And it took months of humiliation to figure this out? Gosselin says he now understands this, appearing on the Larry King Live show.

“This has been a media explosion. I’ve been on the cover of magazines since January,” Gosselin told King. “It’s just crazy, I want the fodder to stop . . . I don’t want to be filmed anymore and I don’t want the kids involved.”

I haven’t watched any of this, but it’s hard not to soak it up by osmosis unless you live in a cave or high up on a mountain. I guess people like this guy, and the Heene character exist to make us all feel comparatively like really really great dads.

Reality show ‘not healthy for my kids,’ Gosselin dad now decides

[From Reality show 'not healthy for my kids,' Gosselin dad now decides]

Another excellent article by Jane Brody of the New York Times on the importance of talking and communicating with your baby, including looking him or her straight in the eye. Prior generations didn’t have distractions like iPhones and Blackberries and parents talked to their kids. Now, we have to avoid the temptation to text, and talk instead.

Ms. Jacoby’s general advice to parents: “Reward your little one’s communicative attempts with your heightened attention to his/her conversation. Be prepared to put down your cellphone and look them squarely in the eye as they share their thoughts with you.”

Communication begins as soon as a baby is born. The way you touch, hold, look at and talk to babies help them learn your language, and the different ways babies cry help you learn their language — “I’m wet,” “I’m hungry,” “I’m tired,” “I hurt,” “I’m overwhelmed” and so forth.

“Talk to your baby whenever you have the chance,” the American Medical Association advises parents. “Even though he doesn’t understand what you’re saying, your calm, reassuring voice is what he needs to feel safe. Always respond to your newborn’s cries — he cannot be spoiled with too much attention.”

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association urges parents to reinforce communication efforts by looking at the baby and imitating vocalizations, laughter and facial expressions.

“Talk while you are doing things,” the association suggests. “Talk about where you are going, what you will do once you get there, and who and what you’ll see.”

You might say things like, “Now we’re going to put on your socks,” “We’re going in the car to see Grandma,” or, “When we get to the playground, I’ll push you on the swing.”

[From Personal Health - Parents Need to Tune In and Engage a Young Child With Talk - NYTimes.com]

A recent study in the Journal of Applied Development and Psychology says that in families with two working parents, dads have a greater impact on children’s language development than moms.   The key thing is to keep talking and engaging your kids at all ages, avoiding all the other electronic stimuli that doesn’t teach kids, or adults, how to really interact.

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]

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]