HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: af5@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Wendy Lin)
Subject: Home alone?
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 17:48:41 GMT

A local newspaper had an article on this very subject Sunday.

They asked 56 8- to 11-year-olds whether they were old enough to be
home alone.  46 said they were, seven said they weren't and three said
"sometimes." 

They asked what was a good age for kids to start being home alone.  The
suggested ages ranged from 8 to 20, with 10 being the most popular
answer.

A professor in child development suggested that you ask yourself the
following questions to help evaluate the situation:
(1) Can you trust the child?
(2) Are they comfortable being alone?
(3) Can they use a key to get in and out of a locked house?
(4) Do they know when it is and isn't safe to go into the house? For
	example, if the door is open or a window is broken, do they know
	to go get help instead of going straight inside?
(5) Can they answer the phone and door properly?
(6) Which appliances are safe to use on their own?
(7) Do they know who to call -- neighbors or relatives -- when something
	goes wrong?
(8) Do they know how to deal with emergencies?

An interesting comment from the professor: "Many children are ready to
stay home alone before the parents are ready to leave them."

Wendy Lin
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: exusag@exu.ericsson.se (Serena Gilbert,cs,x0364)
Subject: Re: Help! - comforting bitee...
Reply-To: exusag@exu.ericsson.se
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 18:54:03 GMT
X-Disclaimer: This article was posted by a user at Ericsson.
              Any opinions expressed are strictly those of the
              user and not necessarily those of Ericsson.

In article 11775@exu.ericsson.se, exusag@exu.ericsson.se (Serena Gilbert,cs,x0364) writes:
> Ken,
>      This is definitely a problem you need to be concerned about.  We had the 
same problem a couple of years back.   No one could get the youngster to stop 
biting.  They seemed to only be biting our child.  The problem was brought to 
the director's attention.  After much time (and many more incidents), the 
director asked the parents to remove the child from their care and seek assistance 
for the child`s behavior.  The child was removed, but it took a while for us to 
get our child to stop biting, as he thought this was acceptable behavior to 
overcome frustration.  After a third time, your concern should be piqued.  
Good luck and happy parenting.  You must enjoy yours as much as we do ours.
                     
>                      Jon.
> 

-Sorry, this was the first time my hubby has used the news system and
I forgot to tell him about hard returns (are system automatically wraps).

-Serena


Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: grun@intellistor.com (Paul Grun)
Subject: Re: MUSIC IN LABOUR
Organization: Intellistor, Inc.
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 93 21:15:20 GMT

In <C0rxtC.Cn9@world.std.com> mrp@world.std.com (Marjorie R Peskin) writes:

>In article <1993Jan7.142901.24441@newscan.canada.sun.com> steph@luvmycats.oerth (Stephanie Wilkie) writes:
>>
>>Has anyone out there brought music (tape recorder or
>>radio) into the labour room with them to help them
>>cope/relax, whatever?
>>
>>I am due February 20th and would like to bring in
>>a tape recorder with a bunch of different stuff
>>that I enjoy listening to, (this may sound weird,
>>but I want to tape a bunch of Led Zep songs -the
>>mellower ones! - I find Robert Plant`s voice very
>>soothing for some reason).
>>
>>Anyway, I'm just wondering if it really helps to
>>relax you or is it more irritating and distracting?
>>
>>Any comments on this would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>>
>>
>>-Stephanie
>>
>I brought a portable CD player and about 30 CD's with me, and it was the best 
>thing I did for myself.  I brought a variety of music, from Talking Heads
>and B-52's to the English Beat and Bob Marley, to Vivaldi and Mozart, to
>Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel.  Since my mood changed often :-), I needed
>a variety of music to get by with.  My doctor especially liked the
>B-52's and sang along.  My favorite photo of me right before the babies
>arrived is me holding the English Beat CD cover and singing along!

>Go for it!

>Marjorie
>mum to Gemma and Graham, 4.5 months and getting huge!
>> 

We didn't have to bring a portable CD player with us...the LDRs in the
hospital had complete sound systems.  They also
had a nice selection of CD's available, but we brought our own with us.
It was nice.  We brought maybe 12 CD's and listened to them *all*, some
more than once.

"Eyes of the World" happened to be playing at the time he was finally
born.

