October 31, 2007
The other day my wife informed me that Son #2 (currently seven years old) had run a Google images search for ‘butts’ on her MacBook when he was supposedly searching for information on reptiles. And yes, he was sitting right out in the middle of the dining room in plain view when he did it, though we didn’t see it happen.
When I asked him about it, he was very forthright. Yes, he had searched for butts. But according to him, he actually had been searching for pictures of alligators, and then got the bright idea of trying to figure out where an alligator’s butt is located — he has a suspicion that it’s right up there under the base of the tail, but he wanted to be sure. 
He went on to say that he forgot that he was doing a “picture search,” and accidentally wound up with a bunch of pictures of butts (thankfully he didn’t do a web search, as the results are actually worse).
He went on to say:
“But they all had clothes on. Well, except one, but that was an ancient Egyptian. And there was also a lady wearing a bookini.”
(And yes, he actually used the term “bookini.”)
When I did the fatherly thing and asked him if he had any questions or wanted to talk about anything, he got a disgusted look on his face and said:
“No. I’ve seen enough.”
And that, dear friends, is our first lesson in keeping an even tighter leash on the kids when it comes to internet access.
October 29, 2007
Are you worried about the recent toy recalls? Having trouble keeping up with what’s safe and what’s made of lead? Then look no further than the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s master list of toy recalls, which can be accessed here. The list is arranged chronologically, with the most recent recalls at the top.
And yes, I know what you’re thinking…
If only they offered an RSS feed.
Well… They don’t, but we do!
Simply add the following url to your favorite feedreader and you’re good to go:
Toy Recall RSS Feed: http://www.raising4boys.com/toyrecalls/
Alternatively, you can sign up to receive recall updates via e-mail.
Note that this feed only gives you the titles of the recalls, but the titles are pretty descriptive, so that should be more than enough to decide if you want to click through for more information.
Also note that, while the above url redirects to a FeedBurner feed that I’ve created, you should subscribe via the link listed above in case I have to make any changes to keep this feed alive in the future.
Finally, I thought I’d take this opportunity to plug our regular RSS feed, which provides you with the full text of everything we write. We also offer an e-mail version.
(Special thanks to The Consumerist for pointing out the CPSC list.)
October 28, 2007
October 25, 2007
Few things in life tick me off more than when one of our kids willingly damages our house (although getting turned over to collections for a bill that’s not actually late ranks right up there). This isn’t common occurrence, mind you, but it does happen. For example, I returned home the other day to this:
Apparently, Son #3 got in trouble and my wife sent him to his room for a timeout. He then decided that it would be a good idea to grab a pencil from his desk and take out his frustration on the wall. Bad move.
We, of course, read him the riot act. I also told him that he’ll have to help clean it up. Moreover, if we incur any costs during the process (like having to buy paint or a paintbrush) he’ll be paying for it out of his allowance. But for the time being, we’ve left the marks on the wall. Hopefully they’ll serve as a reminder to him not to lash out.
October 24, 2007
“There are 3 ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire someone to do it, or forbid your child from doing it.” -Monta Henrichs Crane
October 21, 2007
October 17, 2007
Uh-oh… All 21 school buildings in Bedford County, VA have been closed down and are being sanitized after a 17 year old student died from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA is a form of a common bacteria that has evolved resistance to all “first-line” antibiotics. Previously restricted to hospitals and clinics, MRSA is increasingly turning up in small outbreaks outside of healthcare settings, such as in prisons and/or schools, amongst athletes, etc. This a pretty scary prospect… According to the CDC, MRSA infections killed nearly 19,000 Americans in 2005, 50% more than were killed by AIDS during the same time period.
[Source: FOX News]
October 15, 2007
As we were driving by the Health Department the other day, our ten year old piped up and said:
“Dad, do you know what would be a great idea? Vaccine pops. You know, lollipops with vaccines built in. Or maybe popsicles, since those are even easier to eat. That would be awesome, because everybody hates shots.”‘
Brilliant. Ignoring for the moment that delivering vaccines into an acid-filled stomach might not be a particularly effective approach, this sort of creative thinking that has me convinced that the world would be a better place if all of the bigwig think tanks included a few imaginative kids.
October 14, 2007
October 13, 2007
Raising4Boys participated in two carnivals this week. Here they are along with links to our articles that were included in each.
The Carnival of Family Life included “Planning a Ten Year Old Birthday Party.”
The Best of Me Symphony included “Soccer Gameday Tips for Parents.” Also included was “How to Decide if Travelling to a Sales Tax Holiday is Worthwhile” from FiveCentNickel.
