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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Hey Mom and Dad: Is a Pet an Appropriate Holiday Gift for a Child?

Parents, Patch wants to hear from you on the questions that get families talking.

Welcome to Hey Mom and Dad—a weekly feature in which we ask our Facebook fans to share their views on parenting. Every week, we get the conversation started by taking a look back at a question we asked parents the week before on Patch Facebook pages from around the area. It's a rite of passage for nearly every child: Begging your parents for that first cat, dog or guinea pig as a Holiday present. The debate on our local Facebook pages took many different turns this week, and we want to hear from you, too. Leave your opinion in the comments below and check out what some of our Facebook friends had to say: Jan Rollins: when the are responsible enough to walk it, feed it & potty train — Darien Patch Facebook Kathleen Bowler Kadolph: after …

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Darren McRoy

6:17 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Wisdom from someone who knows pets well!   more ›

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Hey, Mom and Dad. When Should Kids Get Their First Cell Phone?

Parents, Patch wants to hear from you on the questions that get families talking.

Welcome to "Hey, Mom and Dad"—a weekly feature in which we ask our Facebook fans to share their views on parenting. Every week we get the conversation started by taking a look back at a question we asked parents the week before on Patch Facebook pages from around the area: Your child is 10 years old and insists he needs a cell phone in his life to keep him safe and in constant contact with his friends. What do you do? Run out and put him on the family plan? Or, tell him to wait until he can get a job and pay for it himself? That leads us to this week's question: Take a look at what people had to say and join the conversation in the Comments section. Wendy F. I can see very basic (and durable) phones for kids once they are in very late …

Joseph R. Martan

10:46 am on Wednesday, October 3, 2012

No cell phones until college. Children need to learn how to speak and write intelligent English, not the garbage they use on their phones and IPods. Likewise, they need face-to-face interaction with their peers instead of hiding behind an electronic device. The trouble is that the current generation of parents lacks the ability (or willingness) to simply say "no" when Buffy or Chad whine that …   more ›

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