Liz seemed to find it very comforting, and it helped me too.  I'd like
to think that Casey enjoyed the music too, or at least that it made his
transition into the world easier, but he was really too small to get
a coherent answer when I asked him.  Except, of course,  for "Waaaaah!".

-Paul

p.s. the doctor and nurses also seemed to enjoy our selections....
-- 

goes to show, you don't ever know...
grun@intellistor.com
From: pburch@roc.mbcr.bcm.tmc.edu (Paula Burch)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Trip to remote island with 8 month old, what would you take along?
Date: 27 Jan 1993 21:04:54 GMT
Organization: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tx
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: roc.mbcr.bcm.tmc.edu
Originator: pburch@roc.mbcr.bcm.tmc.edu


valjorge@leapyear.EBay.Sun.COM (Valerie Jorge) writes:
> 
> 
> How about water?  And when can you use sunscreen on infants?
> I read that you weren't supposed to use it on infants, but
> don't remember for how long.  

A dermatologist told me that the official age when you can use 
sunscreen on a baby is six months, but that *she* wasn't going 
to put any on her daughter until the child was at least one year 
old.

Paula Burch
pburch@bcm.tmc.edu
From: M18611@MBVM.Mitre.Org (Kathy Wilk)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Teaching kids to read
Date: 26 Jan 93 17:31:01 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford MA 01730

In article <1993Jan26.163735.27961@trentu.ca>
xtkmg@trentu.ca (Kate Gregory) writes:
>>So, what do you do if you have a child who WANTS to learn to read?
>Say, a child who throws a tantrum in a bookstore, yelling
>"teach me to read! teach me to READ!" :-) I know what you mean and
>there is no way we'll wait till she's seven. But I wouldn't have
>suggested it to her if she hadn't brought it up.
>
>>suggestions for a three year old with an active imagination?
>
>You can't go wrong if you get the Chinaberry catalogue. Lots of
>terrific books in there. Beth also loves all the Puddle Lane
>books...
>with them all. She has also just started "chapter books" -- right
>now we're reading Bedknob and Broomstick (yes, both singular, not
>how I remembered the title myself but there it is) one chapter a
>night and she loves it. That's supposed to be for eight year olds to
>read to themselves...
>
>Kate
>
 
  My daughter loves having a book chapter read to before she goes to
sleep.  She is about 3.75 yrs old now.  Our books have been 'The
Little House on the Prairie' series ('Farmer Boy', 'The Little House
in the Big Woods', and we have almost finished 'The Little House on
the Prairie').
  She understands enough of the stories that she now wants to be a
farm girl or a cow girl when she grows up.
  I skip over the lengthy descriptions of how things were made in those
days (for example, how a pair of shoes were made takes a few pages...) or
I summarize what I can of the procedure.
 
 
                        K. Wilk
                        M18611@MBVM.MITRE.ORG
 
            <--********************************-->
 'Thrusting my nose firmly between his teeth, I threw him to the ground
  on top of me.' - Mark Twain
            <--********************************-->
Newsgroups: misc.kids,soc.culture.jewish
From: reid@metis.tti.com (Reid Kneeland)
Subject: Need a mohel recommendation
Organization: Transaction Technology, Inc.
Distribution: la
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 17:21:21 GMT

As the subject line says, I'm soliciting recommendations for a mohel
in the Los Angeles area (we live in Canoga Park in the San Fernando
Valley).  Any responses would be appreciated.

Thanks.

=====================================================================
Reid Kneeland
reid@tti.com
Transaction Technology Inc., Santa Monica, CA, USA (310) 450-9111 x2499
The opinions expressed above do not necessarily etc etc...

Never trust a man who can count to 1,023 on his fingers.
From: adculha@afterlife.ncsc.mil (Andrew Culhane)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Is There A Parent Track for Technical Professionals?
Date: 26 Jan 93 19:39:36 GMT
Organization: The Great Beyond

If I'm going way off the intent of the original post, I apologize.
Now, with that disclaimer, here goes:

Do you mean that there's someplace out there that really has a
technical track?

Wow.  Here in the government, it seems that we're expected to
put in 10 good technical years, and then go into management or
quit.

