When Tommy Jordan came across a Facebook post written by his teenage daughter complaining about how she had to do chores, he decided to film his response and upload it to YouTube:

This dramatic situation started when Jordan discovered a Facebook post from Hannah, complaining about her daily life at home. The note, which Jordan read and analyzed in his sit-down chat with the camera, takes issue with the slew of chores she’s forced to do each day. “To my parents: I’m not your damn slave,” the note begins. The teenage angst bleeds from the note, as Hannah proposes that her parents pay her for the chores that she does. This point, in particular, sets off Jordan, an IT worker from Albemarle, N.C., who proceeds to delineate how entitled Hannah sounds in the note. But that wasn’t the only punishment he planned for his daughter’s supposedly “hard” life.

“That right there is your laptop,” he explains, filming the newly-upgraded computer perched vulnerably in the grass. “This right here is my .45.” A quick cock of the gun, and Hannah’s laptop takes a shot through the screen. In the next 30 seconds, he proceeds to empty his gun, and the bullets shatter the computer’s plastic shell.

What do you think Neatoramanauts? A justified or over-the-top reaction? Link | The YouTube video clip

The pianist is Lise Linde Kronenberg, filmed on her first birthday.  It’s not clear whether the piano music was overdubbed on a pre-existing melody, or whether the orchestral accompaniment was created specifically to harmonize with her extemporaneous creation, but the result is fascinating.  Try playing it for someone who can’t see your monitor, and ask them what they think of this “nouveau” piano style.

And it has an LOL ending.

Sure we all have things we resent our parents for, but it takes a lot to truly be a bad parent, especially to be named as one of the top ten terrible parents. While many of the cases are heart-breaking stories of abuse, some are just sickening displays of poor parental values -like the mother who bought her seven year-old a boob job. It makes you wish for a change in child abuse laws.

Link

Sometimes it’s hard to see what’s going on when you look at an ultrasound image of a baby in utero, but in this case the truth is plain to see-this woman’s baby is clearly the supervillain Venom, and he’s coming back for vengeance against Spider Man!

Giving birth to a supervillain might seem like a scary scenario, but really there are a lot of perks-your kid won’t get picked on at school, they will generally be able to take care of themselves, and every time they knock over a bank you’re in the money.

And at least her baby doesn’t look like Green Goblin, now that would have been terrifying!

Link

Nisheisha lives in Jamaica, but there’s no chance you will find her home. I have learned from experience that you never trust directions given by children or by people who do not drive. I’ve also learned from experience that those are the people who will ask you for a ride. Oh, they may be able to show you where they live, but you’ll be past a turn before they tell you to turn “back there.” Go ahead, ask a child near you for directions to some nearby landmark! -via Cynical-C

So. Junior is out of college and going into the workforce. What's a helicopter parent to do?

a) Let the young adult gain independence and navigate his own way through life
b) Talk to HR to see if he can get a better salary. A little nudge can't hurt!

From NPR's All Things Considered:

Margaret Fiester of the Society for Human Resource Management, or SHRM, says when it comes to parents acting as lobbyists, she's heard it all — from parents calling to negotiate better salaries or vacation time for their kids to complaining when their child isn't hired. "Surely you've overlooked these wonderful qualities that my child has," Fiester says parents often tell her.

Michigan State University surveyed more than 700 employers seeking to hire recent college graduates. Nearly one-third said parents had submitted resumes on their child's behalf, some without even informing the child. One-quarter reported hearing from parents urging the employer to hire their son or daughter for a position. Four percent of respondents reported that a parent actually showed up for the candidate's job interview.

Link (Photo: Shutterstock)

Nine-year-old Jonny Mizzone can play the banjo! On fiddle, you hear his 12-year-old brother Robbie, and 14-year-old Tommy accompanies them on guitar. The song is Ralph Stanley’s “How Mountain Girls Can Love.” You can see more of the brothers at the YouTube channel Sleepy Man Banjo Boys. Link -via reddit

Did your father say that he walked to school when he was your age? In the snow? Uphill? Both ways?

