HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: carlo@electro.electro.com (Carlo Sgro)
Subject: Re: Names
Organization: Electrohome Ltd., Kitchener, ON, Canada
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 15:58:24 GMT

In article <3548@master.CNA.TEK.COM> judyd@aspen.CNA.TEK.COM (Judy E. Drake) writes:
>Our criteria for names were 

Funny, we (actually, mostly I) had criteria, too.  However, I found that 
most of them were broken by our final choice ("Michelle").

>1) We liked 'em a lot.
Yep.

>2) Had to be unisex (I don't want any future employer judging my kids 
>by their sex as determined from a name on a resume.  OK, I admit this 
>one is far fetched, but it was important to me).
One of my criteria was that the name NOT be sexually ambiguous!  :-)

>3) Easy to spell.
Yep.

>4) Can't be shortened to a nickname.  I've never liked having a name
>(Judith) that's never used except for on forms.
Must have lots of variations so that the bearer can choose what they 
want to be called without a lot of hassle.

5) Not similar to another name in the family.  I've got two Uncle Franks
and three Cousin Franks ("Frank's coming over."  "Uhh, which Frank?"  
"Big Frank."  "Which one is Big Frank?"  ...)

Of course, I forgot that Michel is the French masculine of Michelle.  It's
pronounced the same except for those with very sensitive ears :-) (there
goes rule #2).  A spelling variation is "Michele" (there goes rule #3).  
And, largest of all, I forgot that my birth brother (who I've seen less 
than a dozen times) is named Michel!  

Luckily, in practice, we haven't run into any problems in Misha's 23 months...
-- 
Carlo Sgro  is  carlo@electro.com            "... and I think that it is 
and also watcgl.waterloo.edu!electro!carlo    extremely unlikely that she was
System Administrator, Electrohome Ltd.        kidnapped by Alien Elvis 
Kitchener, ON, (519)744-7111 x 7209           Impersonators ..."  
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: nina@ee.gatech.edu ()
Subject: Potty Training FAQ
Organization: georgia tech
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 20:51:31 GMT

Can someone please send the potty training FAQ? 

I would definitely appreciate it. We're entering a whole new phase!

Nina
From: alison@husky.informix (Alison Suggs)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Names
Date: 10 Sep 92 17:41:20 GMT
Reply-To: alison@husky.informix
Organization: Informix Software

In article 20497@oakhill.sps.mot.com, amym@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Amy Moseley Rupp) writes:
>Re:  Geordie LeVar

stuff deleted...

>How about
>George LeVar Gatling, with a nickname of Geordie?  that way the kid
>could be the conservative George Gatling if he wished later.
>
>or, Geordie Eric Gatling (or whatever "conventional name" you
>wish there)  that way if the child wishes to be conservative,
>he could be Eric Gatling, or if he was a total yuppie,
>G. Eric Gatling.
>

If the kid thinks Geordie is too casual, what's to stop him from going
by "George" as a nickname?  After all, nicknames don't have to be more
casual than the real name, they could be more formal instead.  I think
Geordie LeVar is a neat name, and if the child doesn't like it, he can
go by "George" or "G.L" or adopt a nickname of "Fred" for that matter,
or he can even have his name legally changed, which is what my mother-in-law
did ("Bertha" was too much for her..)

Alison
From: ltaylor@eec.East.Sun.COM (Laura Taylor - Network Operations East)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Warning kids about strangers?
Date: 15 Sep 1992 17:34:12 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: world
Reply-To: ltaylor@eec.East.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: eec.east.sun.com


Go check out the books in your public library. When my
daughter was six, I checked out about 10 books from our
library on this very subject. They were written for kids,
and were in the children's section. We read them together,
and then talked about them.

I would say that 4 is not too early. It is never too
early. However, you might have to refresh your 4 year
old's mind about this at age 5, 6, and 7 etc. if you really
want it to sink in.

/laura
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: anne@dolores.Stanford.EDU (Anne Paulson)
Subject: Autism:  anybody have experience with it?
Organization: Stanford University
Distribution: misc.kids
Date: 15 Sep 92 19:31:13

A friend of mine's three-year-old has just been diagnosed as autistic.
I don't know the child well, but he's been over at my house several
times, so I can confidently state that he's nothing like the guy in
"Rain Man":  although he's sometimes unresponsive, he will often
answer if you ask him a question like "Do you want some juice?", and I
have seen him have a small conversation with my two-year-old.

