Family

Marlene Bloom, the developer of the well-known and innovative Turn, Kick, Reach Swimming Program for very young children (10 months and up) which has gained worldwide recognition, has just developed a water safety DVD called "Is Your Child's Life Worth 10 Minutes?: A Visual Pool Owners Guide". Already, safety organizations have applauded this effort, and the DVD has been endorsed by various governmental and health organizations. This unique visual guide is a DVD educating parents on the protection and hazards that can be found around their home and pool. It uses a step-by-step approach to give parents the right tools to safeguard their children and keep them from becoming a drowning statistic. The DVD can be found at www.tenminutesforlife.com and retails at $17.95.

July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The Baby Einstein Company announces the release of Baby Wordsworth, an innovative new title created to expose children to first words and the idea that communication can take various forms. Hosted by classic Baby Einstein puppets, the title includes a special guest appearance by Marlee Matlin, Academy Award Winning actress, who introduces little ones to the concept of language, including verbal, written and sign.

Summer is here and warmer weather can mean danger for your cats and dogs. The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) issued a pet safety advisory urging pet owners to protect their companion animals during the sweltering summer days. The organization offers these guidelines as a way to keep pets safe when the temperatures begin to rise:

June 28, 2005 – SanDisk today introduced FlashCP, a unique proprietary content processing technology designed to let students easily and safely download and store their textbooks, novels, learning tools and more on a USB flash drive. While protecting the copyrighted content of publishers, FlashCP aims to create a "digital backpack" that weighs ounces instead of pounds. The announcement was made at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), where SanDisk is exhibiting in booths 26 and 28 in the Philadelphia Convention Center.

These lookalike toys are functional phones (just plug them into your home phone jack) that include a hands-free earpiece so kids can multitask while they're talking. Each organizer actually organizes as well, with space for kids to store phone numbers, email addresses and their calendars. There's also a password protection feature that allows kids to keep their private information private. $19.99.www.sakar.com.

June 23, 2005 -- Teddy Ruxpin, the world's first animated storytelling toy, will once again captivate children with his love of adventure, learning, imagination, and friendship. To mark Teddy Ruxpin's return, parents, collectors and gift-givers can reserve their very own Limited Edition Teddy Ruxpin, starting July 1, through an exclusive pre-sale opportunity at www.teddyruxpin.com. During the pre-sale event, 100 lucky participants will also be randomly selected to receive a special autographed Teddy Ruxpin by the toy's original creator, Ken Forsse.

Buy one get one free! Buy a 911 Eye Gel between now and Fathers Day, and receive the second one free. Great for the man that has everything, including dark circles and puffy eyes. To order go to: http://menaji.com/eyegel.html (put code: FD05 in the comments box of the order page).

A popular trend with homeowners is to turn their family rooms or basements into full blown game rooms not the ones we remember as kids with folding chairs, ping pong sets and pool tables. Today’s families are budgeting more money than ever to create a showplace that features pro-level fun stuff that family members of all ages are sure enjoy all year long and never outgrow. Thanks to the Baby Boomer’s and Gen Xer’s need to relive their youth, full size arcade games are now more popular in homes than the arcades they once inhabited. Here is a sample of the most popular family game room fun stuff.

June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Now that the calendar has hit June, schoolchildren across the country have begun their official countdown to summer break, pushing thoughts of academics to the back of their minds. While kids' first priority is play, educational stimulation is a concern amongst their parents. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by StrategyOne on behalf of VTech Electronics North America, most parents (97 percent) acknowledge the importance of keeping kids' minds active during the summer break, yet only 17 percent have enrolled their children in an educational camp or activity. To help bridge the summer activity gap, the introduction of V.Smile Pocket gives parents and kids a fun and educational solution they can both agree on.

June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- One of the touchstones of baby boomer childhood, the classic SchoolHouse Rock series of Saturday morning television, is now reaching another generation through two new titles for the Leapster learning platform -- SchoolHouse Rock Grammar Rock and Rock America Rock. LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc., a leading manufacturer of innovative learning products, has debuted the two new titles for its award-winning Leapster handheld learning game system for children from four to ten years old. Read more