Last night, everyone in my house went to bed early–except me. So, with an unexpected hour alone, I sat down at the computer with the intention of hunting online for a freelance writer based in Zurich (for work). Which led me to the magazine of SWISS International Air Lines. Which led me to a blog post about Swiss bloggers. Which led me to a lecture by an American about the slow movement. By this time, I looked up and it was high time for me to go to bed, too. An…

We recently ran into one of Alex’s preschool buddies and his mom at Target. Alex couldn’t resist announcing to his friend that he was buying a Ben 10 toy. “Ooh,” the mom said to him, “you’re lucky. My kids don’t get to watch that show.” (Translation: “We’re more responsible about limits than in your house.”) And I doubt my protest, “Oh, he hardly ever watches it. I don’t even know what channel it’s on,” rang true. For the uninitiated, Ben 10 is on Cartoon Network and

This week the Nielsen Company released study findings that are useful if you’re the parent of a tween (ages 8 – 12):
  The report estimates that:
   * 35% of tweens own a mobile phone.
   * 20% of tweens have used text messaging.
   * 21% of tweens have used ring & answer tones.

I like seeing statistics like this because I’m anticipating my soon-to-be-middle-schooler will ask for a phone before long. Contrary to what he will tell me, 35% is still quite a minority (though I’m…

I came across an awesome resource this week–totallywiredbook.com (and its sister site, ypulse.com). It’s the blog of Anastasia Goodstein, author of a book called (you guessed it) Totally Wired. The tagline on the title caught my attention: What teens and tweens are REALLY doing online. A year or so ago, I had an experience with my child doing something online that, ahem, totally surprised me. (He knows what I’m talking about.) So, I was immediately hooked in.

In describing the book, Ms. Goodstein says:…