HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: weller@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (Bonnie Weller)
Subject: Re: Laying newborn on stomach
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 02:25:06 GMT

When I had my daughter in October, I was told by both the nurse and
my pediatrician to lay her on her side if possible, then her stomach.
I was told the back was the worst position because they can choke on
their spitup.  They also said the latest theory was that SIDS was
less likely to occur if the infant was sleeping on its side.

I put my Isabel on her side in her carraige in our room the first
several weeks with a blanket rolled up between her back and the side
of the carrige.  This helped keep her on her side.  When she got too
noisy for us to get a decent nights sleep, she went into her crib.  I 
was unable to prop her up well in her crib so I started laying her on 
her stomach.  She seems happy with this position.

The other day she tossed her milk while playing on her back.  She
coughed and gagged and ended up swallowing half her milk before I
could turn her over on her side and drain the milk from her mouth.
After seeing this happen I know now I will never put her to sleep on 
her back.  I wonder if I will ever get to sleep when she is able to 


Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: guido@island.COM (Guido Marx)
Subject: Re: looking for book
Organization: Island Graphics Corp.  San Rafael, Ca.
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 00:58:26 GMT

In article <29130@oasys.dt.navy.mil> dsegelho@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Diane Segelhorst) writes:
>The author is Margaret Wise Brown.  The illustrator is Clement Hurd,
>I think. You can get it as a traditional book with paper pages, as a
>board book, and in a boxed set with the stuffed bunny who is going to 
>bed in the book.  (telling everything, including the Moon, goodnight).
>I agree, it is a terrific book.  Lots of things to find in the pictures,
>including the mouse.

Yes, this was our son's favorite book when he was about 8 months - 1.5
years old.  I used to be able to talk him to sleep by reciting the 
words of the story (yes, I had them memorized).  Margaret Wise Brown wrote
several childrens' books.  Another good one also illustrated by Clement
Hurd is "The Runaway Bunny".  She also wrote "The Little Fur Family" and
"The Big Red Barn".  I would reccomend all of these books (and so would
Justin).

Justin still likes to read Goodnight Moon every once in a while (I think
he gets nostalgic over it).  But "Go dog, Go!" is now his favorite.

Guido



Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: smb@research.att.com (Steven Bellovin)
Subject: Re: Chicken Pox
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 12:16:19 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

In article <1993Jan5.062310.3755@adobe.com>, riggle@adobe.com (Kathleen Riggle) writes:
> Anyway, I'm concerned about Dave.  He hasn't had chicken pox and 
> we figure it's only a matter of time until he comes down with them.
> How bad is chicken pox in adults?  What are possible complications
> and is there anything that we can do now to make his case milder?

Chickenpox can be serious in adults.  My sister's boyfriend was hospitalized
with a fever of 104.  My wife didn't have it that bad, but she was quite
miserable.

Recent studies indicate that acyclovir does reduce the severity.  I *think*
that the FDA recently approved its use for chickenpox, though the subject
is somewhat controversial, at least when it comes to using it on kids.
Even its detractors agree that it's worthwhile for adults, though.  Even
if it hasn't been approved for chickenpox, since it's a legal drug, any
physician can prescribe it for any purpose, incidentally.  (This is, of
course, U.S. law, but judging from your return address, that's what you're
interested in.)

From what I've read, acyclovir treatment must start promptly.  If the
nurse doesn't know about acyclovir, I suspect you'll have trouble
starting on time.  I suggest that your husband speak to the doctor *now*
about the tradeoffs -- I'm not a doctor, and I prefer not to play one on
the net.

There is one other alternative that's probably not worth trying, based on
what you've said.  You can get an injection of gamma globulin to ward off
the virus.  But this is a very expensive business (~$400 not covered by
insurance 3.5 years ago), and I suspect that most doctrs wouldn't do it
unless the person is at more severe risks than most (i.e., already seriously
ill, or immune-compromised, or pregnant -- chickenpox can be *extremely*
serious or even fatal late in pregnancy).

			--Steve Bellovin
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: clare@nynexst.com (Clare Chu)
Subject: Re: PC educational programs and games: titles and sources needed
Organization: Nynex Science and Technology
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 93 15:15:58 GMT

In article <4310232@hpcc01.corp.hp.com> kellee@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Kellee Noonan) writes:
>Playroom - my 4YO didn't like it she likes Manhole better.
>******8
>We also have an early explorer software series called McGee, McGee's
>Day at the Fun Fair and Katie's Farm. She loves them. I thought they
>were a bit simple, but she likes to explore with them.
>********

  I'm going to try one of these.


