented, including first-person shooter and racing games. Ranked by the number of visits, Adopt Me!, where players—you guessed it—adopt, raise and collect various pets, is currently number one. Other top entries include Tower of Hell, MeepCity and Brookhaven.
What Do Players See and Do on Roblox?
Through their customizable avatars, Roblox players are immersed in colorful and dynamic virtual 3-D worlds and experiences that they can explore and move through via touch screens, gaming controllers or keyboard strokes and mouse clicks—much like any other video game.
As a platform to reach consumers, Roblox has become a big business: Major brands, such as Gucci, have partnered with Roblox to create virtual boutiques that sell exclusive virtual merchandise for avatars, like sunglasses and beanies. Meanwhile, musicians such as Lil Nas X and Twenty One Pilots have hosted virtual concerts that have attracted millions of viewers.
While some parents may find navigating Roblox’s game interface confusing, most kids will find controlling and customizing their avatars to be fairly intuitive. Experts say the concept of crafting a virtual character and interacting using avatars in virtual spaces—what’s been coined as playing in the Metaverse—“is not novel to kids that are playing Roblox because they grew up in the metaverse, that’s all they know,” says Colin Rosenblum, a tech writer and YouTuber who covers content creators with Samir Chaudry on the Colin and Samir YouTube Channel.
What sets Roblox apart from other digital video games—such as Minecraft or Fortnite, for example—is the unique creator system that’s built into its gameplay. The vast majority of content and games available on Roblox are user-created and supported, versus created and developed by professional gaming studios. By comparison, while most other digital video games have prescribed rules for playing and specific pathways to winning, Roblox’s gameplay is fluid and collaborative by design. Social interactivity is essential to Roblox’s gameplay and popularity.
“Roblox games reflect the sort of imaginative play you often find in the playground,” says Andy Robertson, a U.K.-based family technology expert, author of Taming Gaming and creator of the Family Gaming Database. “One child has an idea about a game to play, others join him or her, and the rules slowly change as the group decides how to have fun together. Roblox creators can quickly update and adjust their games to match the demands of the huge playing community.”
When Did Roblox-Mania Begin?
Despite parents noticing Roblox-mania among their kids and their kids’ peers only over the past few years, Roblox has been around for nearly two decades. An early iteration of the game was first introduced in 2004 by San Mateo, CA-based game developers David Baszucki and Erik Cassel, followed by the 2006 release of Roblox’s online gaming platform and game creation system.
Today, Baszucki is CEO of Roblox Corporation, the parent company of Roblox, and his username, “builderman,” is still the first welcome message that new players receive when they register new accounts.
Although Roblox’s popularity grew steadily in the 2010s, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown helped to further accelerate Roblox’s popularity, especially among younger gamers. By 2021, Roblox achieved a milestone of 202 million monthly active users globally, an increase from 146 million in the previous year. Today, Roblox has more than 43 million daily active users, with a whopping 67% of Roblox users under age 16.
Many parents have stories of how when their kids were attending remote school and unable to have in-person playdates, Roblox was a lifeline between their kids and their friends. For many, meeting and playing together in Roblox’s virtual environment became a welcomed antidote to social distancing rules for both kids and parents alike.
“[During lockdown] my sons would set up playdates with their friends and say, ‘we’ll meet you in a specific game on Roblox,’ ” says Angeline Yeo, a Bay Area mom of 11-year-old twin boys Reece and Logan, who both started playing Roblox about a year ago. “It was the only way for them to connect with friends because San Francisco was pretty locked down then.”
As word of mouth among elementary school gamers spreads, Roblox continues to amass more players, who spend an average of 2.6 hours per day on the platform.
Roblox for Kids: Is It Safe?
Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), the non-profit, self-regulatory body for the video game industry, gives Roblox an ESRB rating of E10+, meaning it’s suitable for all players ages 10 and older, although it’s a game that’s popular with even younger players. Consequently, Roblox’s strict Community Standardsfocus on fostering a safe and secure environment for players of all ages.
Roblox has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to child endangerment, violence, bullying and harassment, among other key safety tenets. The platform utilizes both software and 1,600 human moderators to filter and block inappropriate content, but offensive communications or inappropriate user-generated content can sometimes slip through the cracks.
“It’s important for parents to familiarize themselves with the robust parental controls that Roblox provides to ensure their children are shielded from inappropriate content or communications,” says Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB.
