As a new mom, you’ve probably been told that your baby needs to get in some tummy time each day to avoid developing a flat head and build proper head control. However, new studies show that many babies still aren’t meeting head control development guidelines by a set age. Researchers hope that a new tummy time cheat sheet will help.
Flat heads have become a very normal condition since the “Back to Sleep” campaign was developed as the recommended method of putting babies down to sleep: always on their backs, never on their bellies. Even so, developing a flat spot isn’t just about aesthetics, it can also lead to bigger problems.
A new study from the University of Melbourne confirmed that babies who develop a flat spot are more likely to have poor head control. The researchers found that of the babies being treated in their clinic, 52 percent of seven-month-olds were not meeting pull-to-sit development guidelines for head control.
To help parents learn the proper methods for practicing tummy time and developing stronger head control, the study author, physiotherapist and Ph.D. candidate Liz Williams created this handy fact sheet. Williams explained that the current advice to simply give plenty of tummy time isn’t enough.
The chart gives helpful illustrations and tips, like the fact that tummy time can take place on a parent’s chest instead of the floor. It also breaks down exercises by ages from birth to three months, so that you can change things up as your baby grows.
“Many new parents follow advice to ‘position’ their resting baby with their head on one side, then on the other side, when we need to encourage babies to be active, to move themselves by engaging with them from birth," Williams said.
Do you have daydreams about shopping—professionally? If so, your fantasies are about to come true! RetailMeNot is hiring its first Shopping Specialist and if you can shop ’til you drop, this job is for you.
So what exactly is a Shopping Specialist and how can you score the best job ever? Basically, you’ll get to shop, shop, shop some more and then dine for free. Of course, you will need to do some work, but with all the shopping and dining perks, is work really the right word for this job?
According to the RetailMeNot job posting, the Shopping Specialist will have a $5,000 budget to shop with over one week. If you have eyes for an outrageously expensive new purse or one big-ticket item, hold on for just a moment. The job requires you to shop at least five online and in-store retailers, testing the RetailMeNot app and website.
Along with money to spend on clothes, shoes or whatever else you want (selected from RetailMeNot), you’ll also get up to $50 per day to spend on dining at restaurants on the RetailMeNot app. After shopping/dining, the Specialist will need to note the effectiveness of the app or website’s coupons, promo codes and cash back offers.
While there’s no per hour compensation listed, you do get to keep all $5,000 of your purchases. So buy wisely!
To apply for this dream job send a short 60-second or less video clip to RetailMeNot, telling your hopefully future employer about your shopping habits, how you find the best online deals and why you’re the right person for the position. Email the video, along with a 100-word description of why you’re the candidate of choice, your deets and social media handles to shoppingspecialist@retailmenot.com. Visit the job posting on RetailMeNot for more information on the job or application process.
Eric Arnold, CEO of the Canadian financial services company Planswell, forgot it’s not okay to ask a potential employee whether they have kids or not. But before anyone trolls the dad for his not-so-legal question, check out the reason he behind this accidental interview inquiry.
Arnold had absolutely no ill-intentions when he asked an applicant if they had children. Instead, the CEO and father of four, is all for it!
In a recent post on LinkedIn Arnold wrote, “You can’t ask if a candidate has kids. I forgot that during an interview… They paused, gave a weird look and said “no.” I forget people discriminate against parents.” Arnold continued, “Our team has 15 kids, 4 of them are mine. We might show up after 9 am drop off. We often leave at 5 for dinner. We might run if school calls… But we do amazing work in between. We don’t succeed despite our families… We succeed because of them.”
And we only have one thing to say—is Arnold still hiring?
According to new research, most Americans believe moms make some of the best leaders in the workforce—but motherhood also comes with a major career penalty. What is the motherhood penalty? It’s a cultural catch-22 that needs to be addressed.
Bright Horizons’ fifth-annual Modern Family Index Report found that a whopping 89 percent of American workers believe that working moms in leadership roles bring out the best in employees when compared with working dads or workers without kids. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed describe working moms as better listeners than other employees. They also describe moms as calmer in crisis (51 percent), more diplomatic (47 percent), and better team players (44 percent).
