Kid Shoots Bear That Won’t Leave Him Alone

The bear wouldn’t leave his porch, so an eleven-year-old boy went and got his shotgun. Then he killed the bear.

Well - that’s one way to deal with it. Continue reading »

Who’s Smarter: Kids or Dogs?

Recently a commenter asserted that raising a child is identical to raising a dog. “Both can be encouraged to good behavior through rewards and discouraged from bad behavior through punishment.”  “Both demand enthusiastic praise and consistant (sic) (non-angry) discipline.” “Just like a dog, you must put a plastic cone on a child’s head to keep them from chewing on their butt.” Okay, I made that last one up. Or did I?

Many took umbrage with the commenter’s remarks, but I (always the scientist) decided to put them to the test. Over a weekend I pitted my three-year-old against our 1 ½ year old border collie to once and for all resolve the question: who is smarter, a toddler or a dog? Here are the competitors.

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Alligator Gets Loose After School Show and Tell

For as long as it took to show off his live alligator to his daughter’s class, Dave Brady was the coolest parent in the State of Florida. Then the gator got loose.

The creature jumped out of Brady’s truck and took off for the wild - with the tape Brady had used to keep his yap shut while around the kids still firmly in place. Continue reading »

Kangaroos and Dolphins and Crayfish, Oh My

I’m beginning to notice a theme in children’s lit: kids and critters go hand-in-hand. So we rounded up some of the newest examples of animal antics on bookshelves and let you know whether they’re worth the hardcover investment: Continue reading »

Scientists Study How Animals Help Autism

While service dogs for autistic kids paw their way into the classroom, scientists have decided to finally study the link between kids and their pets.

Sponsored by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the study is meant to go beyond anecdotal evidence that therapy animals have a positive affect on kids, especially those with autism. Continue reading »

More People Who Shouldn’t Have a Kid

It’s about time we checked back in with www.WhytheF***doyouhaveakid.com, because as long as their are still people having kids there will be people who should not be having kids.

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Campaign Aims to Raise Awareness of Shelter Pets

Believe it or not, we’re getting close to the holidays, and that means the gift requests are going to start mounting up from our kiddos. For lots of kids, that gift list includes a new puppy or kitten.

Animal welfare people suggest that the chaos and craziness of the holidays is about the worst time to introduce a new pet into the house, and I have to agree. But when you’ve made that decision to add a new pet to your family, the Humane Society of the United States and the Ad Council are launching a new campaign to get you to consider a shelter pet as your first and best place to get a pet. It’s called the Shelter Pet Project. Here’s just one fact: Every year, of the 8 million dogs and cats that enter animal shelters, 3 million of these healthy and treatable pets are euthanized.

Most shelters Continue reading »

SkippyJon Jones’ Mom Judy Schachner Talks to Babble

He’s a favorite of Michelle Obama, and this week, SkippyJon Jones is being launched into, er, “spice.”

The lastest in a line of books featuring a Siamese cat who thinks he’s a Chihuahua, SkippyJon Jones Lost in Spice is littered with Spanish words for your kids to practice and a story that’s been peppered with a liberal dose of silly.

Author Judy Schachner sat down with Babble via the phone from her home in southeastern Pennsylvania to explain why cats need three names and why her cat speaks with a Spanish accent: Continue reading »

PETA Says Animal Abuse Killed Toys R Us Giraffe

The long-necked creature who has appeared in Toys R Us commercials as Geoffrey, everyone’s favorite giraffe, is dead. And a federal investigation instigated by PETA indicates there’s foul play behind the fella’s death.

Tweet the giraffe was at a zoo in Boston for filming The Zookeeper with Kevin James when the Gainesville Sun reports he collapsed and died. Continue reading »

Kids Vote to Kill Lamb They Raised

A program meant to teach kids about raising animals should be an animal activist’s dream. Until the fourteen kids who raised a lamb named Marcus voted to have the wooly little critter sent to the slaughterhouse.

Lamb chop anyone? Continue reading »