The therapists told my friend that he is "high-level" (i.e. more
towards normal than other autistics) but that he will always be
autistic;  there is no cure and you don't grow out of it.
He will have to learn ways to deal with the world.  (Like a dyslexic, I guess).

I know very little about autism and am certainly not questioning the
diagnosis, but one thing that makes one wonder is his past history.
For a time (a year I think) he was under the care of a nanny who,
unfortunately and unbeknownst to the parents, gave him almost no
stimulation and no interaction.  The other child who was also under
this nanny's care, and who was an infant at the time, has been
diagnosed with developmental delays and is under treatment.

Does anybody have any experiences with autism?  Happy stories are
especially welcome.

-- Anne
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: reid@metis.tti.com (Reid Kneeland)
Subject: Re: Pacifiers
Organization: Transaction Technology Inc.
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 22:39:51 GMT

In article <14934@mindlink.bc.ca> Bob_Daye@mindlink.bc.ca (Bob Daye) writes:
>Does anyone out there have any suggestions what to do about a three week old
>girl who refuses to take a pacifier but will glom on to Mom's breast or Dad's
>index finger for hours??? It can take her quite a while to fall asleep.
>Tired in Vancouver...

We had the same thing with Sarah.  We hung in there for a month or two, and
her sucking needs subsided somewhat.  We are now quite happy that she didn't take
the pacifier, especially when we see three and four year olds walking around
with their mouths plugged.  (By the way, pacifiers aren't recommended for very
young breastfeeding kids; supposedly, very young infants don't really grok
the difference between eating and just sucking, and may not get enough milk
if their sucking instinct is satisfied non-nutritively.  I guess this applies
to fingers too, but you aren't as likely to leave your finger in the baby's
mouth constantly as you are a pacifier.)

=====================================================================
Reid Kneeland
reid@tti.com  (that's MISTER reid@tti.com to you!)
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: pburch@bcm.tmc.edu (Paula)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: periconception chemical exposure
Date: 11 Sep 1992 20:25:31 GMT
Reply-To: pburch@bcm.tmc.edu (Paula)
Originator: pburch@roc.mbcr.bcm.tmc.edu


In article <BuFGqB.L6z@apollo.hp.com>, betsyp@apollo.hp.com (Betsy Perry) writes:
|> 
|> I think that all the rules of thumb Paula proposes are prudent, for
|> the mother who can manage them.  Paula's article was completely
|> reasonable;  I'm just using it as a springboard for problems that
|> worry me.
 [...]
|> If you can plan your pregnancy ahead, and exercise discipline
|> beforehand, more power to you, and I'm sure it does both you and your
|> baby good.  But if you didn't lead a pristine lifestyle before
|> conceiving, try to relax.  If you talk to your OB about your sins of
|> omission, I'll bet you'll find that there's nothing to worry about.

I really ought to have pointed out that the steps I mentioned reduce your 
risk from low to lower, and that failing to take them will probably have 
no effect.

A friend of mine, like the majority of women, was involved in some re-
decorating of her house during pregnancy. She was exposed to large amounts 
of solvents in the course of removing paint or something. As a result, 
she started bleeding heavily, and was terrified that she was going to 
miscarry or that she'd damaged her baby. (I don't quite understand the 
connection between the solvent and her problem, but she's quite certain 
of the connection, and I figure I'll accept it at face value.)

He's now a perfect five-year-old boy, and has never had any problem at all.

Pregnant women already have far too much to worry about.

Paula Burch
pburch@bcm.tmc.edu
From: dcs@witsend.tnet.com (D. C. Sessions)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Math: Estimating vs Real Thing
Date: 11 Sep 92 05:27:36 GMT
Organization: Nobody but me -- really
X-Mailer: TMail version 1.04

In all the discussion of estimation, everyone has consistently
overlooked a critical aspect of IMprecise arithmetic.  Critical
because it should be taught early, and critical because the
child in the original question is a girl.

Got it yet?

With estimation, it's OK to be less than perfect.  There's no such
thing as a WRONG approximation, just closer and farther-off.  If
my 7yo daughter adds six five-digit numbers and is off by one, she's
WRONG.  If her brother guesstimates the sum and lands within 5%, he
made a fair estimate.  Which one will be more willing to continue?
Will it help if she spends five years when only perfection is good
enough and THEN learns to sanity-check her answers?