Now, since this doesn't have anything to do with having kids,
we now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

--- adc
From: judy@locus.com (Judy Tryer)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Cute things they say (3 yo)
Date: 27 Jan 93 20:19:11 GMT
Organization: Locus Computing Corporation, Los Angeles, California

In article <77571@apple.apple.COM> scott@Apple.COM (scott douglass) writes:
>
>Oooh, so you think that's funny!  We had these very proper English
>people over and I was getting the boys into their jamas.  Of course
>one of them got up on the coffee table and slid off, scraping his
>naked front.  Crying, he said loudly, "Oh, Mama, my weenie hurts!
>Kiss it!"  I did.
>

When my mom was babysitting my nephews at about ages 8 and 6, they were
eating hot dogs.  My mom said, "Come one.  Finish your weanie."  My youngest
nephew burst into tears.  "I thought it was the pigs TAIL!"

-- 
Judy Leedom Tyrer

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"	- William Blake
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: tigger@satyr.Sylvan.COM (Grace Sylvan)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: My 1 year old is hitting me
Date: 23 Jan 93 04:40:46 GMT
Organization: Sylvan Associates

give him an alternative -- I know that I say 'gentle, gentle' in as
calm a voice as I can muster, while firmly but gently grabbing the
offending hand and making gentle with it.

Definitely put him down if he won't redirect easily. Let him cry for a
moment. 'I won't hold you while you hit me' should suffice. When you
pick him up again, remind him to be gentle, giving examples with you
own hands as need be. If he hits, put him down again!

If you're in a situation where you can't put him down, face him away
from you so that he can't hit your face.

And try to say as calm as possible. If he's just bopped you good -
don't bother with the redirection, you'll probably be too upset and
tense to give a good example of gentle relaxed behavior - just put him
down and let him know clearly that it hurt you!

Remember to encourage and reinforce and demonstrate gentle petting and
touching behavior as much as possible. Let him know (calmly, don't get
too agitated or you might bring on a hitting attack with his
excitment) how nice it feels when he touches you gently - when he pets
his furry toys gently, etc.

Good luck! 
-- 

Tigger (Grace Sylvan)                Mom of Katherine Yelena, 8/8/89,
tigger@satyr.sylvan.com              Corey 1/31/91; we loved him so,
                                     Robin Gregory born 2/28/92

 "It seems to me that our large goal is to find the ways to help our
 children become humane and strong."
 
              - Dr Haim Ginott quoted by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
From: tigger@satyr.Sylvan.COM (Grace Sylvan)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Help with Spanking Alternatives
Date: 23 Jan 93 01:34:45 GMT
	<1993Jan18.164629.14406@cbnewsc.cb.att.com>
Distribution: na
Organization: Sylvan Associates


  Talking about 17 month olds...

   > I "spanked" them for the first time (slapped their hands) when, after
   > hours of "no touch!" from me concerning the Christmas tree lights, I came
   > into the room and found them playing with the lights AND my son had them
   > wrapped around his neck!  

You still need to control the enviroment with 17 month olds -
actually, I still sometimes need to control the enviroment with my
three year old - some things, like Mommy's scissors, are just so
tempting that she has a very hard time not touching them. You need to
guide them physically and verbally - 'no, you may not touch the tree'
and take them away. And never leave them unsupervised around dangerous
objects -- that will probably be the case for at least the next YEAR
-- little ones don't have a strong sense of right and wrong, and what
they see and feel like doing at the moment has more power than 1 hour
of 'no's'. They really don't mean to be bad, they just don't
understand.

Like, those times when Katherine has touched my scissors, it's not to
be 'bad', it's just that she wants to cut things. She (at age three)
has some understanding of being destructive, and she hasn't tried them
on furniture or her clothing (yet). So I tell her that when she wants
to cut, to tell me and I'll give her her scissors. Unfortunately,
they've been misplaced lately, thus her urge for my scissors is
stronger. :-(  The best thing I can do is to remember to put my
scissors back into my sewing room (which she knows is off limits for
kids w/o adults), thus I prevent an unnecessary conflict. Note that
she has learned through repetition (with a gate across the door as a
reminder and barrier for the baby) not to go into my sewing room.

IMHO kids just try things and 'test' to learn about the world around
them. As they grow and can do things they couldn't do before, they
might test other things to see what they can or can't do now - they
don't necessarily really understand which 'rules' will or won't
change. 