  I don't know if Amy's Fun-2-3 is out for any platform other than
  the Commodore Amiga.  But my son is entranced by it.  To the point
  that we have to limit his time with the "doggie".  This is basically
  a counting game.  (Hey you out there who was worried that your
  daughter can't count!  This is it!).  Anyway there are four games
  ranging in levels of ability.

  The first game is a simple counting game.  The kid doesn't have
  to do anything but position the mouse pointer on a number.
  Then a woman's voice says, "8" and then something happens
  8 times, while the voice counts from 1 to 8, with an arrow
  appearing underneath a number as it is being said.

  The second game is a matching game.  This one is fun even
  if your kids doesn't know the numbers yet.  There is a slot
  machine where a number x appears in the middle, and then x fish
  on one side, and y apples on the other. (apples, fish are just
  examples, there are other objects too at random).  If the
  child puts the pointer on the x fish, the little doggy gets
  a bone, otherwise it goes onto the next spin.

  The third game is a music game.  There is a xylophone with
  numbers on the keys and a set of songs that you can choose.
  The numbers flash in a box, and you're supposed to hit the
  key with the number.  The little dog dances around.

  The fourth game is a finger counting game.  Here you must
  drop bricks on the correct number and the little dog
  puts up the number of fingers.


  Anyway I've noticed that my son can now recognize certain
  numbers and count his pacifiers (up to 3-4).  We're not
  pushing him or anything, but he's enjoying the computer game.

  They're also supposed to come out with an Amy's Play-B-C in
  the future.

  The author can be reached on internet:

  David Alves
  devasoft@cup.portal.com

  p.s. for older children (including adults) interested in world
  history there is "Civilization" out for Commodore Amiga, IBM PC
  and Macintosh.
From: zippy@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (steven.s.albert)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: toddler memory
Keywords: I forget
Date: 4 Jan 93 19:38:24 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

Quite a while ago, there was a thread on how far back toddlers can
remember.  Well, I have 2 data points that indicate that spread, but
you'll have to draw your own conclusions :-)

Data point 1: At Thanksgiving, Billy and I went over to visit one of
Mary's aunts (he was 29 months old).  After the initial clinging period
he started to explore, went over to the fireplace and said "Where's the
bunny rabbit?".  I was totally confused until Mary's aunt said that she
had had an inflatable rabbit sitting on the mantle at Easter.  We certainly
never talked about it so Billy clearly remembered it from the previous visit
when he was 23 months old [the last time we were there].

Data point 2: We had some friends over just after New Year's day.  We had
told Billy they were coming to ease the trauma of having other children in
his "space".  He knows all of them and has for a long time.  They came, they
played, Billy called them all by name all evening.  They left around 8 p.m.
with a round of hugs, waves, and kisses.  As *soon* as the door closed, Billy
turned to me and said "Who was that?"

	Steve Albert (Billy's dad [31 months])
	ssa@usl.com
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: cindy@solan10.solan.unit.no (Cynthia Kandolf)
Subject: Disposables question
Organization: /home/ludviga/cindy/.organization
Date: 10 Jan 93 15:16:54

A while back i was baby-sitting for a friend.  Until now all my
baby-sitting experience has been with kids in cloth diapers or kids
who are already toilet trained, so this was the first time i've spent
a whole evening caring for someone in disposable diapers.  I just have
one simple question, which is probably going to amuse someone, but
which i really want to know the answer to before the next time i have
Sunniva on my own for a while.

How are you supposed to check if those water-tight, "stay dry"
disposables have urine in them without fully undressing the poor kid?

-Cindy Kandolf
 cindy@solan.unit.no
 Trondheim, Norway

Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: ncl@philabs.philips.com (Nai-Chi Lee)
Subject: Re: PC educational programs and games: titles and sources needed
Organization: Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff Manor, NY.
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 14:19:43 GMT

For young kids 3 to 5 years old, I strongly recommend PlayRoom by Broderbund. 
It can be bought from many mail-order places for around $28.  A word of
caution though, the version I have is very old (1989?) and does not behave
well under Windows when using Sound Blaster.  I heard that Broderbund had a
newer version out with better sound support. 

For older kids (or for an extra-smart 4-year-old like my daughter ;-)
TreeHouse is a good choice.  Think of it as a new-and-improved PlayRoom
from Broderbund.  Also, KidPix (Broderbund, again) is great fun for kids
from 3 to 10.

