Oh baby, it’s cold outside
Do you tend to lose touch with your friends and neighbors during the cold winter months?

Children and mental illness
During the summer of 2003, my then 7-year-old son Daniel developed unusual behaviors that made me vaguely uneasy.

Homeschooling 101
A year before her son was going to start preschool, Heather Manahan began considering the option of homeschooling.

At the core
You tell your daughter to sit up for the hundredth time as she slumps over her homework.

Baby steps to a better you
Oh, that yearly routine. You know the one: in a mixed mood of hope and self-deprecation about unfulfilled resolutions from 2007, we craft resolutions for the New Year.

Connecting with baby
For new mom Christen Hammersley, there are days when there isn’t even time to take a shower.

A mall the kids will really like
Malls and kids do not usually mix—unless you are at the grand daddy of all malls, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.

Soup’s on!
Every year Americans consume more than 10 billion bowls of soup. In fact, more than 90 percent of households in the U.S. buy soup annually.

Dreaming of dry?
You’ve tried everything you can think of—no drinks after 8 p.m., alarms, rubber sheets—and still your child can’t get through the night without wetting the bed.

South suburban spotlight
Keeping activities straight just may be a parent’s biggest challenge. Sports, scouts, dance, school. It’s bad enough if you have one child, but if you have two or more?

South suburban resource guide
Where to go and what to do in the South Suburbs

South suburban focus
Girls learn responsibility, leadership and financial acumen

Make sense of the election process
Have you ever tried explaining the election process to your kids?

Have fundraiser fatigue?
As Susan Doherty and her neighbor Larry Jacobs found themselves talking about all the fundraisers they’d endured with their school-aged children, they started dreaming about something better.

Can-do kid
Crystal Lake freshman Jessica Staples doesn’t let anything get in the way of her love of gymnastics.

Take the T out of can’t in 2008
Can’t isn’t a word I accept at home. I’m sure my kids are sick to death of me telling them they can do anything if only they just try harder or think of a way to make whatever it is they want possible.

Letters

Beware of MSG
Prayer to stop the killing
Doggie etiquette reminders
RSV needs to betaken seriously

The things people say
Oh my God, you’re huge."

The winner’s circle
Post time in our house is not about Fruity Pebbles or Honey-Comb cereals, it’s about horse racing.

Bring on the soup and the Vicks
Seasoned parents offer their best cold-curing tips this month in light of warnings about cold medicines. Read more parenting tips at chicagoparent.com.

Life all twisted
Kim Oster-Holstein has been dreaming about pretzels for what seems like forever.

Candle danger
We had a rather eventful Thanksgiving this year.

Home safe home: Dangers lurk in harmless places
Children have an amazing ability to turn something seemingly harmless into something dangerous.

Fab mama
Ring in the New Year peacefully with a stylish silver "peace" envelope from Dante Beatrix, www.dantebeatrix.com.

From baby food to family food
In the beginning, it was simple. Feed your baby breast milk or formula, then start adding cereal, vegetables, fruit and meat.

Were you naughty or nice?
You knew it would come and here it is: January. The bows are gone and the bills have arrived. Don’t despair.

Fear hypocrisy when giving ‘the talk’? Don’t
A reader responding to my August 2008 column, "The talk got you worried?"

Winter party centerpiece
Warm up after a fun skating party with hearty chili and hot chocolate served on a festive holiday table adorned with handmade winter decorations you and your kids can make together.

A new way to celebrate
Balloons, $1.50. Ice cream cake, $20. The rented room, DJ or clown …?

Alternative resolutions
On Jan. 1, we awaken energized and excited to change our lives for the better, but by mid-month we’re back in our old routines.

Rubber band fun
Paper airplanes are old hat compared to the cars in Mike Rigsby’s Amazing Rubber Band Cars.

Host families needed for Russian orphans
Families interested in adopting children from Russia may be able to host the children for five weeks this summer.

Help for creepy crawlies
The dreaded call came just minutes after I’d arrived at work.