Well, that ain't so hardcore. In the Netherlands, kids have to pedal their school bus:

Built by Tolkamp Metaalspecials, and sold by the De Cafe Racer company, the bicycle school bus (BCO in Dutch) is powered entirely by children and the one adult driver (although there is an electric motor for tough hills). Its simple design has eight sets of pedals for the kids (ages 4 to 12), a driver seat for the adult, and three bench seats for freeloaders. The top speed is about 10 miles per hour, and features a sound system and canvas awning to ward off rainy days.

Read more at Co.Exist: Link

“I ran over to check and he was passing toys out and eating some of the lollies,” she said.

But with electrical wires and little oxygen inside Noah was soon sweating as management and his mum worked to free him.

And the escape proved rather more tricky than getting in for Noah.

The toddler had to be coaxed to climb back down the chute and sit there while his mum pulled him around a guard panel blocking his escape.

“We had to tell him that he had to come out to get a toy,” she said.

Noah managed to get out of the machine before the fire brigade arrived to rescue him. Link -via Arbroath

Forget Tiger Moms! The secret to raising great, well-behaved kids is ... being French!

Pamela Druckerman explains why French parents are superior:

Why was it, for example, that in the hundreds of hours I'd clocked at French playgrounds, I'd never seen a child (except my own) throw a temper tantrum? Why didn't my French friends ever need to rush off the phone because their kids were demanding something? Why hadn't their living rooms been taken over by teepees and toy kitchens, the way ours had?

Soon it became clear to me that quietly and en masse, French parents were achieving outcomes that created a whole different atmosphere for family life. When American families visited our home, the parents usually spent much of the visit refereeing their kids' spats, helping their toddlers do laps around the kitchen island, or getting down on the floor to build Lego villages. When French friends visited, by contrast, the grownups had coffee and the children played happily by themselves.

By the end of our ruined beach holiday, I decided to figure out what French parents were doing differently. Why didn't French children throw food? And why weren't their parents shouting? Could I change my wiring and get the same results with my own offspring?

Driven partly by maternal desperation, I have spent the last several years investigating French parenting. And now, with Bean 6 years old and twins who are 3, I can tell you this: The French aren't perfect, but they have some parenting secrets that really do work.

If you've got kids that don't listen to you, this is the one post to read today: Link

Now this is an interesting idea for a photo series-combine recently taken portraits of people with photos from when they were children, but instead of using Photoshop photographer Bobby Lee Adams uses a well placed tear down the middle of the face.

I was amazed at how similar they look when compared to their childhood selves, quite the difference from the other series that have been going around the interwebs lately (soldiers/drug addicts before and after). I guess everyone in this gallery has had a relatively trauma (or addiction) free life!

Check out more of these fused portraits at the link below, I’m gonna go do this with some of my own pics!

Link  –via DesignTAXI

Lydia’s three-year-old daughter names her toys by herself. Some of the names are rude, crude, and socially unacceptable. But they make for a funny video, if you aren’t offended by adult terms in text. See it at NeatoBambino. Link

Science asks and answers the question in every parent's mind, why are teenagers reckless? It's due to how the teen brain interprets risks and rewards:

Recent studies in the neuroscientist B.J. Casey's lab at Cornell University suggest that adolescents aren't reckless because they underestimate risks, but because they overestimate rewards—or, rather, find rewards more rewarding than adults do. The reward centers of the adolescent brain are much more active than those of either children or adults. Think about the incomparable intensity of first love, the never-to-be-recaptured glory of the high-school basketball championship.

What teenagers want most of all are social rewards, especially the respect of their peers. In a recent study by the developmental psychologist Laurence Steinberg at Temple University, teenagers did a simulated high-risk driving task while they were lying in an fMRI brain-imaging machine. The reward system of their brains lighted up much more when they thought another teenager was watching what they did—and they took more risks.

Link (Image: Harry Campbell)

Something tells me that this baby will grow up to love the Bacon Store over at the NeatoShop!

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Arbroath

When a five-year-old girl recognizes your brand logo, you’ve done it right. Of course, when your dad is in the logo design business, you might have a leg up. Adam Ladd’s daughter knows her logos, but as far as big cats go. she just likes cheetahs. -via Laughing Squid

Sidis is considered to be the smartest man who ever lived, by some, with an estimated IQ of 250-300.

Before his own experience with the terrible twos, Sidis had taught himself to read and shortly thereafter, became fluent in eight different languages and wrote four original works of his own by the age of seven.

