HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: alison@husky.informix (Alison Suggs)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: question about tax deductibility of day care
Date: 20 Jan 93 21:24:05 GMT
Reply-To: alison@husky.informix
Organization: Informix Software

In article AA05176@kocrsw06.delcoelect.com, c23st@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com (Spiros Triantafyllopoulos) writes:
>Hello folks,
>
>I have the following rather simple question on taxes and the
>deductibility of day care.
>
>Some background information. Both parents work, day care for ONE
>child (infant) is at a day care center, at a cost of $580/month
>approx. (by week). estimated cost / year is 50 x 130 $ = 6500 $
>
>Both me and my wife have available dependent care spending accounts
>which can be used to pay for day care with pre-tax dollars. The
>amount each can contribute is $5,000/year. We file married filing
>jointly (ouch!).  
>

I have read our "tax saver" plan pretty thouroughly, but realize that 
I am NOT a tax person other than a payer of taxes.  This is my interpretation
of my reading matter.

>And now, the questions:
>
>1. Can BOTH parents contribute pre-tax for the day care expense, i.e.
>   after I finish my $5,000 can my wife's plan (set up for less
>   of course) continue to pay for day care for the remaining amount?
>
>   In other words, is the $5,000 amount per family, per child, or
>   per employe?

 My understanding is that the $5000 is the amount per family for the first
 child.  I'm in the same situation as you (only one child), I think you
 can do more for >1 child, but I don't think it's 2 times as much for 2 kids,
 etc.

>
>2. Assume the answer to #1 is that the $5,000 is per family. Can we
>   still deduct the remaining $6,500 - $5,000 = $1,500 from our
>   taxes at the end of the year using the dependent care credit
>   form?     


No, you either use the tax saver plan OR the IRS deduction for child care,
but you can't use both.

>
>   In other words, can we use up the amount allocated in the pre-tax
>   spending plan and then claim the REST as we would normally?

Nice thought, but I think not.
>
>3. This is for a friend; does question 1 or 2 change if there is 
>   more than ONE child involved? I.e. what if we had twins? :-),
>   or someone with TWO or MORE kids needing day care, do they
>   only have $5,000 total or $5,000 per child?
>
I think you get more money for two kids, but again, I don't think its
a multiple.

Alison
From: jeremy@castle.ed.ac.uk (Jeremy Henderson)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: A few facts about circumcision
Date: 25 Jan 93 10:02:41 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

In article <24688@alice.att.com> jj@alice.UUCP (jj, curmudgeon and all-around grouch) writes:
   In article <30637@castle.ed.ac.uk> jeremy@castle.ed.ac.uk (Jeremy Henderson) writes:
   >In article <daved.727560402@convex.convex.com> daved@convex.com (David Dorfman) writes:
   >->In <30493@castle.ed.ac.uk> jeremy@castle.ed.ac.uk (Jeremy Henderson) writes:
   >->>In article <24641@alice.att.com> jj@alice.att.com (old curmudgeon) writes:
   >->>->Jeremy, if you have some FACTS to offer, then offer them.
   >->>The FACTS were already offered by the poster who said that she had her
   >->>son circumcised and heard him screaming all the way down the hall. How
   >->>many horror stories do you really have to hear??
   >->This is not a fact,
   >Unless the original poster was lying, then it is a fact that her child
   >screamed during the circumcision
   That's completely irrelevant. Your original post, which is somehow
   creatively ommitted, suggested that it was a fact that circumcision
   was absolutely and without fail mutiliation without cause or
   issue.  That's the facts I'm asking for. I doun't necessarily doubt
   that somebody's kid cried, and I won't even bother to dispute the
   reason, despite my own experiences with infants.
   
   It doesn't matter.  The issue of necessity is still undetermined,
   and you can't run around accusing everyone who opts for circumcision
   for their male kid of child mutilation.
   
In my original posting, which YOU seem to have creatively omitted, I question
the sense of a religion that demands that you mutilate your child. I will
extend that to question the sense of circumcision in ANY case where there is
not an urgent medical need. I think the question of fellatio is so absurd that
it doesn't need any further comment, except to observe that people must really
be scraping the bottom of the barrel if that's the sort of reason they
are dreaming up!



