Watching elephants jump on trampolines or grover sing his ABC’s is a great way to keep our toddlers busy. But YouTube isn’t intended for kids and the “related video” links are often inappropriate. What if you accidently click on a deadly elephant stampede thinking it’s zoo footage?

That’s why I love kideos.com (and my 2-year-old Bode is hooked too). Kideos is basically a child-friendly filter for YouTube. Videos are classified by age from 0 to 10 and also by category. Personally, I like the old-school Sesame Street clips like The Beetles sing Letter B (”Let it Be”).

You know those delicious moments when you and your child are locked into each other’s gaze–laughing, smiling or just making faces? Those moments when the rest of the world disappears and you’re the parent of the most adorable child on the planet? Few things in life can touch those times, and they are much more than just feel-good moments. These interactions are critical to the parent/child bond and to your baby’s health and development.

All that cooing, copying of your baby’s facial expressions and mimicking her sounds lets her know that she is deeply treasured and understood. We reflect that understanding back by copying and imitating our babies in a wonderful back-and-forth dance throughout our day. Babies love and crave this interaction. All this mirroring calms and soothes them and helps them to feel safe with what is happening around them.

In fact, chemicals are being released in the brain that make your baby feel wonderful and elated, which has a profound impact on her brain. Science now shows that the more pleasant experiences she has, the more her brain specializes for resilience and happiness. Most of the brain’s circuitry is developed after birth, and it is through these intimate connections that neuropathways develop and babies learn to organize and regulate emotions. These are also the building blocks for the development of empathy and social skills.

To be honest, these games of face making, cuddling, and cooing are better than any toy or video you could ever buy for your child. This is what your child craves and needs from you. (You don’t have to be in your child’s face every minute of the day, though. That would overwhelm and annoy your baby–rest assured, she will look away or fuss when she’s had enough!)

While there is also nothing wrong with mobiles, smart toys, and videos, remember it’s your beautiful face your child needs most. And keep up the baby talk and silly faces with your toddler, she still needs it. These mommy love games are the best emotional nutrition you can give your child–building security, as well as emotional and intellectual intelligence.

And you thought you were just playing peek-a-boo!

www.connectedparenting.com

Some parents know more about nutrition than others. But for those that really don’t know what foods are a healthy choice for their children, there’s Smart Choices. The program places a front-of-pack nutrition label on items that are healthy food and beverage choices.

To qualify for the Smart Choices Program, a product must meet a set of nutrition criteria that limits saturated and trans fats and added sugar, while boosting vitamins. Sounds good, right?

In theory, yes, but some of the items that have earned the Smart Choices seal of approval are questionable. Froot Loops, Cocoa Krispies and even Fudgsicles carry the Smart Choice label. The chairman of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, Walter Willett, says the criteria used by Smart Choices is seriously flawed, making the program uncredible.

How can Froot Loops be considered a health food? Froot Loops qualifies for the Smart Choices label because it has some Vitamin A and C added, is low in fat and has the maximum amount of sugar allowed under the program for cereals (12 grams per serving). However, in this case that is also equal to 41% of the product–more than in most cookies.

Is Smart Choices really helping consumers or is it just a way for large companies to pass off junk food as healthy choices for our children?

I slather on enough sunscreen so that neither of my children has ever had a sunburn, but I may not be doing as well when it comes to protecting their eyes. And it looks like I’m not alone in my neglect. A recent poll by the Royal College of Optometrists found that 75 percent of parents are risking their child’s eyesight by exposing them to bright sun without sufficient protection.

My infant fares okay. While he refuses to wear sunglasses for more than about 10 seconds, he almost always dons a brimmed hat in sunny weather, which shields his eyes from the sun’s rays.

My two-year-old, however, often tosses his hat and rarely wears glasses. If he does, I’ve just found out that they’re the wrong kind. According to the College of Optometrists wearing cheap sunglasses with no UV filters poses an even greater danger than wearing no glasses at all. With cheap glasses, the pupils dilate to allow more harmful rays into the eye but they don’t provide protection.

To find out if your child’s sunglasses make the grade look for the letters CE on the inside of the arm.