After an incredible childhood – or lack of it – adulthood was a struggle for Sidis and newspapers at the time reported that his “genius had burned out” due to the numerous obscure blue collared jobs he obtained throughout his life.

Read about 16 famous prodigies, some from history, some who are adults now, and some who are just starting out. Link -via the Presurfer

(YouTube Link)

There are some really talented kids out there, and thanks to YouTube they can show the world their skills, hopefully without all the praise going straight to their head.

8 year old Zoe Thomson plays guitar like a champ, and I think she should team up with 8 year old hardcore singer Juliet and form their own kiddie metal outfit, seriously, who wouldn’t want to see that?!

–via BuzzFeed

Meet Rita Lawlor, a seven-year-old girl from Sarasota, Florida, who recently became the youngest person to receive an award from her local fire department for saving her mom's life:

When seven-year-old Rita Lawlor couldn't wake her mother up, she did what many have probably never thought of doing.

She slapped her with a slice of pizza. [...]

When this didn't work Rita realised her mother may be in serious trouble and rang for help.

Link - via Arbroath

What's better than child slavery? Child slavery for art!

Just kidding. While designer Lucas Maassen employs child labor to create his furniture/artwork, it's completely legal. The best part? Selling the furniture pieces for up to $3,500. Who knew that employing your kids could be so profitable?

Dutch child labor laws let the boys work up to 3 hours a week. So, each Tuesday, instead of watching TV or playing with their toys like all those lazy kids, they schlep into Maassen & Sons and get to work painting dad’s furniture (assorted wooden chairs and cabinets and mirrors) in cheery colors for 1 Euro a pop.

It might sound like a gimmick--a devilishly cute way to sell a few chairs in a crap economy--except that for the Maassen family, the project has served a deeper purpose: It has helped the boys develop an enviable work ethic. “They take the work very seriously,” Maassen tells Co.Design. They even signed employee contracts, which stipulate things like when the work day starts (3 p.m.), how long of a break they’re allowed (15 minutes), and how many vacation days they’re entitled to (12, depending on how long they’ve been employed).

“They love doing it,” Maassen says. “They think it’s great to work in the family business.”

$3,500?! Where are my paint buckets and my kids? Link

Baby Charlotte had the *exact* same expression as I did when her dad made the infernal motorboat sound by flapping his lips. Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Fatherhood Is

When Beck Laxton and Kieran Cooper had an offspring, they decided that their Baby Sasha should not be influenced by society's prejudices and preconceptions when it comes to gender:

They referred to their child as "The Infant" and only allowed him to play with "gender-neutral toys" in their television-free home.

For the first five years of his life Sasha alternated between girls' and boys' outfits, leaving friends, playmates and relatives guessing.

But the couple have finally revealed his sex after it became harder to conceal when Sasha started primary school.

Yesterday Miss Laxton, a web editor, said that she thought gender stereotyping was "fundamentally stupid".

"I wanted to avoid all that stereotyping," she said.

"Stereotypes seem fundamentally stupid. Why would you want to slot people into boxes?

The gender of Sasha was finally revealed (he's a boy) when he started school: Link - via Arbroath

(YouTube Link)

This 8 year old girl is about to change the world of heavy metal forever, by bringing some refreshingly new subject matter to the scene-household pets.

Watch as Juliet gets hardcore singing about how much she loves her goldfish, and her dog, don’t even think about messing with her dog, or she’ll jump off the trampoline and stomp you out! Warning- this video is seriously cute!

–via Geekologie

Did you know today is Winnie the Pooh Day in honor of his creator, A.A. Milne’s birthday? If Mr. Milne were still alive today, he’d be turning 130 and he would no doubt be honored to see that his creation is still bringing joy to children to this day. In honor of Milne and his beloved Pooh Bear, here are a few things you might not know about Winnie and the rest of his pals.

Image Via CorneelW [Flickr]

His name has changed over the years, but not much. When the first A.A. Milne books came out, he was originally called Winnie-the-Pooh, but when Disney acquired the rights to animate the characters, they dropped the hyphen and the hyphenless title became much more popular.

The Pooh stories have broken many book records –even in foreign languages.  It has been published in dozens of languages and the 1958 Latin translation even became the first non-English book to be featured on the New York Times Best Seller List and it remains the only Latin book to ever be seen on the list.

