Family

Aug. 24, 2005--Bringing together an extensive library of reference books for students, travelers and professionals, Sharp introduces a new line of portable electronic dictionaries. Small enough to slip into a purse, briefcase, backpack or school bag, the units can help students and teachers carry the equivalent of 15 pounds of books in a PDA-sized device. To assist travelers and business professionals, these devices feature a Spanish/English dictionary for easy translations.

August 19, 2005 – Whether she is serving them in the kitchen, out of the lunchbox or on the go, today's mom relies on the convenience of single serve snacks, and she wants those snacks to be healthy ones. According to Musselman's Healthy Snacking survey, 99 percent of moms with kids under the age of 13 serve their families snacks that come in convenient single-serve packages, and nearly two-thirds of moms say they serve their children healthy snacks daily or more often.

Parenting toddlers and preschoolers can be a trying time. Luckily, there are some fantastic new products on the market that make life just a little easier and more convenient for traveling moms and dads.

Getting back into the back-to-school groove is always a challenge, especially for parents who want to motivate and inspire their children. This back-to-school season offers a number of new technologies designed to do just that.

August 2005–Bold Games is once again partnering with Gabriel Interactive to offer two new John Deere games for Windows and Macintosh computers. Bold Games’ new Welcome to Merriweather Farm game shows Johnny Tractor and his friends plowing, harvesting, and taking care of the animals on the farm, while Busy Days in Deerfield Valley features Danny Dozer, Barney Backhoe and friends hard at work digging, lifting, and helping out around town. The games are based on Welcome to Merriweather Farm and Busy Days in Deerfield Valley, books created and produced by Parachute Publishing LLC (available from Running Press Kids Books). Both titles are scheduled for release in September.

Cardiovascular disease claims more women’s lives than the next seven causes of death combined — nearly 500,000 a year, almost twice as many as cancer. To generate awareness of the disease and support the search for a cure, Domaine Carneros is selling beautifully designed limited-edition Velvet Tees for women that will benefit The American Heart Association’s ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign. The Tees are available online at www.domainecarneros.com/merchandise.html for $40.00 with all proceeds from the sales going to the American Heart Association.

With school starting in many places already, sometimes it's hard to get back in the swing of things. Here’s a way to insure you make your early morning class on time. You’ll ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ along with a Zen melody thanks to The Progression Wake-Up Clock. It combines wake-to-light technology with aroma therapy (choose from Morning Café, Calming Lavender, Stress Relief and Energy) and environmental sounds (Zen melody, Ocean surf, Mountain stream, etc.) in one cool looking unit. $49.95; www.hammacher.com

With school just around the corner, here are some tips for choosing and using backpacks safely.Read more

• Choose right - Choosing the right size backpack is the first and most important step to safe backpack use. Bring a friend to help you measure your backpack properly. The proper size backpack is 75 percent of the length of a child's back, approximately the space between the shoulder blades and waist.
• Pack right - The maximum weight of the loaded backpack should not exceed 15 percent of your body weight. Pack only what you need for the day. Carry a book or two by hand to relieve the load if necessary. If the backpack forces the wearer to lean forward to carry, it's overloaded.

July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two screens are better than one in the new Leapster L-MAX learning game system, now available from LeapFrog. Following the successful introduction of LeapFrog's award-winning Leapster handheld, the first educational option for parents whose kids wanted a portable gaming system, Leapster L-MAX learning game system marks the company's next entry into the video game arena. By combining handheld learning and TV screen learning, Leapster L-MAX learning game system offers the ultimate in educational video gaming.

July 27, 2005 -- As the demand for natural and organic food options continues to grow, Back to Nature has introduced nine new offerings made with pure, simple ingredients like organic orchard-ripened apples, whole grain rolled oats and natural sweeteners such as pure cane juice.