Tag: cash

You need a reliable babysitter for date night. Should be easy peasy, right? The truth is that this relationship is a two-way street and sometimes parents, unknowingly, can make the job harder or less satisfying than it needs to be. We reached out to our babysitter network to find out what they love (and loathe) about minding our kids.

Be Ready

You made reservations and even put mascara on, but your date night checklist is not done. First, tell the kids how you expect them to behave for the sitter. When she arrives, act excited to set the tone.

Cash incentives may encourage new mothers to breastfeed until their infants are at least six months old, a small experiment suggests.

Pediatricians recommend that mothers exclusively breastfeed infants until at least six months of age because it can reduce babies’ risk of ear and respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, allergies, childhood obesity and diabetes.

Mothers can benefit too, with longer periods of breastfeeding linked to lower risks of depression, bone deterioration and certain cancers.

At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, I must report that many American couples are suffering severe financial distress: record numbers of homes in foreclosure; personal and business bankruptcies on the rise; massive job terminations reported daily; and corporate securities values plummeting. Unless you’re among those fortunate few untouched by current economic conditions, you should be taking action to protect your assets. Let me offer three suggestions to assist you.