There's been a lot of discussion on this group about how boys are
allowed to fail early and often, then to pick up and go on.  By
contrast, girls are typically expected to get it right the first
time.  By the time a girl is nine, this will probably make her
TERRIFIED of guesstimating.
---
--- D. C. Sessions                            Speaking for myself ---
--- Note new network address:                dcs@witsend.tnet.com ---
--- There never was any correspondence between my views and SCI's ---
From: pauling@seismo.CSS.GOV (Terry Pauling)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: names
Date: 11 Sep 92 17:39:22 GMT

>about ANYTHING and they don't need a unique name to do so. I agree
>totally. When I was in school I was constantly teased on my last name,
>Sharkey.  Sharkster, Jaws, CPO Sharkey, Sharkey's Machine...ICK to all of

I agree, I was always being teased for my last name, too. I
guess my first name just wasn't interesting enough.  Anyway,
my last name is Pauling and all I ever heard was "thats
appalling, Ms. Pauling" ha,ha,ha... My point is that kids are
kids and no matter what your name is you can't escape those
awful kid jokes, BUT, you can teach your kid to be proud of the
uniqueness of his/her name. I also wasn't given a middle name
(noone on my mother's side has one), which was kind of unique
but nice since all of my classmates usually hated Their middle
names! Even now some people can't/don't believe me when I tell
them that I don't have a middle name. 

>them. And I am also constantly correcting people who insist on calling
>me "Jack". Jack is a man's name (I know so is Jackie but you know what
>I mean) and it rubs me the wrong way to have someone call me that.
    
I can relate to this too! My first name is Terry and I don't
like it when people assume that I'm Mr. Terry Pauling.
Sometimes people say to me "I thought Terry (especially with a
"Y") was a MANS name" and I just say "No, it's not a MANS name
it's MY name" :-)

>name your child whatever you want.  Kids will be bothered and teased
>no matter what anyway.  And who knows, in 20 years, his peers might even
>be *jealous* that he was named after that "old guy" in ST:TNG.  ;-)
>
I'm happy to have a unique name, and I agree that his
plain-named-peers"(just a fig. of speech, no offense
to and Debbies or Steves out there)will probably be *jealous*

-----
Terry Pauling
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: MAHER@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu (Cynthia Maher)
Subject: Re: Young siblings
Organization: The Ohio State University - OCES
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 15:50:11 GMT
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.24

In <15SEP199211153971@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov> goldberg@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov writes:
> > 
> Ok, just wait until the baby starts crawling, and getting into
> her brother's stuff. And, here's an intersting stage we are going
> through right now - my daughter, soon to be 7, is exhibiting
> a characteristic 7 year old trait - 'the world is against me,
> I hate everything'. This is mainfesting itself as 'I wish Michael
> (younger brother) was never born', 'I hate you Michael', and
> other such pleasantries. Of course, YMMV, but when my kids were
> the ages of your kids, we were also surprised at the lack of 
> sibling rivalry. Something to look forward to - right?!
>                                    Patti Twigg

This sounds very familiar!  We've been hearing the same sorts of things from
our seven-year-old son Brendan.  "Everybody hates me," "mom hates me," "I wish
my brother was never born," "I wish the new baby was never born."  It's not
every day, but it's often enough drive me crazy!  The actual warfare between
Brendan and his four-year-old brother Casey also seems to have escalated.  It
seems like they can't go fifteen minutes without some sort of an upset.

They, too, got along much better when they were younger.  On the other hand,
sometimes (but rarely!) their affection for one another is touching, and
sometimes, remarkably, they can play together for a fairly long time quite
happily.