-- 

Tigger (Grace Sylvan)                Mom of Katherine Yelena, 8/8/89,
tigger@satyr.sylvan.com              Corey 1/31/91; we loved him so,
                                     Robin Gregory born 2/28/92

 "It seems to me that our large goal is to find the ways to help our
 children become humane and strong."
 
              - Dr Haim Ginott quoted by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
From: wgbarnes@sun1.sdrc.com (Matthew Barnes)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Mail-order baby furniture
Date: 25 Jan 93 23:47:10 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Structural Dynamics Research Corporation

Hello Parents!

I am going to be a new daddy soon and am in the market for baby furniture.  

As we all know, baby stuff isn't cheap, so I am looking for ways to lower 
the blow to my savings account.  Is it possible to get baby furniture at a 
discount through the mail?  I was hoping there would be a FAQ list with 
this in it, but I can't find one.

If you can help, please drop me a note... 

Thanks, Matt
--
Matthew Barnes
Structural Dynamics Research Corporation
2000 Eastman Drive
Milford, Ohio 45150
(513) 576-2015
matthew.barnes@sdrc.com
From: chrisb@seachg.uucp (Chris Blask)
Subject: Re: Leaving kids alone
Reply-To: chrisb@seachg.UUCP (Chris Blask)
Organization: Sea Change Corporation, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 20:37:24 GMT

In article <10478@ncrwat.Waterloo.NCR.COM> jim@pinot (Jim Fare) writes:
>In article <2509@gandalf.intel.com> linda@linda.intel.com (Linda Harbin) writes:
>>In article <cathe.727486523@xanadu>, cathe@xanadu.ucsb.edu (Cathe Gordon) writes:
>>|> On a related subject, I'm curious at what age people feel
>>|> that their own kids are "old enough" to do something very
>>|> responsible at home alone or perhaps away from home.  It
>
I heard somehting on the legal end of the subject which made me feel a
little better about it.  It was (don't quote me) along the lines of 'the
law takes into account teh maturity of the child'.  I cna't remember where
I heard it, but I definately did.

This is contrary to a lot of stuff I've heard earlier, that if Soc Ser
finds you've left you fifteen-year-olds alone they can take them away.

I'm not sure which is the case, but my own childhood was not deprived, I
too travelled alone by plane at the age of ten, and was often alone for
short periods after school when both my parents worked.  Obviously you
can't go to Mexico for christmas and leave a 6 and 4 year-old alone, but
there has to be reasonable rules which allow for individual differences and
some developement of responsibility.

Unless, of course, we *need* to be coddled forever.

-chris blask

"the opinions, ma'am, just the opinions"
From: hayesstw@risc1.unisa.ac.za (Steve Hayes)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Girls names - "M"
Date: 26 Jan 93 05:01:28 GMT
Article-I.D.: risc1.hayesstw.220.728024487
Organization: University of South Africa
NNTP-Posting-Host: pchayest.unisa.ac.za

In article <1993Jan25.174248.28186@spider.co.uk> alisonjw@spider.co.uk (Alison J Wyld) writes:

>The Gaelic form of Mary is Moira (say moy-rah).  Or what about
>Marjorie. 

Moira is the Greek goddess of fate or wrath or something. 

============================================================
Steve Hayes, Department of Missiology & Editorial Department
Univ. of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa
Internet: hayesstw@risc1.unisa.ac.za
          steve.hayes@p5.f22.n7101.z5.fidonet.org
          stephen.hayes@f20.n7101.z5.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: mark@ocsmd.ocs.com (Mark Wilson)
Subject: Re: Thumb Sucking
Organization: Online Computer Systems, Inc.
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 14:52:26 GMT

I don't know if this will help, but my wife and I used pacifiers
with our two sons just so they wouldn't get attached (so to speak)
to thumb-sucking.  With the pacifier, you can "wean" them off it
in stages: first, no pacifiers outside; then no pacifiers except in
bed; finally, no pacifier, but that last step came naturally with
the first boy; with the second, we cut off the nipple part so
he'd still have the handle if he wanted some security!  There
were no problems either time, as we took things gradually...
both were off pacifiers by about 2 or 3.  (My wife would have
a MUCH more exact memory of the schedule, I'm sure!)

