Family Matter: By the third baby, parenting becomes a little easier

Angie Brunkow

September 14, 2004 – Life with kids changes everything, but each added bundle of joy changes you, too.

This month's Parenting magazine offers a humorous look at life with another baby.

First baby: Play classical music to soothe the baby; sleep when the baby sleeps; sterilize everything; potty train by 24 months.

Second baby: Play classical music to soothe yourself; sleep while baby sleeps and toddler watches a video; scrape away obvious dirt from items that hit the floor; barely potty train by preschool deadline.

Third baby: Buy yourself an electric guitar to drown out the noise of bickering children; sleep in minivan during soccer practice while you nurse the baby (turn on the DVD player for the middle child); no longer notice dirt; see that no one has touched the last three packages of Pull-Ups - toddler must have potty-trained himself.

Video games for 3-year-olds

Looking to entertain your child during the bus ride to school or the car ride to Grandma's?

Techno Source and Crayola have developed a new series of video games suitable for children as young as 3.

The new products include two hand-held games (My First Electronic Game - Crayon Racer and Paint Splat) as well as a Plug n Play version (My First TV Play System).

Creators of the toys wanted to help children integrate gaming into their playtime while assuring parents the content is educational, imaginative and fun.

In Crayon Racer, children can drive their crayon-shaped race car around the track yet may also play with the device like a toy car. In Paint Splat, children must maneuver a bucket in order to catch paint droplets before they splat on the ground.

The new products will be available nationwide this fall.