Andrew W.K. (yt): Musician (yt), Motivational speaker (nyt) and now, kids show host (auto-playing video). via
posted by 1f2frfbf on Jun 16, 2009 - 80 comments

"Yes, I have four children. Four children with whom I spend a good part of every day: bathing them, combing their hair, sitting with them while they do their homework, holding them while they weep their tragic tears. But I'm not in love with any of them. I am in love with my husband."
posted by Brandon Blatcher on May 27, 2009 - 182 comments

Damien Walters combines fantastic gymnastic ability with innovative parkour techniques. His ShowReel 2009 impressed me. He and the Derby City Gym Lads just "messing around" amazed me. But he and his incredibly talented kids horsing around made me a fan and made my day. [more inside]
posted by lazaruslong on May 25, 2009 - 48 comments

Is Doctor Who too scary for kids? Parents surveyed by TheBabyWebsite seem to think so. But is being scared a good thing? (via io9)
posted by Artw on May 15, 2009 - 120 comments

Start your engines. Megan Culbert, age 8, was in her first year of racing.... her best time so far was an 11.30 in the 1/8 mile. Vroom.
posted by caddis on May 2, 2009 - 40 comments

Dork Yearbook - vintage tech pr0n, now with thicker glasses and footsier pajamas!
posted by carsonb on Apr 13, 2009 - 16 comments

Kinda sutra - a charmingly animated short in which people talk about childhood misconceptions about sex and childbirth. More on childhood sex misconceptions from Dan Savage 1, 2, 3. (pretty tame clip, but possibly NSFW) [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 13, 2009 - 55 comments

A group of middle-school-aged self-proclaimed nerds from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, who won the New York City FIRST Lego League Robotics Championship with their motorized robot called Thingamajig are embarking on a trip to the Robotics World Festival in Atlanta. After a lack of funds nearly scuttled their journey, they've been bailed out by British vacuum cleaner exec James Dyson, and have been given the kind of sendoff most young nerds can only dream of: an all-school nerd-cheering pep rally.
posted by ocherdraco on Apr 10, 2009 - 52 comments

Read all about it! Discover all the news! Read all about it! Track down all the clues!
With interesting people there's a mystery to be solved! An adventure is unfolding, so why not get involved? Come on and READ ALL ABOUT IT.
Young Chris is left an old coach house by his missing uncle. As he and his two friends fuddle with the lock, a strange figure watches. The kids do not yet know the building is the entrance to a mystery that spans time and space! Aided by Otto the IBM Selectric robot typewriter and Theta the spooky as hell talking viewscreen, they will find that the concerns of an alien tyrant reach into the government of their own town. (24 of 40 15-minute episodes, including the entire first season, of this early-80s TV Ontario-produced "educational" show are on YouTube.) [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Apr 5, 2009 - 20 comments

The French UMP party are being sued by the duo MGMT over the use of their song Kids. UMP paid a standard €53 fee to France's music licensing body, but MGMT's lawyer Isabelle Wekstein says that this was not enough to cover subsequent uses of the song, particularly on the Web. UMP has admitted using it, but said it was a mistake and has offered a symbolic gesture of one euro (£0.89). The story is getting more coverage as the UMP has been pushing hard for a 'three strikes law' that would banish pirates from the Internet after two ignored warnings, which may be close to passage in the French National Assembly.
posted by filthy light thief on Mar 1, 2009 - 14 comments

Where India is the new Home of all Dreams! No matter what your orientation is, if you have the money (and are willing to be good parents) and take care of the child, then we have a place for you.
posted by hadjiboy on Feb 22, 2009 - 4 comments

Children interview celebrities: Simon Cowell, Girls Aloud, David Attenborough, Richard Hammond and Quentin Blake. Audio slide show adding among others, David Cameron, Jacqueline Wilson and Jamie Oliver
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jan 31, 2009 - 16 comments

If you ever watched Star Trek: The Next Generation or Reading Rainbow, you know Levar Burton. And for years, all you've wanted is his signature. Well, if you have a child in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade, now you can. Every entrant to the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustraters Contest receives a signed certificate from Levar Burton, whether their work is terrible or awesome. Get your kids writing now, deadline is in March. But you don't have to take my word for it... Previously
posted by Deathalicious on Jan 28, 2009 - 68 comments

Rock Tots and other Lil Music Makers.

