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It's a no-holds-barred battle of wits, and only one can win! This is terribly cute because you can tell it's not serious. -via reddit

This tells the story pretty well, as I can see. A little digging revealed that this was drawn by freelance artist Melissa Balmain and was published in Parenting Magazine in September 2003. -via Buzzfeed

Every year in the U.S., more than half a million women go back to their jobs within a month of giving birth. The reason is usually economic, as paid maternity leave is not required by law. Short leaves may have harmful effects on both mother and baby, but the research in America is inconclusive, because the length of time off is complicated by other factors, such as poverty and education.

By looking to Europe, which has meticulous data collection practices and a history of paid leave stretching back to the 19th century, researchers have been getting a better and better handle on the extent to which varying amounts of paid leave can save kids’ lives. Two studies, one published in the Economic Journal in 2005 and another five years earlier, examined the results of the steady climb in paid leave in 16 European countries, starting in 1969. By charting death rates against those historical changes, while controlling for health care spending, health insurance, and wealth, the authors were able to attribute a 20 percent dip in infant deaths to a 10-week extension in paid leave. The biggest drop was in deaths of babies between 2 and 12 months, but deaths between 1 and 5 years also went down as paid leave went up. So what was the optimal amount of time off, according to all this research? According to Christopher Ruhm, the author of the first European study, paid leave of about 40 weeks saved the most lives. (After that point, according to Ruhm, “there may even be some partial reversal of those gains.”)

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Lua, who appears to be about three years old, takes us through a typical workday of the modern independent woman. -via Stuff I Stole from the Internet

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Stewie the cat helps put baby Connar to sleep. Isn't that sweet? It reminds me of one night my one-year-old would not go to sleep, until, in desperation, I put the cat in the crib with her. She's tried to get the cats to sleep with her every night since, and she's almost 15 now. -via The Daily What

Have you decided what to buy for the kids in your life this Christmas? GeekDad reviews a lot of toys and other products for children. So when you want to know what's fun, it's a great resource. Now they've distilled the best of the best down to one short list.

Here at GeekDad we review a lot of products — books, toys, gadgets, software — and I know it’s impossible for most parents to actually afford all of the cool stuff that gets written up. Heck, most of us can’t afford it either, and we’re envious of the person who scored a review copy of a cool board game or awesome gizmo. (Disclosure: that person is probably me.) So while we love telling you about all the cool stuff that’s out there, I understand that as parents we all have limited budgets and we sometimes need help narrowing down our wishlists.

So to help you out, I’ve worked really hard to narrow down this list to five items that no kid should be without. All five should fit easily within any budget, and are appropriate for a wide age range so you get the most play out of each one. These are time-tested and kid-approved! And as a bonus, these five can be combined for extra-super-happy-fun-time.

I read the list, and I think they'll all wonderful. Link -via Metafilter

(Image credit: Flickr user EvelynGiggles)

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The Fine Brothers have a webseries called Kids React in which they show viral videos to children and usually get told how stupid they are. In this one, they watch Le Internet Medley by the GAG Quartet, which contains many memes the kids are already familiar with. Which is a good thing. -Thanks, Benny & Rafi!

It's an image meme, but don't be put off, this one is just plain adorable. Because first graders have lots of problems, and they loom very large when you're little. See more first grade problems at Buzzfeed. Link

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These kids do a great job of acting out the Legend of Zelda to the music of System of a Down. And they're adorable! -via Buzzfeed

A 13-pound (6 kg) baby boy set a new record for the largest baby born by natural delivery in Germany. The unidentified 528-pound mother had gestational diabetes, but opted for a vaginal delivery at Berlin’s Charité hospital instead of a caesarean section.

“She insisted on a vaginal birth despite the very high risk,” said Wolfgang Henrich, the chief doctor at Charité’s obstetrics clinic. “We usually advise mothers carrying a child with an estimated weight of more than 4.5 kilos to opt for a caesarean section to avoid complications.”

The boy will join nine brothers and four sisters – four of which had birth weights of more than five kilograms.

The woman claimed she didn’t know of her diabetes, but doctors believe she was aware and ate too much sweet food.

A normal birth weight is about 3.5 kilos. Babies over four kilos – about one in ten in Germany – are generally considered to be overweight and run higher risks of diabetes and obesity later in life.

The woman named her 14th child Jihad. Link -via Arbroath

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You turn your back on those little guys for just a minute and they find the 5-pound bag of flour you just bought. In this case, Mom was in the bathroom a little longer than usual. -via Arbroath

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Tyler McAbee made a video about his newborn niece Ella. The song is based on "Gotta Have It" by Kanye and Jay-Z. Both McAbee and his sister (Ella's mom) are redditors, so Ella is now the subject of a discussion on changing her name to reddit. Link

A teenager going on a an impromptu jog in the woods ended up saving a toddler's life. On his way to Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, 18-year-old Trevor Vetort stopped for a run at at J.W. Wells State Park near Cedar River, Michigan.

As Vetort ran alongside the trees separating the trail from the highway, he was shocked to see a 2-year-old boy sitting on the damp leaves and grass.

"I almost ran right up on him, then I heard him crying," says Vetort. "He wanted me to pick him up ... he was crying, 'Mommy.'"

Poor little guy! Apparently the toddler wandered almost a mile away from his home, where his mother and several other people were desperately searching the front yard for some sign of him. Police returned the boy to his mother after Vetort carried him over a mile to the park rangers' station. No one is sure yet how long he was lost in the woods, but the child was fully clothed and wearing his boots and a hat (his mother suspects he lost his coat in the forest somewhere; I believe it, knowing how much 2-year-olds love wearing coats).

Vetort missed class that day, but it worth it. Link -via Buzzfeed

Marilyn Terrell of National Geographic's Intelligent Travel sent us pictures of her grandson's Halloween costume, in which he joins his parents as a Viking raider!

My daughter knit the chain mail and cap, and ripped up some old stuffed animals for the fur. The horns are a pair of old kid gloves stuffed with aluminum foil and ringed with fleece from an old jacket.

Continue reading to see a couple more pictures. -Thanks, Marilyn!

Redditor JonXP's five year old daughter wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween.

She said she wanted to have a scary costume this year, thought about it, and announced "Darth Vader, but pink!". We ended up settling on the whole princess motif so I wouldn't have to sew EVERYTHING.

Link -via The Daily What Geek