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Cutting Grocery Costs without Cutting Nutrition

Simple, healthy, and affordable ways to weather the rising price of food

Karen Collins, R.D., American Institute of Cancer Research

Grocery prices are projected to increase again in 2008 – that’s following 2007’s highest annual increase in 17 years. But surviving these tough economic times doesn’t have to mean sacrificing good nutrition. Some simple strategies can help you cut food costs and eat more healthfully, too.

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Madlynn is Kid of the Month


8 Ways to Connect with Your Teenager

By Sandra Magsamen

...Hug, sing, dance and tell your child you love them. Even if your teen acts as if they can't stand it, she promises you it's something they love and need. Use these other suggestions as ways to connect with your teenager...

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

by Jeff Kinney


It’s summer vacation, the weather’s great, and all the kids are having fun outside. So where’s Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing video games with the shades drawn...

Make the most of your weekend

by Charlotte Latvala

Too much free time can be just as nerve-racking as an overload of scheduled events
If you run errands over the weekend, make them enjoyable with silly games



Put your children to sleep at their weekday bedtime
Have a sitter take the kids while you enjoy an afternoon alone in your own home

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It’s playtime! The best of big outdoor toys

Get active! These fun toys will appeal to both parents and kids this summer

by Stephanie Oppenheim - TODAYShow.com contributor

What was your family’s favorite summertime game? For my less-than-athletic family, it was badminton. While we probably weren’t very good at it, I can still hear the laughter and it remains one of those happy “every summer” childhood memories.

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Single Moms - find here resources on financial aid, scholarships, help with basic needs, food, prescription drugs, health care, housing, legal info, and much more...

 

Child Passenger Safety Laws


State Laws
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws that require the use of child safety seats; however, many gaps and inconsistencies exist. While it is important to know your state law, it is more important to use best practice when looking to properly restrain your child in a vehicle. In many states the law does not mirror the recommended best practices for maximum protection for your child.

You're a law-abiding citizen, right? You've followed your state's child passenger safety laws for your children.

That should be enough, right?

Wrong. While all states have laws that require the use of child safety seats, there are many loopholes and inconsistencies. The truth is, by following your state's law, you may be under a false sense of security and unknowingly endangering your children or grandchildren every time you get in the car.

You're not alone: According to a survey released by AAA to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Tennessee's first-in-the-nation child safety seat law, over half of parents (54 percent) look to their state law for guidance on how to restrain their children. While a strong majority (93 percent) of parents surveyed said they are aware of their state's child restraint laws and most (86 percent) feel that these laws should be consistent across the country, less than half (39 percent) can accurately identify the age at which their state allows a child to ride in an automobile with only a lap and shoulder belt.

"These results should send a powerful message to state legislators across the country," said Robert L. Darbelnet, president and CEO of AAA. "Parents look to the law to provide guidance about when and how their children should be restrained but, in many respects, the laws are letting them down.

After Age 4
While states are closing many loopholes as they upgrade their laws to include booster seats, many still remain. In several states:

Children can ride unsecured if all seat belts are in use.
Parents are permitted to attend to the needs of their children, thus encouraging them to carry children on their laps.
Securing children in a seat belt or child restraint is not required if the vehicle or driver is from another state.

Loopholes in State Laws
Although all 50 states and the District of Columbia have child restraint laws in place, almost half of them have loopholes that expose children to risk of injury or death. For example, more than 20 states exempt taxis and for-hire vehicles from complying with the state's child restraint law and one-third of the states permit drivers to carry more passengers than seat belts.

Children can ride unsecured if all seat belts are in use.
Parents are permitted to attend to the needs of their children, thus encouraging them to carry children on their laps.
Securing children in a seat belt or child restraint is not required if the vehicle or driver is from another state.

These loopholes endanger children and must be closed.

Pickup Trucks and Cargo Areas
In some states, children are permitted to ride unrestrained in pickup truck beds and in cargo areas of station wagons and minivans. These areas are designed to carry cargo, not people! They do not provide protection in a crash for - children, adults or even pets.

The result: Many state laws need to be strengthened and loopholes closed to ensure the proper restraint of all children up to age 18.

 

BACK to Child Passenger Safety

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Top 8 Tips for Reducing Kids Screen Time This Summer

Reducing time spent in front of televisions and computers is one of the easiest ways to improve your family's health. Here are eight simple ways to limit screen time so you can help crank up your kids’ energy, re-charge their minds, and improve their health.

