Through the Years: Emotional Intelligence.
More than just another kind of smarts. While IQ measures the ability to learn facts and figures, EQ represents the ability to get along in the world by managing ourselves and relating well to others. But kids don't hone EQ on their own. Caring parents nurture it by discussing and modeling self- and social-management skills, which experts say are crucial to lifelong success and happiness.

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When you lose your kids
It happens at least once in just about every family -- parents getting separated from their children during an outing. What can parents teach their kids to ensure they can be reunited promptly and safely?

Coming from a numerous family, I know the feeling. Good tips in the article.

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Sign Language for Babies.
A whole category in the Google directory.

I haven't had time to sort through all the links listed, but it sure looks like there's plenty to learn. In theory, babies can learn to communicate using hand gestures much earlier than they'll be able to speak.

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Self-confidence can make childbirth less painful.
An associate professor of nursing at Ohio State University in Columbus, blames the fear surrounding childbirth on Western medicine, which she says values "medical management" over "the physiologic workings of the woman's own body".

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The heart beats!

We just came back from our doctor visit. Our baby's heart is working at around 150 beats per second. We're excited!

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Baby care basics.
Since babies don't come with instruction manuals, here's a how-to guide of 10 baby care topics, and there's video too (in RealPlayer format).

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Why the Rush?
At what cost do we try to get our children to grow up younger and younger? Soon we really will develop toddler algebra courses, and expect youngsters to be miniature adults from the time they can talk.

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New mothers return to work sooner than ever.
In recent decades, what could be called working pregnancies have become commonplace. More women are staying on the job for nine months, then dashing from the office to the delivery room. Now a new phrase is entering the corporate lexicon: working maternity leave.

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Traveling while Pregnant.

Relevant information, since we will be travelling right in the middle of the second trimester.

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Kids At The Keyboard: How Young Is Too Young?
A lot of experts think you should take your time before making your child a full partner in your computer universe. While there are software programs that can turn your thousand-dollar computer into a responsive busybox, there are many other, more stimulating objects you can choose.

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Wonder woman sets sights on motherhood.
Lisa Reid always wanted to have a baby, but she never dreamed she would see its face. She knocked her head on a table after bending to kiss good night her guide dog. The following morning she could see again.

Fascinating story. Some of us are very lucky, specially if we enjoy good health.

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Safety Debate on Baby Seats for Bathtubs.
[NYT] The seats have long been targets of consumer advocates, who argue that the product gives parents a false sense of security, makes them more likely to leave babies unattended and puts children at risk of drowning. The juvenile-products industry, though, says bath seats help prevent babies from slipping out of their parents' hands and hitting their heads on the bottom of tubs. The blame for drowning deaths, industry officials say, lies with negligent parents.

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Parents should show, not tell, kids to eat healthy.
Attitudes toward food, choices in food selection, and timing of meals are in great part a result of parental modeling of behaviors.

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Child's play, or What do kids want from the ultimate toy?.
Parents long for toys that are educational, but the educational component rapidly becomes less effective as kids get older. I have never heard a child say, "Mommy, could you take me to Toys R Us so I can buy a learning toy?"

This is an interview with an engineer that used to design weapons, and now he designs toys. Interesting anyway.

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State of the World's Mothers 2001.
The Mothers' Index reflects how individual countries compare in meeting the needs of mothers. Rankings for 94 countries included in the survey, along with corresponding rankings for each country's women's and children's indices. (Actual reports are in PDF format).

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Outdoor Fun & Games.
Quick ideas for a summer weekend with the family.

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Breastfeeding.com

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Little Geo
A site with geometrical designs for a baby's early development.

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jean-denis' weblog.
I bet Jean-Denis didn't have a weblog when he was a fetus. We win!

Seriously now, it's great, and thanks to my visit over there, I found a site of Web babies and a couple of other links I hadn't discovered before. Thank you!

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Baby Think It Over.

Only in America can you find such things as a "Baby Simulator". I choose to have a real one, thank you very much.

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Your Child and Your Pet.
Some insight regarding small children and pets.

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Mom expelled for letting son sit on lap.
The school Supt. said the physical contact between the mother and her child was "inappropriate for the school setting." and the mother was asked to "refrain from physical contact with her son in the school."

The note quotes a psychologist agreeing with the school's measure with the silly justification that "it could potentially be disruptive." What is this country coming to? I will not send my future child to a school where affection is prohibited.

Well, the protagonists of this story are listed here, and there's also a list of e-mail addresses.

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The cost of raising a child.
[video] Parents soon come to know that with growing children it's the incidental costs - also known as the "I want that" purchases - that really add up.

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Children, parents spending more time together.
Despite a surge in the number of working mothers, children in two-parent households are spending more time with Mom or Dad than kids did 20 years ago, according to a study.

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Mothers avoid choice between children, career.
Thanks to the Internet, more mothers are deciding they don't have to choose between staying at home with their children and having a career -- they can do both.

He, in our case it is Daddy who can work from home. But sure, we have a backup plan, and expect to be able to announce it in a few weeks.

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Happy Mother's day!
In celebration we're now opening the doors to this weblog, even if it isn't entirely ready (There's nothing yet on the Wishlist and Reviews section and the permalinks do not work). As of today, our whole families and the world know that we're expecting a baby for early December.

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The importance of getting goofy with your kids.
What good does all this nonsense do them? you ask. Will it endear my children to their teachers? I doubt it. Boost their IQs? Not likely. But nonsense is a sound investment and an inoculation against gloom. It may just make them happier people who are better equipped to weather adversity and stress.

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What Ever Happened To Play?
The very existence of research studies on play suggests that ours is a serious society that can take the fun out of almost anything, including the issue of fun itself. Today's mania for raising young Einsteins might have destroyed the real Einstein -- a notorious dreamer who earned poor grades in school but somewhere in his frolics divined the formula for the relationship between matter and energy.

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Today is Mother's day in México. Congratulations to our Moms, Grandmas, Sisters and Sisters in Law! Today we broke the happy news to our families over there. Our baby-to-be (We affectionately call him/her "Travesura") is ten weeks old and still giving Mommy some discomfort, but hopefully this will pass soon. We are happy!

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If we value mothers so much, then why don't we pay them?
A mother's work is not just invisible; it can become a handicap. Raising children may be the most important job in the world, but you can't put it on a résumé.

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Babies, Bonds, and Brains.
The brain is, in fact, under lifelong renovation. Long- term studies are just now beginning to demonstrate that experiences later in life can redirect emotional and behavioral development, even in adulthood. Some of us--and our parents--are greatly relieved by the news.
from Discover.

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The Quest For A Superkid.
The marvelously anarchic institution of childhood has been slowly turning into little more than an apprentice adulthood. Kids who once had childhoods now have curriculums; kids who ought to move with the lunatic energy of youth now move with the high purpose of the worker bee. The engine behind this early striving is, often, the parents. Can we really train baby brains, and should we try?

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Baby Not Crawling? Reason Seems to Be Less Tummy Time.
It is an entirely benign, but unexpected and unintended, consequence of a public health campaign to teach parents to put babies to sleep on their backs to prevent sudden infant death syndrome.

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Sticky Baby - Fun.

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