Laptops for Kids. Two Computers for $399.

Kids love computers…and understandably so…they love them for the same reasons you do - they’re shiny, makes funny noises, have lots of blinking lights and let them do all kinds of cool things. If the computer hasn’t become central to your kids’ lives yet, it will soon.

And therein lies a dilemma for you:

You know that computers and kids can be a great combination. They can help make learning fun, encourage self-expression, facilitate problem solving and over a lifetime help overcome barriers to entry into the global workforce. You also know that any delicate (and often temperamental) technology and kids can be a recipe for disaster or at least an expensive service call to Geek Squad.

Computers - especially laptops - were not designed with kids in mind. You don’t want sticky hands all over your nice glossy 15.4 screen and unless you own a Panasonic Toughbook, you’re pretty sure it won’t fare well in an “unplanned drop test.”

So what to do? You either designate an older machine as theirs, hope for the best and patch it back together after an “incident” or nervously hover over yours like a news chopper over a high-speed chase - where it goes you go. Bummer that nobody makes a “kidputer.”

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The Great Noodad Halloween Checklist

It's that time of year again. The time to carve some pumpkins, rot your teeth, and scare the bejeesus out of the neighborhood kids. But, the most important part of Halloween season is how you enjoy it with your kids.

If you are like me, all your childhood memories of Halloween are all garbled together into a huge gobstopper of memories. Wouldn't you want the best for your kids? That's why I have created the Great Noodad Halloween Checklist for dads new or old. This checklist will ensure you covered all your bases and you make 2007 the best Halloween ever.

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It’s a Simple Message and I’m Leaving Out the Whistles and Bells

This past rainy, New England,
Columbus day,
we decided to get a jump on this year's Christmas shopping.  After brief stops at the craft store, the
shoe warehouse and Marshall’s,
we landed at the “Worlds Biggest Toy store”, Toys R Us.

After about 30 minutes in the place, I noticed a disturbing
trend.  Nearly all of the toys have some
kind of button that makes it talk, plays a song or causes some kind of
movement.  After extrapolation of all possible
outcomes, I was gripped by fear. My fear was that if I continued to buy my kids
the toys that they like, they are never going to have to use their imaginations
the way that I did as a kid.

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Tips for Dad-Holding-Kid Swimming Lessons

Unless you are raising kids in the middle of the Sahara, your kids will be around water. It could be an ocean, a lake or pond, or just a swimming pool but regardless, learning to swim is a very important thing for your kids to learn.

Gone are the days when it is acceptable to throw your kid into a lake and force them to survive. That may get you a call from DCS or the cops. These days, there is a trend in teaching kids the fundamentals of swimming in a very calculated manner. Although these techniques differ slightly (based on the teacher) there ARE a few general tips you should be aware of. We have 3 kids and my 5 year old daughter has taken swimming lessons in 3 different schools so I have sniffed my fair amount of chlorine in the last few years.
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