LilSugar

5 Must-Have Gadgets For Moms

babysugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:00:50 -0700

From cell phones to cameras, mommies can hardly get by without their electronics these days. They can save her from getting lost, keeping up with her schedule and maintaining her savvy aura. While they may put a dent in the wallet, there are five wired gadgets that every woman should treat herself to when she welcomes a baby into her world.

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Do You Text Your Doctor?

LilSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:30:16 -0700

Got a burning question for your doctor during non-office hours? Skip the overnight answering service and just text her! Expectant mamas who find themselves wondering why their breasts are leaking in the weeks before delivery or if it is safe to take medication for a headache don't always have to wait for the phones to open at 9 a.m. to get an answer. Many doctors are opening themselves, and their mobile phone lines, up to patients with non-emergency questions. The practice allays patients' fears and reduces the doctors' call volume first thing in the morning. Best of all, worried mamas can find answers without venturing to the often scary Internet and learning worst-case scenarios.

Do you text your doctor non-emergency questions?

Cell Phones That Keep Parents and Children in Touch

LilSugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:00:10 -0700

Staying connected with your kids now involves technology. While back-to-school shopping means papers, pencils and knapsacks for most lil ones, some parents are also adding mobile phones to the supply list.

Thirty-eight percent of LilSugar readers said their children carry a cell phone with them, while 48 percent said they were against a school ban on the wireless devices. The biggest concerns parents have with the gadgets is that their youngsters will overuse them, talk to inappropriate people and not pay attention to class lessons. Cell phone providers are aware of these issues and have taken several measures to make parents more comfortable with them. Among their latest offerings are:

GPS services on popular wireless provider's plans that allow parents to pinpoint kids' locations at any time. Verizon's Chaperone and Sprint's Family Locator allow parents to track their children from their computers on a password-protected account.
Parental control services, also offered by traditional wireless provider's plans, that give parents the ability to set limits on when and where the phones are used.
Specific wireless networks created expressly for young kids, such as Kajeet and FireFly. Designed for elementary school users, the services offer parental controls on all of their phones, allowing parents to limit who can call the phone and who their kids can call. The systems also offer timers that limit when calls can be made to certain numbers and weekly "allowance" minutes that can be added to (or subtracted from) based on the child's behavior.

Check out some of the devices that house these GPS and parental controls below.

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Parenting Via Cell Phone Keeps Moms in Contact

LilSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:00:30 -0700

How did parents manage before cell phones? That was the question posed to me the other night by a friend who called to cancel our mom and tot dinner plans after finding herself in the midst of a work crisis du jour. She relayed a story to which some moms may relate.

After dropping her children off at camp, she phoned the pediatrician to make check-up appointments while en route to the airport. While waiting for her flight to a business meeting, she sat a catalog on her lap and proceeded to place school uniform orders over the phone. After landing at her destination, she fielded several calls from her child care provider and then her own children, regarding a disagreement about whose turn it was to pick out the dinner entree. While waiting on a delayed flight, she recited her daughters' favorite bedtime story over the phone so she could "put them to sleep." Her situation is not ideal, but technology allows this mama to pursue career goals while maintaining constant contact via cell or iChat with her family.

Babysugar Diaries: Back Light

babysugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Feeding an infant in the middle of the night is a stealth operation. When my tot screams for milk at 3 a.m., I sneak into his nursery, pick him up gently, tiptoe over to the glider, and nurse him before laying back down to sleep. In an effort not to wake him completely, I never turn on the lights in his room for fear he will think it's time for the rooster to crow. Unfortunately, that means I can't see what I'm doing either. My solution? A cell phone.

Though I feel like a tracked beast on Animal Planet, I use my cell phone's back light to help guide my son to the breast in the dark. I can practically hear the voice-over, "Like a lioness, the mother directs her cub to the source of milk even in the darkness of night." But hey, it beats the overhead lights inciting a 4 a.m. play period, and also helps me keep track of feeding times.

Website lil Loves: YoJoMama

LilSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:00:05 -0800

The people that brought the world MizPee, the mobile restroom tracker that helps you find a clean place when you just gotta go, launched a parent-friendly site called Yojo Mama today.

Described as a "concierge for your cell," the site helps moms and dads find child-friendly restaurants, toy stores, kids clothing stores, diaper-changing stations (can I get an amen!) and playgrounds from your computer or web enabled cell phone.

The results are based on the user's current location, neighborhood or city. I tested the site for diaper changing locations in one of my favorite San Francisco neighborhoods and received directions to a nearby public library, mall and a handful of low key restaurants. The service only works in New York and San Francisco right now, but Los Angeles, Chicago and other areas are coming soon. I suspect it will be a hit with mobile parents living in metropolitan areas and geek does too!