First and foremost, Vance insists that parents make sure their kid’s Roblox account is registered with an accurate birthdate, which enables automatic filtering and other protections that are designed to safeguard children under age 13. Additionally, kids and parents alike should familiarize themselves with how to block and report bullying or disruptive players. Last and most importantly, parents should teach their children never to share personal information online, including real names, addresses or passwords.
“Roblox’s parental controls give parents the ability to curate the content their kids may encounter when playing, including options to restrict voice chat only to approved friends or turn it off entirely, create a white list of age-appropriate games for your kids, and more,” Vance says.
Start here to find out how to activate Roblox’s safety tools.
Is Roblox Free to Play?
While Roblox is ostensibly free-to-play, there are plenty of in-game purchases. Many Roblox players say gameplay is hindered by not making in-game purchases, which include buying everything from virtual gear and clothing for avatars to virtual food to feed pets to virtual furniture as well as the ability to unlock levels and skills.
Roblox’s in-game virtual currency is called Robux and it costs real dollars to acquire. The more real money spent, the better the exchange rate: For example, 800 Robux cost $10, 4,500 Robux cost $50 and 10,000 Robux cost $100. There also are three tiers of Roblox Premiummemberships, which have recurring monthly charges.
Parents with Roblox players are all too familiar with requests for more Robux, which can easily get out of hand. Yeo has a simple solution: “I don’t give the boys money [for Robux]; they are responsible for funding their own Robux through birthday money and red envelope cash gifts.”
How to Manage Screen Time?
Increasing screen time for kids is an ongoing concern for many parents, especially when kids already spend so much time on screens at school and at play. The American Academy of Pediatricsdiscourages media use by children younger than age two and recommends limiting older children’s screen time to no more than one or two hours a day.
But managing screen time for kids is often easier said than done, especially when online games like Roblox can easily become addictive. The Mayo Clinicoffers three simple suggestions for helping to reduce screen time for kids:
Eliminate background TV
Keep TVs, smartphones and computers out of bedrooms
Don’t eat in front of screens.
When kids are using screens, experts encourage parents to be proactive about monitoring what, when and how much media they consume. When it comes to gaming, it’s easy to lose track of time, so parents of gaming kids should be especially vigilant, experts say.
“Kids have become so accustomed to screens,” says Mike Chung, a Redondo Beach, Calif.-based marketing technology strategist whose six-year-old son Teddy recently started dipping his toes into Roblox. Chung says Teddy’s access to apps on his iPad currently is limited to YouTube Kids, Khan Academy, Roblox and a few other pre-approved gaming apps. And while it’s easy to manage his son’s screen time at this age (“he’s six, as parents, we can just turn off his iPad”), Chung recognizes that managing screen time for kids will get more difficult as they grow older.
The good news for parents is that Roblox provides numerous settings to help moderate young gamers’ activities on the platform, including restrictions on how much time and money your child can spend. Parents also should take advantage of parental monitoring tools such as Microsoft’s Family Settings, Apple’s Screen Time and Google’s Family Link to manage precisely when and for how long your child is permitted to play games.
Still, many parents continue to be concerned about the excessive amount of time their kids are spending online playing games like Roblox. While these concerns are warranted, there is growing evidence that supports the creative and social value of playing video games.
“The social benefits of playing video games, both off- and online, have been grossly under-addressed in the media,” says Dr. Rachel Kowert, a research psychologist and the research director of Take This, a non-profit mental health organization that supports the diverse cultures and issues of the gaming community. “Rather than video games having created a generation of addicted and antisocial youths (as the stereotype would suggest), research indicates that the highly social nature of video games, both off- and online, helps to build and maintain friendships, both with pre-existing ‘offline’ friends and online friends.”
As one parent put it, there are pros and cons to Roblox for kids:
On the con side, some games on Roblox can be violent, and some bad players may want to take advantage of kids through scams or inappropriate conversations. Parents must be vigilant and proactive about implementing Roblox’s numerous age-appropriate safety and security tools.
On the pro side, the creative aspects of Roblox gameplay can spark a child’s imagination and further her interests in design and building. Plus, staying in touch with friends and family virtually when they’re unable to be together in person is a bonus.
With these baby memory books, you’ll have those special memories forever
We all want our baby’s milestones and photos to be recorded in beautiful baby memory books. But actually doing it…can feel like a chore. But not with these memory keepers! From easy-to-use apps to books with written prompts, you’ll find the right format for you below.
