I recently mentioned how much I love the new parenting book NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. NutureShock challenges many of our pre-conceived notions of parenting and looks at recent science to show what's really going on with our kids. It covers topics like talking about race, lying, praise and one of the chapters talks focuses on gifted and talented testing for kindergarteners, questioning the our ability to measure true giftedness at that age.

Lots of events to share this week and some new developments on the site. Exciting (for me) is the upgrade of our server. I know, woohooo! But we've been getting so much traffic that the site was going down occasionally. Now you'll enjoy super fast page load times. I know you're gonna be really excited about that!

You may have also noticed our new events calendar. It's got a nifty widget on the home page where you can easily browse events for each day of the week or click to see all the events listed. You can also submit events now. So feel free to tell us about your school carnival or neighborhood street fair. If it's cool we'll share it with everyone.

One last update is our Camp Guide, all new and improved.

If you can contain your excitement over these developments, we'll get on to the events: 

This weekend kicks off two weeks of fabulous Chinese Lunar New Year events, plus, a MP favorite, Winter Jam, Target Free Museum Days, open houses, concerts and more. and while you're out and about you might want to hit the City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival, or drop by one of these indoor public spaces for a warm-up.

This post has been updated. You can find the new information here. A great way to get a feel for a camp is to visit it in person. Whether you're thining about day camp here in NYC or in the country, or especially sleep away camp, there's no better way to check it out than to meet the people see the facilities first-hand. Many camps will let you visit any time, but some have special open house dates where you can get a our and maybe even try out some of the activities for yourself. We've collected a bunch of upcoming open house dates, but if you don't see the camp you're interested in listed here, just give them a call and ask when you can visit.

Check out our Camp Guide for more ideas on cool summer camps around NYC.

With a Bang! and a Grrrr! kids will love to ring in (and gong in) the Year of the Tiger on Chinese Lunar New Year, February 14th, 2010. Whether you cheer on lion dancers, follow the dragon in the parade, or go out for yummy dumplings (or make them in a fun workshop), we’ve got the goods on all that’s happening and where to find it to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year in New York City.

Hamburger phones, Bacon Chocolate, Fish Eye Cameras, and all things cool. That is what’s on the menu at this kitchy boutique in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Started by two Chicago natives with a flare (literally) for unusual products and a love of Fred Astaire, Fred Flare is worth the trip for whenever you are stumped for a gift for kids or grown-ups alike. You are sure to find something unique and fun here.

Here is a great new way to spice up your kid-friendly music collection, without spending loads of money or time. Pandora internet radio has finally added children's music to its free online music offerings. So stop playing that same old version of Old McDonald and log on to get the living room dance party started.

Naira recently moved to Queens with her new baby and the challenges of being a first time mother plus not knowing anybody are proving to be more daunting than she anticipated. She emailed looking for help figuring out how to meet other new mothers in her area of Queens.