Summer is upon us! For parents with kids that are now out of school, their kids are now going to have 3 months of free time – plenty of time to get into trouble and also get hurt. Safe Parenting has a helpful list from the American Academy of Pediatrics that offers some excellent tips for keeping children safe this summer. Many of the tips are common sense, but they’re still good to review with your kids just in case.
Leaving Your Children Home Alone
An interesting and important question that all parents will have to face one day (if they haven’t already). Safety for Children has an interesting article on when it’s okay to leave your children home alone. I’m curious to know how other parents have approached this and when they think it’s okay to start leaving your children home alone, even if it’s just to go to the grocery store.

Coupons Galore!
Times are tough, but coupons can really help you save money when money is tight. My wife has started using The Grocery Game to help us save a lot of money with grocery bills and we started getting the paper on the weekend to actually collect the coupons that are in it. There are also a lot of sites that collect and provide coupons (mainly online promo codes), but many of them are poorly organized and often fairly spammy. However, I just came across a coupon site that I’d never seen before called RetailMeNot.com.
RetailMeNot.com is a well organized, aesthetically pleasing and incredibly useful site for finding coupons for your favorite things at your favorite stores. I don’t think it’s a lot different under the hood compared to other popular coupon sites, but it’s certainly easier on the eyes and I think a lot easier to use than most.

How to Avoid Fruits and Vegetables That Are High In Pesticides
Although it would be nice to buy all organically grown fruits and vegetables, it’s usually too costly buy all organic fruits and vegetables. Fortunately, there are some fruits and vegetables that are relatively low in pesticides, making the purchase of some organic fruits and vegetables unnecessary. Below is a list from the Go organic; here’s how article I found in the Tennessean that can help you choose which fruits and vegetables you should buy organic and which ones you can forgo for conventional fruits and vegetables.
Best if Organic (Highest in Pesticides)
- Apples
- Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Pears
- Potatoes
- Red Raspberries
- Spinach
- Strawberries
Okay if Conventional (Lowest in Pesticides)
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Bananas
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Corn
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Onions
- Papaya
- Pineapples
- Peas

Everyday Recipes From 4-Year-Olds
It’s always amazing what our children pick up from watching us — cooking is no different. The teacher in my daughter’s daycare class decided to gather up recipes from all of her students and this is what she got.
M’sketti
By Tyler D.
Put noodles in the m’sketti with sauce and meatballs. Cook it in oven takes like 20 minutes to get cookin’ — after you’re done you pour it in a thing in the sink to let the water out, then mix it with the sauce and meatballs. Eat it with a fork and butter.
Hotdogs and Sausage
By Asha H.
Cook the sausage in the microwave. Then you cook the red hotdogs in the microwave. Then you put them in a bowl for a snack.
Pizza
By Reid M.
Put hot tings on it to make it like it’s hot. Let it cool and you eat it.
Pizza
By Ella M.
Put cheese on the pizza and put bread on it — put it in the oven for a minute — then you eat it.
Cereal
By Parker M.
Put Cheerios and milk in a bowl and cook it. Put berries in it, and some ham. Put it in a bag, put cinnamon in it, carry it to your plate, dump it out on your plate and eat it.
Mac & Cheese
By Brook M.
Put stuff inside that is very good — and put salt and pepper in it — put cheese on top of the salt and pepper — put it in the oven, and then put it in the fire and then you eat it. Make a salad with peanut butter!
Macaroni & Cheese
By Camden P.
First, cook the macaroni, after it boils with water — then you drain it and add milk and butter — then you add the sauce — then you cook it for a minutes then it will be done — eat it on a plate.
Bacon
By Aydan S.
Put it up on the oven, not in the oven, but on top of the oven and you go somewhere — and you come back and flip it over and put it right back. Cook it for a little bit short time. Flip it over again, then flip it right back over. Eat it out of the pan.
Corn on the Cob
By Braxton A.
Get it in the oven and cook it. And then you get some things to hold it, and stick them in it and that’s all.
Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich
By Cade B.
Get 2 sandwiches and get 1 peanut butter and 1 jelly — Mix it up. Then give it to yourself — don’t give it to someone else, because they might get sick from it.
Rice and Beans
By Kitt H.
Put little seeds in a bowl. Get sugar and rice and mix it up. Put it in the oven and cook it for 10 hours. Then you eat it.
Popcorn
By Bobby L.
Put popcorn and oil in a pan, heat it for one minute on the stove. Let it pop and when it’s done popping, pour it in the bowl and then you eat it. Then when it’s time to go to bed, you just go to bed because you momma asked you to.
Pizza
By Charlotte M.
Put pepperoni on the pizza. Then you put cheese on it. Then you put it in the oven for 4 minutes or however minutes you need it — like 7 or 6 maybe. Open up the oven, take it out and everyone sits down and eats.
Crab Legs
By Henry M.
I catch them in a cage at the ocean — and I eat their legs. Then I hang them up on my wall.
Chicken Soup
By Theo M.
Put the chicken and tomato in and swirl it, and swirl it and swirl it up. Put it in the microwave. Cook it for 40 minutes and it will be ready. Eat it with a fork.
Macaroni & Cheese
By Parker W.
Put macaroni with the cheese and put water on top. Then it’s ready.
Breastfeeding May Make Children Smarter
There’s been a lot of research in recent years about the connection between breast-feeding and intelligence. However, it wasn’t until new research from researchers in Canada and Belarus that a stronger correlation was made.
The children in the group where breast-feeding was encouraged scored about 5 percent higher in IQ tests and did better academically, the researchers found. Previous studies had indicated brain development and intelligence benefits for breast-fed children.
Researchers still aren’t sure of the cause. On the surface it seems like it might be the milk, but there may be other reasons.
“It could even be that because breast-feeding takes longer, the mother is interacting more with the baby, talking with the baby, soothing the baby,” he said. “It could be an emotional thing. It could be a physical thing. Or it could be a hormone or something else in the milk that’s absorbed by the baby.”
Regardless, pediatricians still recommend that mothers breastfeed their children for at least the first 6 months.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that women who do not have health problems exclusively breast-feed their infants for at least the first six months, with it continuing at least through the first year as other foods are introduced.

