Today's Fresh Blogs...

• Head to mall and restaurant playspaces first thing in the morning

  Published: July 26, 2007, 10:26 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Fun Toys, Travel Going Out

  We do what we must some days to keep the kids busy. Here's how Gretchen makes the most of free indoor playspaces at malls and fast food restaurants: I rely on indoor playspaces to run off my daughter's energy when the weather outside is nasty or too hot.  But a lot of other parents have the same idea, so on especially yucky days the

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• Coffee stirrers make good juice box straws

  Published: July 25, 2007, 9:18 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing, Travel Going Out

  Why do the juice box straws always end up at the bottom of the bag? Winnie's solution: I had a ton of coffee stirrers left over from a party and figured I'd just use them for craft projects. However, I've found that hollow coffee stirrers make a great straw for kids. From toting juice boxes in my bag, I often lose the straw. Coffee stirrers

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• Frozen yogurt tubes stand in for ice cream treats

  Published: July 24, 2007, 12:53 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing

  From Sara: I wouldn't normally buy yogurt in tubes, but I picked some up the other day and noticed a suggestion to freeze them.  Sold!  I now keep "frozen yogurt" tubes in the freezer for a healthier treat than ice cream. Popping a frozen yogurt tube into a lunchbox keeps things cool till the lunch bell rings, and the

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• Use carry-on bag as footrests for kids

  Published: July 24, 2007, 12:15 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, Travel Going Out

  traveling on a plane with a toddler or preschooler who likes to kick the seat in front of him or her, it might be because their legs go numb from dangling from the carseat for a long period.  Put a small carry-on bag under the seat in front of the child, and after the plane takes off, pull out the bag to use as a foot rest for the

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• Socks stop cold water bottles from dripping

  Published: July 23, 2007, 9:59 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing, Travel Going Out

  perfectly (he wears a size 8 toddler shoe), and it continued to soak up any condensation until he was through with the water.  I've tried using napkins before to do the same thing, but always ended up with bits of napkins everywhere (three-year-olds will pick at anything they can pull apart) and they don't always fit all the way around the

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• Special for Parenthackers: Swap stuff at Zwaggle

  Published: July 23, 2007, 9:03 am

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Getting Organized, Saving Money

  Ryan very thoughtfully included all us Parenthackers in an invitation to use Zwaggle! I haven't tried it myself, but it looks fascinating, especially during summer clear-out mode. Thank you, Ryan! There's a cool website, zwaggle.com, and using points instead of money, it allows you to post and get used kids stuff. We've been able to recycle a

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• Freeze old teethers for cool boo boo relief

  Published: July 22, 2007, 10:43 am

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Fun Toys, Gear, Health Development

  Good thing Sara didn't throw out all those old teethers: Remember those water filled plastic teething toys?  My daughter is well passed teething, but I popped them into the freezer and now when she has a "hurt" I offer her a frozen frog or fish to put on it.  Cold compresses are good for a lot of things, but playing with an

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• Warm bath lotion in the bathwater

  Published: July 19, 2007, 2:57 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Bathtime

  Marykz's daughter's getting the luxury treatment! My daughter doesn't like to get out of the warm bath and have to have cold lotion spread on her dry skin.  So, I put the (closed) bottle of lotion in the warm bath water for the last few minutes of bathtime to warm up the lotion.  We have a plethora of containers in the bath as toys

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• Snug-fitting foam plugs the gap between bed and wall

  Published: July 19, 2007, 12:53 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Habitat, Sleep Yours And Theirs

  Jonathan solved a the bed gap problem like this: After our 2 1/2 year old transitioned from a crib to a real bed, my wife and I started were woken up several times in the middle of the night with our son in our room in tears. It turned out that the gap between the wall and his bed, about 2 inches, was just wide enough for piglet, his favorite

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• Easy cooking project: Homemade tortillas

  Published: July 27, 2007, 9:58 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing, Fun Toys, Habitat, Learning

  My kids both have an attraction to anything squishy. They love all of those stretchy, gel-like trinkets flooding the market, and all manner of playdough. When I can muster the patience, I pull out the flour, water, salt, baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring -- my son's favorite ingredients for "experiments," and let the kids have at it. They

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• Tricks for keeping toddlers hydrated

  Published: July 31, 2007, 12:51 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Feeding Nursing, Health Development, Travel Going Out

  Beat the heat with some kid hydration hacks, from Sara: We're traveling in the very hot and dry country of Turkey this summer with a two year old, and have found the following to be helpful in keeping her hydrated: 1) "Juicify" your water -- Miss J doesn't get much juice, so a little bit poured into a glass of water at mealtimes encourages

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• Turn a large plastic storage container into a splashing pool

  Published: July 31, 2007, 1:51 pm

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, Fun Toys, Habitat, Saving Money

  Then I coated my toddler in sunscreen and took her out there with a few cups and a ladle.  She sat, quite happily in her makeshift pool, playing in the water, and laughing when I would take a cupful and pour it down her back.  When it was time to come in, I simply carried it back inside and dumped the water into the tub,

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• How to keep kids in bed till wakeup time

  Published: August 1, 2007, 9:00 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Behavior, Habitat, Learning, Sleep Yours Theirs

  Father-to-be Keith has already started filing away parent hacks for future use! This one is sure to come in handy for these crazily early summer sunrises: To keep their little ones in bed until an appropriate time, some friends of ours have taped a cutout of the number "6" next to the hour-digit(s) of the clock on the night

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• Can you clean a computer keyboard in the dishwasher? Talk amongst yourselves.

  Published: August 1, 2007, 1:13 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Habitat

  Sally wonders (as do I): Slashdot had a story about a successful dishwasher santitizing method for keyboards. Apparently, they have more bacteria than a toilet!!??!! But I'm not sending this to fuel the fears of the germ-o-phobic I'm more interested in using this hack to get the GRAPE JELLY OFF THE KEYBOARD! I'm still a little hesitant,

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• Develop a Shutterbug: Time with Kids with Cameras

  Published: August 1, 2007, 4:08 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Fun Toys, Learning, Travel Going Out

  When I heard about the "A Little Perspective" kids' photo contest, it struck me as golden Parent Hacker opportunity for some late summer family fun. Get out the camera, but this time you may get to be the subject or just an on-looker. Take your kids and a durable camera out for a photo safari of somewhere exotic like the backyard, downtown, or a

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