With neutral language about families and holidays from several religions included (just remove the ones that don't apply to your family), the RubyRoo Baby Memory Book Baby Journal tries to make itself inclusive to all families. The book covers pregnancy to age 5 and covers milestones, vacations, celebrations and more, including six blank pages for photos and memories specific to your family. There are three covers to choose from: floral, woodland and adventure-themed.
Don't lose any of those special memories! Keep them preserved in a Tinybeans photo book. You'll love looking back at the memories and the book is so easy to create.
Document the first three years of your child's life with this handy baby book. In addition to space to record the basics about your birth and family, there are lots of fun prompts about your home, baby's visitors, daily routines at different ages, favorite activities, holiday celebrations, and friends. There's an expandable pocket at the back of the book for storing keepsakes, with an elastic enclosure to keep things all together.
This gender-neutral journal covers your pregnancy and the first year of baby's life in style, with a linen cover, gold embossed title, illustrated end pages and a linen box to store the book in. The guided journal features prompts you'll look forward to filling out, including favorite toys, funny things baby is doing and memorable moments for each month.
This baby memory book from C.R. Gibson, "A Book of Baby's Firsts," includes a washable-ink pad so you can document and remember just how teeny your baby's feet and hands were. The Bundle Bright line also includes the smaller and very Instagrammable "Our Magical Memories" ($11), which comes with 25 flippable cards you fill in with baby's milestones. Pages can be rearranged however you like.
In addition to lots of space for your photos, this interactive photo journal from Artifact Uprising includes written photo prompts to help you tell your child's story: bath time snaps, favorite spots to snuggle, the day baby met special people. Thanks to the four-ring binder, you can rearrange or remove any pages that don't work for your family. The customizable construction also means you can add extra pages where you want them.
When We Became Three documents mom and dad's relationship and pregnancy as well as the milestones for baby's first and second year. And yes, there is a When We Became Four book. Clever questions and checklists make this book fun for couples to fill out, which is a big plus for busy new parents.
Record the first 12 months of baby's life with National Geographic's Welcome Little One keepsake baby book. In addition to spots to record baby's amazing milestones, the book includes cute animal photos, heartwarming poems and quotes, and stickers for each monthly milestone. This is one book you and your child will love to page through for years to come.
Share with your little one what the world was like when they were born with This Is Your Book, by graphic artist and father Ryan Maconochie. In addition to recording baby’s vitals with sleek visuals, this book includes prompts about current events, pop culture, your favorite things and musings on baby, like which names you scratched off the list.
The Story of You has thought of everything new parents could want in a baby book. There are prompts you can fill out (about pregnancy, funny moments, and holiday memories), plus open spaces to record special moments and add photos as you like. The binder format lets you add, remove and reorder pages. And you can buy additional pages to record circumstances such as adoption, foster care, a NICU stay, infertility, and a heavenly baby.
No matter how far away your loved ones are, they can feel like they are with you for all of baby’s firsts with the free Moment Garden app. All those precious moments are backed up and kept private for you to share with those you choose. Want a physical book too? Print a hardcover or softcover book whenever you like.
Available at Moment Garden; the app is free, and a book costs $9-$49.
Black-and-White Dream
The Dreamcatcher black-and-white baby book from Etsy shop Mushybooks offers a sleek, gender-neutral design. Its 50 pages include all the moments you would expect from a baby book (birth story, firsts, favorites. etc.) with an aesthetic that's clean and simple so your baby can shine. Pages can be added or removed as desired.
Take photo books to tiny dimensions with Minibooks from Social Print Studio. Compile all your favorite baby photos into laminated, spiral-bound photo books. Slip them into your purse or pocket, so you always have pictures of mini-you to share with friends and family. This makes a great gift idea for grandparents too!
Take a non-traditional approach to memorykeeping and celebrate all of those alternative baby moments with Baby’s First Tattoo, by Jim Mullen. With this humorous approach to baby books, you'll never forget those other important moments, like: baby’s first tantrum in a crowded grocery store or places baby crawls that parents didn’t think possible.
Not every baby milestone fits into a book. The fabric boxes of The Library: Baby Keepsake Box can be displayed like books but hold so much more than a traditional tome. In this handcrafted memory box, you can save baby’s favorite blanket, a lock of hair, the first pair of shoes and more. There are even vertical files for important documents or photos.
Do you have trouble remembering to jot down those milestones? My Own Little Story is an online baby book that offers free email reminders to help you keep track of baby’s special moments. It even has a snooze button for those milestones baby hasn’t hit yet. Print your book once you have 10 milestones, or wait to create a larger book with up to 36 milestones or 72 printed pages.
