My name is Ian, and I let my kids play video games. There, I said it.

I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s playing the first video games on the planet: Pong, Space Invaders and that silly 2-dimensional arial dogfight game on the Atari 2600. In the 1990s I spent spare time playing R-Type and Street Fighter as therapy during law school. I am, in short, a lifetime video games geek.

If you are searching for a holiday or birthday gift that packs a lot of punch in the family fun department but will not take up your entire living room or cost you every last cent in your wallet, then a tabletop game could be the perfect choice.

Tabletop games come in so many different varieties that even the most hard to please person on your gift list will surely be pleased by one of them; and the beautiful part for the parent in this situation is that when the game is over, your tabletop game can quickly and easily stowed away in a closet or under a bed so it is out of the way until the next time the kids are ready to play.

It is the baby's first birthday and twelve exhausting months of joy, concern, worry, and devotion have come and gone. Whether you are a parent, a godparent, friend, or simply a well meaning member of the family, a baby's first ever anniversary is a cause for much celebration.

Choosing the right gift to mark that event is simpler than perhaps you might expect.

Memory books can be given as baby shower gifts and will make such special occasions as the baby shower, baby's first records, physical records, holidays, and other celebration as your baby grows.

It is easy to picture the baby shower memory book as a category to the prelude or overture to baby's life, and some common decorative elements might include photos of the guests, but also the invitation, a sample of the favors given out to guests, and perhaps a menu or list of the food and beverages served.

We like recognition for a job well done, and so do children. It is perfectly natural to delight in every little thing your toddler does, he is cute and funny and is doing new tricks every single day, so how can you resist telling your child how clever he is?

We do need to be cautious when dishing out praise though. While a spontaneous, Wow! What a clever kid! won't do any harm, if you heap on the praise for every breath your child takes, you run the risk of setting up a great expectations trap.

The winter holidays are upon us. And while they were not created expressly for the benefit of children, youngsters take great delight in the festivities surrounding this magical time of year.

However, the magic can quickly turn to disaster by simple oversight or poor planning. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is our concern for their safety.

There has been a lot of discussion lately on the relative merits of reality television when it comes to different people in society. There are a number of people that will argue that reality television is not good for children and there are many reasons that are forwarded to prove that point.

Most of these reasons do not seem to be well thought out or logical however and to prove that point it is definitely possible to play Devil's advocate and argue the reverse point.

Finding out that your child has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder doesn't have to mean the end of the world. While it is true that a child with Attention Deficit Disorder may have special needs when it comes to school work and sometimes dealing with behavior issues, they also have a tendency to be highly intelligent and with the right knowledge and tools a child with ADD can achieve just about anything they want to achieve.

Have I ever done anything abusive to you? I asked my daughter who had just affirmed that I had never smacked her (I didn't think I had, but needed to check just in case maternal amnesia was causing mummy smugness). After a bit of a pause, my self-image as gentle mummy was shattered. Yes, you have she said with absolute conviction. When I was little, if we went out, and I had a dirty face, you would spit on your hanky and wipe it.

This era is what we call internet age. It is really amazing how to use this thing we call internet. You can search anything and everything here and also we can talk to people who are not on same time zones. Isn't it really awesome?

I was born on the age computer, but it is only used by military. I only see it in the movies and it is not yet available anywhere.