Cindy
Newsgroups: misc.kids,rec.arts.startrek.current
From: m13079@mwunix (Mary Anne Walters)
Subject: Re: Names
Organization: MITRE Corporation, McLean VA
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 11:49:38 GMT

In article <TIGGER.92Sep10014537@satyr.Sylvan.COM> tigger@satyr.Sylvan.COM (Grace Sylvan) writes:
>we almost named our little son "Christopher Robin" but we did refrain.
>But "Robin (of the woods) Sylvan" might not be any better :-)
>
>I got flack from my mom for both my kid's names. She didn't like the
>way we spelled Katherine, she didn't like the fact that we used our
>midwife's name for her middle name, she didn't like the fact that
>Robin got a "girl's" name, she didn't like Gregory, either.
>
>Robin was actually named Gregory first, because he is so watchful. As
>a newborn, he would open his eyes and look around, then decide if he
>was going to cry or not. But after we named him, I called him
>everything but Gregory during the following hours. So we chose again.
>Maybe I'll still have a Christopher Robin someday....
>-- 
>
>Tigger (Grace Sylvan)                Mom of Katherine Yelena, 8/8/89 &
>tigger@satyr.sylvan.com              Robin Gregory born 2/28/92

My parents have been giving me a hard time about names too, as have my
brother and S-I-L (they have 2 kids, #3 on the way and due right when I
am due!).  I always wanted Evangeline if it was a girl but backed off
when my Hubby wasn't too thrilled with it (he may still be less than
thrilled, and if he reads this I expect a rousing discussion when I get
home :-) ).  Alexander was one of my top choices for boys, but I would
never consider using that for any other child, even as a middle name.
No one but me likes Evangeline (well, maybe my hubby's brother) and
the rest of my family just kind of looks at me and rolls their eyes when
I suggest the boy-names I like (Zachary, Maximillian, Rhys, Ian) and
that's that.  It must be the Italian blood -- they all want little
Guiseppie's or Remmiggio's or Pasquale's.  It may have gone with
Melchiori or Guglielmo, but none of them go with such a white-bread
name as WALTERS.  <sigh>  We will probably do what we did last time --
wait till the birth and see what the baby "looks" like then decide!



--
--Mary Anne  
"What we have once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all
that we love deeply becomes a part of us."  Helen Keller
                                                 [for Alexander]
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: reid@metis.tti.com (Reid Kneeland)
Subject: Re: Wood Playsets
Organization: Transaction Technology Inc.
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 22:33:15 GMT

In article <DcTHqB4w164w@kryton.UUCP> ace@kryton.UUCP (Catherine Beckstead) writes:
>jbrindle@halcyon.com (Jennifer Brindle) writes:
>> 
>> That sounds great.  My husband and I decided in May that we would purchase
>> a swing set for our son, Brian, 3, this summer.  We looked around and
>> also decided to wait until his parents came to visit in June-July and then
>> he and his father would build a wooden set.  We bought plans and a videotape
>> and I prepared myself mentally.
>> 
>> Well, it's September now and summer here in the northwest is just about gone.
>> The swingset is still a dream.  His parents are long gone and not even the lu
>> was purchased.  I could say "I told you so" but that wouldn't be protocol.
>
>Well I've one-uped ya there!  My husband bought the wood.  :-)  That was
>a year and a half ago.

Wow, I thought I was bad.  It took me about a year to get from a pile of 
lumber to a functional climbing structure (not finished, but usable).  I
feel better now.  Thanks.

=====================================================================
Reid Kneeland
reid@tti.com  (that's MISTER reid@tti.com to you!)
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: geoffrion@merrimack.edu
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: reading list for dad-to-be
Date: 11 Sep 92 18:07:06 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Merrimack College, No. Andover, MA, USA

In article <1992Sep8.152352.985@cbnewsm.cb.att.com>, cma@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (christine.m.dakes) writes:
>> Would anyone have any suggestions for "must" reading for
>> a prospective first-time father-to-be whose partner has
>> just learned she is pregnant?
>> 
Congratulations!!  
My husband and other coaches of our acquaintance really liked :
	_The Birth Partner's Handbook : Everything you need to know to 
	help a woman through childbirth._ by Penny Simkin, published by
	Harvard Common Press, c1989. 
Sorry I don't have the ISBN, but a good bookstore should be able to order
it for you without it.  A _really_ good bookstore will have it in stock!

Have fun being pregnant!

*kath**
			geoffrion@merrimack.edu
From: exusag@exu.ericsson.se (Serena Gilbert,cs,x0364)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Stitches
Date: 8 Sep 92 14:19:11 GMT
Reply-To: exusag@exu.ericsson.se
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.

