Between the invitations and requests to attend daytime swim meets, the mid-morning concerts and the requests for volunteers, sometimes being the mother of a school-age child can feel like you're back in elementary school yourself. As one mom complained over at Mommyish, these requests to attend mid-day activities at her daughter's school have gotten out of control. She feels that barely a week goes by where parents, and by parents, she means mothers, aren't asked to come to school in the middle of the day. Even keeping track of the various events by regularly scanning the school's website has gotten burdensome for her. As a mom, you want to support your child in their activities and you also don't want them to be the only kid there without a parent cheering them on. But, as a working woman, you simply can't take that much time off and maybe you don't even want to. Do you think the invites to participate in mid-day activities at your kid's school are over-the-top?
Camping out for Kindergaten
Hey, what's everybody camped out for? Concert tickets? A new iPad? New sneaks? Nope. It's kindergarten registration. Dozens of parents in one community camped out for three nights in order to secure a coveted spot at their local, public elementary school. Kindergarten registration at the school is on a first-come, first-served basis, which means that the poor dad who thought he had until 5:00 p.m., three nights before registration, to get in line, might be out of luck. The dad who got there first, however, is sitting pretty, even if he is sitting in line for a very, very long time. CBS Sacramento reported that the kindergarten has 105 spots, but about half of them have been given to the younger siblings of current students, which means all those parents were competing for just 54 open spots. Kids whose parents don't snag them a spot will have to attend an overflow school. Is kindergarten registration a competitive sport in your district or do you get to just waltz in and sign up?
Is your baby in need of a diapie change? There's an app for that
You probably think you're pretty high tech with that video baby monitor. But, that's about as technologically advanced as an eight-track compared to the wireless, biosensor baby onesie. The onesie will send updates about a baby's mood, heartbeat and activity level to a parent's smartphone. According to the New York Times, the makers of the Exmobaby are primarily marketing this wearable, washable monitor to new moms re-entering the workforce. So, if you're worried that your daycare providers may be busy juggling the needs of too many little ones and not changing your little one's diaper fast enough, the onesie will let you know. Many worry that, rather than reassuring new parents that all is well, the techie onesies will actually make new parents more anxious. Will parents worry, for just a split second, that something's wrong every time a new update is sent to their phone? Will the device accidentally transmit a worrisome biosensor reading? And, will parents start to rely on electronic updates rather than learn to read their baby's cues?
How to dine out with kids and live to tell about it
Once you've gotten over the stress and anxiety of keeping that new baby alive and in dry diapers, you can move on to the stress and anxiety of keeping your no-longer baby (now kid), happy and well-behaved at a restaurant. Taking kids out to eat has always been a bit stressful for parents. Now, as more restaurants enact "brat bans," and more people applaud them, it's getting even more stressful. Does everyone else in the joint see you and your kids coming and groan or does it just feel that way to us now? The Globe and Mail shares the 12 secrets of dining out with kids. Befriend your waiter and tip them well. Remember to take crying or exceptionally restless kids outside or people really will grouse and groan about your presence. The early bird special -- it's for you and your kids (and those people from the old folks' home...). Bring some good distractions and ask for a seat by the bathrooms. What are your tried and true tips for successfully eating out with kids?
Lesbian hand-holding causes yearbook controversy
According to station KRDO, two Colorado students were kicked off their school's yearbook staff and two others quit in protest after their adviser demanded they remove a picture of two lesbians holding hands. The students say they were creating a page about relationships and included the photo. But, when their advisor saw it, she allegedly said, "You either cut the gay couple or I cut the page." The kids then cut themselves off from the yearbook staff. However, a school district spokesperson said the page was cut because of excessive PDA. To that end, people have said that last year's yearbook contained plenty of photographic PDA, which made it through the censors, making this reasoning seem a bit false.
Dana Macario is a TODAY Moms contributor and Seattle mom to two sleep-depriving toddlers. Once properly caffeinated, she also blogs at www.18years2life.com.