Sunday, November 20, 2011

Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do

Are kids too cushioned and mollycoddled these days?
Are children allowed the time and freedom just to be kids?

As seen on the HuffingtonPost, here are some dangerous things that kids should be allowed to do these days! Click the link above to read the full article.




Climb a treeAs a kid, I loved to climb trees. Since we live in the city, the tree climbing opportunities are somewhat limited since tree climbing is forbidden by the Parks Department. We do our best to ignore that particular rule, while being sure to climb in a way that is safe for us and for the trees. To my kid, a tree is a mountain, a vertical adventure.






Deconstruct an applianceOur VCR broke and my dad got rid of our tapes so we took the VCR apart. It was easy with the drill, but sometimes the screws were too small and I used a screwdriver. It was glued so we couldn't open the bottom, my dad had to break it apart. Then we saw lots of pieces that looked like gears.




Dam up a creekWhile not dangerous per se (unless you're planning on upping the ante by sandbagging a raging river), it is, to me, one of the great joys of childhood. Something about dams and creeks is primal and universal. Unleashes the inner workerman or workerwoman in every kid.




Play with fireBuilding a fire: bring matches, you need a fire source. Two: dried pine needles are good, green ones crackle and pop. A basic building design for a fire is to make a frame of a teepee out of sticks and then stuff it with dried pine needles. For safety around the fire use your common sense if you have any. Common sense, like don't touch or jump in the fire. You should put the fire in a circle of rock or fire pit so the embers can't really go far.




Throw a spearImportant things we learned about spear throwing:
- Find the balance point of the spear prior to throwing
- Similar to Olympic javelin throwers' technique, running is a key element in successfully throwing a spear
- Practice, practice, practice is fundamental

Worst Magic Trick Ever




SPOILER ALERT! Source

1. As the blond kid is hit by his brother he backs in to the bookcase -- but notice the bookcase: The bookcase is not affected by the collision -- it doesn't rock backward, shake, or deform. The phony books and items in the bookcase remain totally still from the shock of the collision.



2. The bookcase is pulled down. The top right-side of the bookcase falls first, possibly by pulling the fake "power cord" that comes out of the side of bookcase *above* the shelf where the TV is. But there's nothing electronic on the top shelf. The TV's power cord should come below the TV, so it's not the TV's cord.

3. Watch the brown-haired kid's feet on the floor as he backs up. This is the reference location where the floor level is supposed to be. When the blond kid falls, note that he will actually *fall below* this reference location. This indicates a hollow area below the floor where he falls into to protect himself from the falling cardboard.

4. Watch the blond kids legs fly up into the air as he hits the fake floor. His legs cannot fly up into the air unless his hips fall below the floor/platform level. The bookcase's bottom cardboard doors also help protect him with airspace.

5. Finally when the bookcase falls, it moves the curtains from what should be a window. But as you can see, the window is actually more than 10 ft. beyond the curtain. It can't be a doorway into another room because the floor threshold separating the rooms rises above the floor level -- and interior house walls are not built this way. This is a set built on a platform.

Joy Turning To Despair

Unforgettable Children's Fads

Now it's time for some nostalgia with the Women's Day.Today let's take a look back at some of the children's fads that shaped our childhoods. Read the full article here.





The SlinkyOne of the oldest toys on the list, the Slinky was discovered by accident when, in 1943, marine engineer Richard James was working in his technical lab and a spring fell, tumbling end-over-end across the floor. That evening, James told his wife he was going to make a toy that "walked," after which she picked the name. The Slinky was, of course, a runaway hit, and by 1990 a national survey revealed that 89.8 percent of Americans knew what a Slinky was or were familiar with the jingle.






Pogo BallsAlthough Pogo Balls are still on shelves today, their height of popularity was right after Hasbro released them in 1987. Shaped like the planet Saturn, with an inflatable ball in the center and a circular platform around it, the Pogo Ball required kids to stand on the platform and squeeze the ball between their ankles to bounce, jump and flip around the playground. It ended up being a craze parents loved because it made kids want to exercise!






Slap BraceletsIn the early ’90s, slap bracelets were all the rage with kids. The 9-inch flexible metal bands, which would coil around the wrist when slapped against the skin, came in zebra print, polka dots, stripes, neon and more. But after a 1990 incident at West Orchard Elementary in Chappaqua, New York, where a child needed three stitches after she was cut by an exposed bracelet edge, schools banned them, fearing for students' safety. And alas, as usual, kids lost interest and moved on to something new.





Virtual PetsAlmost as popular with adults as they were with kids, Tamagotchis and Giga Pets were virtual pets that required feeding, playing, putting to bed and even cleaning—so much so that they were nearly as demanding as a real pet. Giga Pets, introduced in 1997 (when they were most popular) and re-released in 2006, were available as Compu Kitty, Micro Chimp, Digital Doggie and more. Tamagotchis, which began in Japan and were released in the U.S. in 1996, were similar to Giga Pets, but different in that they were small digital eggs that hatched.






FurbyThis fun-loving electronic robot took the toy market to a whole new level when it went on sale during the 1998 holiday season, quickly becoming the number-one toy on the market, not to mention one of the bestselling toys ever. Available in 10 languages (they all spoke "Furbish" at first), Furbys were hamster/owl-like creatures that could talk, sleep and appear to learn new words (although they were really preprogrammed).

Updated Dr. Seuss: Modern Versions

Harry Potter Theme Park

Memories From Your Childhood

Scared of the Easter Bunny

As reported in the Chicago Tribune, not everyone is a fan of the Easter Bunny!
Just give me chocolate and leave me alone!!



Even the Easter Bunny criesThe Easter Bunny has feelings too. It must be hard to endure countless crying children hour after hour.




Run!!!!!Just look at that bunny sitting there innocently, but this little girl knows what he's really like!




Rabid bunnyWe'd be scared too if we had to sit on the lap of this mangy creature.




I changed my mind; I don't want to say helloPaying the Easter Bunny a visit seemed like a good idea until they got up close.




Two peas in a podThe older kid knows the drill: just smile, collect your candy and pretend like it never happened. The little one will learn eventually.

Bad Parenting














Why Boys Need Parents