In other words, most would agree that motherhood prepares you for a leadership role in the workplace. And yet it is exactly motherhood that prevents many women from achieving those leadership positions. Despite being thought of as an ideal candidate, many moms face more challenges and obstacles to promotions compared to fathers or employees without kids in the workforce.
According to the survey, 69 percent of of respondents said working moms are more likely to be passed up for a new job than other employees and 60 percent of respondents admitted that career opportunities are given to less qualified employees instead of moms who are more skilled.
photo: Businesswire
Bright Horizons considers these findings a call to action to change the landscape of the workplace. “We need to support and embrace motherhood in the workplace and learn from our leaders who are also parents,” said Bright Horizons Chief Human Resources Officer, Maribeth Bearfield in a press release.
“In order to move forward, change attitudes, and make progress, organizations should focus on supporting young female professionals and holding all employees accountable to make sure there is a real path to the top for women as they grow their families.”
Today’s kids get their news from a variety of sources, from TV to Twitter. In fact, social media is teens’ primary news source. According to a study by the University of Chicago, nearly half of young people age 15 to 25 get news at least once a week from family and friends via Twitter or Facebook. And it can be difficult to tell fact from fiction. The presidential candidates now use Twitter to spin their messages and slam their opponents. One of the study’s conclusions is: “Youth must learn how to judge the credibility of online information and how to find divergent views on varied issues.”
The media plays a huge role in our country’s political process. And with the 24/7 news cycle, those effects are magnified. On the plus side, there are plenty of age-appropriate resources at your fingertips, some of which we’ve listed below. Here’s how you can help your kids become media-savvy participants in democracy.
Elementary School Kids
Decode ads.When a political ad comes on TV or is striped across or down the side of a computer screen, talk to your kid about the claims the ad is making and how music and visuals are used to persuade viewers. Talk about why there are so many negative ads — and why they work.
Watch out for campaign-inspired bullying. Kids exposed to candidates’ mudslinging and name-calling on TV on radio and in video clips online may parrot this talk and engage in bullying behavior at school or home. Explain that politicians do this to gain an advantage over their opponent or change the conversation. Explain that name-calling and bullying isn’t appropriate at home at school or on the playground. Teach kids how to respectfully disagree.
Seek out kid-friendly news. Turn to news sources designed for kids, such as HTE Kids News, Time for Kids and Scholastic Kids Press Corps. These news websites break down the events of the day in age-appropriate terms, while avoiding stuff you probably won’t want them exposed to.
Keep the bombast at bay. Kids may not understand concepts such as groping, gun control, abortion, troops and immigration, but they can certainly feel the emotion behind the rhetoric. Try to change the station and mute the TV when you can. Kids will pick up on your reactions — and they sometimes feel at fault for causing them — so if a candidate makes you mad, explain that the man or woman on TV made you feel that way and why.
Middle School Kids
Talk about political advertising. How is a political ad like a regular commercial for a product? Is it selling a candidate just like another sells cereal? Who paid for the ad you’re watching? Can political ads actually influence the outcome of an election? Watch political movies to see how fictional political strategies mirror real-life ones.
Share political cartoons.Mocking the candidates is a long-cherished tradition Americans can enjoy in the name of free speech. Poking fun of politicians takes some bite out of their often harsh statements, shows kids that challenging bold claims is part of our political process and offers a sense of relief when the campaign rhetoric heats up.
Tackle the tough topics. With campaign rhetoric getting nastier, you may have to explain to your kids certain terms and situations you never thought you’d have to when they’re this age. Explain how candidates may bring up some things as a distraction or to get attention. Steer the conversation back to the important issues in the election. Ask your kids to identify two specific positions for each candidate to keep them focused on the real issues.
Ask how elections really work. Draw a link between your kids’ experience of student body elections or mock presidential elections at school and those on the state and national levels. Are elections just a popularity contest or does someone win because he or she has the best ideas?
De-fang hate speech and fear-mongering. When candidates unleash extreme, zealous statements, they can stir up scary emotions (worry, confusion, fear, anxiety) in tweens. Explain that candidates intentionally try to appeal to people’s emotions to gain an advantage over their rivals and that some candidates will resort to insulting, bullying and even lying. Tell your kids that much of what the candidates say simply isn’t true. See if you can get your kids to pick out the kinds of statements that are attention-getting vs. meaningful comments about what policies the candidates would institute if elected.