-- 
===Jeremy Henderson===jeremy@castle.ed.ac.uk=          
BUGS   The SLEEP command may not work on either parent processes for some
       time afterward, as new BABY processes constantly send interrupts
       which must be handled by one or more parent.
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: steve@crc.ricoh.COM (Stephen R. Savitzky)
Subject: Re: What kind of car do you drive/3 kids
Organization: RICOH California Research Center
Date: 21 Jan 93 15:24:38

In article <SKATZ.93Jan21124023@kariba.bbn.com> skatz@bbn.com (Susan Katz) writes:
     What kind of car do you drive with 3 kids--all of whom are in car seats?
     There will be 2 Fisher Price carseats and a century infant seat
     (rear facing).  Other car concerns are price and repair record.

No question -- a mini-van.  Ours is a Mercury Villager, but just about
anything would do as long as it has two back seats.  This lets you
seat 7 people -- in your case, 2 parents, 3 kids, and 2 grandparents
or friends.  (In our case it's 2 kids and 3 grandparents, but the
principle's the same.)
--
\ --Steve Savitzky--  \    343 Leigh Ave   \ REAL HACKERS USE AN AXE!
 \ steve@crc.ricoh.COM \ San Jose, CA 95128 \     Free Cyberia!
  \ w: 415-496-5710     \   h:408-294-6492   \ 
   \_________________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: Tammy.Vandenboom@launchpad.unc.edu (Tammy Vandenboom)
Subject: 21 mo. speech prob.?
Organization: University of North Carolina Extended Bulletin Board Service
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 13:28:45 GMT

 I have two quick questions:

First, my little girl (21 mo.) who has been talking for a while now, has just
started replacing all her m's with b's.  I say she's been talking for a while,
really she talked a little early (single words). Now she is a little parrot,
she repeats EVERYTHING she hears. She used to call me mama, now I am "bobby"
She has begun to replace every m in evry word she says with a b. "No bore" for
no more. Graba for gramma . She used to say her m's but not any more, this has 
been going on for about a month now.  Occasionally she replaces l's with w's, but
she's always done that.  Is this a phase of some sort or should we be worried?

Second (completely different topic) at what age did you get a tricycle
for your child?  My husband wants to get our little girl one for her birthday,
but they seem way to big for her.  I'm also not too sure I want her THAT mobile
yet. HA HA she's hard enough to keep up with now!!

Thanks!!

--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  laUNChpad.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
From: albert@endor.uucp (David Albert)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: College without SATs [was Re: Branding kids...]
Date: 25 Jan 93 01:41:25 GMT
Article-I.D.: das.1993Jan25.014125.12566
Organization: Aiken Computation Lab, Harvard University

ren@hopper.ACS.Virginia.EDU (Karen Prestemon) writes:
>Is there some law saying that every child in the US has to take all these
>tests?  when my kids starts school (well, is born first, and then eventually
>stats school) can I refuse to let him take the tests?

>Can a person get into a 4 year university WITHOUT the SATs?

Yes, some.  Not all.  Three friends of mine (three sisters in one family)
refused on principle to take standardized tests, including the SATs.  They
also went to a school that didn't give out grades, only written reports.
I only remember what happened with the oldest:  only a few colleges would
accept her application without the SATs.  She ended up at Swarthmore.  The
colleges that allowed her to apply asked her to write an additional essay
explaining her position on standardized testing and explaining why they
should consider her without the SATs, which she was more than happy to write.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Albert				  | Illegitimi non carborundum est.
albert@das.harvard.edu		 	  |
From: anne@csrux1.ae.utexas.edu (Anne Hill Wiebe)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Babysitting Horror Stories (Was: RE: Latchkey Kids)
Date: 21 Jan 93 14:38:46 GMT

oispeggy@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Peggy Brown) writes:

>In article <1j7i3vINNg8s@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov>, lauraf@classy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Laura Floom) writes...
>>In article <1993Jan15.154059.14336@umiami.ir.miami.edu> ahelmers@umiami.ir.miami.edu writes:
>>>In article <1j6s1jINN1qp@gap.caltech.edu>, hough@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Susan Hough) writes:
>>>
>>>> I can top this.  I was babysitting for two kids down the street when
>>>
>>>Babysitting horror stories! 
>>>

>Here's another one -

And I have *two* more ...