Winnie the Pooh may seem like a silly name for a bear, but it was the name of Christopher Robin Milne’s real teddy bear, so it became the name of the bear in the books as well. As it turns out, Christopher Robin named his bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear that lived at the London Zoo (pictured above in his youth), and a swan named “Pooh” that the family met on vacation. Before the toy was given its famous name, it was originally sold at Harrods with the name “Edward Bear.” As for Pooh the swan, he was actually featured as a character in the same poetry book where Milne first introduced Winnie The Pooh to the world, although he still wasn’t named in one of Milne’s works until a 1925 Christmas story he wrote for The Evening News.

Contrary to many rumors, Winnie’s last name is not Sanders. This story was spread because Pooh’s house says “Sanders” over the door, but it is generally accepted that the name was put above the door by the home’s previous resident and that Pooh just never bothered to take it down.

Most of the other characters were named after Christopher Robin’s toys as well. That is, except for Owl, Rabbit and Gopher. Owl and Rabbit were created by Milne and illustrator Ernest Shepard solely to add a little more variety to the character list. Gopher wasn’t added until 1977, when the Disney company added the character to their animated feature, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

You can see all of the real plushies that inspired the characters at the New York Public Library. With one exception –Christopher Robin lost his Roo plush in the thirties, so it is sadly missing from the collection.

You can also visit most of the locations from the stories. The Hundred Acre Wood, Roo’s Sandpit, Poohsticks Bridget and the rest are all fictionalized names of real places in the Ashdown Forrest in Sussex, England where Milne bought a country home in 1925. For example, the Hundred Acre Wood is really the Five Hundred Acre Wood and Galleon’s Leap is really Gill’s Lap.

Christopher Robin was less than thrilled about the success of his father’s stories. Apparently his grudge started when kids in school picked on him by citing passages from the stories. As he grew older, he accused his father of achieving success by “climbing on my infant shoulders, that he had filched from me my good name and left me nothing but empty fame.” I don’t know about you guys, but if my dad wrote awesome books about me and my toys, I’d be touched, especially as I got older and realized that if the kids making fun of me used verses from the stories –that they must have been fans of the stories themselves.

While Disney maintained Pooh’s classic red shirt look, first introduced in 1932, critics complain that the company has changed the personality and stories too drastically. Strangely, if you prefer your Pooh Bear to be closer to the original, you’ll have to sacrifice the character’s look as his most accurate animation portrayal has been performed by his Russian version. While Russian Winnei’s stories closely follow those depicted in the original trilogy of Pooh stories, he certainly looks drastically different from the illustrations created by artist Ernest Shepard. That’s him in the cartoon above, if you couldn’t tell.

As for Disney, they’re doing just fine with their own take on the bear and his friends. It turns out the company makes just as much money from Pooh movies and merchandise as they do from the same creations bearing Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto.

Image Via parodyerror [Flickr]

Of course, Disney hasn’t manipulated the stories nearly as much as a few others have. The character has been used by Benjamin Hoff to explain the tenants of Taoism, by Frederick Crews to satirize philosophical approaches used by academics and by John T. Williams to illustrate the works of popular philosophers including Descartes, Pluto and Nietzsche. Apparently the little stuffed bear might just be one of the best philosophers of our time. As if that weren’t enough, Kenny Loggins even wrote a song based on the cuddly character.

He has also left his mark on the real world as well. There are streets in Warsaw and Budapest named after him. And the imaginary sport of Poohsticks, where contestants drop their stick in a stream to see whose will cross the finish line first, is now played worldwide and even has a World Championship match in Oxfordshire.

Are you a Pooh fan? Is there anything I left out here? Also, who is your favorite character in the Hundred Acre Wood? Personally, I love Eeyore, but that’s partially because he reminds me of my lazy, mopey dog.

Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2, Mental Floss

Rick Smith of the blog Noah's Dad, noticed something unusual in a Target circular. Like his son Noah, the model wearing the orange shirt has Down Syndrome.

That's very inclusive and all, but what really got Rick feeling good is that Target didn't make a big deal about it at all. He wrote:

This wasn’t a “Special Clothing For Special People” catalog. There wasn’t a call out somewhere on the page proudly proclaiming that “Target’s proud to feature a model with Down syndrome in this week’s ad!” And they didn’t even ask him to model a shirt with the phrase, “We Aren’t All Angels” printed on the front.

