Monday, May 21, 2012
In this week's Parents Talk we ask what did you name your baby? Is his/her name on the Social Security Administration's top 100?
Jacob, Mason, William. Sophia, Isabella, Emma. The names you read above, well, there are going to be several of them among the graduates of the class of 2029. Each year the U.S. Social Security Administration releases a much-anticipated, much talked-about list of the most popular baby names in the United States as taken from the Social Security card applications from the previous year. The names you read above were the top 3 male and female names as reported in 2011. In Iowa last year, Carter and Emma were the top baby names with Mason, Olivia, Owen and Sophia rounding out the top 3 spots. The top 10 list of names in the United States is below: Male Female 1. Jacob Sophia 2. Mason Isabella 3. William …
With President Barack Obama in Iowa for the third time this year, potential voters are feeling the push to decide - Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Last month President Barack Obama visited students in Iowa City to talk about student debt. Just last week, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney came to Des Moines to talk about our "prairie fire of debt." This Thursday, Obama will be back in Iowa - Newton and Des Moines, reportedly - for both presidential business and for a campaign event. It will be Obama's third visit to the state this year. All eyes will be on the Hawkeye state this election season as many political strategists are saying that one of the two - Obama or Romney - will need the Iowa's vote to win the race for the White House. What do you think? Have you made up your mind yet? Who is most likely, in your opinion, to be president in November? Cast your vote and …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Want to know what camera to buy? How to take a better photo? How to find a good photographer to hire? We've got you covered in this installment of Patch Pros.
What's an aperture? What camera should I buy? Everything seems so expensive, is it worth the money? How many megapixels should I get? Is it still worth it to shoot film? Can I even get my film developed? Who should I go to when I need a photographer for a wedding, and what rates are fair? Photography is a beautiful thing, but it can also be a confusing world for the novice to navigate. This is especially true since photography is both an art and a science, and in the photo world people often hold very strong opinions to be factual when there really is quite a lot of wiggle room depending on the individual. When entering such a harsh wilderness, it's helpful to have a guide. Never fear! We have an all-star panel of pro photogs to answer …
Monday, May 14, 2012
In this week's Parents Talk, we ask parents to give real world, practical advice for first time parents.
Recently an old friend from college reached out to me on Facebook to catch up on life, shoot the breeze, share stories, etc. It had been the better part of 10 years since we last seen one another and I was surprised to hear that she only recently married and that she and her new husband were expecting a baby, their first. What is the best piece of advice you have for first time parents? Tell us in the comments. Of course, all the kid pictures on my profile scream that I have a little experience with children, so inevitably the questions started flying and gave way to a lively Q & A on Facebook chat. "Formula or breastfeeding?" "When did your daughter start sleeping through the night?," "What car seat did you buy?" and "Do I need a diaper …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
If you or your children have seen bullying in school or online, tell us your story, join in the conversation or ask for advice from our panel.
Bullying, in schools and online, has become a hot-button issue recently, with the suicide of a bullied Iowa teen and the recent release of the documentary Bully, featuring a Sioux Falls boy. The director and writer of Bully visited Cedar Falls to participate in a panel discussion on bullying, and one of the messages they had for the community was that bullying does not exist in a vacuum. It takes a community conversation to begin to truly address it. That is what that article seeks to do; start a conversation. We're asking for your comments and questions about bullying, and our panel will respond and offer their insight. Leave your questions and comments below. Some of the members on our panel are: Derek Hannah, Youth Sports Director at …
Monday, May 7, 2012
In this week's Parents Talk, we ask parents if they would bring a young child into a tanning booth with them while they tan.
Parents everywhere gasped in collective shock last week when word got out that New Jersey mother-of-five Patricia Krentcil let her 6-year-old daughter tan in a tanning bed. Krentcil's daughter, Anna, told officials at her elementary school that her mother let her tan in a bed when the fair-skinned little girl showed up to school with a sunburn. Krentcil, who readily admits to tanning on a regular basis and who sports a dark bronze hue, says the child's sunburn was the result of playtime outside, not time in a tanning bed. She does admit to bringing the kindergartner with her when she tanned. "I’d never endanger her life by putting her under the ultraviolet light," she insisted to a reporter at NJ.com. Krentcil has pleaded not guilty to a …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
In this week's Parents Talk, we ask for your help in trying to explain the death of a loved one to a child.
It was a rough week at our house last week. The night before I was to leave on one of the first real vacations away from my kids, I found out that my grandfather - my children's great-grandfather - was dying. Call me an optimist but everything in my head said he would make it through the next week until I could make to his bedside in Wisconsin. Sadly, he passed away last Friday. After a lot of thought, I decided to go the funeral alone. I wasn't sure it would be appropriate to bring the kids along and besides, I didn't want their last memory of their grandpa to be one of him in a box, devoid that bright smile and spark that was so uniquely his. When my 5 year-old asked me where I was headed on Tuesday, I was honest and told her I was …
Monday, April 23, 2012
This week in Parents Talk, we ask parents for advice on how to start a conversation about the birds and the bees.
My parents never talked to me about "the birds and the bees." This is not to say that I didn't know about sex or where babies comes from growing up, but we just never had "the talk." I realized this about a year ago when my then 4 year-old daughter started asking questions about where babies come from. "Mommy, how did I get in your tummy?," she asked. "Did you eat me? How did they get me out?" I did my best to be honest with her and with our twins, as well. They know that I carried them in my tummy before they were born. They know that a doctor somehow took them out. It's the parts in between that become a little gray. Recently, after a close friend was put on hospital bed rest, the questions seemed to pick up speed and, honestly, I wasn…
Friday, April 20, 2012
Not everyone can be well-versed in health-related issues. That's why we've called upon the experts to answer your pressing health and wellness questions.
It seems we all have a friend in the health-care field, and how annoying must it be for them to be bombarded with questions whenever the chance arises? "My neck hurts when I do this. What should I do?" or "Can you take a look at little Mikey's rash. Is it contagious?" Well, it's time you give those folks a break and lob your health-related questions at our Patch Pros. After the success of past Patch Pro forums, we decided to contact the experts in the area of health care and wellness to answer your questions. The following health care experts will be on hand to answer your questions this week: You can start posting your questions in the comments section below at any time. As questions arise, our experts will post an answer to them so …
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Did Iowa’s Sen. Chuck Grassley trip up with a Twitter message that called the president “stupid?” Vote in the Iowa Patch Poll and share your comments.
Here's the latest on what we might call "@ChuckGrassley Tweet Watch:" "If PresO wants ppl to pay their"fair share"he shld start w WhiteHouse staff 2.3percent of staff is delinquent by $830 000." Earlier this month, Iowa’s senior senator and prolific Tweeter Republican Chuck Grassley got into some hot water earlier this month after he picked a Twitter fight with a dispatch calling President Obama “stupid.” The tweet was part of Grassley's reaction after Obama it would be “unprecedented” for the Supreme Court to overturn the health-care law. The message -- in Grassley's shorthand style with typos -- caused a stir online. Here’s the gist of it: On April 7, Grassley set off a 139-character blowup with this: “Constituents askd why i am not …
Megan VerHelst
12:00 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
I'm not surprised. How many years does this make now where Twilight-inspired names topped the list? Like 7? ;-) more ›