The first is secondhand, from my mother who substituted for my
older sister when Kathy couldn't make it to a babysitting job.
Kathy was about 14, I guess, and this was a new job, referred
from one of her regulars.  Mom arrived and the young mother just
gave her the baby (three WEEKS old!!) and left rather quickly.
After the mother left, Mom discovered the baby had a high fever
and diarrhea!!!  The mother was only supposed to be gone an
hour.  Mom walked and urged water on that baby for TWO HOURS,
waiting for the mother to return; no emergency numbers, nowhere
to reach the mom, no medication.  When she finally returned, 
Mom (by her own account) really read her out, telling her
'this baby is SICK and must see the doctor right away!  You have 
NO BUSINESS leaving this baby!  This baby could have died from
dehydration!!  You're just lucky I knew that and kept feeding it
water; if my daughter had come, she might not have known and the
baby MIGHT HAVE DIED!'  -- she went on like this for some time,
trying to make an impression on this incredibly foolish mother.
Kathy never did babysit that child ...

My story is rather similar.  I too was about 14, I guess, and
had done a lot of babysitting.  This family was experiencing a
divorce; I'd stayed with their two 5- or 6-yo children before 
the divorce, and was now working for the mother.  She left about
7:00, saying she'd be back by 11:00.  Well, the 5-yo girl was
sick, kept throwing up all evening and all night after bedtime.
She was so sad and so patient and cooperative; I felt
tremendously sorry for her, and we just kept changing the
sheets.  The mother hadn't mentioned the illness at all; perhaps
she didn't know.  But she'd left no phone numbers and didn't
return till 3:30 in the morning!!!!  Me, 14, needing my sleep (I
did call home for advice) just waited.  I lectured HER when SHE
came home, although not nearly as strongly as my mother had with
the baby -- after all, I was just a kid myself.  I don't think I
sat for them again ...
--
________________________________________________________________________
Anne Hill Wiebe (anne@csrux1.ae.utexas.edu)  When in danger or in doubt,
(512) 471-5573, 450-1694                     run in circles,
Center for Space Research                    scream and shout.
From: dudding@sallyride.crd.ge.com (Kate Dudding)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Things you do to save time
Date: 28 Jan 93 20:26:29 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: GE Corporate R&D Center

We sort our laundry as we take off the dirty clothes. There are 3 laundry bags
hanging in our closet: a white one (for white clothes that need bleach), an
off-white bag for light clothes, and a dark bag for (you guessed it) dark clothes.
When a bag is full, it's time to do a wash.  I've occasionally had dark clothes
bleed/lint on light clothes, so I prefer to do this.  Oh, my husband and son have
the same number of days worth of underwear and socks so they run out of underwear
at the same time, more or less.

My no-iron technique is to dry shirts, blouses, dresses, etc., for only ~ 2
minutes.  My dryer tends to steam the wrinkles out by then and I immediately hang
the clothes up, and smooth out any remaining wrinkles.  Generally I fold the
previous load from the dryer while steaming the wet ones.  I'm not very good at
getting to the dryer as soon as the load is done.  My son's clothes are mostly
jeans and knit shirts, so they can be completely dried, stuffed in a drawer and
still look OK.

My motel no-iron technique:  before going to bed, fill bathtub with HOT
water from the shower head (puts more moisture in the air than from the faucet), 
hang the wrinkled clothes in the bathroom and close the bathroom door.

