The New York Times Home section is doing a story on bad behavior at family

gatherings. They are particularly interested in hearing from divorced dads. If
you have a story to share, we’d love to hear from you. E mail
jwadler@nytimes.com. November 1 is the deadline.

Thank you for your help.

Something about The Baby says it’s probably more autobiographical than the author is letting on. The author is English. The main character is English. His girlfriend is French. The girlfriend in the book is French. A you might find that a bit distracting since you’re reading what feels to be of very much true-to-life story about what happens to a typical guy when he hears those classic words, “Honey, I think I’m pregnant.”

The book therefore, reads less like a novel than real life. For future d a with with a him for dads looking for the inside track on what really happens during pregnancy, it’s a good read. There just aren’t enough books out there that deal honestly with all the changes men go through during pregnancy and after childbirth. It’s the life-changing event for all the reasons depicted on TV, but for a lot of reasons no one ever talks about. In the baby you get some ideas about what men really think about women, babies, sex, work, life, and death. Anything that brings little bit more reality to this subject will be good for men and for relationships. The worst thing going into any new adventure, marriage or childbirth included, instead expectation that is either too rosy or too jaded. The Baby may help some men understand that the realities of having a baby are somewhere in between.

GreatDad.com has always posted our policy toward products and gifts featured in our reviews. At one time, the only things that we reviewed were things my wife and I had brought home from the baby store or were given to us by friends and family. Over the years, companies have started sending less products to consider for reviews. While sending us a product doesn’t guarantee that we write a review, we often write reviews of products we try with their own kids. This policy will not change with the new FTC rules. The one partial exception to this policy is the GreatDad.com Recommended seal. In this case, we do charge manufacturers to submit an application for product review, but there again, the fee does not guarantee a good review, or even a reference to the product on our website if the product is not considered good for dads and kids.

For nearly three decades, the Federal Trade Commission’s rules regarding the relationships between advertisers and product reviewers and endorsers were deemed adequate. Then came the age of blogging and social media.

On Monday, the F.T.C. said it would revise rules about endorsements and testimonials in advertising that had been in place since 1980. The new regulations are aimed at the rapidly shifting new-media world and how advertisers are using bloggers and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to pitch their wares.

The F.T.C. said that beginning on Dec. 1, bloggers who review products must disclose any connection with advertisers, including, in most cases, the receipt of free products and whether or not they were paid in any way by advertisers, as occurs frequently. The new rules also take aim at celebrities, who will now need to disclose any ties to companies, should they promote products on a talk show or on Twitter. A second major change, which was not aimed specifically at bloggers or social media, was to eliminate the ability of advertisers to gush about results that differ from what is typical — for instance, from a weight loss supplement.

[From Advertising - F.T.C. to Rule Blogs Must Disclose Gifts or Pay for Reviews - NYTimes.com]

After six days in Vegas (3 days beyond the USDA recommendation), you’d think I would have learned a few things. And, yes I have. Some are mega trends, some are minor trends, but here are five things you couldn’t avoid noticing at this year’s big baby and kids show.

1. The first major observation was the effect of the economy. This is certainly not news, but was felt more subtly than I expected. I was thinking there would be fewer attendees and fewer booths, but it seemed like the same crowd size. However, I noticed more system products that are meant to grow with baby through the toddler stage or meant to work for two children at the same time.

2. A major casualty of the economy was innovation. I judged the JPMA Innovation Awards and, while we thought there were innovative products, none were revolutionary. There were no no new major product introductions that caught the buzz of the crowd. This was not a year for revolutionary product designs that set individual categories on fire with discussion. If anything, this was more a year of intense copying of things that have worked well in the marketplace already.

3. The year of the dad was felt throughout the show. In years past, I’ve had to explain what a dad-oriented parenting site is, but this year, many people knew GreatDad and certainly were hip to dads’ changing role in the home. On booth after booth, I saw smiling dads holding little babies, where previously you saw only moms.

4. New side impact car seat designs were on display by no fewer than three manufacturers, as they try to find ways to cut infant and child deaths in side impact collisions. The Latch system is now ubiquitous giving manufacturers new ways to address how to use the Latches to make them easier and safer to use. From what I saw, Clek is still the only carseat manufacturer to latch the backless booster, which can become a projectile for the driver and passengers from an unoccupied booster seat. I’m surprised this has not been a more widely discussed risk.

5. Finally, cribs with moving parts exist no more. All the cribs I saw had stationary sides after even one too many kids’ heads were stuck in a descending gate. This is a good thing, but will put the strain back on moms’ and dads’ backs.

