According to UrbanSitter, a company that helps families find and secure child care, the hourly rate for a babysitter has reached an all-time high and saw an 11 percent increase from the previous year. This inflation rate is far outpacing the 7 percent jump in consumer prices which recently reached a 40-year high. To help put that into perspective, babysitting rates only rose 3.9 percent from 2019 to 2020. UrbanSitter wanted to calculate the average cost of babysitting and then broke those numbers down further looking into which cities in the US have the highest average hourly rate....

We inadvertently invented Bag O’ Shoes when my sister dropped off a plastic garbage bag full of her six-year-old son’s hand-me-downs. Within minutes, my kids were arm-deep into the bag and shoes were strewn everywhere. Bag ‘O Shoes was born. Ideal for toddlers and preschoolers, setup is extremely quick, inside or outside, and it helps develop motor skills, enhance creativity, and teaches kids to sort and clean-up. RELATED: The Best Board Games for Toddlers...

RELATED: For Young Girls Playing Baseball, There Are Few Chances After Little League “I have heard it all,” Ferreri laughs. “Many days I have cringed at some of the things that have come out of other coaches and parents mouths.” These harsh cliches don’t help kids hit more home runs, have more fun, or learn anything. They undermine self-esteem, teamwork, and personal growth. They make games less fun. On top of that, they self-perpetuate....

RELATED: A Ranking of the Mostly Terrible Dads of ‘Stranger Things’ During your weekend binging, you probably found yourself wishing you could own any one of the snazzy vehicles of Hawkins but allowed your imagination to be weighed down with such questions as: Are these cars still around? Could I even afford them if they were around? Is there any way I can look as cool as Chief Hopper? After doing some digging, we found five Stranger Things cars you could realistically buy today....

Note: I’ve avoided any of the more politically incorrect Warner Bros. cartoons and everything listed below should be acceptable for most kids. That said, these cartoons are 60 to 70 years old, so you may need to provide some context from time to time. I’ve provided warnings and explanations for some of the dated cultural references where needed. Birdy and the Beast (1944) Dir. Bob Clampett I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of most Tweety cartoons – too cutesy and formulaic for my tastes....

Gone are the days where churning out a batch requires you to have a basic understanding of chemistry and the arms of a stevedore. Today’s machines are well designed and more than capable of making that sweet, sweet treat. Now, before we begin: Ice cream making requires a few basic items. There’s the churn, which continually whips the mixture, the cold unit, which you need to freeze contents as quickly as possible to avoid the creation of unwanted ice crystals, and a container to hold everything while the magic happens....

The original shit-kickers, these slip-on, sturdy-soled, comfy-upper, do-it-all boots began production in 1870 in Tasmania — designed specifically for the rigors of grabbing sheep, stepping through their muck, and shearing the fleece off them. The company’s still based on Australia’s outlier island and builds shoes there but, for me, and countless others, at least the pedigree and (dare I say) dyed-in-the-wool field testing makes for some reliable boots. The thick sole may not be the most pliable but it doesn’t blow out and the waterproof, oiled leather upper (that fits like a slipper thanks to a perfectly placed and camouflaged elastic patch near the ankle) just breaks in better the more you abuse it....

Here are few great quotes from random Star Wars characters, that actually contain a forceful amount of wisdom for parents. Whether you’ve got a brand new youngling or a budding Padawan learner, the Force is very much with these quotes. “You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” — Obi-Wan Kenobi, Return Of The Jedi When They Said It: Obi-Wan is explaining to Luke his family history and George Lucas is planting seeds among the fanboys for the many prequels to come....

If passed, these tax increases would be the first passed at the federal level since 1993. Where the aforementioned COVID-19 relief bill was paid for entirely by, in essence, printing new money, the second major piece of legislation of the Biden administration will be funded at least partially by tax increases. We don’t have a draft piece of legislation or even a statement outlining the administration’s vision for the plan, which likely hasn’t fully been decided just yet, but Bloomberg reports that the following tax increases are being considered....