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Wilson, Online Computer Systems.  1-800-922-9204 or 1-301-601-2215
(Try email address mark@wilson.ocs.com....)
This file .disclaims everything signed with my .signature, I .mean it!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: massey@austin.ibm.com ()
Subject: Re: jogging stroller/bike trailer
Originator: massey@pmassey.austin.ibm.com
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 18:59:39 GMT
Distribution: usa
Reply-To: massey@pmassey.austin.ibm.com
Organization: IBM Advanced Workstations and Systems, Austin, Texas


>We are interested in a jogger stroller that also doubles as
>a trailer that can be pulled behind a mountain bike.  We have
>seen them in catalogs in the past but wasn't in the market.
>Now that we are interested in buying one, we can't find one
>anywhere.

>We live in Austin, Texas.  If anyone has a used one that they
>are intested in selling, we might be interested.

>Maria Moore, sasmlb@unx.sas.com
>512-479-6191

The latest catalog from One Step Ahead (Winter/Spring 1993) has one on page 36.  Looks
like it converts back and forth from a 3-wheel jogging stroller to a bicycle trailer.  It's
$199.95.  They're phone number is 1-800-274-8440.

Since you're here in Austin, let me know if you have a FAX number and I'll see if I can
FAX the page to you.  512-838-1373.



-- 
Pat Massey                                    **************************
IBM Advanced Workstations and Systems         *  All opinions my own,  *
Home of the RISC System/6000!!!               *  etc, etc ...          *
Austin, Texas                                 **************************
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: stgprao@st.unocal.COM (Richard Ottolini)
Subject: Re: Is There A Mommy Track for Technical Professionals?
Organization: Unocal Corporation
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 17:49:17 GMT

It is a difficult situation, but I have a couple questions/comments.

One would expect this to be a zero-sum situation (or less).  If someone has to earn a living
(less taxes) to pay for child care (plus overhead).  By the time taxes and overhead are
factored in, then the parent will have to be earning substantially more than the child care
provider to come out ahead.  (Read my lips: exploitation.) This analysis does not account for
economy-of-scale which if one child care worker cares for ten children (the regulatory limit?)
then costs are reduced.

Also, I am suspicious of bragging wars- "my child care costs are lower than yours".  The overhead
of a regulated childcare place, just including social security tax and liability insurance is
not insignificant.  But we all know of the Zoe Biares of the child care industry that find
el-cheapo situations, but whine when something goes wrong- either financially or to the child.

The situation is difficult.  Both parents need to work for money and/or to make life meaningful
and fullfilling.  The double-overhead situation described above should be reduced by a childcare
reduction on the income tax.
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: staffan@ca.serum.kodak.com (Kenneth Staffan (x37507))
Subject: Help! - comforting bitee...
Organization: Clinical Products Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 17:11:51 GMT

I know similar things have been discussed in the past, so I'm hoping 
someone will have some advice for me.

Over the last few months my 22-month old son has been bitten several
times at his daycare/preschool.  Although concerned, of course, we hadn't
made much of an issue of it (not wanting to blow it out of proportion, figuring
that given time it would get better, and seeing no indication of long-term
effects in our son).  However, this weekend, his behaviour raised our
level of concern.  The last time that he was actually bitten was the
previous Monday.  Repeatedly, over the weekend, on all three days, our
son got a very concerned/anxious look, and would say "David, bite.  David,
bite".  We told him that biting was naughty, and that if David did this,
to say "No No" and tell him it was naughty.  We wondered, though, if he
was looking for more than this, since he kept bringing it up.  (And it's
not like Mr.-short-attention-span to dwell on something like that all
weekend.)

This morning I discussed it with his teacher, and she expressed some
frustration over the biter.  Apparently they have not had much success with
the several methods of dealing with it that they have tried, and have not
gotten much support from his parents.  She suggested talking with the
director of the school, so that she gets parental feedback on the
problem.  I intend to do that this evening.  So... my questions are:

	Does anyone have suggestions on how we should be handling this
	with our son (other than what we are already telling him)?

	Should we be saying anything specific to the school, or doing
	anything that would help?

	Do you think our escalated concern is valid, or does this still
	sound like a semi-normal, time-will-heal-it problem?

Thanks for any advice or comments!

Ken
---
staffan@serum.kodak.com