Chatbooks took a candid look at the craziness that is motherhood and offered a supremely simple solution to printing photos from your phone. The app will automatically arrange your photos in chronological order for you. All you have to do is add captions and pick your cover to capture all of baby’s special moments.
With an emphasis on your baby’s interactions with the natural world, The First 1000 Days: A Baby Journal by Nikki McClure lets you record your baby’s birth story as well as their first tree, moon and garden. The bold papercut illustrations will captivate even the youngest eyes.
The Mom's One Line a Day book simplifies the baby book by letting moms write one short note a day to document an event, experience or that day's feelings. With room for five years' worth of notes, you can document the magic of your little one's early years without too much effort.
Letters to My Baby allows you to write your child letters about your hopes, dreams and memories. Once written, you seal them until your child is old enough to read them. There are prompts for each of the 12 letters to help you craft what you write.
No need to spend countless hours creating a scrapbook-like memory book because this book from Lucy Darling has done the work for you. Available in a variety of themes, there's space to document firsts, favorites and monthly milestones amid beautifully designed pages.
You can easily organize all your sweetest family moments—and share them with your family and friends near and far—with the Tinybeans app. The secure platform puts parents in total control of who sees and interacts with photos and videos of their kids.
If you haven’t yet heard about the fiver birthday party trend, it could change the way you plan parties from now on—and we bet your guests will love it, too.
The “fiver party” is a simple solution for both attendees and hosts when it comes to the big birthday gift dilemma. Instead of gifts, guests are simply asked to bring five dollars for the birthday kid. With a dozen or more kids in attendance, those “fivers” will quickly add up to a decent sum that can be used toward one big gift.
It’s a win-win for parents and guests, as you’ll eliminate that stack of presents that will barely fit in your overflowing playroom. Plus, guests can save money and skip the hassle of having to shop. The only downside is that young kids might miss the fun and excitement of unwrapping gifts or choosing a special present for their friend. At the end of the day, though, the birthday boy or girl will be able to use the money for something they will truly want and cherish.
If you’d like to throw your own fiver party, make sure you discuss the plan in advance with your kid so they can get excited about what they plan to spend their special birthday money on. And remember, it doesn’t have to be a toy. It can go toward an experience or become a donation to an important charity of the kid’s choosing. Make it clear in the invitation what a “fiver party” means—while it is a growing trend, some parents might not be in the loop.
“We’re trying to help [NAME] focus on the joy of celebrating this special occasion with his cherished friends rather than on receiving gifts.
To that end, we hope you’ll consider NO GIFTS. For those who feel uncomfortable with that, we ask you consider NO MORE THAN a $5 gift card or cash that he can put towards something special he’s saving for. Thanks for understanding and celebrating with us.”
Hopefully, we’ll see this birthday trend take off even more in 2023.
Some summer camps are cancelled due to coronavirus concerns causing parents to look for alternative activities for their kids to take part in. SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live announced the launch of “Camp KPL”, a series of fun at home summer camp activities and projects, upbeat family-friendly music and more, beginning on Mon., Jun. 1 and running throughout the summer. “Camp KPL” on SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live channel will air weekdays from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET, and each show will be available On Demand for two weeks.
“Camp KPL” on Kids Place Live gives children and their families a virtual worry-free option to stay home, explore new activities outside, get creative and remain active all summer long. It’s hard for kids to imagine a summer without friends, outdoor fun and the freedom that comes with camp. The hosts of Kids Place Live are here to bring joy to your backyard or living room by expanding your ideas about summer playtime and how to make the most out of these unique circumstances.
“Camp KPL” contributors will consist of all Kids Place Live hosts who will lead virtual activities, expanding imaginations through theater of the mind and will take call-ins from listeners. Other features include daily story time; a mix of recorded and new stories, a kid’s comedy club where children can call in to tell their favorite jokes, and daily missions from award-winning Kids Place Live host, Absolutely Mindy. Mindy’s missions include fun daily tasks kids can do at home rain or shine.
Listeners can also hear Grammy award-winning kids’ musicians and outdoor experts The Okee Dokee Brothers share songs and ideas for safe summertime activities kids and families can do, including cleaning up a neighborhood park, birdwatching, picnicking and more.
The challenge of trying to become a record-breaker is a fun way to keep kids entertained at home, and “Camp KPL’s” segment “At-Home Challenges with GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS“, includes a collection of world records kids and families can try safely at home.
