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Tech NewsInternetGoogle TV Brings Kids Profiles to an Already Fantastic Streaming Device
Google TV is bringing new parental controls to its streaming device. The company announced that beginning Monday, parents or guardians can now create individual profiles for each of the kids in their households with either their name and age or an existing Google account, should they have one. From these new profiles, account holders will … Continued
By Catie Keck -
io9Toys & CollectiblesThe Animatronic Baby Yoda Is for All Force Sensitive Children
One of the downsides to watching genre series and movies airing on TV channels aimed at younger audiences is the barrage of toy ads you’re forced to sit through, each of them trying to convince you that you need to buy whatever the product in question happens to be. Often, these ads are surefire ways … Continued
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io9Young Justice: Outsiders Is Raising Fascinating Questions About Super Ethics
While Young Justice: Outsiders’ larger, overarching story has followed multiple groups of public-facing and covert Justice League teams fighting to stop the Light and its involvement in Granny Goodness’ metahuman trafficking operation, some of the series’ smaller, more personal stories have explored what the new age of active meta-genes means for “normal” people. Unlike the … Continued
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ScienceHealthParents Can Expect Less Sleep for the First Six Years of Their Child’s Life
Moms and dads shouldn’t expect their sleep habits to bounce back to the way they were before kids for at least the first six years of their child’s life, according to a new long-term study involving nearly 5,000 parents. When my own children were very young, I convinced myself that my sleep would never return … Continued
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ScienceBiology
Spider Milk Is Real and Their Babies Love It, New Study Shows
Jumping spider mothers provide milk to their spiderlings far into development, according to a new study that might turn your understanding of invertebrate parenting on its head. Animals offer all sorts of provisions to their offspring, be it through regurgitation, unfertilized eggs, or in extreme cases, their own flesh. But specialized milk-like secretions are something … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Cleaning Your Baby’s Pacifier by Sucking on It Prevents Allergies, New Research Suggests
It’s a scene parents and caregivers are all too familiar with: an infant’s pacifier falls to the floor. When this happened with my first born, I rushed to clean the soiled soother by boiling it in water or carefully washing it in the sink. But by the time my second child was born, I was … Continued
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io9Incredibles 2 Shows How Hard It Is to Be a Super-Parent
The first Incredibles movie invoked the time-honored tradition of using superpowers as a metaphor for what makes people unique and special. In Incredibles 2, the tropes of being a superhero complicate the characters’ lives even more, especially the grown-ups who have to take care of children. Pixar’s much-anticipated sequel puts superhero-in-hiding Bob Parr on the … Continued
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io9Goodbye, Peppa Pig
My seven-year-old daughter has gotten into some straight-up terrible TV shows of late. While I’m glad one of them is a magical-girl show like Sailor Moon, which organically extends her genre palette, it’s absolutely awful. I long for simpler times—times when I’d watch Peppa Pig with her. It’s been about 18-20 months since the jaunty, … Continued
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Tech NewsDon’t Use a Nest Doorbell to Raise Your Kids
Nest just released a new ad, and let me tell you: there are some issues with the content. So you see this teenage girl in a prom dress ring a Nest doorbell, and a teen couple walk out the front door. The two girls walk to a car, as a low robotic voice beckons the … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Are Screen Time Guidelines for Children Too Strict?
In guidelines produced last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics advised parents to limit screen time to one to two hours a day for children between the ages of two and five years. New research suggests these recommendations aren’t producing the desired psychological benefits, and that the AAP’s recommendations are unreasonably strict. But given how … Continued
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io9Books & Comics
Aquaman and Aquagirl and the Amazing Crown of Justice
Friday was a snow day in Austin, Texas. I told my daughter she couldn’t just watch videos all day. This is what she made. Expect spelling and execution in line with a first-grader. Be nice. The story was titled “Aquaman and Aquagirl and the Amazing Crown of Justice.” (She messed up the order here, we’ll … Continued
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io9My Daughter’s Journey Into Superhero Fandom Has Made Me Look at How Nerd Culture Has Changed
“I would love if DC Superhero Girls were really alive.” “Why?” “Because I really like them. I’m their biggest faaAaaAan.” Over the summer, my daughter surprised me. When I went to San Diego for Comic-Con, her superhero fascination had cooled. Sure, she was inhaling as much Teen Titans Go! as various streaming services could serve … Continued
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io9
Open Channel: Who’s Your Favorite Fictional Dad?
Today is that annual barbecue-flavored festival of football games and wrist watches known as Father’s Day. It’s a time when people reach out to their father, mother, or parental figure to remind them they’re awesome (that reminds me, I still have to do that!). There are plenty of fictional papas who also inspire us, so … Continued
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io9
“I’m Thinking About the Hulk’s Farts”
When I started telling my daughter about various superheroes, I thought for sure that the Flash or Batgirl was going to be her favorite. But super-speed and total recall can’t stand up to gamma-powered grumpiness: the Hulk has her heart. At six years old, my girl child is still in the age range where she … Continued
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io9The Lego Batman Movie Gave My Daughter a New Way to Understand the Concept of Family
The last thing I was expecting The Lego Batman Movie to do was to show my daughter how even the Caped Crusader needs people to care about and what it means to have the people you care for torn away from you. Over the weekend, another parent invited my daughter and me to join him … Continued
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io9
‘Daddy, Can You Tell Me More About the Superheroes?’
I’d been waiting years for my daughter to show an organic interest in superheroes, video games, and the other stuff I write about as a professional nerd. It’s happening, at long last… but it’s taking us to some unexpectedly poignant places. It started, unsurprisingly, with Batman. While getting ready for bed more than a month … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Piggyback Driver Helmet Is a Great Reason to Put Off Having Kids
They say parents will do anything for their kids, but surely there has to be a line that gets drawn somewhere after dressing up like Santa, but before having to wear this Piggyback Driver helmet. It lets kids steer where they want mom or dad to go while getting a piggyback ride, but shouldn’t kids … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsVirtual Reality Bedtime Lets You Ditch the Kids at Home
Being a parent, fun as it can sometimes be, is also incredibly difficult.* And for a parent who can’t be there for everything—because of work, travel obligations, divorce or separation, or other circumstances—it can be even harder. But while modern life has brought with it a whole host of new stressors and challenges, it’s also … Continued
