The lovely Heidi, over at Fat One in the Middle blog, has a challenge for you. Click the donate button on her post and donate for a good, fun cause. A birthday present, no less.

What present? She’s trying to raise enough money to send adorable Will Phillips and his folks to Dragon*Con. Will is the brave Arkansas boy who refused to recite the pledge at school until gay people are given liberty and justice, by being allowed to marry and adopt.

Heidi interviewed Will and his Dad on Podcast Beyond Belief Episode 17.

So head over there and give a few bucks (or 20), then go register yourself for Dragon*Con, and you can meet little Will over Labor Day weekend and share his birthday cake!

Here’s a roundup of some articles the Rational Moms were reading from around the Web this week.

Camp Inquiry 2010 is coming up! From July 18-24, boys and girls ages 7 to 16 will ponder the ideas of science and reason. The theme for this year’s camp is “Young Minds, Big Questions,” and skeptic luminaries such as Ben Radford, Dale McGowan, and James Randi will all be there–so your kids should go too!

California is currently experiencing an whooping cough epidemic. Five infants have died already, and the state is urging everyone there to get vaccinated if they have not been already. The peak whooping cough season is the summer, and health officials have already seen a FOUR-fold increase in cases over 2009. Yikes. Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate!

More American women are choosing not to have children. A new report said that nearly 20 percent of women remain childless, compared with 10 percent in the 1970s. When you read that the average cost of raising a child is now a staggering $222,360, without college costs, it’s not really surprising that some couples are opting out of parenting.

The largest study done on cell phone towers and childhood cancers has been concluded. The British researchers found that living close to a cell tower did not increase the chances of a child developing cancer.

Did you hear about the 7th graders who discovered a mysterious cave on Mars? The students were participating in a Mars Student Imaging Program at the Mars Space Flight Facility, and found what looks to be a hole in the roof of a cave on Mars. Cool!

In honor of Father’s Day, check out this slideshow called, “10 Things I Learned When I Became a Father” by Rob Sachs. Sachs is a producer, reporter and director for NPR shows as well as the author of What Would Rob Do?: An Irreverent Guide to Surviving Life’s Daily Indignities.

I couldn’t agree more with #1 and #3, and my husband and I are still–TWO kids later–trying to do #8. Sigh.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

My big boy turned two last week.  We threw the kind of party I said I’d never throw for a two-year-old–yes, complete with bounce house and elaborately decorated cupcakes.  The kid is into ladybugs, which was the catalyst for the above work of art.  So there you have it.  This is the parent I’ve become.

While this is by no means a comprehensive list of parenting books, I thought it might be interesting to do a rational review of the publications that I have consulted thus far in order to rear a child to the age of two.  When Zack was a first born, I spent many of his naps, reading furiously, beads of sweat forming on my brow, thinking, “What the heck am I doing here?”  While I don’t consult books about babies so ravenously now, I still usually have one on the nightstand that I might peruse here and there, looking for handy hints. » Continue reading “Happy BDay to my Big Redhead! And a Rational Roundup of Reading That Got Us This Far”

A friend just sent me this wonderful old Dilbert comic:

All parents of young children know that teething is no fun for the baby or the parents. My little guy is 10 months old and has been teething on and off since he was about 5 months.

One of the things that has been recommended to me many times are homeopathic teething tablets or drops such as Hyland’s.  People swear  it is the ONLY thing that worked for their kid.  They say that they are “all natural” and “completely safe” so there is no harm in trying them! Well, I’ve done some research on homeopathy and yes, homeopathic remedies are completely safe, but it is doubtful that they actually work. » Continue reading “Homeopathic Teething Remedies: Do they work?”

Here’s a roundup of some parenting-related articles we noted from around the Web this week.

More information in autism research: A genetic scan of people with autism in their families finds that many have a unique pattern of genetic mutations. These patterns do not appear to be inherited, but rather may begin in the parents’ egg and sperm.

New York is well on the way to possibly becoming the first state to pass a Nanny Bill of Rights. If it becomes law, legal domestic workers would be guaranteed paid holidays, sick leave, and overtime wages.

A new web site lets you rent maternity clothes. RentMaternityWear.com offers mommy dresses from designers like Christian Siriano and Olian Maternity. So, if you’re pregnant and need a dress for an event, you can rent instead of buy.

Free Range Kids has a great guest blog about what you really need to register for. Good advice for anyone watching pennies in the recession.

But, if you do decide to spring for a few toys for your tot, how about these Young Mad Scientist Blocks? They contain “engraved illustrations of the equipment, training, and activities that a budding mad scientist will require, combined with a clever alphabetic introduction to the concept depicted.” Cool!

Children take most of what they hear very literally. Example: I recently told 6-year-old Little Skeptic Boy that I was going to “paint the whole bathroom blue”.

He said, “The ceiling, too?”

“No, not the ceiling.”

“Well, then what color will you paint the ceiling?”

“It will stay white.”

“Well, what about the door? The floor?”

This makes perfect, logical sense. I told him I was going to paint the whole thing, and he accepted that as truth. Until I clarified what I really meant, which was not at all what I originally said.

This literalness can lead to wacky misunderstandings, but it can also lead to real problems. » Continue reading “2012, the End of the World, and Your Kids”

(As featured on episode 15 “Evolution in the Classroom” of Podcast Beyond Belief.)

I am interested in science and science education, and I firmly believe that a great way for kids to learn science is to give them the chance to do it themselves. There are a gazillion fun, easy science experiments your kids can do at home using everyday household items! My goal with this series is to show you, dear readers and dear podcast listeners, how to do a few, so maybe you can try them with your kids!

There are several different types of gooey science that you can make, and people call each by different names. The one we will make today is what I call oobleck, but many people call it goo, glop or quicksand goo, and it is basically cornstarch and water. (Not to be confused with silly putty or slime, which are both polymers.)

» Continue reading “Project Science with Laurie – Let’s Make Oobleck”