I’ve always said a busy day of climbing at the park or chasing after a mate with a Tonka truck will tire my son out and ensure a good night’s sleep. Now new research is backing up my opition. A study of 500 children published in The Archives of Disease in Childhood found that active children fall asleep faster than those that partake in R&R. The study found that for every hour a child sits still, they will increase the time needed to fall asleep by three minutes.

What’s interesting is that it was irrelevent whether children spent time in front of the TV or reading a book. Movement versus non-movement was what determined how easy it was for kids to fall asleep.

Is there anything safe for our babies anymore? Health Canada recently detected bisphenol A (BPA) in baby food packaged in glass jars with metal lids. They say levels are too low to pose health or safety concerns but the levels in some brands were similar to those in the recent baby bottle scandal that caused us all to rush out and spend $20 for a “safe” plastic bottle.

The recent baby survey looked at seven brands and 122 total products. Ninety-nine products tested positive for BPA. How is this possible?

The BPA migrates from the plastic linings of lids into the food. The plastic coating is necessary to prevent corrosion of the metal and the resulting contamination of food.

Does this mean I’m going to stop feeding my baby jarred baby food? No, most foods tested did have quite low levels. But it does mean I’ll skip certain products and avoid My Organic Baby. Ironically, the organic line had by far the highest levels of BPA. Their carrots topped the list at 7.22 ng/g (as a comparison PC Organics carrots had 0.95 ng/g).

For a full list of BPA concentrations in baby food, click here.

Who says reading US Weekly can’t be educational? Granted there’s not much to learn from following Lindsay Lohan’s ups-and-downs but sometimes popular culture can make us look at our own lives and encourage us to do something we’ve been avoiding. Listening to the coverage of Michael Jackson’s untimely death may bring you flashbacks to bad 80s leather jackets or rekindle bewilderment over his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley–did that actually happen? Whatever you feel for Michael Jackson, it’s almost impossible for any parent to listen to Michael’s sad life and not feel something for his three children–and what will happen to them now.

The answer seems to be his mother will get custody (with Diana Ross as a backup provider). Since Michael seems to have nothing but unfond memories of his own upbringing, one wonders if he really gave much thought to who would provide for his children should something happen to him. Didn’t the pop icon once brag he would make it to 150? If one believes they are invincible, why put much thought into a will?

When it comes to our own children, all of us are a little guilty of the invincibility act. Can any of us really picture our children’s life without us? For this reason, too many of us either have no will (or one with too little thought put into it). Is your named guardian really the best option should something unforseen occur?

If you’re one of those parents without a will (or one in need of updating), I encourage you to do it sooner rather than later. Don’t know where to begin? Cookie has a great article outlining the three easiest ways to make a will. It’s a great place to get started.

A recent survey of over 20,000 teens found that nearly 15 % believe they will die young. The study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics found that 15% of males and 13% of females in grades 7-12 believe it is highly likely they will die before the age of 35. Fatalistic kids are more likely to engage in risky behavior and take drugs because they feel like they have nothing to lose.

As a parent to an infant, and highly optimistic toddler, I wonder what I can do to prevent fatalistic feelings in my own kids as they grow older. What are your thoughts?

I don’t know about you, but the last thing I wanted when pregnant was to sit still for an hour and have an artist paint a mural over my unborn child. But some women are not only willing to let Phoenix-based artist Mark Greenawalt paint their bellies but they’ll pay $50 for his designs (that look a little like 70s castoffs you might find in a garage sale). Check out his designs here: TIME

As if there wasn’t enough for moms-to-be to worry about, now we can’t even get depressed. Or, if we do feel down, we can’t do anything about it.

Until recently doctors advised that it was okay for pregnant women to take drugs such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft to help ease depression. But a flurry of recent reports are challenging the safety of antidepressants for unborn babies. Most famously, three independent studies have found that Paxil can triple a baby’s risk of developing a heart defect. The risk is still less than one in 500, but if you’re that one mother the effects can be devastating.

Studies have also found that Paxil and other anti-depressant drugs can increase the risk of miscarriage and the chance that your baby will be born prematurely. Most doctors now warn that pregnant women should avoid Paxil and most anti-depressant drugs throughout their pregnancy except for extreme cases. If you suffer from depression, and are planning to have a baby, you should speak with your doctor about alternatives before trying to conceive.