Tuesday, May 4, 2010

“Diary of a Recession Baby: Despite tough times, parents spend big on kids” plus 2 more

“Diary of a Recession Baby: Despite tough times, parents spend big on kids” plus 2 more

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Diary of a Recession Baby: Despite tough times, parents spend big on kids

Posted: 03 May 2010 09:29 PM PDT

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By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Jason Alderman's kids get $2 for the first tooth they lose and $1 for each subsequent tooth -- a golden Sacagawea coin to make the event special.

"A lot of my neighbors give $5 a tooth," said Alderman, s enior director of financial education at Visa. "I've been lucky our kids haven't complained about the disparity from house to house."

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Many dogs die of cancer and it's difficult to avoid hereditary traits that predispose some breeds. But there are lifestyle choices that can reduce a pet's cancer risk and cancer treatments that can prolong life. Veterinarian Dr. Leah Jackson talks with WSJ's Health Columnist Melinda Beck.

Indeed, the tooth market can be pricey for parents. The tooth fairy leaves an average of $3 per tooth for kids under 10, according to a recently released survey of more than 200 adults from Visa Inc., the payment technology company.

Kids also are making out pretty well when it comes to toys. Last year about $41.2 billion was spent on traditional toys and video games, compared with $43 billion in 2008, according to market research firm NPD Group.

Despite the tough economy and strained family budgets, parents are still shelling out for teeth, toys and other discretionary kids' items. What's going on?

"We are not always rational about these things with our kids," said David Palmiter, a clinical psychologist in Clarks Summit, Pa., who focuses on children and families.

"When we are thinking about where to cut back, our thoughts don't go as quickly to those ritualized experiences with kids that give us collective joy," he said.

Paul Donahue, a Scarsdale, N.Y.-based clinical psychologist and author of "Parenting Without Fear," said parents are reluctant to cut back when it comes to special events.

"With things like birthdays, Christmas, the tooth fairy, people regard those to some extent as sacred," Donahue said.

Even parents grappling with a tight budget would rather cut spending on themselves than their kids, said Kathleen Gurney, a psychologist and chief executive of Financial Psychology Corp., a Sarasota, Fla., advisory firm.

"People are so resistant to make changes because of feelings of guilt, feelings of shame, sadness," Gurney said.

How much to give?

Back when I was losing baby teeth (I'm 32 now and thankfully have a full set of adult chompers), my folks left a Kennedy half dollar under my pillow at night, or if I was sleeping restlessly, under my juice glass in the morning.

"It was an unusual coin, it was a special kind of thing," Nancy Mantell told me. "It seemed like a reasonable amount." When asked why I didn't receive, say, a dollar per tooth, my mother said: "It was a tooth, for heaven's sake."

According to an inflation calculator on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the 50 cents I received for a tooth in 1983 would have the same buying power as $1.09 now. See the inflation calculator.

My eight-month-old daughter is years away from losing her first baby teeth. But if I adjust my own childhood payout for inflation in a few years, it looks like she'll be seriously underfunded compared with other kids.

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Cops and Kids to take place May 8 in city park

Posted: 04 May 2010 02:09 AM PDT

Healthy Kids Day set for Saturday

Posted: 03 May 2010 10:47 PM PDT

The Coppell Family YMCA will host its annual Healthy Kids Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 17 at 146 Town Center Boulevard.

The event is the nation's largest health day for kids and families.

The event is designed to promote health and fitness for kids, said Gina Tomaso, health and wellness director at the Coppell YMCA. Its also to highlight the role of the YMCA in the community.

This event is free and open to the public.

We want to have children make physical activity a part of their daily routine, Tomaso said.

The YMCA will be bringing in various vendors that provide a service or product that is in line with having a healthier lifestyle. There also will be blood sugar screening, blood pressure screening, kids diabetes awareness information, mini fitness assessments for adults, vision screenings and scoliosis exams.

Presently we have some 19 vendors signed up, Tomaso said. We will also be highlighting our own sports camps and programs at the YMCA.

During the event, kids and adults will learn the importance of physical activity and active play through fun, engaging activities, Tomaso said.

We provide resources for families to learn about basic healthy living, Tomaso said.

There will be activities for the children including Zumba, a fusion of Latin and international music that creates a dynamic, exciting, and effective fitness system, a kid's cycle class and a bounce house.

YMCA Healthy Kids Day will be celebrated across the country at more than 1,700 YMCAs. Last year, more than 700,000 people participated in YMCA Healthy Kids Day events nationwide, including games, demonstrations, arts and crafts, educational resources, healthy treats, giveaways and more, according to a press release.

For information on this event contact Gina Tomaso, health and wellness director at director at gtomaso@ymcadallas.org.

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