I know how you feel my son (21 mos) had to get stitches about 4 weeks ago.  We were
at the Aquarium when he fell and his teeth went through his lip. We took him to the
emergency room (along with the other two) and had to wait six hours for them to fix
his lip, 12 stitches.  He was fine until I started to explain what they were going
to do, then he told me that he didn't fall, that Aaron fell.  When that didn't work
he took off his name band and told me he was all better.  Then when he was wrapped
up in the mummy outfit, he just started to scream.  It was heart breaking to see
him there, but it was a little funny (now that I look back on it), because while
the doctor was stitching him, he kept saying "You're all done."

They actually had us go out to the waiting room, because after 3 hours in the 
treatment room he started crying/screaming, before they even did anything to him.

I also have to mentioned that his other two brothers (3 and 5) were excellent,
eventhough there were no toys for them the looked at magazines and played with
cars (from my purse a miniture toy box).  They even gave a little girl one of
their cars to play with because she didn't have any and she was crying.

Serena
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: lauraf@classy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Laura Floom)
Subject: Re: Trick-or-treating; what age?
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 15:42:33 GMT

In article <24897@oasys.dt.navy.mil> cooper@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Lynette Cooper) writes:
>
>I was just wondering, at what age did you take your first child
>trick-or-treating?  My daughter will be just over 2 this halloween,
>and I'm not sure whether to take her or not.  I tend to think not, but
>2 years ago my sister and I took her 25 month old trick-or-treating,
>and he really enjoyed it.  He was also able to get excited about it
>ahead of time, and I'm not sure my daughter would understand enough
>to get excited.

I took Jeffrey last year when he was he was 21 months old. He really enjoyed
the costume. It was a dinosaur with a hood. he loved the hood. Mainly I
got it cause we went to a halloween party. Since we had it I decided to take
him to a couple of houses. I only went to houses of people I knew. Good thing,
too, cause when they opened the door, Jeffrey charged right in!

He enjoyed himself, but the best part for him was the hood of his costume.

Laura Floom
Newsgroups: misc.kids
From: hough@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Susan Hough)
Subject: Re: Halloween ideas needed (22 mo.)
Summary:  party! 
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 16:27:32 GMT

>In article <2226@ncr-mpd.FtCollins.NCR.COM> chrisw@chopin.FtCollins.NCR.com (Chris Whitley) writes:
>>This Halloween my daughter will be 22 months old.  This
>>is old enough to really enjoy most traditional Halloween
>>festivities, but not old enough to eat most Halloween
>>candy.  My thought is that most Halloween candy is
>>too hard or too chewy for the limited eating capabilities
>>of a 22 month old...i.e. it poses a choking hazard.

We had Halloween parties for a number of years when I considered
the kids too young to come home with bags full of candy.  We'd invite
a gang of little people & most of their mothers seemed happy to have
something to do besides trick-or-treating.  The highlight of the party
was always a pumpkin-shaped pinata, filled with non-candy treats (raisins,
fruit snacks, stickers, small plastic toys, etc).  The kids are happy
to dress up & also can participate in handing out goodies at the door
if that appeals to them.

I've posted this before, but the way to get a pinata that small children
actually can break is to make it, and pumpkins are easy:  buy a big (at least
14") balloon & inflate it; tear newspaper into ~2" strips; mix a pan full
of flour and water until you get the consistency of runny paste; layer
paste-soaked strips over the balloon until it is everywhere covered with
2-3 layers of paper; let the paste dry (1-2 days); break the balloon gently
and remove it; glue fringed strips of orange tissue paper to the outside
of the paper; glue on black eyes & such.  For older 
kids, you can make a stronger pinata by applying
a second layer of paper once the first layer dries.  (Even these don't
come close to the store-bought versions for indestructability, but are
about the right level for 6-7 yr olds).

Sue
From: chrisw@chopin.FtCollins.NCR.com (Chris Whitley)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: RE: Diaper Rash
Date: 14 Sep 92 18:35:04 GMT
Reply-To: chrisw@chopin.FtCollins.NCR.com (Chris Whitley)
Distribution: world
Organization: NCR Microelectronics, Ft. Collins, CO

If this condition has appeared in the last few weeks, you
should ask yourself if the child is eating anything new to
cause this problem.  My daughter is very sensitive to acidic
foods (orange juice, tomatoes) and will develop bright red
skin within hours of ingesting moderate amounts (small, infrequent
amounts okay, however).

I would definitely take child to doctor.

Chris