Wednesday, June 6, 2007

JUNE 6, 2007

HOW TO KEEP YOUR KIDS CALM WHEN YOU GO OUT
There is quite possibly nothing worse than going out to a restaurant and having your entire meal RUINED by some screaming kid at the next table. Here are four ways you can keep your own kids in line when you take them to restaurants. . .

1) GO TO THE RIGHT PLACE. You might want to think twice about bringing your kids with you when you're going to some nice restaurant that you know they won't enjoy. If that's the case, just call a babysitter.

2) BE PREPARED. A lot of family-style restaurants have puzzles and activities that kids can play with, but not all of them. Bring some books, drawing paper, markers, or whatever to keep your kids entertained.

3) MAKE IT SPECIAL. If you promise your kid they'll get a special drink or some cool dessert, it might entice them enough to make them sit still for a while.

4) DON'T LET THEM WANDER AROUND. Even if your kid is fidgety, don't let them run rampant around the restaurant. Try as best you can to keep them occupied.

5) DON'T IGNORE THEIR MELTDOWNS. If your kid is screaming over something in the middle of the restaurant. . . DON'T IGNORE IT. It'll disrupt all the other diners. Take the kid to the bathroom or for a walk until they calm down.

END OF AN ERA
For the fans who traveled across the country and slept on the sidewalk outside CBS Television City, this was their day — the day of Bob Barker's last "Price is Right." The silver-haired icon, who has hosted the game show for 35 years, plans to officially begin his retirement Thursday. Fans have camped outside the studios since Saturday to see Barker tape his last show this afternoon.

I never got to go to the show, and I'm disappointed. It just won't be the same. But Bob Barker deserves a great retirement. There's no one else like him, and there never will be. His replacement has yet to be announced.

HOW SAFE IS YOUR CELL PHONE... FROM YOU?
If you've ever found yourself trying to fish your mobile out of the toilet, you're not alone. A staggering 855,000 handsets are flushed away every year. Research by SimplySwitch, the price comparison and switching service, found 4.5 million handsets are lost or damaged every year.

Common catastrophes include leaving mobiles in a restaurant or bar (810,000 handsets), in a taxi (315,000), or on a bus (225,000). More bizarrely, dogs chewed their way through 58,500 handsets last year and 116,000 went through a spin cycle with the dirty laundry.

The research found that over a quarter of mobile owners had lost or damaged a handset, with men more prone to carelessness than women. 28% of men admitted to breaking or losing their phone compared to 26% of women.