Some shareware educational games are good, too.  Try the Animated-Series
(AWORD, ASHAPE, AMATH, etc) by Tom Guthery IV.  Those are available from
SimTel20 and other sites.

--
Nai-Chi

Disclaimer: Broderbund did not pay me for this posting like it should.
Newsgroups: misc.kids,soc.men,alt.atheism
From: tommy@boole.att.com (Tommy Reingold)
Subject: Re: A few facts about circumcision
Reply-To: tommy@boole.att.com
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 02:38:33 GMT
Originator: tommy@hilbert

guido@island.COM (Guido Marx) writes:

$ In article <1992Dec30.210135.19604@jmb2.jmb.com> lewism@jmb2.jmb.com (Mike Lewis) writes:
$ >Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about corporal punishment?  If I had to
$ >guess, I would say that you are probably opposed to it, perhaps strongly so.
$ >It is probably hard for you (and this "us" you mentioned) to let continue a
$ >practice with "no good reason" that involves a non-consenting third party.
$ >Frankly, it's none of your business, unless it crosses the line into child
$ >abuse.  Here's hoping it stays none of your business in the future.

$ Ahhh, and what exactly is "child abuse".  What if I took my 3 day-old 
$ daughter, tied her to a board, and without anesthesia cut off
$ her ear-lobes (all done under sterile conditions so infection was
$ unlikely).  Is this child abuse ?  If it isn't, why not ?  If it is,
$ why isn't circumcision ?

Because circumcision is supposed to be an investment in pain to prevent
a greater amount of pain.

I was at the caesarian section births of both of my daughters.  The
doctor and nurses subjected my daughters to all sorts of painful
procedures when they were a few seconds old.  I remember the doctor
shoving a tube up Julia's nose that was almost a foot long.  He stuck
it in all the way.  It probably went half way down the chest.  She was
literally 30 seconds old and struggling under the discomfort and I was
seriously tempted to ask the doctor to spare her, but I expected that
he would have said that it's worth the suffering.  Same for the shots
she got a few minutes later.  Is that abuse?

I suppose you could say that the benefits of circumcision are not quite
so clear.  But then I would say, "Here we go again."
-- 
Tommy Reingold
AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
tommy@boole.att.com or att!boole!tommy
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: rweisbe@starfleet.nswc.navy.mil (Bob Weisbeck)
Subject: Re: How to protect your family from the State
Organization: Naval Surface Warfare Center
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 15:58:52 GMT

  In article <JGJ.93Jan5095143@rcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com>, jgj@ssd.csd.harris.com (Jeff Jackson) 
|> 
|> Here's a question (to tie things back into misc.kids sort of): did
|> *anyone* out there ever have a civics class as a kid that actually
|> taught the bill of rights?  Did anyone out there ever even read the
|> constitution as part of a class?  I know I never had such a class.
|> I've always thought that one of the conditions for graduating from one
|> grade to another should be to recite the whole constitution with
|> amendments from memory.



  I went to a Catholic School near Buffalo NY... I don't know if the 
history that I was taught was required by the state, the diocese, or 
just the teacher but we had to keep a folder that we built on each
chapter dealing with each of the 10 bills of rights and amendments.
We would learn the main point of each and then collect newspaper
articles dealing with the topic for that week. We never memorized
the constitution (it would be an enormous task) but had to know
the number of the bill or amendment and what it stood for). 
When I was a big brother one of the fun things we would do to
pass time driving somewhere would play a game relating something
he was learning (state capitals, amendments, geography, spelling)
and take turns asking each other questions. He actually taught
me a lot. As he got older he would tell me how proud he was
to be able to stump me with a question. I hope I was able to
teach him something.  I know my enthusiasm (sp) for history
rub off on him.  I hope when my 2 year old is old enough that
I can play a similar game with him to encourage his learning.
Tommy my little brother is now 25 and still plays it with me
when we talk on the phone.  


