Parent Talk Today

New Glubble for Families Makes the Internet Fun, Safe for Kids

Just learned about something new and fun that I couldn't wait to share. Glubble is an online activity center that turns playing and surfing on the Internet into a safe, fun experience for parents and kids. It was developed for families with children under age 12.

Kids can play games, watch cartoons, print coloring pages, download Play Art toys, learn their ABCs, arithmetic and foreign languages and surf Web sites that have been pre-approved by their parents.

Parents can create the family’s private homepage where they can send messages to their kids, add family members — including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins — upload family photo albums and organize the family’s busy calendar of events.

To get started, join the Glubble Parents user group by clicking here. You'll find a user code and a download button. Have fun!

What Should I Tell My Kids About Money?

Just read a terrific article over on GoodHousekeeping.com about what parents should — and shouldn't — tell their kids about the family finances.

Writer Beverly Harzog notes that a survey by Charles Schwab found that 93 percent of parents with teens worry their kids could make major financial mistakes. Harzog shares advice from financial advisers about everything from teens spending too much of their allowance at the mall to what to say when your child asks "How much money do you make?"

Great stuff. Check it out here.

276(!) Questions to Ask Before You Marry

I stumbled upon a website the other day that stopped me in my tracks with "276 Questions to Ask Before You Marry."

WOW, that's a lot of questions! The funny thing is, my husband, Randy, and I just celebrated our 15th anniversary, and there are questions on that list that we still couldn't answer!

Why am I mentioning this in a parenting blog? Because the list sparked a fun conversation with our 12-year-old son, Matt, at the dinner table the other night. Both Randy and Matt thought the idea of sitting down with their potential significant other and answering all these questions sounded just plain awful. "I don't want to talk that much!" Randy said. I'm guessing most guys would agree.

And truly, anyone who would actually sit down with the list and treat it like a bunch of interview questions, as opposed to looking at it as things to think about and talk over at leisure (over a looong period of time, and mixed in with stuff like, you know, going miniature golfing and going out for ice cream) might be looking at the same sort of reaction...

But there's food for thought here. And some laughs, too. And at the very least, Matt has it in the back of his mind that there are quite a few things he might like to know about a women — and himself — before he marries one day.

And Randy and I have more things to learn about each other over the next 15 years.

Check Out Tips for the Family (and Just For You, Mom) at makinglifebetter.com

Looking for info on how your family can help prevent e-waste? Want to learn about fitness recommendations for your kids? Just check out my articles on these topics over at makinglifebetter.com, a terrific website full of great ideas for making your family's life easier, healthier and a whole lot more fun. (No, my name isn't on them. They don't use writers' bylines on the site.)

I've also written two articles with tips just for busy moms. (With all the back-to-school craziness right now, who has time for thinking about beauty routines, right? Trust me. These tips are easy to follow.) Check out Healthy Nails, Every Day and The Complete Guide to Hair Removal.

I'm jazzed to write for makinglifebetter.com. The only problem is that I get started nosing around on the site I lose track of time... I think you'll like it, too.

Want Free Shipping? Look Here

As a busy parent (and someone who is tired of watching too many dollars flow into my gas tank), I love the idea of shopping online. (What did I ever do before Amazon.com and their free shipping for any order of $25 or more?) Besides, we all know how much fun it is to drag our little ones from store to store...

Now there's a website that will clue you in on lots of other online retailers that offer free shipping. Launched last December, FreeShipping.org includes more than 800 name-brand stores. You can search by brand or category.

You'll find free-shipping offers from JCPenney, Target, Bloomingdale's, Kohl's, Sears, Best Buy, Old Navy, Nordstrom and many more.  Macy's offers as many as 15 free shipping coupons at one time.  

Just heard yesterday that Amazon.com's stock is going up, up, up, and that it's attributed to the fact that they offer this free-shipping deal to those of us who don't want to waste gas running to brick-and-mortar stores. I love that so many stores are jumping on that bandwagon. And thanks to this great new site, it's easier than ever to find them.

Is Your Teen Smoking Pot?

Vanessa Van Petten is a wonderful bridge between teens and their parents. The 20-something author of You're Grounded!: How to Stop Fighting and Make the Teenage Years Easier (which is on my nightstand at the moment) has a terrific blog, Teens Today With Vanessa Van Petten, where she talks about parent-teen communication, drug use, sex, stress, college prep (and college-prep anxiety) and much more.