That’s it. Nothing major or surprising, kind of like this year’s show. I’m happy to be going home so I can play with my own kids, rather than standing around imagining whether products would be successful for other dad’s babies and families.

That’s a shock. I’ve always found Cookie to be so aspirational as to be useless and depressing, but I’m still sorry to see it go because it did provide a platform for a lot of small company products that got some good PR out of it.

WIth Child gone, that leaves only Parents as a big real-life magazine on the stands, with a some little guys, as well as a whole slew of online parenting sites (including GreatDad.com).

Conde Nast To Close Gourmet, Cookie, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride

[From Conde Nast To Close Gourmet, Cookie, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride]

People Magazine reports that the former Saturday Night Live star and his wife, Viveca Paulin, are expecting a third child.

The star, 42 and Ms. Paulin, 40, already have two sons, Magnus, 5 ½, and Mattias, 2 ½. The third child is expected to be a boy.

You’ve got to hand it to the mom. Jumping around with Will Ferrell alone has to be exhausting. I can’t imagine a house full of four of him.

The new baby is in January 2010, according to Ferrell’s representative.

Ferrell starred in last summer’s Land of the Lost. He also had a Broadway show early in 2009, featuring his George W. Bush impersonation that was nominated for a Tony Award.

The Giant Timeline is a new book out by a new publisher, Charlie’s Playhouse, which makes books and toys to teach kids about evolution and natural selection. The Giant Timeline is an 18 foot long unfolding book that takes the reader through the past 600 million years of history of life on this planet. The book is big, big, big, like its subject matter, but makes the story compelling to kids 4+ with colorful illustrations, comic book-like thought bubbles from the funny creatures, and lots and lots of strange looking monsters who have the distinction of being our ancestors.

Dads will find a lot to love about this book. It’s a perfect length for a before bedtime read, but also fills in tons of knowledge gaps for the non-scientists among us who haven’t studied the evolution since high school (where my teacher scoffed at it by the way). My son and I both read the book together and enjoyed the colorful illustrations. The book also contains page after page of explanatory material which provides background information and even games for the deeper involvement in the timeline, with ideas for kids, parents, and teachers. I’ve never seen such an in-depth study guide in a book of this type.

The Giant Timeline has taken the coveted “favorite book” of my five year old son. He loves is so much that he immediately took it to school to show his kindergarten friends.

The publisher of the book, mom and scientist Kate Miller, admits that evolution can be controversial. Charlie’s Playhouse, however, believes that the majority of Americans find the study of evolution consistent with their own beliefs and that the issue if over-politicized. “Why should this majority be deprived of educational fun stuff for their kids because the few who politicize the issue. It’s basic cultural literacy.” To this end, Charlie’s Playhouse has teamed up with The Clery Letter Project which gathers signatures from clergy affirming their belief that evolutionary study is consistent with their religious beliefs.

Find this book and other toys of an evolutionary nature at Charlie’sPlayhouse.com.

One last thing, while the book smells a bit like plastic out of its packaging, it’s actually made out of a earth-friendly synthetic paper called Polylith.

This time it’s Farrell and his Polish girlfriend, Alicja Bachleda-Curus. Farrell already has a six-year-old son, James, with Canadian model and ex-girlfriend Kim Bordenave. But this time, he says he’s playing for

keeps and is ready to commit. The couple, or at least Farrell, has bought a 1.5 Million pound house in Poland where they are spending all their time. Farrell has joint custody of his first son.

Farrell met Alicja during the filming of Ondine. Ondine, one of two films Farrell has premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall, tells the story of Syracuse. Farrell plays Syracuse, an Irish fisherman whose life is changed when he nets a beautiful woman (Alicja Bachleda).

These guys are too geeky to believe, but it puts my great dad credentials to shame when I see guys building custom stuff like this for little kids. Add this to the list of home projects I know would add immeasurably to children’s memories, but which I lack the competence, or motivation, to ever bring to completion.

This is one tiny video game machine.

We’ve been using these

Planet Wise wet bags for about a year to tote wet bathing suits around after every swimming lesson or pool event. The voting is unanimous. My wife, who usually doesn’t like more “stuff” thinks they are great. They are reusable and long lasting, and come in 14 color styles

Since these came out, there are many other companies getting into the game, all with fashion forward colors and designs, which make this item a good gift and accessory. I just got an 11X14 bag from Itzy Ritzy which is big enough to handle my suit and sun shirt.

There are now a lot of manufacturers making these, but these are two we’ve used and they are worth the $12-15 for storing wet suits, diapers, even leaky food items.

Both of these are well-made with PVC-free waterproof liners and locking zippers. I even saw a demo with the Planet Wise filled with water and it didn’t even leak through the zipper.