Yes, because kids rock too.
posted by swift on Jan 9, 2009 - 9 comments

Two German kids attempt to head to Africa and elope, bringing one's sister with them. They're five and six.
posted by divabat on Jan 6, 2009 - 58 comments

In 1977, Nolan Bushnell allowed Gene Landrum to bring Chuck E. Cheese [yt] to life as a family-friendly access point to Atari games. This, perhaps, explains the pizza. [more inside]
posted by batmonkey on Dec 31, 2008 - 17 comments

Lies We Tell Kids
posted by Navelgazer on Dec 24, 2008 - 157 comments

Just over sixty years ago the Reverend W. V. Awdry told his sick son a series of stories based on real life incidents with trains, which he later wrote up as the Railway Series. Now Thomas the Tank Engine and the other engines of the Isle of Sodor (somewhere between Barrow-in-Furness and the Isle of Man) are a global phenomena, with toys, books and of course the TV series - filmed using model trains on more than 70 1:32 scale 16-by-20-foot sets, and voiced by the likes of Ringo Starr and Alec Baldwin. 2008 has been a rough year for Thomas: George Carlin, who voiced the series in the US up until 1998, passed away (previously), as did David Mitton, who had written and directed over 180 episodes (and who has previously worked on the special effects for Thunderbirds). There's changes ahead for Thomas as well - this year saw the faces of the engines, which had previously been cast in silicone and attached with double sided tape, replaced by CGI faces, and from 2009 onwards Nitrogen studios in Canada will be taking over production with an entirely CGI Thomas. Meanwhile a group of British students continues the tradition of model engine-based storytelling with their YouTube based British Railway Series.
posted by Artw on Dec 21, 2008 - 74 comments

Immersion
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Nov 22, 2008 - 81 comments

Sex: wot's the big deal is a sex exhibition for kids currently taking place at the Cité des Sciences in Paris. Pre-teens can learn about love, puberty, making love and making babies, and they can also experiment a little bit. The show is based on Willies: a user's guide (in French: Le zizi sexuel) by Swiss comics creator Zep, and features the rising star of French playgrounds, Titeuf (NSFW unless you're a French preteen)
posted by elgilito on Nov 21, 2008 - 42 comments

Crowd Control
posted by empath on Nov 17, 2008 - 29 comments

Once Upon a Time - a filmed fairy tale starring baby monkeys lost in frightening trees, a witch, crocodiles, a tiger, a "popotamus" and a lion, and even a "tremendously very bad mammoth." (In French, English subtitles)
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 16, 2008 - 12 comments

You Can Vote However You Like
posted by Navelgazer on Nov 3, 2008 - 17 comments

The Li'l O'Reilly Factor SLYT
via Ectoplamosis, via The Percy Trout Hour
posted by JHarris on Oct 4, 2008 - 30 comments

Book of Short Stories :: Short stories written by New York State 5th graders in 1931. (Be sure to read the About page to get a sense of the setting of the times.) (via Thingamababy)
posted by anastasiav on Sep 22, 2008 - 20 comments

After 30 years, the final bell has rung and it's home time for Grange Hill... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 18, 2008 - 29 comments

Generations of Hope is a non-profit set up to bring kids out of foster care and into extended families with grandparents. The community of Hope Meadows was repurposed from housing on a closed Air Force base in Illinois. (The NYT article erroneously refers to the community by the non-profit's name. No matter. The story is still inspirational.) [more inside]
posted by yiftach on Sep 16, 2008 - 5 comments

The Tinkering School. "A 'real project' is where you make a thing that isn't a pretend something else. If the kids want to make a boat, that's fine, but we're going to take it down to the harbor and put it in the ocean." [via NPR, no transcript yet] [more inside]
posted by fantabulous timewaster on Aug 5, 2008 - 14 comments

8 Forgotten Kids Shows Sure to Give You Nightmares [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Jul 13, 2008 - 51 comments

Kids at school in nappies. Another report claims the average age of toilet-training is now 3 or 4, compared to the former norm of 18 months. Teachers don't want to change diapers; parents say they don't have time to toilet-train. Is our future a continuum of diapers to Depends?
posted by grounded on Jul 5, 2008 - 70 comments

Knee Bouncers: something fun for the itty bitty ones. [more inside]
posted by Pater Aletheias on Jun 25, 2008 - 25 comments

Little kids are cute.
posted by danep on Jun 20, 2008 - 36 comments

Kindertrauma is about the movies, books, and toys that scared you when you were a kid. It’s also about kids in scary movies, both as heroes and villains. And everything else that’s traumatic to a tyke! [more inside]
posted by stinkycheese on Jun 12, 2008 - 64 comments

Ze Frank asks when the first time you saw your parents as just being human was.
posted by muthecow on May 20, 2008 - 87 comments

