The Famundo Blog: Category Parenting

True Stories - Managing our carpool

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:14:00 -0400

We have been using Famundo to manage our carpool. There are four families involved and in the past we would get daily calls with questions about who is picking up in the morning or who is picking up after school.

We solved this problem by adding a carpool calendar to our Famundo site, with View access set to Public. Since the View access on the other items on our calendars is set to Family, only the carpool schedule is viewable by the public.

Now we set the carpool schedule over the weekend and enter the events for the upcoming week. If the schedule is the same, it is very easy to use Famundo’s Copy feature to copy events from one week to another.

Everyone else in the carpool has our public URL so they can pull up the calendar anytime they wish. We even have the phone numbers available in the events so if you need to call a driver, it is right there at your fingertips.

Here is a screen shot of our carpool calendar.

Kids and money

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:31:00 -0400

Now that tax time is over, I decided it was time to upgrade my aging version of Quicken. While I was on the Quicken web site, I saw that they have a new product out called Quicken Kids and Money.

I was tempted to demo it, but then noticed that it is geared for kids age 5 through 8, and my kids are well beyond that.

Anyway, after looking over the description, it didn’t seem like they were offering very much for the $69.99 per year they are charging for this product.

It seems that there is a lot of free information out there, such as The Mint, which will do basically the same thing.

Anyone have any experience with Quicken Kids and Money, let us know what you think.

Managing a Shared Parenting Family

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 01:22:00 -0400

I just received an e-mail from someone asking how effective Famundo would be in managing a shared parenting situation.

Because of Famundo’s has different permission levels, it is ideal for use in a shared parenting arrangement.

Since Famundo is internet based, both parents have access to the same Famundo site. Each parent can view their childrens’ schedules, so they know when they are available, when they need a ride or to be picked up. And, if their schools are using Famundo, their school schedules are filled in automatically, so neither parent has the chore of inputting the daily schedule.

But, since each parent has their own login, they can have their own private events, lists and documents.

If you have any questions on using Famundo, please send me an e-mail at the address found on this page.

Maybe Mozart doesn't make your baby smarter

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:55:00 -0400

Remember back in the 90’s when the state of Georgia was handing out Bach and Mozart CDs to every baby born, with the belief that is would make them smarter? And now, there is a multi-million dollar industry solely devoted to making little baby geniuses.

But according to a recent study by Sarah Mead of Education Sector, Million Dollar Babies: Why Infants Can’t be Hardwired for Success, the evidence suggests otherwise.

While neural connections in babies’ brains grow rapidly in the early years, adults can’t make newborns smarter or more successful by having them listen to Beethoven or play with Einstein-inspired blocks. Nor is there any neuroscience evidence that suggests that the earliest years are a singular window for growth that slams shut once children turn three.

You can download a pdf of the entire study by clicking here.

Edubuntu, Linux for Kids

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:30:00 -0500

I have been using Edubuntu on one of my home computers for a while now. It is an excellent solution for the family, since I can use it as my Linux box and my daughter loves the games and educational features that are included.

I’m surprised I haven’t written about Edubuntu before. At any rate, I was spurred on by this humorous article by PC Mag’s Sascha Segan My baby is turning 1. It’s time to get her a laptop.

According to Segan, “Kids should use the same tech stuff that grown-ups use, with age-appropriate restrictions.” Its a good read.

Finally some help for the rest of us!

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:47:00 -0500

There are plenty of books, magazines, websites, and blogs, devoted to helping parents with babies and toddlers, but what about the rest of us? Every year in a child’s life presents new challanges and unless you’ve been there before, every day is a new adventure.

Now a new webzine, Parenting Teens Online promises to help us parents of teens and pre-teens the “tools to help tame the tumultuous teen years.”

We provide “practical solutions-oriented information” to help parents bridge the communication gap. Our editorial advisory board is comprised of a blend of experts, parents, and even teens.

You can signup for a no obligation free trial by clicking here.

New Social Networking Site for Women

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:38:00 -0500

Procter & Gamble Co. and Yahoo have launched a new social-networking site targeted at women

Capessa is a gathering place for women looking to change their lives – from getting fit to finding love, changing careers to dealing with illness – and to share the wisdom they have learned along the way.

Allowance 2.0

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 08:00:00 -0500

The whole paradigm of children’s allowances has changed with the advent of online purchasing and the Wall Street Journal has an excellent (FREE) article on this new model, Allowance 2.0

The article mentions several software applications and online services that help with the allowance process.

EasyChild Software which has features like an allowance calculator and “weekly behavior chart.”

PAYjr, an allowance-tracking Web site.

My Reward Board features a chore chart and a cartoon piggy bank where parents can “deposit” allowances.

The is also a podcast, where Journal reporter John Jurgensen looks at the growing popularity of the virtual allowance and how parents are using technology to track their children’s spending habits. Listen to the podcast.

100 Most Popular Baby names for 2006

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:22:00 -0500

Every spring, the Social Security Administration announces the most popular baby names for the past year.

This year, BabyCenter has released its own list with name data collected from 370,000 BabyCenter members. Interestingly, there are quite a few differences in the two lists.

The top names from BabyCenter are Emma and Aiden. Last year’s top names from the SSA were Emily and Jacob. Aiden didn’t even make the SSA’s top 10 and Emma was number two.

I suspect the discrepancy is due to the fact that the SSA draws from US parents only, whereas, BabyCenter would draw from a more international representation, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and the UK.

To view the complete BabyCenter list, click here.

Click here for information on the SSA list.

Fast Food joints jump on the fitness bandwagon.

richard.kuhlenschmidt@famundo.com (Richard Kuhlenschmidt) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:09:33 -0500

It must be as a result of all the bad PR lately about trans-fats and childhood obesity, but two giants of the fast food industry are getting into the fitness care.

First this, McDonald’s is experimenting with mini-gyms in several of its U-S restaurants.

A Side of Exercise With Your McD Fries?

It opened the first R Gym – that’s R as in Ronald McDonald for those who missed the clown plug – last March in Tulsa, Okla., and now has six more, at McDonald’s in Santa Ana, Whittier and Elk Grove, Calif.; Broomfield, Colo.; and Chillicothe and Woodridge, Ill.

Now this, Konami and Burger King Team up for kids Fitness

“Dance Dance Revolution is a unique, entertaining resource that allows kids of all ages to have fun while being physically active,” said Martha Tomas Flynn, senior director of sponsorships and promotions, Burger King Corporation. “By providing DDR toy premiums with BURGER KING Kids Meals, the DDR promotion encourages families to share in both meal time and play time.”

Just getting the old corporate image in shape for the holidays!