High School Kids
Address campaign rhetoric head-on. Discuss campaign issues that become national news — even if they’re hard to stomach. Kids will be riveted to any election news that’s outrageous. Ask your kids open-ended questions about what they’ve heard, what they think about what they’ve heard, and why the candidates’ talking points and media coverage veer so far from the “real” issues voters care about.
Watch news and debates together. Compare the media coverage on different shows and networks. Do reporters, news anchors and opinion shows spend too much time on distractions that heat up the 24-hour cable news cycle rather than on the real issues facing our country? Check the credibility of candidates’ claims at the nonpartisan site FactCheck.org.
Talk about the influence of polls. A lot of what drives momentum in campaigns are the latest poll results, reported on news shows and websites. Your family may be getting calls at home from pollsters or one of the campaigns asking whom you’ll vote for. How might polls influence people? Are polls accurate predictors of election-day results? Send teens to Reddit, where they can share, rank and discuss the news.
Discuss the role of social media in elections. Do your teens follow any politicians on Twitter or other feeds? What kinds of posts earn your teen’s respect and what kinds erode it? Is it risky to talk politics with friends online if you disagree?
Remind them not to believe everything they read. Encourage them to get out from behind their computers with Rock the Vote, which uses music and pop culture to engage teens.
Talk about fear and hate-mongering among politicians — and how mudslinging is nothing new. Sometimes its helpful to discuss the historical context of election politics. Teens are old enough to understand that extreme positions and outrageous comments attract attention — and sometimes that’s all politicians want. Talk about the grand old tradition of mudslinging in campaigns. Why do candidates make offensive statements and what impact do zealous positions have on voters and the political process? Do you pay more attention when a candidate is making outrageous statements or discussing actual policy? How much of what a candidate says is designed to appeal to voters’ emotions?
Reinforce your family values. Make sure you slip in some of your own families’ values when you discuss the issues, because as we all know, the campaign season coverage can introduce lots of issues that tweens and teens will question.
Common Sense Media is an independent nonprofit organization offering unbiased ratings and trusted advice to help families make smart media and technology choices. Check out our ratings and recommendations at www.commonsense.org.
Calling all television-lovers. Your dream job is here! Yep, now you can get paid to watch TV. That is, if you’re lucky enough to score this ridiculously rad gig. Oh, and did we mention that it pays $20 an hour?
Your fantasy could come true (and no, we don’t mean the one that has any of the Hemsworth brothers in it). Imagine that you get to spend the day sitting on the couch binge-watching show after show. And you don’t need to feel bad about it—because it’s your job. Whoa.
The website HowToWatch.com recently announced that they have an open position for the right candidate to test live-streaming platforms. The job requires some serious TV-watching—100 hours in all. This contract position (meaning it’s not full-time or permanent) pays $500 up front and $1,500 after the job is completed.
There are no required or set hours, as long as you watch 100 hours total by Nov. 1, 2018. This includes at least 14 hours of live content on each of the major streaming platforms they’re testing: DIRECTV NOW, fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Philo, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV and YouTube TV. And don’t worry if you aren’t a subscriber of these services now—the job includes free access to them.
Along with watching TV, you’ll also need to take detailed notes (on the performance of the streaming service) and help HowtoWatch.com score live streaming services.
To apply you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, have excellent communication skills, maintain a strong social media presence, a passion for TV and entertainment and the ability to rate the quality of the stream itself. While experience creating product reviews isn’t a must-have, it is a bonus.
If this sounds like the job for you, go to HowtoWatch.com and apply!
She may only be three-months-old, but Liberty Wexler has already played many roles. Yep. She’s the baby dressed up as Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Instagram. Oh but that’s not all. Nope. This adorable infant is pictured as some pretty famous figures from history in a series of photos that have since gone viral.
Mom Jenelle Wexler started taking cute costume pics of toddler son River well before she got the idea to put baby Liberty in a RBG costume. So what was thinking behind the Instagram awesomeness? Wexler told Red Tricycle, “I feel it is important to pay tribute to the women who fought for an helped to protect and further women’s causes. I only hope these are the individuals that Liberty herself chooses to admire and aspire to be like.”