Smallstep Provides Health Resources for Adults & Teens
The U.S. Government has always had a mandate to provide resources to its people, but many of those resources have been lackluster and most people aren’t even aware of them. It’s been interesting watching how they’ve translated those resources into websites. I’ve seen a gradual increase in quality over the years, but a new site from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has surprised me by its quality and usefulness. The new online resource is called Smallstep.
Smallstep is targeted at teenagers and adults. It strives to educate and offer resources to help you eat better and get physically active. Psychologically, it takes the clever approach of small steps, instead of the popular commercialized and short-lived approach of crash diets and extreme changes in exercise. The site not only provides health facts and ways to live a healthier lifestyle, it also provides a list of related health programs in your area. There’s even an Activity Tracker that lets you:
- Set physical activity goals
- Enter and save your physical activity on a calendar
- Track and view a graph of your progress
- Earn an achievement certificate for reaching your goals!
In addition to targeting teens and adults, they also provide a section for kids called Smallstep Kids.
5 Parenting Issues Where There’s Plenty of Room to Disagree with the Pediatrician
It’s easy to get a lot of differing opinions about the best parenting techniques for the health of your child. Even pediatricians disagree with their colleagues about what’s for your child. Elizabeth Cohen looked at common parenting issues where pediatricians often do disagree with each other. In her article, When it’s OK to question your pediatrician’s advice, she states these five issues as common points of contention between pediatricians and parents.
- Don’t pick up your baby in the middle of the night
- Baby should be at home with Mom
- Don’t give your baby ‘triple nipple confusion
- Your baby must eat solid foods by 6 months
- You must take the pacifier away
The overall advice given to parents was this:
If you’re not sure if you’re getting fact or opinion, ask. “It’s a good thing when a parent says ‘Really? I don’t want to do that,’” he says. “You can challenge your pediatrician along the lines of saying, ‘That advice you gave me doesn’t feel comfortable to me. Can we talk about some other options?’”

U.S. Government Starts Mailing $40 Coupons for the Purchase of TV Converter Boxes
Not only do you want your MTV, it’s also your constitutional right. Okay, maybe that’s taking it a bit too far, but the U.S. government believes it’s your right. First they made a law — no doubt influenced by heavy lobbying — that requires all broadcasters to move to high definition (HD). However, in doing so, every consumer must upgrade their television to an HD TV set. The only way around that is to buy a TV converter box to convert the digital signal to analog (the current standard). Hence, the government funded “we’ll help you pay for most of it” coupon program.
For those who have already applied to the program, they will soon get (or already have) a credit card-like coupon that entitles them to $40 off the cost of a TV converter box. A quick check at approved retailers showed the cost ranging from $55-$60, so you’ll still have to shell out $15-$20 plus sales tax. One thing that I noticed was that approved retailers will not sell them online. Every retailers’ website I visited stated that it was only available in-store.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Coupon
Where can I redeem my Coupon? At any of the participating retailers listed below or listed on our website, dtv.gov.
When does my Coupon expire? Coupons expire 90 days after they are mailed. Each coupon has an expiration date printed on it.
Can I use the Coupon to purchase other products? No, the Coupon may only be used towards the purchase of a single coupon-eligible converter box.
Does the Coupon need to be activated? No, it is ready for use.
Can I use the Coupon more than once? No. The Coupon may only be used once.
Coupon Eligible Converter Boxes
- AMTC AT-2016
- AccessHD DTA1010D
- AccessHD DTA1010U
- AccessHD DTA1020D
- AccessHD DTA1020U
- Apex DT1001 GE
- Apex DT1002 GE
- Artec T3A
- CASTi CAX-01
- COSHIP N9900T
- DigitalSTREAM D2A1D10
- DigitalSTREAM D2A1D20
- DigitalSTREAM DTX9900
- ECHOSTAR TR-40 *
- GE 22729
- GE 22730
- Goodmind STA1000
- Insignia NS-DXA1
- Lasonic LTA-260
- Lasonic LTR-260
- Magnavox TB100MW9v
- MaxMedia MMDTVB03
- MicroGEM MG2000
- Mustek MAT-K50
- Philco TB100HH9 *
- Philco TB150HH9 *
- RCA DTA 800A
- RCA DTA 800B
- Sansonic FT300A
- Sansonic FT300RT
- Tivax STB-T9
- Venturer STB7766G
- Zenith DTT900
- ZINWELL ZAT-856
* These models are capable of passing through an analog signal to the TV set. See www.DTV2009.gov/lowpower for more details.