In other words, they didn’t make a big deal out of it. I like that.

Rick's post went viral and the model, Ryan Langston, got quite a bit of attention:

On the Internet, parents of other special needs children are praising the ads -- and Ryan -- an outpouring that's surprised and overwhelmed his parents, Amanda and Jim Langston. [...]

"The fact that they are not making a big deal - it's ironic," Ryan's father Jim said. "It's a big deal because they are not making a big deal about it."

The Langstons' decision to involve Ryan in modeling was never about the money, Amanda said. "This has just become his own thing," she said. And it's also turned into a confidence booster.

Read more about Ryan Langston over at The Daily Nightly: Link

A growing body of research over three decades shows that easy, unearned praise does not help students but instead interferes with significant learning opportunities. As schools ratchet up academic standards for all students, new buzzwords are “persistence,” “risk-taking” and “resilience” — each implying more sweat and strain than fuzzy, warm feelings.

“We used to think we could hand children self-esteem on a platter,” Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck said. “That has backfired.”

Dweck’s studies, embraced in Montgomery schools and elsewhere, have found that praising children for intelligence — “You’re so clever!” — also backfires. In study after study, children rewarded for being smart become more likely to shy away from hard assignments that might tarnish their star reputations.

But children praised for trying hard or taking risks tend to enjoy challenges and find greater success. Children also perform better in the long term when they believe that their intellect is not a birthright but something that grows and develops as they learn new things.

Link -via TYWKIWDBI

(Image credit: Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The broadcasting squad at Liberty Middle School in Madison, Alabama produced this video. It was entirely shot on iPads and mixed with music by Sigur Rós.

“As people were walking out of the school, it was clear that it was the best vibe in the school that had been there all year,” said broadcasting teacher Daniel Whitt. “Everyone was high fiving. People were smiling at each other. People were saying, ‘Hey man loved your sign.’”

Link -via Metafilter

Uh oh! Don't tell Harry Potter but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been reincarnated! Via Nerd Approved

Previously on Neatorama: 10 Strangest Names EVAR!

Dan had $125 in small bills. He said little brother Jack could keep whatever he caught when Dan threw it in the air. Jack caught $57! He was so happy, his “victory dance” was also uploaded to YouTube. Dan says he should have thought this through a little more. -via reddit

Frog Snuggle Sack and Cap | $35.95

Now isn’t this absolutely adorable? The Frog Snuggle Sack and Cap from the NeatoShop will be the hit of the baby shower, and the nursery, too! The snuggle sack is light-green, textured polyester with sunny-gold tummy sprinkled with polka dots; a meadow-green jumper like fit at the top; dark-green froggie feet, and a jumping-frog applique that says “sLEAPy BABY” The matching froggy-face cap has big eyes and a smiling mouth with a stretchy pink tongue. Check out the ladybug version and the night owl sleep sack, too, at the NeatoShop!

Link

This adorable old picture would have made a great postcard. It is part of a collection of photographs of Dutch life published in the 1906 book De Aarde en haar volken (The Earth and Its People). See more at IllustratedPast.com. Link -via Everlasting Blort

Congratulations to Neatorama artist Adam Koford (Ape Lad) and his wife on the arrival of Elsa, who was born over the weekend. There’s the explanation of why one of his cartoons was posted twice on Friday! Link -Thanks, John Farrier!

(Image credit: Flickr user Ape Lad)

Reuben has a twin sister Floren, but you probably wouldn't believe him until you read this story. See, Rueben is five-year-old and Floren is only seven-weeks old.

Here's the story of twins born 5 years apart:

Even at his young age Reuben is aware of the special relationship he has with his seven-week-old sister, although his parents said it would be a while before he fully understands.

''He knows that she's been in the freezer – he likes to say she has been in the freezer with the chips and the chicken – so he is sort of aware that she is his twin, but obviously he doesn't really understand how it's all worked really,'' his mother said.

''They do look very similar. Reuben was just a bigger version of Floren when he was born, so certainly there are similarities physically.

''She does look like a mini version of him really.''