What famous women has Liberty played? Check out some of the most imaginative ideas that this creative mama had!
This fab photo features the iconic artist. As the first in Wexler’s “Influential Woman” series, this post is more than just cute. It pays honor to a true pioneer.
With a remarkable career spanning decades, Clinton is much more than a presidential candidate. As a trailblazer and advocate for important issues, such as healthcare reform, she’s a true game-changer. Oh, and this version is aww-dorable too!
Those glasses. That gavel. This couldn’t be cuter pic of RBG highlights the accomplishments of the second female to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice.
You can’t have an influential women IG without including the “Material Girl” herself!
Wexler also added, “I am hopeful that when Liberty is older and looks back at these photos, she finds them to be fun yet informatively positive. In addition, I wanted to bring attention to specific stories, to show how important these women’s actions were in helping to shape our current society for the better. I believe these women continue to inspire the young females of present day to push boundaries and strive beyond equality.”
If these soooooo sweet photos inspire you (or just makes you squeal, “Aww!”), check out Wexler’s @photographyofliberty IG account!
Red Tricycle is looking for a video production/photo person for our content marketing department. We would like to start ramping up our video portfolio, which consists of short, 1-minute social videos focusing on crafts, recipes and toy reviews. See example here. We are also considering adding funny kids interviews, other viral ideas and have larger (paid) client projects that crop up several times a year.
We are open to approaching this opportunity a couple of ways:
– a recent college grad, looking to work/ build a portfolio (paid hourly)
– a small design shop or single person willing to barter for free office space in beautiful Sausalito and an opportunity to collaborate on bigger paid projects
– in either scenario, we can also support video distribution and promotion of independent work (assuming it’s family friendly content) through our web, email and social channels. We reach 12 MM people per month across channels.
The hours per week really depend on skills/ experience. We’d like to publish 2 short 1-min videos per week to start, with potential to ramp up.
The ideal candidate should have a strong ambition to work in photography and/or video production, with an emphasis on editorial content creation. A strong technical background is a must, with knowledge of camera operation (primarily DSLR), setup of artificial lighting and modifiers, and ingesting and organizing files on Mac systems and Google Drive. We are looking for someone with a keen eye for good design and photographic aesthetics.
Relevant skills:
DSLR operation, knowledge of exposure variables (aperture, shutter speed, ISO), settings, and menus
Knowledge of photo and video formats and camera types
Working with artificial light (video lights, strobes, modifiers, mixing natural light)
Photo and video prop shopping
Skill in Adobe Creative Suite (Lightroom, Photoshop, bridge)
Knowledge of video platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
Knowledge of the current web-video landscape
1) Production
– Operating video, audio and lighting equipment to produce video material for use in advertising and promotion of online services and products
– Maintains operation of in-house studio
2) Post-production
– Sources audio accompaniment to video footage
– Assists in post-production including ingesting, transcoding, compressing and logging footage and rough cuts
– Basic designs, including photo and typeface selection and photo and text layout for inclusion within video material
Qualifications include:
Experience:
– At least 1 year of directly-related experience
– Knowledge of video production procedures, techniques, and terminology
Computer Skills: To perform this job successfully, an individual should have working knowledge of design and non-linear editing software, including:
– Final Cut Pro X
– Motion 5
– Adobe Premiere
– Adobe After Effects
– PhotoShop
About Us
Red Tricycle is a digital media platform and community that fuels the parenting universe with daily inspiration for family fun. By successfully blending our own authentic, actionable content with our community’s voice and brand partner stories across major platforms – web, social, mobile and email – Red Tricycle inspires families to spend time together and create new memories every single day.
With an organically grown audience of over 12 MM, including 2MM uniques, 2 MM email subscribers, and 8 MM reach across all social channels, Red Tricycle has separated itself from the competition by creating a destination that drives strong engagement and harnesses the power of narrative and user activation to drive sales and engagement for our native brand partners.
Red Tricycle is looking for a talented writer to join our team and contribute timely, fresh, and fun stories for our online communities. Our audience wants to laugh, be engaged, and stay informed about everything trending in the parenting universe.
