How much do you pay a sitter?

Suddenly found that your regular stable of babysitters is committed to “real” summer jobs, off on vacation or on to college? Finding a new babysitter can be challenging during the summer months, but one place to look is at various training classes offered through local recreation districts, hospitals and more.
   
“I advise parents in need of a babysitter to stop by a class and greet the students. They can introduce themselves and hand out a card with their name and number,” says Charlene Jordan, who’s been teaching Super Sitter classes throughout Orange County for about 20 years.
   
Her classes are open to students 11 and up, but she says she recommends that younger kids start their sitting careers as “mother’s helpers,” offering assistance to mothers with multiples, or those who work out of their homes. There’s no set age when kids are ready to sit on their own, but Jordan says the key factor is a child’s comfort and confidence when it comes to being alone.
   
Aside from safety, emergency procedures and entertainment topics, Jordan also talks to her students about finances, including how much to charge.
   
“I give them a range, between $3-$5 for one child, and about $2 more for each additional child. But of course geographic location is huge, she says.
   
OC Family contributing writer Kelly St. John Regier says the rate for a weekend sitter in her Foothill Ranch neighborhood is around $10 an hour for two kids.
   
Thinking of scoping out some sitting classes for new babysitters? Check schedules at saddlebackrecreation.com,
oc-redcross.org or the family classes at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center at memorialcare.org.
  

You go, girls!

More than 15 years ago, a very controversial report suggested that girls were getting shortchanged in the classroom, especially in the areas of science and technology.
   
But a recent update by the same group, the American Association of University Women, says programs put in place since then have helped improve test scores for both sexes, while narrowing the gender gap.
   
Additionally, the most common factor in high test scores appeared to be geography, rather than gender.
   
For example, the highest fourth-grade math scores for both sexes were in the same states, as were the lowest. (California was in neither category.)


Webkinz mania!
A virtual fad-turned-phenom

If your kids collect gems on a daily basis, while away weekend afternoons in an arcade, and decorate their pet’s room with hot-air balloons and movie studios, chances are, they’ve discovered the world of Webkinz.
   
But if all this sounds a little foreign to you, surely it won’t be long before you discover this virtual world, where stuffed animals come to life and the day-to-day responsibilities of caring for them are linked to interactive computer games.
   
Webkinz is the latest craze in children’s collectibles, far surpassing the hype of TY Beanie Babies, according to the retailers who sell them. Shop owner Susan Larg reports that she sold 1,700 of the cuddly critters in March, and several months out of the year that number tops 2,000. She even offers a registry for serious collectors, so they don’t get stuck with duplicates from the large collection, which includes more than 150 animals.
   
Introduced in April 2005 by Ganz, a popular gift company, Webkinz is the toymaker’s attempt to offer a plush animal with something extra, by creating a safe, interesting online playland for children ages 4 to 14. In truth, Webkinz has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon, grabbing the interest of many grandparents, as well.
   
Access to the online territory can be had for the price of an animal – under $15 for the traditional size and under $10 for
the Minikinz. Each animal comes with a secret code, enabling
the owner to “adopt” the animal and start decorating a room for it with a $2,000 budget. More Kinzcash can be earned through a variety of arcade games and other user-friendly features on the site.
   
One highlight for many kids (and parents) is Kinzchat. This introduction to online chat rooms allows kids to communicate with each other, by selecting from pre-constructed messages. In Kinzchat Plus, which requires a parent’s permission to join, a safety trigger prevents kids from sending messages that contain proper names, numbers or words – such as “punch” – that have been deemed inappropriate by the Kinzchat dictionary. It also blocks messages with misspelled words.
   
Grandparents who initially bought Webkinz as a gift have discovered that by investing in a few for themselves, they can chat with their grandchildren across the country, says Cynthia Scharmack, of Kline’s Hallmark in Fountain Valley. In short, she says Webkinz has revolutionized the toy industry, leaving late-coming competitors playing an ineffective game of catch-up.
   
Webkinz is proof that new toys don’t need huge advertising budgets to attract attention. Last year, Webkinz received the “Toy of the Year” award from the Toy industry Association and the Canadian Toy Testing Council, as well as an iParenting Media Award.

Michele Piazzoni is a regular contributor to OC Family magazine.