The Telegraph has the story: Link (Photo: Ben Birchall)

[YouTube Clip]

Well, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is trying. It's battling childhood obesity (Georgia is ranked second highest in the United States) with its new ad campaign, which has been labeled "grim" and "building a climate of hate" by critics.

The ads, which appear on the campaign’s website, strong4life.com, are modeled after blunt — but effective — campaigns attacking methamphetamine use and smoking.

In one spot, an overweight girl named Maritza says: “My doctors say I have something called hypertension. I’m really scared.” And in another, that ends with “Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid,” a child named Tina says she doesn’t like going to school because the other kids pick on her.

Critics say the ads will further ostracize children such as Tina. In posts on the Strong4Life Facebook page, they accuse the campaign of building a “climate of hate.”

What do you think? Will that be effective?

Carrie Teegardin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the story: Link | Strong4Life website

(YouTube Link)

This young champion of justice is named Riley, and she’s sick and tired of all the toy marketing gimmicks that keep girls from buying the superhero toys that they really like.

Watch as she explains what all the pink at the toy stores really means, and I’m sure you’ll agree that she is totally right. Let girls enjoy their superhero toys already, or Riley’s going to grow up and take you all down!

–via ComicsAlliance

(YouTube Link)

This endearing little children’s book will bring out the Wookiee in your family tree, and comes complete with sound unit so you can hear the proper pronunciation of words in Wookinese Wookian Wookiee language.

Guaranteed to be hours of fun for you and/or your kid, unless the gutteral sounds of Wookiees gets on your nerves, in which case you will probably want to burn this book! Check out the advert videos and see for yourself if you can handle the process of learning to speak like a true Wookiee.

–via SuperPunch

Flying home for the holidays? Did you, perchance, sit near two bawling, crying babies? Well, comedian Simon Rich did. And he recorded the in-flight "conversation" between the infants for all of your (quiet) reading enjoyment:

-Wow, that was some nap.

-Tell me about it. It's almost like I was drugged or something. Hey ... what is this place?

-I'll look out the window. ... Oh my God. I think we have a situation.

-What is it? Are we at the doctor's office?

-No. We're in the sky.

-What?

-We're just, like, flying through the sky.

-Do Mom and Dad know?

-Clearly not. They're just reading like everything's normal. (Looking around) Everybody's reading.

-How do we warn them?

-With screams.

-Which kind? Soft and whiny or piercing and crazy?

-Let's go with piercing and crazy.

Link

Previously on Neatorama: A Real Life Airplane Seating Chart | Read more kids and baby stuff over at NeatoBambino

Sure this Dalek looks cute on the outside, but it’s even better than it looks -when you crush the chocolate shell top with a wooden sonic screwdriver , you can find a tentacled Dalek inside. You can find directions to make your own at the link.

Link Via Craftzine

Filmmaker Nick Scott shows us how NOT to do a school portrait session. Here's a short film about a school photographer who's having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

But no matter what he said, there's always one cute kid that gets ya! Hit play or go to Link [Vimeo] | Making Of - via PetaPixel (Your kid can now be the star of Nick's new school portrait film. Competition details are here.)

Don't forget to read more baby and kid posts on NeatoBambino!

From the remark about the hostages in Iran, I suspect this is from 1979 or 1980. The younger son grew up to host a website dedicated to photobombs. -Thanks, Comedy Wizard!

Getting crafty to avoid punishment is what most kids do best, but I wonder if this list is really a new texting code used by the young folk, or a code used only by the kids who were caught up in this particular incident? Either way, I’ll never look at the number 8 the same way again.

Link

This awesomely geeky AT-ST treehouse is simple, no-frills fun for a child that’s more content using their imagination all day rather than being plugged in to a tv or video game console all day. Combine this with some sweet kiddy cosplay sessions and you’ve got a little piece of Endor in your backyard.

Link –via Geekosystem

(YouTube Link)

Anyone who has dealt with collapsing and reopening a baby stroller knows it can be a real pain. And when you’re a parent trying to juggle kids, bags of baby gear and your shopping, the last thing you want to do is monkey around with a stroller that just won’t collapse properly.

The 4Moms company has created the solution to this problem: a stroller that collapses and reopens itself with the touch of a button. Watch the product demonstration video and decide for yourself if it’s worth the $849 price tag.