“The cancellation of in-person camps has been a major blow for parents and children across the country. With Camp KPL we are filling the summer void with fun, engaging experiences that are available On Demand and don’t involve staring at a screen,” said Megan Liberman, SiriusXM’s Senior Vice President of News, Talk, and Entertainment Programming.
SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live also offers parents a simple solution to summertime cabin fever with “Instant Naptime”, a 5-hour loop of lullaby songs curated by Kids Place Live. The channel has always played lullaby music during the overnight hours, but this is a soothing way families can access it On Demand at any time on the SiriusXM app.
SiriusXM Kids Place Live is the ultimate entertainment platform for children, an oasis that families can rely on for fun, learning and laughs, available to subscribers nationwide on SiriusXM radios (ch. 78). SiriusXM is now offering listeners its best streaming offer yet: Sign up to stream SiriusXM for 4 months free with a new subscription. To see offer details and to start listening on the SiriusXM app, on connected devices and smart speakers in your home, go to www.siriusxm.com/homefree.
My little one is a tough nut. She typically keeps her emotions to herself. Even if she gets physically hurt, she likes to keep her pain in-bound.
As parents, since the time we knew this behavior, we have been constantly trying to have a conversation with her to ensure she lets her feeling out.
Lately, my little one found a friend in the community. This “friend” knocks on the door and asks her to come and play. Turns out, this “friend” calls her and lots of other friends to play but then once they go out to play, she does not play with them. It is more like, “be around me,” but doesn’t play.
One day, my little one came home and said, “Dad, I cried today.” For her to say that she cried, made me jump up and ask her, “Why did you cry? Are you hurt? ”
She said “No. Today, I and other friends in the community sat down in a “circle of crying” with the “come out and play” friend. We told her that she is hurting our feelings by calling us and not playing with us!”
I asked, “So what was her reaction?” My little one said the friend wasn’t aware that her behavior was causing so much grief. Once she heard our concern, she also started crying. It is all sorted out now!
I thought for a second, you guys sorted this big issue amongst yourself by sitting in a “circle of cry?”
As a parent, I learned something new. If it takes a “circle of cry” to let emotions out of your child, why not? Maybe we will let out other feelings that might be suppressed in some other corner of our brain or heart!
What an amazing and simple solution to a really complex issue. We all feel emotions and get hurt by the behavior of others. If these mutual grudges can be solved by “sitting in a circle and letting it out,” life would become so simple!
Not a perfect parent of 2 girls; Elementary and Teen.
While environmental and scientific discovery and curosity is getting the better of the elementary kid, the teen is moving towards a different phase of discovery and curosity !
Forget about the spin cycle. The Too Small to Fail program is bringing the smart cycle to laundromats across the country. In an effort to educate the littlest of learners, this amazing organization is bringing story-time directly to the children who need literacy lessons the most.
Laundromat to library? With Too Small to Fail that’s exactly what some neighborhoods are seeing. Instead of zoning out to the hum of industrial dryers, children in the areas served by this program get the chance to participate in story-times led by local librarians. And all while mom or dad gets a wash cycle in!
Not only is idea genius, but it actually works too. Preliminary research on the program conducted in six New York laundromats found a positive educational effect. Researcher Susan Neuman, a professor of Childhood Education and Literacy Development at New York University told Education Week, “The problem with early literacy for so many of our children is they are not successful when they come to kindergarten and subsequently will not catch up fast enough by 3rd grade.”
Too Small to Fail’s story-time laundromat program is a simple solution to this problem. As Brian Wallace, president and CEO of the Coin Laundry Association, points out, “We have the right audience … parents and kids who need the most help when it comes to literacy and access to books.” Wallace also added, “Rather than watch the socks tumble … use that time and make it more productive.”
As a parent, you probably spend 75 percent of your awake hours searching for things your kids have misplaced, which can be especially challenging when you’re on a mad dash to make it out the door for school in the morning. One dad’s viral hairbrush hack will ensure that your kids will never leave the house with unbrushed hair again.
Fed up with never being able to find a hairbrush, dad Mike Thiessen decided to take matters into his own hands and make sure the hairbrush never left the bathroom again. As Thiessen shared in a Facebook post that has since gone viral, the simple solution to lost items is to chain them up.
Thiessen attached a metal ring to the hole at the end of the hairbrush and then linked it to a long chain which he attached to the wall with an eye hook. The clever hack received tons of positive feedback with other parents wanting a similar set up at home.
And why stop there? Just think of the possibilities. You’ll never search desperately for that TV remote or the scissors again.