Mental health drug update
The FDA has recently approved the antipsychotic drug Risperdal for treatment of schizophrenia in adolescents ages 13-17 and for short-term treatment of bipolar disorder in youths ages 10-17.

The power of observation
Observation is an important skill that helps children learn to read and develop an interest in science.

Apraxia of speech cases on the rise
Recent reports indicate an increase in the number of kids diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS),

Daycare may reduce risk of asthma
A recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology suggests early daycare attendance may protect high-risk infants from later developing asthma.

Fostering a love of reading
If fifth-grader Tianna Pabon of Humboldt Park didn’t attend Centro Nuestro after school, she figures she’d just be sitting at home with nothing to do

This month’s recalls for lead and more
Children’s wood storage racks by Jetmax International are recalled because the racks can tip over, which can entrap and suffocate young children.

Celebrating snow
Now that it is officially winter, snowmen become a part of everyday life. We see them in front of houses, in stores and on TV.

Fred’s music exchange
First of all, thank you for responding to my request in November’s column to let me know what music you are listening to with your children.

Boys’ turn to save the world
Tom Golden has a best friend, Grey Arthur, who is a ghost. What more could any kid want?

Jan. 3, 2008
Get out and play. Build rockets and explore the galaxy with your family at the Adler Planetarium, located at 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, today through Saturday during Adler Winter Family Week. The rockets you build might not take off for true galaxy exploration, but your imaginations surely will.

Jan. 10, 2008
Get out and play. Score a slam dunk with your family this weekend as you visit the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, to see the Harlem Globetrotters. For 82 years, the Harlem Globetrotters have been touring the world demonstrating their extraordinary basketball skills. You won’t just see dribbling and bouncing from the Globetrotters, known for their dunking and ball juggling, during their “Magic as Ever” World Tour. At the end of each game, fans big and small will have a chance to get autographs from their favorite players.

Education curriculum of the future

Today’s parents remember a much different classroom than the one in which their kids are learning today.

Preschool education:
Today’s parents have a dizzying array of options when it comes to thinking about preschool for their children.

Grammar school – beyond teaching to the test
We all remember what it was like back in school, sitting on the edge of the seat, waiting for the teacher to hand out "the test."

Science fairs
Even if you don’t have a young Albert Einstein on your hands, encouraging your children to participate in a middle school

High School: foreign language
For some students, taking a foreign language class during their high school years is just another school requirement.

Extracurricular activities
Making sure your child stays active and healthy is one of a parent’s biggest responsibilities.

Your child’s written voice
Children are born with vivid imaginations that run beyond boundaries and rules.

College funding
The college years seem far away for most parents of small children.

A teacher to know
Lloyd Barber is a retired early childhood educator who most recently taught kindergarten at Kingsley Elementary

Jan. 17, 2008
Get out and play. Head over to the Morton Arboretum, 4100 Lincoln Ave., Lisle, from 1-5 p.m. this Sunday to celebrate Tu B’Shvat, or the Jewish New Year for Trees. Originally, the fruits that grew from Tu B’Shvat were counted on for the following year's tithes.

Jan. 24, 2008
Get out and play. Use your imagination and climb into the world of your favorite dog at the “Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog” exhibit at the Kohl Children’s Museum, 2100 Patriot Blvd., in Glenview, this weekend. You and your family will have the opportunity to join the book’s well-known characters on Birdwell Island and play inside Clifford’s doghouse.

Jan. 31, 2008
Get out and play. This weekend, “chill out” downtown with your family during the opening of the Museum of Modern Ice: Paintings Below Zero at Millennium Park, located between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive at Washington Street. The festival revolves around “Paintings Below Zero,” a colorful, frozen painting on ice by Gordon Halloran. The installation was made from glass and ice and is held together by Halloran’s portable refrigeration technology, which uses modular aluminum plates that conduct the cold. If things get too chilly, you can defrost at the Hot Spot at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.