Jawbone: The Britney Mic For Mamas

LilSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:00:52 -0700

Trying to carry on a conversation with two tots in tow can be cumbersome. Add the background noise of their blaring toys, the television or radio, and I can barely hear myself think let alone talk to someone on the other end of a phone line. So when the folks at Aliph sent me their Jawbone ($130) Bluetooth headset, I figured I'd give it a whirl.

The muted gold colored earpiece fit easily on my ear and had just enough fashionable bling to make my 22-month-old want to bat at it. The sound blocking technology did a great job of stifling background noise so I could engage in an uninterrupted discussion. And, since it's illegal to drive in California while chit chatting into a cell phone, this could also come in handy in the car.

Does Your Child Carry a Cell Phone?

babysugar — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:00:53 -0700

When I taught elementary aged girls, I was surprised by how many of them carried a cell phone. They usually fit into one of two categories - financially well off or latch key kids. The majority of the former group had them for social reasons while the latter kept them for security purposes.

As concerns continue to pop up about the safety of such gadgets, I have to wonder how many parents are arming their tots with the handy devices. Does your tot have her or his own cell?
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Cell Phones and Cancer

babysugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:00:27 -0700

I never met a baby that didn't enjoy a cell phone. Before you pass your chatty gadget to your tiny one, consider getting him his own fake version. Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, issued a warning:

Recently I have become aware of the growing body of literature linking long-term cell phone use to possible adverse health effects including cancer. Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phone use.

Numerous other studies on the same subject have come up empty on such similar findings as Herberman.

To see what measures Herberman advises people to take, read more.

Do not allow children to use a cell phone, except for emergencies. The developing organs of a fetus or child are the most likely to be sensitive to any possible effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
While communicating using your cell phone, try to keep the cell phone away from the body as much as possible. The amplitude of the electromagnetic field is one-fourth the strength at a distance of two inches and 50 times lower at three feet. Whenever possible, use the speaker-phone mode or a wireless Bluetooth headset, which has less than 1/100th of the electromagnetic emission of a normal cell phone. Use of a hands-free ear piece attachment may also reduce exposures.
Avoid using your cell phone in places, like a bus, where you can passively expose others to your phone's electromagnetic fields.
Avoid carrying your cell phone on your body at all times. Do not keep it near your body at night such as under the pillow or on a bedside table, particularly if pregnant. You can also put it on “flight” or “off-line” mode, which stops electromagnetic emissions.
If you must carry your cell phone on you, make sure that the keypad is positioned toward your body and the back is positioned toward the outside so that the transmitted electromagnetic fields move away from your rather than through you.
Only use your cell phone to establish contact or for conversations lasting a few minutes, as the biological effects are directly related to the duration of exposure. For longer conversations, use a land line with a corded phone, not a cordless phone, which uses electromagnetic emitting technology similar to that of cell phones.
Switch sides regularly while communicating on your cell phone to spread out your exposure. Before putting your cell phone to the ear, wait until your correspondent has picked up. This limits the power of the electromagnetic field emitted near your ear and the duration of your exposure.
Avoid using your cell phone when the signal is weak or when moving at high speed, such as in a car or train, as this automatically increases power to a maximum as the phone repeatedly attempts to connect to a new relay antenna.
When possible, communicate via text messaging rather than making a call, limiting the duration of exposure and the proximity to the body.
Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible (SAR = Specific Absorption Rate, which is a measure of the strength of the magnetic field absorbed by the body). SAR ratings of contemporary phones by different manufacturers are available by searching for “SAR ratings cell phones” on the Internet.

Will this warning affect your cell phone behavior?
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Mom-Me Time: BlackBerrys for Mommies?

babysugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:01:34 -0700

All of us at Sugar are attached to our BlackBerrys - they keep us on top of the news, and your comments, day and night. But, as lilsugar mentioned the other day, unplugging from the office is important.

That is why I was struck when a friend, who did not return to work after the birth of her baby, told me that more than half of the women in her mommy group have BlackBerrys. When I asked if they worked part-time and needed to check into the office, she told me that none of them worked, but that they wanted to stay on-top of their emails and Facebook friends. They use the devices to arrange play dates, check-in with dad and text their friends. In short, they have become the must-have accessory on the playground.

While I am sure this was not the intention of the people at RIM, they may have a new clientèle to market their wares to! Do you keep your handheld handy while on mommy watch?

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