Today’s kids, according to statistics, spend half of their time interacting with screens. Are there any negatives to this? What might our kids be gaining, or missing out on with so much screen time?

Dr. Michael Osit knows. He is a licensed clinical psychiatrist and author of Generation Text: Raising Well-Adjusted Kids in an Age of Instant Everything

In the book, Dr. Osit shows parents how the combination of high-tech interaction and immediate gratification is making our children at risk develop a distorted sense of self, poor work ethic, a sense of entitlement, and weakened social skills, as well as increased aggression.

But the news isn’t all bad.

Instead of being anti-tech, Dr. Osit gives parents suggestions on how to appropriately use technology. He even mentions that for shy kids, technology can bolster their social life. You can get his book or listen to this interview with Dr. Michael Osit here.

It seems that every month we hear about another ingredient in products we buy everyday that has harmful effects.

The latest to hit the news is parabens. Parabens are found in about 80% of the personal care products on store shelves, and even some food products and other items.

When I heard the words “breast cancer” associated with parabens, I had to do a little more digging to find out are parabens dangerous for me to use. The data is not very convincing that parabens are linked with any health problem, but after doing some research I decided to avoid it.

It might be worth looking for the “paraben free” label next time you go shopping for moisturizer, makeup or sunscreen.

In these tough economic times, we’re all thinking about ways to save money. From cooking from scratch, perusing the thrift stores and canceling the cable, moms have gotten creative when it comes to tightening their belts.

For a pregnant mom considering whether to breastfeed her baby, the money saving aspect is important to consider and may even help her get through those initial challenges.

It’s been estimated that breastfeeding saves a family about $1,000 for the first year of baby’s life. Not only does not buying formula save money on the grocery bill, but breastfeeding saves money in other ways too.

Breastfed babies have less illness. This results in fewer Doctor visits (with accompanying co-pays and prescriptions). If mom works outside the home, she won’t have to miss work as often. This is one of the reasons companies benefit by encouraging their female employees to breastfeed and providing convenient, private areas to pump as well as generous breaks!

The cost benefits of breastfeeding don’t end with infancy. The health benefits continue for the child’s entire life. Breastfed infants suffer less eczema, less asthma, fewer episodes of ear infection, urinary tract infection, less food and environmental allergy, and even have healthier teeth. Breastfed babies grow into children who need less orthodontic care. (The vigorous sucking required to get milk from a breast allows the jaw and palate to develop normally, resulting in less crowding.)

If you’re a pregnant mom, think about the ways breastfeeding will save you money. If you’re a new mom experiencing breastfeeding challenges, call a La Leche League leader (they offer help over the phone and in person, free of charge) or Lactation Consultant and get the support you need to keep going.

Breastfeeding tops make it simple and comfortable to breastfeed your baby, especially if you work outside the home and pump your milk, or for nursing in public when you want to meet baby’s needs discreetly.

With everything else you need to do to care for your new baby, you need something that will make life easier and save time. You don’t want to deal with weird positions trying to get your shirt out of the way whilst holding a crying hungry baby! This is the exact reason why breastfeeding tops were invented – all you need to do is lift a flap, move a hidden panel to the side, or unsnap the nursing tank top.

Another benefit of breastfeeding tops is that it provides you privacy and warmth. Instead of lifting your shirt so that your belly is exposed, all you expose is exactly what baby needs. This means that onlookers do not see you have undressed and you feel comfortable nursing in public. Most of the time noone will even know what you’re doing if you’re wearing a breastfeeding top.

These are also a plus in wintertime when you may catch a chill if your side is exposed.

You can also find cute nursing bra tank tops, like this one seen on Angelina Jolie. These tanks have a built in bra and all you need to do is unsnap the side you are feeding on and then re-snap when done. These are great for your budget because they replace a nursing bra and can be worn under any shirt to create an instant breastfeeding shirt.

This weekend I had my 7 year old all to myself. My other 3 kids are visiting relatives in another state, so I took the opportunity to spoil my son a little.