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What would you change?

Weekly Column, by Annette Bridges

Change -- some people dread it, and others can’t get enough. It may be much like the idiom, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” When it comes to what we would alter or why we would make a modification, the answers vary because we all have different things we value, want, need and consider important.

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Being a Role Model

by Laurie Cesario-Overton

If I had to choose one sentence that would best describe what I feel parents need to learn, it would be this: Be your child's BEST ROLE MODEL in all the ways that truly count. Be your child's HERO. Whatever you do, do it for all the right reasons.

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How to Find the Best Car Loans for Single Moms

Financial Advice for Single Moms

The best car loans for single mothers might be just around the corner at your local car lot.

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3 Money Rules for Stay-at-Home Moms

As we all know, life is unpredictable. We lose jobs, get divorced and even become widowed...
Here are three steps stay-at-home parents should take to better manage their own and the family’s finances.

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You May Have Too Much Debt But You Also Have Options

How Life Works

If you feel like you're in over your head with personal debt, you're not alone. Millions of Americans have become overextended, many as a result of easy credit and the recessions. Credit cards, medical bills, personal loans and raising interest rates do not make a good financial mix.

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Could fat babies mean fat toddlers?

A new study from Harvard Medical School found that babies who gained weight quickly had a sharply higher risk of obesity. The study followed close to 600 babies and found those in the top quarter of weight for their length at 6 months had a 40 percent higher risk of obesity by age 3 than smaller babies.

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Crystal Bowersox - A Single Mom And A Real American Idol

Read how the amazing Crystal Bowersox. the runner-up of American Idol Season 9, handles fame and life as a single mom, raising her 17 month old son.

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5 Ways for Single Moms to Save Money

Single moms are always looking for ways to save money, and for good reason... It’s important to find ways to cut corners on the little things that perhaps you don’t think about too often, because those are usually where your biggest money drains are.

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Suze Orman's Recession Rescue Plan - helps you survive in times of financial crisis

OPRAH.com

Do you know what your family would do if you lost your job - or worse, your home? Financial expert Suze Orman is ready to help you devise a recession rescue plan to survive - and possibly thrive - during this deepening financial crisis...

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Your Just-in-Case Emergency Plan

by RealSimple

Who do you call if you can't make it home in time to meet the kids' bus? Who do you trust to take in your mail when you're on vacation? Who do you trust with the extra set of keys to your house?

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How to save $10,000

By Liz Pulliam Weston

If you were hoping for a list of small tweaks you could make in your spending to save $10,000 a year, sorry. The reality is that $10,000 is a lot of money. And saving big money usually means making big changes in the areas where we spend the most, such as: Housing, Transportation, Food.

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The Super, Sexy, Single Mom on a Budget

by Renee Rayles

A quick reference guide designed for the busy, single mom who has

little time to read while running the mom taxi, cooking dinner, helping with homework, and trying to fit in a date night every now and then.

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Single Mothers &
Male Role-Models / Mentors

Single mothers carry an enormous load of responsibility, especially those having sole and/or primary custody of minor children. They nourish, they nurture, they teach, they discipline, they shelter, they protect, and they provide… all without the assistance of another equally-invested adult.

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Mom's Obesity Raises Newborn's Heart Risk

from the National Institute of Health

The more obese a woman is when she becomes pregnant, the greater the likelihood that her newborn baby will have a congenital heart defect, a new study suggests. The finding raises concerns because 1 in 5 women are obese at the start of pregnancy in the United States.

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The 10-Ingredient Shopping Trip

By Tara Parker-Pope and Mark Bittman

... In his latest “How to Cook Everything” segment on the Today Show, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman makes it surprisingly easy to cook a week’s worth of dinners with just a 10-ingredient shopping trip.

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Your 5-minute guide to protecting your identity

20 steps to protect yourself from identity theft, and seven ways to clean up things if you become a victim.

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TheOnlineMom.com offers parents and consumers a guide to the top-rated, age-appropriate, kid-tested and parent-approved tech toys and gifts.

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Single Moms in the News

6 Best Celebrity Single Moms
Read about Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Williams, Reese Witherspoon, Kimora Lee Simmons, Mary-Louise Parker... read more

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

by Jeff Kinney

For those wondering why tween boys don’t read very much, the answer is that more books aren’t like this...

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