Her post on the warning signs that your teen is doing pot is straightforward and honest:

"If they come home smelling like: pot (obviously), cloves (clove cigarettes are often used to cover up the smell of pot), hookah tobacco (also used to cover up the smell of pot), lots of mint (many of my teen friends will literally shower in Listerine and gum before they get home), loads of perfume or cologne."

I've added Vanessa's blog to my Google reader so I don't miss a thing. She also has a free e-mail newsletter.

Vanessa's posts are honest and she doesn't pull her punches. She reports what's really going on with today's teens. Check it out.

10 Ways to Prevent Summer Brain Drain

Kids vegging out in front of the tube too much this summer? Head on over to Montana Parent's terrific website and check out my new article, "10 Ways to Prevent Brain Drain," for expert tips on keeping your kids' brains engaged during these lazy days. (They'll have so much fun, they won't even realize their synapses are popping, I promise.) Here's a sample:

• Learn cool science tricks with the Surfing Scientist. At www.abc.net.au/science/surfingscientist/tricks.htm, Australian physics instructor (and surfer) Ruben Meerman shows kids how to amaze their friends by lifting a marble off a table by touching it only with a glass, making an ice cube necklace, turning an empty soft drink can into a twirling ballerina and much more. (Younger kids will need assistance.)

 • Have fun with grocery-store math. Visit http://printables4kids.com/grocery-cart-math to turn a trip to the grocery store into a fun learning experience. Before you head to the store, ask the kids to use the printable worksheet to estimate prices for items on your list. Once there, have your kids check out the actual price for each item. Then get those math skills working as they calculate the difference between the estimated price and the real price. (And talk about a great way to teach kids the importance of family budgeting. With the price of groceries these days, you’d think Lucky Charms would come with a real pot of gold!)

• Take younger kids to the post office. Talk with your child about “snail mail” and how it’s different from e-mail. Tell her about the Pony Express (visit the Pony Express National Museum website at www.ponyexpress.org) and the different ways mail is delivered today — by plane, train, boat, etc., suggests Don Schilling, editor of The Stamp Collecting Round Up (www.stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com). “Let your child pick out some stamps she thinks are interesting. When you get home, write a letter together and use one of the stamps your child selected,” Schilling adds. Talk with your child about starting a stamp collection.

Want more? Click here.

Parent Talk Today Is Now Featured at Alltop.com!

We're doing the happy dance here at Parent Talk Today because the nice folks at alltop.com have chosen to feature the blog! Check it out here.

You'll need to scroll down to the bottom of the listing to find us (and we're not complaining!), as new blogs are listed in the order they're posted.

Alltop.com helps you explore your interests by collecting stories from “all the top” sites on the web. They display the headlines of the latest stories from dozens of sites and blogs, and they describe themselves as a “digital magazine rack” of the Internet. Great concept! (Warning: Start nosing around there and an hour will fly by before you know it.)

It's a real honor to be in the company of blogs such as Divine Caroline, iVillage and DailyCandy. Be sure to stop by and check out all the great stuff.

And thanks again to everyone at alltop.com for helping to spread the word about Parent Talk Today!

Party On With Bill Nye The Science Guy

Looking for a fun and different way to invite guests to your kid's next birthday party (especially if the party has a space, bugs or reptile theme)? Check out these e-cards at Bill Nye The Science Guy's way-cool website.

While you're there, you can introduce the kids to Nye's fun experiments and videos. We took Matthew and a friend to meet this wacky guy a few years back, and I heard him talk with the kids. I'll tell you, I was never much of a science nut in school, but everything he did and talked about was fascinating! He really brings science to life and makes it a blast.

Do You Mommy Your Husband?

We women are used to mommying our kids. Making sure they eat right, lovingly (most of the time) nagging them to do their homework, packing little love notes in their school lunches.

But do you mommy your husband? I loved this article on CNN.com about women who cater to their husbands' every need, from washing his back in the shower to cutting up his meat! (OK, that last one is just too weird.)

Randy and I joke that we "go with our strengths" in our marriage. He answers questions when Matt needs help with his pre-algebra homework. I do most of the phone calling, from RSVPing for invitations to calling a plumber for an overflowing toilet.

So I definitely do take some of Randy's least-favorite to-do items off his plate. But mommy him? I don't think so. (Gosh, if I ever cut up his meat he'd have me committed...)

Check out the article here. Then let us know if you're mommying YOUR husband.