Lawmakers are moving forward with a bipartisan framework on gun safety. Over the weekend, a bipartisan group of senators announced a framework for federal gun control legislation, a move that seemed impossible a few months ago. Republican senators have consistently pushed back and stalled on passing any restrictions on gun ownership. However, after the deadly mass shootings in late May in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, pressure has been mounting for both sides of the aisle to work together....

Ninja Coffee Makers Two reasons to love this Ninja coffee maker: Its adjustable warming plate, which keeps your java fresh. And its small batch function, which lets you brew a single cup of Joe for yourself without having to make a whole pot. It also has a money-saving permanent filter. This Ninja coffee maker also has a perma-filter. And in this case, we’re into the maker’s classic- and rich-strength settings that make hot, flavorful coffee that’s never bitter but always just as strong as you need it to be....

Also dubbed the “show your breastfed baby your boobs” challenge, the videos are set to the tune of the country song ‘Drop ‘Em Out’ by Wheeler Walker, Jr., which features lyrics like “Drop ’em out, let me see them ti–ies…gonna take a long look at those tig ol’ bitties. ” In the viral videos (some of which have received over 100,000 views!), moms record their baby’s reactions when they spontaneously expose their breasts to them....

The reality: Potted plants don’t work like living HVAC devices, neutralizing nasty chemicals to help us breathe easy. It would be awesome if that were true, but experts today say it’s simply a myth. Despite what old research implied, houseplants have very little if any impact on indoor air quality. The NASA study that launched this whole idea is an interesting and well-executed study. Thirty years ago, government researchers were trying to find ways to purify the air of their space stations, and they discovered that greenery could do the trick....

For the past month, whenever a Michael Jackson song has come on the radio, like a good, dutiful citizen of #CancelCulture, I’ve changed the station. I’ve censored the Jackson 5’s “ABC,” which really resonates with my two-year-old. Like many other moms and dads with Twitter habits, I live in terror of the specter of Michael Jackson, which looms large in the wake of Leaving Neverland. But, because I’m also selfish, decided to hear out Wacko Jacko....

According to Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London, about 90 percent of people with symptomatic COVID-19 will develop the antibodies they need to defend against the coronavirus for a year or so. That means 10 percent could still get reinfected within that year. “[T]hey have precisely the same risk as anyone out there, thus a small but significant number of reinfections,” he told NPR in an email....

One of America’s finest chefs, Brock has always been passionate about nourishing his community. Now three-years into recovery for drinking and workaholism, Brock is a father to Leo, who turned one this past February, and feeling even more focused. Thanks to fatherhood, he says, he’s never been more centered. “I truly believe that the way to live is to take care of yourself first so you can take care of others fully,” he says....

Chef Thomas Boemer agrees. Fried chicken was one of the first things he ever learned how to make. It helped the acclaimed chef fall in love with Southern cooking and taught him an early lesson about preparing food — that, with some attention to detail and the right process, you can recreate any great meal. Boemer was born in Minnesota but moved to North Carolina when he was five and fell in love with Southern food....

READ MORE: The Fatherly Guide to Chores “There are so many benefits to encouraging young children to have ‘chores’,” says Shanna Donhauser a child and family therapist at Happy Nest therapy in Seattle. “When we think about what a chore actually is, what we’re typically describing is a task that a family member must do to keep the home tidy or running. Young children are a part of the family and should be encouraged to select a responsibility, like everyone else....

It’s hard to not be devastated when a personal issue leaves you feeling joyless in the face of something you love doing, and food is Teigen’s bread and butter. “I started looking at food and was like, ‘I’m just not in the mood.’ It’s like going to the grocery store when you’re full. You just don’t want the same things. Food wasn’t that thrilling for me. That was one of the first times I knew something was wrong....

Already an insanely popular line of two-, three-, four-person pop-up tents that require little more than opening to setup, Cinch is back this year with both new features and an interconnected communal Hub. First, the tents: They remain as smart as ever. They’re equipped with app-controlled 3500-lumen LED interior lights and illuminated tent stakes, a solar panel pack with integrated fast charger, and a climate-control canopy to regulate heat and light and keep the temps down inside....