Link –via TechCrunch

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/30/the-amazing-origami-automatic-stroller/feed/ 5 http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/23/smoking-kids-by-frieke-janssens/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/23/smoking-kids-by-frieke-janssens/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:19:30 +0000 Alex http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/23/smoking-kids-by-frieke-janssens/

After seeing the viral YouTube video of a two-year-old Indonesian boy who chain smoked 40 cigarettes a day, Belgian photographer Frieke got an idea for this photo series titled Smoking Kids.

Tom Tack of I Love Belgium wrote:

Titled “The beauty of an ugly addiction”, photographer Frieke Janssens confronts viewers with questions about the general smoking ban introduced in Belgium some months ago. Surrealistic, melancholic and theatrical but especially controversial pictures of smoking kids are used to visualise the contradiction of the unhealthy cigarette and the immense attraction of smoking.

The children, aged four to nine, are shameless posing while enjoying their cigarette or cigarillo. So why kids? By portraying adults as children all the attention went to the smoking. An adult would draw to much attention to the portrayed person. Thus these portraits evoke question such as: is the smoking ban the right way to get rid of an absurd addiction and are smokers treated like little kids who can’t make the difference between good and bad?

Lest you think they're clever photoshoppery, here's the behind the scenes video clip of the photo shoot:

But parents, relax! The cigarettes aren't real. They're made out of cheese (I didn't know that you can get cheese to smoke like that!).

Links: Smoking Kids at I Love Belgium - Thanks Tom! | More photos at The Black Harbor | Frieke Janssens Photography on Facebook

The schoolyard in Toronto, Canada, is safe again, thanks to the quick action of a school principal who has banned the dangerous weapon of ... soccer balls!

Before you deride the news as yet another example of school bureaucracy gone mad, won't you think of the children? They're an absolute terror when weaponized with hard balls:

Students at an east-end Toronto school are being told to leave their soccer balls — and other hard balls — at home.

The principal of Earl Beatty Public School banned the balls this week after a parent recently suffered a concussion from being hit in the head with a soccer ball.

The principal, Alicia Fernandez, banned hard balls, claiming they're dangerous. "Kids were coming in complaining of injury, or being scared," she said. [...]

Students can bring sponge or other soft balls to play with, but soccer balls, footballs, baseballs and even tennis balls are not allowed for safety reasons.

Link

Traveling with babies this Thanksgiving? You may end up in the "baby ghetto" section of the airplane.

Scott McCartney of The Wall Street Journal's The Middle Seat travel column explains:

Parents are complaining of airline seating policies that create "baby ghettos" in the back of planes. Even worse, families are increasingly split up, leaving small children in middle seats in the company of strangers unless passengers arrange seat swaps on board.

Michael Lyon booked seats together for his family for a trip from Washington, D.C., to Bangkok on United Airlines in July and checked his reservation frequently to make sure the seat assignments didn't change. But when he checked in, all three had been split up, and his 6-year-old son was moved to the back of the wide-body plane by himself for the 13-hour trip.

A United gate agent told Mr. Lyon there were no seats and nothing could be done. He protested, ultimately getting a supervisor who found two seats together so he could sit with his son. "Not only did the United gate staff not seem to understand the importance of having him next to us, they were hostile," Mr. Lyon said.

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Apparently so, according to a new large-scale study that found older brothers, statistically speaking, actually have higher IQs than their younger siblings:

The study, detailed in the June 22 issue of the journal Science, analyzed the IQs of nearly 250,000 Norwegian 18- and 19-year-old draftees and found that older siblings had higher scores than younger siblings.

Another study, by the same authors of the new Science study but published recently in the journal Intelligence, looked at more than 100,000 Norwegian brothers and found that first-borns on average had an IQ 2.3 points higher than their younger brothers (the IQs were all taken when the brothers were 18 or 19, so they compare the older brother’s score at that age to the younger brother’s score when he reached that same age).

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Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t make these eight month old twins playing the role of Goose and Maverick any less cute. Of course, the jet stroller is an unbelievably cute accessory.

Via Laughing Squid

We already posted our own round up of cute kid’s costumes, but The Mary Sue has their own gallery and the pictures are simply precious. My personal favorite is this adorable little Cabbage Patch Doll.

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