The Exploratorium is always a blast with kids, but for the next two weeks, the San Francisco science museum is hosting the Cardboard Institute of Technology and a series of hands-on, family-friendly events designed to turn the Exploratorium’s Tinkering Studio into “Cardburg.” (Yep, that’s it, above) You thought the cityscapes of “Inception” were cool? Check […]

A Fremont teen is hitting the small screen – as a competitor on the “Jeopardy! Teen Challenge” preliminary round, which airs Wednesday at 7 p.m. on KGO-TV Channel 7. Sixteen-year-old Nikhil Desai, a junior at San Jose’s Bellarmine College Prep and California’s 2008 Geography Bee champ, is keeping mum on the outcome, although he did […]

Have you guys seen “Gnomeo & Juliet“? It’s the tale of the warring Montagues and Capulets,except… they’re garden gnomes.  I haven’t gone yet, but even my college kids were absolutely smitten – and as we’ve mentioned before, the trailer looks adorable. And we’ve got a prize pack – a youth-sized T-shirt, beanie and gnome hat-shaped […]

Caffeine-riddled energy drinks may be dangerous for kids and teens, says a new study, published in the American pediatric journal, “Pediatrics,” and announced over the weekend. The dangers? Heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and even death. There have been enough energy drink overdoses that the national Poison Control Center association began tracking cases last fall — […]

As you may have guessed, my computer got some nasty bug last week, and I’ve been out of commission for days and days. Yikes. But good news, I’m back – and even better news, Ying Compestine, author of “The Runaway Wok,” and her publisher were so delighted by our book giveaway, they’ve sent enough copies […]

Childhood Matters: The Highly Sensitive Child February 20 from 7 to 8 a.m. on 98.1 KISS-FM, and streamed live and archived on Childhoodmatters.org Join Rona Renner and guests as they discuss high-sensitivity children, over-stimulation and sensory processing disorders. Childhood Matters: Non-Biological Parenting February 27 from 7 to 8 a.m. on 98.1 KISS-FM, and streamed live […]

Preschool Expulsion Support Group February 7 at 7 p.m. at Bananas, Oakland Bananas is launching a support group, led by Tasha Henneman of BANANAS and Madeline Meyer Riley, MFT, for parents of kids who have been expelled from their day care setting. Autism Forum Feb. 11 9 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at the Levy Conference Center, 2121 […]

There are plenty of children’s film fests are around, but Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archive takes a different approach with its two-part “School Days” series, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. this Saturday with the 13th annual Screenagers Bay Area Film and Video Festival. It’s an event that captures the Bay Area teenage experience through documentaries, […]

There’s no doubt that the rate of peanut and other food allergies among kids and adults is on the rise. Today, 3-5% of the population has milk, eggs, nut or seafood allergies, according to a story in the latest New Yorker – and some allergy specialists are starting to wonder if the advice they’ve believed […]

This has to be the cutest Valentine idea ever — possibly even cuter than the night of fairies our family used to celebrate every Midsummer’s Eve, when our children were small. (More on that in a minute.) A San Diego family launched the Love Bugs tradition a few years ago after discovering that their home […]