You’ll be responsible for finding topics based on what’s trending or clickable on Facebook and creating 25 (per week) timely, short-form articles for use primarily on Facebook. We are not looking for first person content. Witty, highly relatable humor is a must. Here are a few examples of what we’re looking for:
Interesting parenting-related studies (“New Study Shows Moms Need a Full Year for Recovery After Giving Birth”)
Funny posts (“14 products from the 90s we secretly wish were still around” or compilations of hilarious parenting tweets/memes centered around common themes)
User Generated Content (you tell us what to ask our audience, you create posts based off their answers)
The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills (both written and verbal), be highly organized, self-motivated, totally in-tune with the digital media parenting space (what’s new, what’s cool, what’s so last year) and possess a keen desire to excel. This position reports directly to Red Tricycle’s Marketing Director.
The ideal candidate must:
Possess an excellent gut instinct about what makes parents click and engage, especially on Facebook
Have a keen understanding of the parenting universe, including what parents will think is hilarious and what’ll have them at each other’s throats
Know how to write super-clickable headlines
Have the ability to provide 20-30 headline/content suggestions per week
Know where to find what’s trending and about to trend on social media, beyond their own Facebook account. Must be familiar with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, and Tumblr
Be able to use WordPress like a black-belt ninja
Have a firm grasp of the English language, excellent grammar and punctuation skills…and, have the ability to adapt their writing style to the Red Tricycle editorial brand.
Be active in the writing and blogging community with published work (either print or online) – being able to take pictures is a big plus!
You must also have the following attributes:
A self starter, able to work on your own with a given set of instructions
Have the ability to be flexible, creative, self-sufficient and a team player
You must be a master of finding random information on the internet
You may not be a mindreader, but you can certainly figure stuff out on your own
Outstanding attention to details
Strong organizational and time-management skills and ability to meet deadlines
Outgoing, positive attitude, highly self-motivated, self-sufficient, and confident
About Red Tricycle:
Red Tricycle fuels the parenting universe with daily inspiration for family fun. We believe the best memories are created when families do fun things together and we believe every day is an opportunity to create new stories. Our mission is to help every parent feel like a rock star by inspiring them to do fun things with their kids. Each month Red Tricycle reaches twelve million parents with ideas that are aspirational and actionable that you can do at home, in your city or wherever your adventures take you.
To apply, please email our Marketing Director at sara@tinybeans.go-vip.net. In addition to a resume and cover letter, please include 5 headlines of articles you’d propose to write. To get a feel for our audience, check out our Facebook page.
The election is (finally) just a few days away, and both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have pledged to revolutionize American child care if elected president. Given that child care in America often costs more than college tuition, most parents agree that we need daycare that is affordable and accessible.
Care.com released a report that explains just what Trump and Clinton have planned for child care and family leave — and what it means for you. The data was collected from the candidate’s website, along with reports from the Care Index, the Census Bureau, AARP, and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Clinton’s plan:
Caps the cost of child care at 10 percent of a family’s household income.
Gives families more in-home and in-center savings.
Seeks to make quality child care available to more college students by awarding scholarships of $1,500 per year for up to 1 million student parents and increasing access to on-campus center care, serving an additional 250,000 children.
Provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave for a mom or dad after the birth or adoption of a child, and to anyone to care for sick family members; it would be paid at two-thirds of the employee’s regular salary.
Trump’s plan:
Allows parents exclude the state’s average cost of childcare from income tax until children reach age 13.
Offers more incentives to stay-at-home parents.
Says families would be able to deposit up to $2,000 per year (tax-free) for each child in a Dependent Care Savings Account, which they could use for child care, education or enrichment.
Provides six weeks of maternity leave for women after the birth or adoption of a child, paid at the same amount the mother would collect in unemployment benefits had she been laid off. This proposal excludes fathers.
Under both plans, Care.com estimates found about 2 million additional American mothers would be able to take paid maternity leave in a given year.
Care.com illustrates this information in an infographic. It’s calculations used households with two parents at three different income levels– the federal poverty level, median household income, and Top 1 percent in the United States– and in five “swing” states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Of course, there’s no guarantee the winning candidate will actually implement any of this. Still, for the first time perhaps ever, family-specific policies could make or break the election.
Who’s plan do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below!