Bob
From: mbb@keps.com (Maureen Busch)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: BABIES AND READING/TV
Date: 11 Jan 1993 10:41:20 -0600
Organization: Kodak Electronic Printing Systems
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

In article <1993Jan08.184027.27751@gateway.ssf-sys.DHL.COM> cmoussav@ssf-sys.DHL.COM (Carla Moussavi) writes:
>  My son, Alexander, will be 21 months at the end of January. He is a pretty
>active child, not one to sit still and play with trucks, building blocks,
>etc... He prefers to run around and "investigate" areas of the house - opening
>drawers, climbing on chairs (sturdy chairs we've given to him), playing with
>pots and pans, etc...  The kind of child whose idea of fun is to just play
>tag and hide-and-seek for hours, or dance to music (he just started that).  
>  Anyhow, I have a question - should I be making more of an effort to sit and 
>read with him, or let him watch a disney video once in a while. He has very 
>little interest in books, won't sit still to look at them, and we VERY rarely 
>turn on the tv for him, so he has little interest in that. 
>  However, a few of the mothers at daycare say things like, "Oh, Johnny just
>loves his 'XYZ' book, and laughs so hard when his sees that 'XYZ' video!"
>These are babies even a few months younger than Alexander!  Alexander doesn't
>know the names of very many objects yet - is this because I don't read to
>him? I talk with him a lot (well, I talk and he jabbers back in response) 
>and always point out objects to him.  

I've been there!  At that age, my now 6 YO budding reader was the same way.
I was beginning to think I was doing something seriously wrong because I
didn't read to him much because he wasn't interested.  And, like your

Alexander, he didn't have much of a vocabulary.  Let me tell you that just
talking to him and pointing out objects (flower, tree, etc.) paid off because
he went through a language explosion at about 22 months.  He was adding new
words to his vocabulary daily.  As for books, he finally got interested around
2.5 or 3, and then he became *very* interested in hearing books and such.
By 5 he was trying to figure out this reading thing for himself.  He isn't the
most advanced reader in his class, but he certainly is enjoying it and is 
getting better at it all the time.

My advice would be not to worry about it right now.  Have books around, and
try occasionally to get him to sit with you for a few minutes to look at the
pictures.  He will probably get more interested as time goes on.

Hope this helps,
Maureen Busch
Internet: mbb@keps.com  <--note new address!
DISCLAIMER:  The opinions expressed are mine, not my employer's.
From: susan@uvmark.uucp (Susan Todhunter - (JWT))
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: How to protect your family from the State
Date: 5 Jan 93 15:42:06 GMT
Article-I.D.: uvmark.1993Jan05.154206.38768
Organization: VMARK Software, Inc.

In article <1993Jan5.035252.11557@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> pciszek@nyx.cs.du.edu (Paul Ciszek) writes:
>             You yourself can be jailed just for breastfeeding your baby.
>(I have the article on that last one; it's a beaut.) 


Could you please post this article?
Thanks.
-- 

  Susan Todhunter
 
  Internet: uvmark!susan@merk.com, UUCP: uunet!merk!uvmark!susan
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: srheault@alfred.carleton.ca (Steven Rheault Kihara)
Subject: Fertility and frequency
Summary: How long does it take for sperm to renew to maximum strength?
Keywords: Sperm
Organization: Carleton University
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 18:42:19 GMT

My wife and I have been trying for some months now to start a family,
and we have been at the receiving end of a barrage of advice from
friends. The one point that no-one can agree on is how long we should
be waiting between attempts during her fertile days.
To put a fine point on it, how long does it take for sperm to build up
after they are released? Should we wait 24 hours? 48 hours? Are there
enough sperm to try again the same day?

Steven Rheault Kihara
A man hoping the latter is the correct answer
Xref: sparky misc.kids:31444 misc.education:5633 comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:16317 comp.sys.ibm.pc.games:28895
From: bakken@cs.arizona.edu (Dave Bakken)
Newsgroups: misc.kids,misc.education,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
Subject: PC educational programs and games: titles and sources needed
Date: 4 Jan 93 20:14:31 GMT
Followup-To: misc.kids

I am getting a low-end 486 machine this week, and a major use will
be for educational programs and (educational!) games for my
daughter.  However, I don't know where to start to find out
what would be good for her (she already types on my terminal
at home and knows almost all of her letters).  I guess we
would be looking for some programs to help her with counting,
letters/typing, and basic reading skills.  Also, games that
develop reasoning skills would be great.

The machine will have MeSsy DOS and Windows 3.1 and a soundcard,
in case it matters.

I've seen or heard about the following programs (titles from memory):

	- Playroom (has games to develop reasoning skills)
	- Rabbit Math
	- Reader Rabbit I
	- Bearanstain Bears do Counting (she *loves* their books)
	- Kiddesk (locks kids out of parts of the file system)
	- Kidpix (kid painting program)

Can anyone comment on how good these are, or reccommend similar
ones?   Also, if you've bought them, what is a decent price?

