I don't think this was intended as a kid activity, but, you know, city kids are sooo sophisticated - we're just always doing cool stuff with them, like entering into adult contests hosted by celebrities on hyper-intellectual radio shows. So here's an opportunity to explore your child's artistic genius and exposing it for all the world to appreciate and have fun all at once - multitasking!

Preschool admissions - they're the worst. Yeah, there's elementary school, middle, oh yeah, high school and, the big one, college admissions. They're all bad, but preschool is the worst. Why? Because you're still young and naive - not jaded and beaten down like you will be by the time the others come around.

Interviews for 2 year olds? First choice letters? Trying to figure out if there really is such a thing as a "feeder" school? Wouldn't it be great if all the preschools all just lined up and offered themselves to you, and you could just pluck the one you liked the best? Well, keep dreaming, that ain't gonna happen, but the next best thing is the Downtown Preschool Fair.

Here's a different activity. Ever been to The Skyscraper Museum? Did you even know it existed? Whether your kid is a budding architect or just needs to appreciate those giant towers about him a little more, head on down to this relatively new Battery Park City institution.

After a New York Times article this weekend reporting that Hispanic parents have opted to name all their boys Angel, The New York Observer reports that affluent New Yorkers are competing to label their children with the most unusual names possible.

What do you do when the trendy thing to do is try to be totally unique? Do you go for more totally unique or buck the trend and go traditional?

If you are planning to follow the trend here are some guidelines to follow:

An intense debate has been started by California Democratic Assemblywoman Sally J. Leiber's announcement of her intent to introduce a bill to make spanking a child under the age of 4 a crime.

Jobs that require a lot of travel can be hard for working parents, but jobs that require just a little bit of travel can be fabulous for working parents!

This week I had to go to LA for just a day, which I stretched into three days. Including the 12 blissful hours reading on the plane, it was the perfect mini-vacation--an opportunity to trade the messiness and antics of family life for the soothing calm of being alone in a big, clean, quiet hotel room.

Well, it turns out you can take the girl out of the insanity, but you can't take the insanity out of the girl.

After sex and money and kids the thing most couples fight about is chores. Chores. It doesn't seem to have the emotional baggage that the others do, so what's the deal? Apparently, it's about respect (I read that somewhere). If the other person isn't taking enough care about the house we share, it feels like a lack of respect and appreciation for the other person. If you put it that way, it does seem like a pretty important part of a healthy relationship.

So, after smoldering all day about my husband not helping out as much as I wished he did, I decided that I wouldn't get mad, I'd get even. That's where the Taskmaster came in. No, it's not a torture device, it's a form to help you divide the household chores evenly.

Jason over at dadcentric has posted some very useful and funny sex aids for parents. I won't say anything else, just read it.