Valentine’s Day is a day for couples and lovers but pre-schoolers have been taught early about showing love and appreciation for that special someone. They love this day, too! And they love giving out heart candies and short notes to other kids.

Celebrating Valentine’s day with your children is a fun activity you can do together. Here are some ideas to commemorate this day with your kids:

1. Go on a special “date”. Daddies can take the daughters while mom’s can “date” the sons. The best date for kids would be a trip to the ice cream parlor or spending time playing bumper cars. As a child, I used to love this special moments spent with just my Dad and it makes for one memorable time any child would treasure.

2. Spend movie night at home and let the children pick the film. The parents can prepare the popcorn and drinks and simply just have fun as a family.

3. Take a leisurely walk in the park in the late afternoon. I know that this may be a usual activity most families do, but how often do you do this with every member? Make it a point for everyone to be present. It’s the day of togetherness and love.

4. Create special cards for someone special in the family. Have your daughter craft a homemade card for Dad. Have your son do the same for Mom. Most young kids love doing something special for their parents.

Hope you celebrate this day with love and happiness in your heart!

Have you finished all of your Christmas shopping? I have not. There is about seven more days to go and I am expecting that my running theme for the week would be cramming and panic buying. I still have plenty of kids on my gift list but if there’s one thing I have, it’s that I am not running out of suggestions on what to buy. This at least cuts shopping time, lost on deciding what to get my nephews.

The list, which rounds up some of the best toys to give to kids, comes from Parenting.Com. Is your child’s favorite gift on this list too?

Dragon’s Dungeon is a Toy Of The Year Pick by Parenting Magazine. This medieval themed playset encourages a young boy’s imagination. This is sort of like the dollhouse for boys and is recommended for ages five and up.

Make n’ Break Challenge is another toy of the year choice. This block set teaches kids about structure and builds their mobile function as well as strategic thinking. It’s recommended for ages 8 and up, but I think four year old kids will also appreciate this. The toy is available at Ravensburger.

The Big Box of Fuzzoodles is perfect even for teenage kids. The set contains fuzzy characters that kids can create using its detachable parts. I think it’s a fun way to spend a couple of hours together. You can get this toy from Giddyup.

The Twister Hoopla from Hasbro is an iconic board game that will surely be enjoyed by the whole family. Great for bonding time and laugh out loud moments on a lazy Sunday afternoon. You can get this toy from Hasbro.

Babies physically grow faster in their first few years of life, which makes buying clothes rather challenging, especially if you constantly have to buy her new sets every other week. It isn’t practical to choose clothes that are way more expensive since the chances of the baby wearing this would probably only be three or four times, and then it would be time to dispose of it.

I personally do not go for branded and designer clothes for the baby, as this is not going to get me money’s worth. Instead, I take pains to shop for cheaper clothes. There are plenty of choices. You just have to know where to look.

For instance, many department stores have rack discounts or offer clearance sales for baby clothes at certain times of the year. Wise mom shoppers should grab this opportunity and take note of when these sales are happening as merchandise may sometimes go for 50-70%. Check with Macy’s and JC Penney, as they often have good designed and quality baby clothes for sale from time to time.

Shopping online is also a haven for bargain shopping. Because there are so many independent merchants peddling their items on E-bay and Etsy.Com, you could get lucky and score affordable and even one of a kind clothes for your precious kids. Some stores also offer online discounts that are not usually available at their actual stores.

Some thrift stores may also offer baby clothes that are hardly used or never used and sell them for $1-$5. Just remember to wash these clothes properly first before putting it on the baby, to avoid health issues later on.

Like many modern moms, I have all those little social networks as my stops online.  It’s primarily due to them that I can stay in touch with friends and family that otherwise I would have lost contact with a long time ago. 

Besides, let’s face it- social networking can be incredibly fun. 

Also like a lot of other moms, I have quite a few mom friends online too.  Most of them are a lot more talkative about their children that I am, as I tend to take the private route.  With many of those friends, you wouldn’t even have to be right there to know what’s going on at any given time with them, their children, and every other little detail.

Unfortunately, this same openness has also seemingly erased any real acknowledgement of things that may be left not online.  While at some point most people have secretly laughed at some of the digital faux-paux online, many of the same people who wouldn’t dream of doing ‘something like that’ could still putting themselves at risk.  Maybe even in ways they aren’t thinking of.

The case of a mom who recently found her child at the center of a Craigslist adoption scam recently found this out the hard way.  While yes, her child was home and not going to be kidnapped- the entire incident left her understandably shaken. 

When it comes to our children, everything is exciting.  In a world of firsts it can be hard to not over-share all those firsts, and besides (and especially for parents) they are exciting.  With digital cameras you can take a ton of photos and post them all in a matter of seconds, and really with our cell phones- it really doesn’t take much to update everyone on all those same things.s

A simple ‘first’ update with a photo can have some lasting problems for children, especially in their later years.   Kids can be cruel, and if your blog or status updates are uncovered by a bully, that really won’t bode well for your child.

Also considering the sheer amount of people online, and how many people may be on your ‘friends’ list, many that you may not really know- there’s always the chance that someone with some not so great intentions may stumble upon those photos.

The easiest way to protect yourself is really to keep private.  Be it by not sharing too much, or just remembering to to update privacy settings on your social networks.

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It’s true that we all handle our emotions differently, the backlash faced by this mom over Twitter is astounding.  While many of her detractors have let up, others won’t.  They blame her for the death of her son, who had fallen into a pool he had drowned.

The other day I wrote about a family who was trying to make something good out of a horrible tragedy. 

Due to what this mom is going through right now, I’m not writing out the handle.  Obviously, if one is inclined it’s easy enough to find anyway. The blogosphere is taking the story and running with it, for better or worse.  While many are taking the side of the mother in question, others are being outright ruthless.

Many people have a support network online, and it can be the only place some can turn with their problems.  While this case is an extreme one, it shows that both social reaction and technology doesn’t seem to be running at the same pace. 

While many bloggers may turn to their audience with problems and concerns, not everyone finds that an appropriate place to vent.  While many are simply writing about a bad day at work, or maybe forgetting some mundane thing at the store, this case features a real mom with very real pain. 

It’s obvious that not everyone was receptive.  Perhaps in part due to the initial tweet that had made the accident sound as if she was writing it before doing anything, or maybe people are just cruel.

What is your view?  Should this woman have ‘expected’ this type of backlash?  Or are some just taking this to extremes?

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