-- 
Kate Dudding                                   dudding@crd.ge.com
GE Corporate Research and Development
Bldg. KW, Room C315
PO Box 8, Schenectady, NY 12301                (518) 387-7164
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: amym@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Amy Moseley Rupp)
Subject: Breast Pumping Question
Organization: Motorola Inc., Austin Tx.
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 03:11:50 GMT

OK, so now I've rented the killer Medela Lactina Breast Pump; still don't
have much milk :-( despite a few days of pumping...but the baby's been
sick (a diarrhea virus, yuck) and I've been busy with her.  At least
this pump doesn't pinch!

I've been trying to eat well, drink a lot, rest (what's rest?  :-) )
etc. but still no luck.

My question is:  what stimulates milk production the most, frequency,
total number of minutes a day, continuous stimulation, etc?  Is there
a difference between pumping, say, 4x/day every 6 hours, 6x/day every
4 hours, or 4x/day every 4 hours, with a break at night, assuming
the total number of minutes stays the same?
-- 
Amy Moseley Rupp			Mother to Elizabeth AnneMarie,
amym@oakhill.sps.mot.com		born 11/4/92 
(512) 329-7117				

Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: cconell@reed.edu (Carol Conell)
Subject: Re: What we did and what we want them to do <was Re: Potheads>
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 07:16:19 GMT


Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon

One interesting
 issue you raise that I too am trying to wrestle with concerns
the fact that, being realistic, most kids--including the kids those of
us who are now parents were--do lots of dangerous stuff, and most
of the time nothing bad comes out of it but occasionally it wrecks your
life.  (Driving with intoxicated people or even
just people who aren't good drivers is a clear example,
that I was guilty of myriads of times.)
  We continue doing this somewhat even in adulthood, but in 
general most of us find ourselves more prepared to look for
risks and avoid them as we get older.

What I want to say to my kids, among other things, 
about driving with intoxicated drivers, drugs, smoking and a lot
of things is that most people most of the time will do it with
impunity, so that probabilistically maybe the payoff makes sense
depending on how much you enjoy the results (for me and I suspect
many kids the intoxicated driver problem is associated with
not wanting to appear uncool) but as a parent I can't stand
the thought of their doing it because in the 1/100,1/1000 or even
1/1000,000 chance that the resulting tragedy hits them, they're
my only kids and they're gone permanently.  Incidentally, with
drugs I'm much less worried about addiction than about accidents
while intoxicated, overdoses etc.

One problem is that what I want to say to my kids seems
pretty similar to what I remember my parents saying to me
and it didn't effectively prevent my engaging in risky behavior.
Consequently, I suspect my advice won't work either--or not
as well as my parental heart wants.
Do people who didn't drive with intoxicated drivers, etc,
remember what your parents said--if anything, or why you didn't.
Maybe that would help those of us who want are kids to be safer than we
were.  A guilt ridden and hence fearful parent.
-- 
Carol Conell; Sociology; Reed College; Portland, OR 97202 (503) 771-1112
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: tbachman@hamline.edu. (Toni Bachmann)
Subject: Re: RECIPES NEEDED FOR FUSSY EATERS
Organization: Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota. [The Little U]
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 13:33:47 GMT

In article <C18Eq5.1CH@srgenprp.sr.hp.com> brett@sr.hp.com () writes:
>Nancy M. Schnepp (ns@bohr.physics.purdue.edu) wrote:
>
>I realize this may sound a bit cold, but is there anything wrong with giving
>them what everyone else is having and if they don't want it they go hungry?
>
This is WONDERFUL advice.  I have a picky 6 year old and finally after giving
him what he wanted all the time decided to stop.  I dish up his plate with an
appropriate serving size (compared to my other two kids 7 and 9) and put it on
the table.  If he doesn't eat it all, he gets nothing in the way of snacks or
treats until it is gone.  I generally also *do* heat it up in the microwave
for his lunch the next day or for the next days dinner (not breakfast).  It 
took him three days to finish that first plate of food!  Now that he "believes"
me to be serious, he finishes it the first time (because he missed his fav
favorite one night I suppose) - and unbelievably he even asks for seconds
sometimes.  Three days of feeling guilty that he may be hungry was well
worth the pain I felt - he is not picky anymore - if he doesn't particularly
like something he eats what he's given, doesn't ask for seconds and knows
he'll get a treat later to "wash away the icky taste".

