Bunchland

What we’re reading today:

1. According to UCLA Anthropologists, Americans parents are raising their kids to be lazy and spoiled out of guilt.

2. Going out to dinner with your kids? Here are 12 tips that will save you some aggravation.

3. Bless those Girl Scouts! They’re celebrating their 100th anniversary this week and encouraging your girls to pursue their love of science and technology, or whatever your girls are into.

4. Turns out that parenting experts over the years have always told moms they’d better do a good job, or else. “Whatever the message, the advice was given in the form of an order and the authors highlighted extreme consequences if mothers did not follow the methods of childrearing that they advocated.”

5. Mini Hogwarts! See how they made the model for one of our favourite fictional castles.

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What we’re reading today:

1. SpongeBob SquarePants! He lives in a pineapple under the sea! SpongeBob SquarePants! He could be giving you ADHD! OK, not quite, but one study seems to think that watching SpongeBob has an effect on kids’ attention spans and ability to stay on task. (The study pitted SpongeBob against Caillou and colouring)

2. Can you run with your kids? How far should they go?

3. Need a good cry this morning? Look no further.

4. “From the time we gain a brother or sister, they can be both our fiercest competitors and closest confidantes.” Siblings are uber-important; they’re some of the most important relationships of a person’s life. So take a minute or two to observe your kids playing together and enjoy.

5. Dog and baby try to eat some bubbles.

Image by Thomas Hawk via Flickr

What we’re reading today:

1. Teens are good kids too.

2. On TLC’s Family Matters blog, Julie Douglas wonders what privacy will mean for our children and if privacy on the internet even exists or is it just an illusion?

3. A recent study shows that boys are more confident than girls are about expressing their views in class.

4. It’s apparently Zombie Awareness Month… Teach your kids how to prepare for the zombie apocalypse with That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore. GeekDad has an interview with its author and the founder of the Zombie Research Society, Matt Mogk.

5. Dad’s New Girlfriend, starring the Progressive Insurance lady.

Image via GeekDad

What we’re reading today:

1. San Francisco has banned any McDonald’s happy meals that come with toys, as city officials see enticing kids to ask for meals with x amount of sodium, fat and calories is wrong. One mom in California says that McDonald’s happy meals violate the state’s consumer protection laws, and she’s filed a lawsuit against the fast food chain.

2. And while McDonald’s and others market to kids with toys, some wineries market to their moms with cutesy pandering. Ever referred to wine as “Mommy’s juice”? A New Jersey wine distributor claims that a California wine called “Mommy’s Time Out” is stepping on their “Mommyjuice” toes. The California winery says no one owns “Mommy.” Do you select wines based on funny names? We’re a little more discerning, choosing wines based on growing regions and the animal on the label. Via Jezebel  Read more...