Also, are there any mail order places that have a wide selection
of educational programs and also have reasonable prices?

Thanks a lot!  I've tried to do a lot of homework, but there
is so much out there, perhaps much of it garbage.
--
Dave Bakken                               Internet: bakken@cs.arizona.edu
Dept. of Computer Science; U of Arizona   Voice:    +1 602 621 4098      
Tucson, AZ 85721; USA                     FAX:      +1 602 621 4246
The fact that you're paranoid doesn't prove they're *not* out to get you.
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: BIOSEE@UKCC.UKY.EDU (Stephanie Edelmann)
Subject: Cute (?) things they say (2.5 y.o.)
Organization: University of Kentucky
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 05:21:30 GMT

My daughter Tatijana (2.5) and I are working on the bilingual-thing.
It's hard for Mommy, because Mommy does sometimes feel more comfortable
with English than with German.  However, I'm trying hard and I guess it's
working.  (Even though she did tell me the other day that she didn't want
to talk German, because none of her friends did, either.  Can't argue
with that even though they speak Chinese, Arabic etc...)
 
The other day I asked her if she could speak German: " Yes," she replied
"and English."
Mommy: "Who else speaks English?"
Tati: "Daddy does."
Mommy: "Does Daddy speak German?" (He knows about 20 words!)
Tati: "Yes, a little bit."
Mommy: "Does Mommy speak German?"
Tati: "Yes."
Mommy: "Does Mommy speak English?" (And I DO think that I'm quite fluent!!!!)
Tati: "Yes, a little bit."
Mommy (SPEACHLESS): "What, a little, not a lot?"
Tati: "No Mommy, you don't know a lot of English.  You don't know Frosty
the Snowman"
....Can't argue with that.  She taught me Frosty the Snowman and I STILL
don't know Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.... Maybe next year.
 
****************************************************************
* STEPHANIE EDELMANN   |  MAN HAT'S NICHT LEICHT, ABER LEICHT  *
*                      |  HAT'S EINEN.  UND WENN'S EINEN HAT,  *
* BIOSEE@UKCC.UKY.EDU  |  HAT MAN'S GANZ SCHOEN SCHWER.        *
*                      |  (I GOT IT FROM MY DAD; DON'T KNOW    *
*                      |   WHERE HE GOT IT)                    *
****************************************************************
*
From: smb@research.att.com (Steven Bellovin)
Subject: Re: The Schoo didn't fit
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 22:22:19 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

In article <MMEYER.93Jan11121235@m2.dseg.ti.com>, mmeyer@m2.dseg.ti.com (Mark Meyer) writes:
> 	Quite.  I'm hoping for (but not expecting) a speedy start to
> the trial.  I'd just LOVE to find out what that defense lawyer was
> talking about.  Wouldn't seem as bad?  As Macaulay(sp?) Culkin said,
> "I don't think so."

Look at it this way -- what was the attorney supposed to say?  Seriously --
there were probably several dozen reporters shoving microphones into
his/her face, and a lawyer is ethically compelled to act in the client's
interest.  What would you have said?  ``Well, I agree with you that my
client are sleazeballs, but I'm going to try to persuade the judge to
sentence them to only 15 years instead of 16.''  It was either the quoted
answer or ``no comment'', which rarely looks good in the press (especially
given the way this case has been played up).
From: millerj@belize.crd.ge.com (Julia K. Miller)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: A few Questions
Date: 12 Jan 93 15:47:49 GMT
Reply-To: millerj@belize.crd.ge.com (Julia K. Miller)
Organization: GE Corporate R&D Center


	In regards to the baby not drinking from a bottle, I tried lots of
different nipples before I finally got one that Corey would drink from. 
Several
friends had the same problem and for most of them I think it was the orthapedic
disposable bottle nipple that finally worked.  So, you might want to try some
different types of nipples.
	We started trying to get Corey to drink from a cup at 6 months.  We
started with water and have now mixed in a little apple juice.  Basically most
of it ends up on his shirt but he loves trying to do it.  He tries to suck
from the spout, turns the cup upside down, tries to drink with the spout on
the opposite side, etc.  It provides us some entertainment at the dinner table.
	My books say you can start trying a cup at 5-6 months.  Start with
water until they get the hang of the cup because it's easier to clean up.
We haven't pressed Corey so I don't know how fast you can train them to use
a cup.

Julia
Newsgroups: misc.kids