Toni
From: kim@agx.usu.edu (Kim Barnard)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Baby names, anyone?
Date: 21 Jan 93 15:39:34 GMT
Organization: Utah State University (USU)

In article <3183@tymix.Tymnet.COM> filfeit@rael.Tymnet.COM (Fil Feit) writes:
>Subject: Baby names, anyone?
>From: filfeit@rael.Tymnet.COM (Fil Feit)
>Date: 20 Jan 93 13:59:33 GMT

>I have a soft copy of a list of 14,000+ names.  No origins or anything,
>just names.  If anybody is interested, I can e-mail it to you.  If a lot
>of you are interested, I'll post it.

>--f2

>------------------
>  "All of life is six-to-five against."

I would be interested in receiving this.   My husband and I are also having 
a hard time agreeing on names.  Thanks!

Kim
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: Diane Diesh <diane@advtech.uswest.com>
Subject: Cute things they say [3yo]
Originator: diane@camden
Reply-To: Diane Diesh <diane@advtech.uswest.com>
Organization: U S WEST Advanced Technologies
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 00:20:54 GMT

You all know the "slipping child" syndrome, when you are holding a
not-so-little one and you have to keep re-adjusting their weight again
and again?

My 3 yo son used to say "I'm heavy!" when he felt himself slipping down.
It took my husband and I awhile to figure out what he was trying to get
across.  Now he says "I'm slippery!" to indicate the same thing.
-- 
Diane Diesh
diane@advtech.uswest.com
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: elahe@watson.ibm.com (Elahe)
Subject: Re: Helping a sensitive child(follow up)
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 20:26:14 GMT
Reply-To: elahe@watson.ibm.com
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center at Hawthorne
Keywords: 
  

Thanks to all who responded to me here and via email. 
  
I had a meeting with my son's teacher, and told her about his 
feelings, and how he gets upset when some other kid gets in trouble.
The teacher was very receptive. She said that she would try to talk
to him anytime that the situation would arise, and would try to 
make him understand what was going on, and hopefully get him to express
himself. We will see what happens. 
  
I do have another concern, and would very much like to dip into your
wisdom. My son has come down with chicken pox, and is staying home 
for a while. I took his work book home to practice with him, so 
he wouldn't fall too much behind. Well, I think now I know why he
kept telling me he doesn't like the work book time at school. The
things he has to do (learning correct strokes for writing letters etc.)
are not interesting for him, and he has a hard time staying with the task.
I asked his teacher about this, and she confirmed my observation
that maybe he doesn't have the maturity to concentrate on something that
he isn't too interested in. He is on the young side(Oct. 10 birthday).
In our district the cut off date for school is December 1st, so he 
could start first grade next September.  I am very torn as to what to
do. On one hand, according to the teachers, and what I know, he knows 
everything he is supposed to know accademically. He is also very 
sociable and not shy (except when he faces anger or disapproval). He 
also is VERY concerned about kids ages, and where they should be at school.
Usually the first question he asks a kid is "how old are you" instead of
"what is your name", and when they say,for instance 8, he says "so you
are at 3rd grade, aren't you"! (He is pretty good with calculating it).  
His 2 best friends who are older but 5, will go to first grade next year.
Our school offers a "pre_one" grade, for kids who aren't ready for 1st
grade, so in theory if I hold him back he won't be repeating kindergarten,
but the program is pretty much the same(could become very boring for him).
  
I am very concerned about his maturity, and whether he can handle the
atmosphere of first grade. I am hoping that he will somhow "jump" a 
few months in the next 9 months or so, and get ready, but realistically 
I have to assume that he is a bit imature, but advanced enough 
accademically to start 1st grade. Does anyone have any experience or 
advice for me.  Of course there is a chance that he might not get
accepted in the pre_one program anyway, because it has limited 
capacity and  only kids who are recommended from school could attend. 
But I want to know if I should at least start requesting it. I know 
he will be very disappointed to know his best friends are ahead of him.
How important is this for his self esteem?    
   
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Elahe
Newsgroups: misc.kids