Parents Are Shelling Out Big Bucks On Kids’ Birthday Parties
If you think celebrating your kid’s birthday with a cake and some party balloons in your backyard is enough you are sorely mistaken. These days parents are shelling out big bucks to make sure their kids day is special, regardless of how young their kid may be.
More and more parents are dipping into their bank accounts big time for kids’ birthday parties, with a recent report suggesting about 26% of parents spend more than $500 on a kids’ first birthday bash, while a British survey finds that parents spend about $28,000 on birthdays through the age of 21.
Dylan’s Candy Bar president Tushar Adya reveals that most birthday packages at their New York and Chicago stores run between $500 and $1,000, with 25 parties happening each week. “People are looking for differentiation and something that is truly unique,” he said.
Other big expenses include elaborate cakes, which can in some cases cost between $400 and $600, as well as entertainment, with one Virginia mom shelling out $400 for a live reptile show for her kids’ fifth birthday bash, which was probably a cheap expense considering the party took place at a country club with servers and an open bar for adults.
Not surprising, one reason for all these parents trying to outdo one another is social media. “We’re living in a very stylistic world, where there is incredible inspiration and content online that is visual eye candy,” event planner Keri Levitt tells Moneyish. “You can find a whale party, a pop star party, whatever your child is into. Everything is about the next level of detail.”
Source: New York Post
British Woman Didn't Know She Had 27 Contact Lenses On One Eye
A British woman had 27 contact lenses on her eye and didn't know about it, doctors said.
The 67-year-old woman reportedly believed that she was experiencing discomfort in her eye due to dry eye or old age.
"None of us have ever seen this before," specialist trainee ophthalmologist, Rupal Morjaria, told Optometry Today. "It was such a large mass. All the 17 contact lenses were stuck together. We were really surprised that the patient didn't notice it because it would cause quite a lot of irritation while it was sitting there."
After removing the first 17 lenses, doctors found ten more under the patient's eyelid.
The patient had been wearing disposable contact lens for 35 years but had not been going to an eye doctor for regular check-ups.
"In this day and age, when it is so easy to purchase contact lenses online, people become lax about having regular check ups," Morjaria said.
The doctors wrote about the incident in the BMJ to boost public awareness about eye health.
"Contact lenses are used all the time, but if they are not appropriately monitored we see people with serious eye infections that can cause them to lose their sight," Morjaria said.
Link: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2017/07/16/British-woman-didnt-know-she-had-27-contact-lenses
Study Confirms: Second Kids Are Natural Troublemakers
If you’ve always felt like your second-born kid was more of a troublemaker than your first, you’re not just imagining it. Science has your back on this one, mamas. According to a recent study, there’s evidence that second kids really are harder.
MIT economist Joseph Doyle led a group of researchers who analyzed info from thousands of families in Florida and Denmark, comparing siblings’ “chances of delinquency” over a period of years. And what they found was actually a little disturbing.
It turns out, in families with two or more kids, the second-born is 25 to 40% more likely than their older brother or sister to end up in trouble at school, end up in the juvenile justice system, and even end up serving time in prison!
So why do researchers think this happens to second kids so much more? One theory is about parental attention - basically that the second kid gets a lot less attention than the first one did. And that makes sense because you just can’t give two kids your undivided attention at the same time.
Experts also suggest that it has to do with first kids learning most of their behavior from mom and dad and second children learning more from their older sibling. Since parents know how to behave properly and kids don’t always choose to, they’re not always the best role models. But it does seem like a huge jump to go from jumping on the bed to being a juvenile delinquent, even for those mischief making second-born kids.
Source: The Stir
Working Long Hours Can Damage Your Heart Health-You may want to rethink working over time.
A new study says working long hours can raise the risk of a common and potentially dangerous irregular heart rhythm condition. British researchers found that people who work 55 hours a week or more were about 40-percent more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than people who worked 35 to 40 hours a week. Atrial fibrillation contributes to stroke, heart failure, and stroke-related dementia.
The scientists studied more than 85-thousand people in the U.K. and three other European countries for more than ten years. The research was published in Friday's edition of the "European Health Journal."
As for the fix? Work less hours.Source: News Week
Relax Mom, Science Says Dirt Is Good For Kids
You know the crack about “hey – we drank out of the hose and it was just fine?” Yup. But in modern times, as parents, it’s kind of just in our nature to sanitize and sterilize everything our little ones come in contact with. But according to Jack Gilbert, who studies microbial ecosystems at the University of Chicago, dirt is actually good for babies and their immune systems, so it’s okay to set down those antibacterial wipes, mama.
Gilbert, a father himself, researched how exposure to dirt and bacteria affects our kids for his new book, “Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System.” And he found that “most of the exposures were actually beneficial.” He also says parents tend to go a little overboard with the over-sterilizing.
“It’s fine to wash their hands if there’s a cold or flu virus going around, but if they’re interacting with a dog and the dog licks their face, that’s not a bad thing,” Gilbert says. “In fact, that could be extremely beneficial for the child’s health.”
This “dirt expert” also says exposing kids to dirt helps build their immune system and that allergies are the result of parents trying too hard to protect kids. And get this, Gilbert says a study of more than 300,000 kids found that parents who lick their kid’s pacifier when it drops on the ground instead of washing before giving it back to junior have kids who “developed less allergies, less asthma, less eczema.” So be a “pacifier licker” and let your kids get dirty – your kids will be healthier for it!
Source: Scary Mommy