A most legendary find. Alex Handy likes to collect old video games. A few weeks at ago at a flea market, he bought what he thought were some old ColecoVision EPROMs for $2 each, got them home, and realized that some of them could contain the never published Cabbage Patch Kids Atari 2600 game. If the data on the chips had survived, it would be an unprecedented discovery. A friend helped him dump the ROMs, which you can download for free from Alex. Identifying the other games was an adventure in itself. [more inside]
posted by bugmuncher on May 5, 2008 - 37 comments

A seven year old borrows his grandmother's car, hits a couple of mailboxes, two parked cars and two moving cars. And he's not sorry just one bit. (SLYT) [more inside]
posted by jabberjaw on May 1, 2008 - 123 comments

New Security Blanket, Stat! What do you do if you're a parent and your darling child's favorite toy has been worn down to nothing? Or perhaps you're thinking ahead and want a "backup binky?" You start a "Lost Lovies" thread, of course. Think of it as a hive mind for real desperate housewives looking for something better than a creative explanation as to why Sprinkles the Cow is suddenly MIA.
posted by Cool Papa Bell on Apr 14, 2008 - 20 comments

Are you sick and tired of telling those darn kids to "get off your lawn" because their "favorite band sucks?" Next time, instead of handing out snark, hand them a brochure for the Paul Green School of Rock Music! Before you know it, you'll be wishing that you had a bigger lawn. [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Apr 2, 2008 - 22 comments

String Figures Galore!
posted by Miko on Mar 24, 2008 - 7 comments

PBS Frontline explores Growing Up Online. Here's what they learned.
posted by miss lynnster on Jan 31, 2008 - 43 comments

So we've already learned how babies are made in Germany. But we haven't seen Russia or Israel. Could be NWS if you work with people who don't know where babies come from.
posted by Lord_Pall on Jan 21, 2008 - 31 comments

Don't send in the clowns. Why are they considered scary by kids of all ages? Maybe it just makes sense. [more inside]
posted by wendell on Jan 16, 2008 - 53 comments

Jack Mulqueen presents Kiddie a-Go-Go. Check out the intro brought to you by Mickelberry's Plump & Juicy Franks and their fine variety of cold cuts. Hostess Pandora (played by Jack Mulqueen's wife Elaine) introduces the Stop and Go-Go dance, followed by a live performance from the New Colony Six in full Revolutionary War costumes. Unlike the Buddy Deane Show (which inspired the movie Hairspray), this later clip indicates that Kiddie A-Go-Go had racially integrated without incident. Other happenings inspired by the Kiddie A-Go-Go include a children's album, the public access TV show Chic-A-Go-Go, and San Francisco's Pip Squeak A-Go-Go (featuring go-go dance lessons from the Devil-Ettes).
posted by jonp72 on Jan 15, 2008 - 5 comments

Darren Karnick hands his infant to the presidential candidates and photographs the results. The Daily Telegraph says the baby primary is a clear win for Obama. The Boston Globe has more pictures of the candidates with kids. And should you be embarking on a political career, don't forget to bone up on the Commandments for Policians Who Art Babykissers, including such sound advice as "thou shouldst not drop babies thou art kissing, for surely, dropped babies will gain thee no votes."
posted by Kattullus on Jan 12, 2008 - 54 comments

Ricardo Cortés has a new book talked about here and here. Previously, he wrote It's Just a Plant, talked about on O'Reilly and previously here. He also plans to write a children's book about cocaine in the near future.
posted by gman on Jan 10, 2008 - 30 comments

How Many Five Year Olds Could You Take in a Fight? [cached via]
posted by Avenger50 on Dec 17, 2007 - 87 comments

Camp Liberty: exposing the dire fate of the littlest enemy combatants. Another chilling (albeit fictitious) video from Jon Benjamin. [more inside]
posted by TheWash on Dec 14, 2007 - 8 comments

Imaginary laptops, as designed by 8-year-olds. I'd suggest printing them out so you can try them at home. The designs lack dotted lines to fold across, but I'm sure you can figure it out. Scroll down for the interview, which is as charming as the pictures.
posted by nobody on Nov 19, 2007 - 70 comments

Junior General is intended to promote the use of historical simulations as a tool for teaching history by providing free resources that anyone can use. To go with their teaching scenarios they make available thousands of paper solders for download and printing. Everything from stone age primatives thru Myceneans, Confederate gunboats to US Iraq infantry and futuristic Cyber Assault Droids. Also available are accessories like castles, houses, trenches, battering rams and hangers.
posted by Mitheral on Oct 31, 2007 - 10 comments

When life imitates Simpsons (i.e. skittlebrau), it's generally funny. With the Onion, not so much.
posted by 445supermag on Oct 28, 2007 - 17 comments