We decided to head out for an afternoon at the movies and at first it was a toss up between Madagascar 2 and Bolt, but as soon as I realized that Bolt was 3D, I knew we had to see it. I haven’t seen a 3D movie in years and my 7 year old never has, so it was a real treat for him.

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t thrilled about sitting through this movie at first. I thought it would be boring and cheesy. But to my surprise I got sucked in to the story really quickly and it held my attention throughout. The movie had just enough action, drama and comedy to be entertaining for an adult without overpowering a child.

First of all, you can’t help but fall in love with Bolt. He’s totally adorable and John Travolta doing the voiceover adds to the appeal.

If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s about how Bolt discovers that he’s not really a superdog with special powers, but rather he is the star of a popular TV show. He gets separated from his on screen owner, Penny, and the movie follows his journey back to her.

My favorite character was actually Rhino, the tiny but courageous gerbil with the heart of gold. Rhino is a huge fan of Bolt’s and is absolutely convinced that he’s a real hero. It’s his belief in him that actually spurs Bolt on in the end. Rhino had me laughing out loud.

I thought the movie had some important lessons about friendship, loyalty, living your dreams, what it means to be a hero, and family. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

And I think my 7 year old had a good time too!

Watch a trailer of Bolt here.

Leave it to moms to invent a product that solves a need. I came across this news article and thought it was a really cute idea.

Heartstrings Baby’s Companion is a baby safe necklace/toy/teether that moms (or dads!) can wear to keep baby’s attention. For a nursing mom with an older baby it would be very convenient to help solve that problem of baby looking everywhere in the room instead of getting down to the business of eating.

And if you’ve ever had a baby who had wandering hands that pinched or “twiddled” the other side, you probably wished you had had this product! This was certainly the case with me. I had a determined “twiddler” and had to get really creative about getting him to stop.

This product is also a bit safer than jewelry which might have small pieces that can be a choking hazard or that will get ripped off mom’s throat. And less painful than a chubby fisted baby death grip on your hair too!

You can find other necklaces for breastfeeding moms that have a similar concept.

Moms, if you’re in need of some extra cash check out this eBay Toy Selling Guide. The author Jenni Hunt is an eBay auction expert. She created this guide just to teach moms how to make surprisingly good money just by selling the “hot” toys on eBay.

Just recently I was searching for something for my daughter’s room that happened to be an IKEA product. Incidentally, we have an IKEA store here locally but I was hoping to get a great deal.

Um… no.

The item was selling at far above retail price! The point in this is that many times people are willing to pay more for stuff they want on eBay if they can’t get it locally. In the case of IKEA merchandise, if there isn’t a store near you (there are only a few around the US and people cross state lines to shop at them!), you might be willing to pay more than the item sells at retail if it’s what you really want.

Jenni has created this guide to help you discover what these “hot” items are – specifically toys that sell well this time of year, so you can leverage this concept to earn some quick, easy cash. She also shares how to get the best price for the item. Think it would be cool to turn your kid’s castoffs or yard sale or thrift store finds into a nice side income?

Yeah, thought so! Check it out here: eBay Toy Guide

That’s how much in my new ebook costs, just $1.

I’ve been working on this ebook for a couple of years now, and something held me back from offering it for sale. It wasn’t that I didn’t think the information is valuable, because it is… very valuable.

It’s because the topic is so close to my heart, if you will pardon the expression!

The ebook is called The Happy Breastfeeder, and it’s 89 pages of wisdom, tips, resources, advice and stories by and for nursing moms. It was written by a mom with 10 years of experience breastfeeding, who also spent 6 years volunteering her time to help other moms learn to breastfeed.

That mom is me. Also included are the stories moms share about their personal experiences and the sometimes difficult struggles they endured, and the blessings that were on the other side.

If you want to get it, go here: http://www.TheHappyBreastfeeder.com

If you’re not pregnant or nursing, consider getting it as a gift for a mom you know who is