That's Fit

If you're a parent, you have undoubtedly been in the position of trying to please a whining child before he or she can spit out words describe desires. There is a way to stop the whining without guessing.

My baby was learning sign language before she was a year old. The practice has become rather popular, trendy in fact, as simply another mode of communication and learning. But our family was inspired by my mother's diagnosis with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, when her grandchild was just a few months old. As a result, my mother has became speech-impaired. Almost two years later, she can't speak at all. But she and my daughter still use sign language to communicate along with a special speaking device my mother types into. My daughter can sign types of food, colors, walking, dancing, different emotions, bathing, clothes and sleeping, just to name a few.

She learned all of it from Baby Signing Time DVDs. I am not a big fan of TV for kids. I severely limit my daughter's time in front of the tube. But these DVDs were amazing. And it's all she watched until she was almost two. They feature children of various ages signing to songs sung by Signing Time's creator, who has a daughter who is deaf. I will be forever thankful that they existed, especially when I see the joy my daughter and her grandma get out using their hands to say "I love you."

Getting in shape can be expensive -- between workout gear, gym memberships and equipment, the cost can be quite high. But getting fit is worth it, so it's important to find budget-friendly ways to work out. Here are some tips from WebMD:

• Find weighty objects in your kitchen -- grapefruits, water bottles and canned food all work. Or bench press the cat.
  
• Get exercise DVDs from the library and work out at home. Or borrow some of your friends' DVDs.
  
• Instead of buying a step or a stairmaster, use the steps in your house
• Use a rolled-up towel as a bolster for yoga or as back-support for sit-ups.
  

Really, getting fit on a budget is just as simple as getting back to basics, to when fitness wasn't an industry, it was a way of life.

How do you save money on fitness?

In order to help their infants learns, many parents turn to DVDs and videos, such as the popular Baby Einstein series. However, a recent study finds that not only are these videos ineffective in helping children learn, they might actually be harmful to their language development.

And the more they watch, the worse it gets. Researchers found that for every hour a baby watched of these "educational" DVDs and videos, they understand 6 to 8 fewer words than those infants who weren't exposed to Baby Einstein, or other similar material.

While the study doesn't prove conclusively that the videos are harmful, it does show that they're not helping your baby learn. Experts say this is a reminder that a child's parents are far more engaging, stimulating and helpful teachers than any attention-grabbing DVD.

I have to agree. We tried a few of the Baby Einstein videos when my daughter was younger, and -- while she's turned out just fine -- it always made me uncomfortable that she'd stare off into the TV like a zombie whenever the DVDs were playing. We eventually stopped letting her watch them, figuring there was no way that could actually be good for her.