How do your kids get to school? How did you get to school when you were a kid? Taking the yellow school bus, walking or riding a bike may all seem like normal methods of getting to school. In the modern world, we drive and carpool as well. But what about in urban environments where a lot of parents don't drive or even own a car? They take the subway.

And they do it ALONE. That's right--I've seen it myself. Kids popping onto and off of the subway without a parent in sight. How do they manage it? And why, you might wonder, do their parents let them do it? Well, necessity is the mother of invention and a lot of other things, it turns out. Kids are going in one direction, their parents in another (to school versus work), and the main way to get around town in New York, for example, is underground.

Turns out, it's probably safer too. Driving in this city is a disaster on a good day. You're a LOT less likely to get into an accident on the subway than you are in your car. Plus, the kids tend to travel in packs on the subway. I never see a kid get onto an empty car at an odd (non-rush hour) time. They pick which car to meet up on and collect as the train makes its stops toward their final destination. I know because I can hear them screeching above my iPod.

Being overweight is tough for a kid. There are many options toward weight loss, but some are more (or less) appealing than others. For many, over the years, the weight-loss camp has been a dream. But, while "fat camp" is almost as American as apple pie, it's now going the way of many other American dreams--it's too darned expensive to attend. Like any other camp, weight-loss camp costs money to run and maintain. With more than nine million children who are considered obese in this country, such camp can seem like a knight in shining armor for families struggling to get their kids' weight under control. The weight-loss camps, while they can be affective, are far from free. Few to none accept insurance.

The government generally offers no more assistance than insurance companies. Instead the children rely on their essay writing skills and other means to win scholarships to attend. Yes, even weight loss camp is something only possible for the rich. Corporate sponsorship is one way to help get kids who can't afford the often more than $1,000-a-week pricetag what they need. Advocacy groups are being formed, such as the Childhood Obesity Treatment in Action. Some tax deductions are coming into play, and some insurance is starting to cover a portion of the cost--mostly in the cognitive behavior area.

But is it enough? Rarely. And financial cost is to say nothing of the emotional cost to the children, who are often left with either feeling exploited by their situation--their essays and their experiences become the property of the camp, who share that information freely with the media in hopes of growing the industry--and/or have to deal with life after camp, which can be even harder than before they found their salvation. While most children lose some portion of their body weight at the camps, few manage to keep it off after returning to the real world.

Pic by skampy.

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Last week, Utah lost one of its most famous (and photographed) arches in Arches National Park to time and gravity. Visitors to National Parks are down, due to what is believe to be increasing competition from theme parks, high gas prices, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Theme parks may make it easier to entertain kids with low-attention spans from electronic gaming, but they can never match the feeling of awe one gets when viewing the vastness of the Grand Canyon, taking a tour of Mammoth Cave, or discovering a waterfall after hiking in the mountains.

It's easy to take natural wonders for granted. But as Wall Arch reminds us, these marvels may not be around forever. Instead of going to Disney again, why not spend some family time exploring some of Mother Nature's parks?

Most National Parks offer free activities and information packets geared toward children and have friendly rangers on staff trained to answer any questions about the natural world kid campers might have.

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These days, traveling by air can be an extreme test of patience and restraint. Herded like cattle and crammed into tiny seats, most of us suffer quietly and try to make the best of the situation. Most of us adults do, anyway. Kids are often a little short on patience and restraint and being cooped up for hours in an airplane can be pure torture for them. And for those who sit anywhere near them.

What if there were a separate section on the plane where families traveling with children could sit? Wouldn't that make things a lot easier for everyone involved, including the frustrated parent who can't seem to get junior to sit still or use his inside voice? Airfare Watchdog asked that question and a whopping 85% of respondents said that airlines should have a section of the plane reserved for parents with babies and smaller children.

I wish there had been a kid section the first time I flew with a baby in tow. I thought I was being very considerate of my fellow passengers by keeping her quiet with bottle after bottle of apple juice plugged into her mouth. It kept her quiet alright. After about the fifth bottle, she quietly had a massive apple juice-induced blowout in her diaper, causing everyone in our immediate area to reach for their barf bags. I am sure each and every one of those passengers who caught a whiff and glimpse of that mess wished there were a separate section for kids. And I would have been happy to sit there.

But, as 27% of those polled agree, having a section just for babies and small kids will probably never happen and wouldn't work anyway. Airlines want to fill each and every seat and telling non-family traveling passengers that they have to sit in the loud, stinky section probably wouldn't go over too well.

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Did you and your significant other take a break from the kids this summer? Did you jet off to some exotic locale and enjoy some one-on-one with the one you love? Yeah, me neither. In fact, I don't know one single couple who managed to get away from the kids and spend some quality time alone together this summer. This is definitely good news for our bank accounts, but what about our relationships?

In these times of rising prices and economic uncertainty, what are parents supposed to do when they need a little time to reconnect without the pitter patter of little feet to distract them? A dinner out is nice, but a lot of couples are opting for an adult staycation. It's just like the family staycations we've been talking about, minus the family.

Checking into a local hotel for a night or two may seem a waste with kids, but it definitely has some appeal for parents alone. Lining up a weekend sitter and escaping to a nearby resort or just a nice downtown hotel is the perfect way to get away without getting too far away. I don't know about you, but the opportunity to lounge by a pool, sleep late and order room service is all I really want from a vacation anyway. What about you? Have you enjoyed an adult staycation this year?

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Ever have one of those nights? You really need to get out of the house, perhaps spend some time with your spouse, significant other or just yourself, but you can't get a sitter. Or, maybe you had a sitter and he/she bailed on you at the last minute. What do you do?

Many parents these days enlist a whole cadre of people to take care of their children when they want to go out. Some use parents and in-laws to get out of the house. Others enlist friends and even colleagues. Still others have nannies or daycare providers who can work evenings to cover them. Some turn to services they source online or through the yellow pages.

And some parents take their kids with them. Depending on what it is you planned on doing, you might just be able to get away with taking your kids with you. Dinner may not be as romantic, but you can generally add a high chair to your two-top. Tickets to a concert or a Broadway show are another thing all together. You certainly cannot take your child to those kinds of events, and the tickets for those kinds of things are too expensive to give up. Werll, actually, you can give those things up. Chances are you've done it, or will--and just stayed home.

What do you do when you can't find a sitter? Have you tried any of the services? If so, were they any good, and would you recommend? Or do you count on your mom and dad to cover?

Little Levi Mcconaughey is certainly making the rounds. His father, periodically shirtless actor Matthew Mcconaughey recently took the newborn to his first concert. The concert was that of John Mellancamp. Levi, born mere weeks ago to the actor and supermodel girlfriend Camila Alves has already been surfing.

Now, I'm assuming this kid had his shots and a doctor's blessing to be out among the masses. I'm also assuming since McConohottie is a celebrity that he and the little tyke were able to keep the crowds at bay. They probably had special seating, etc. to ensure a little space for the newborn.

Says Mcconaughey, he wants to prepare his son to be around people and noise. My guess is they plan on taking their little one with them everywhere they go. Mcconaughey has no plans to change his lifestyle now that he's a father, and says one doesn't need to. I have a newsflash for him--parenthood DOES change you, and you cannot live the exact same life you did before (especially if you were a jetsetting, camera-friendly celebrity like McConohottie) once you have a child. Unless, of course, your child isn't really a part of your life As for Mcconaughey, that doesn't seem to be the case. He seems keen to include his son in all his favorite activities. Good for you, Matthew--that's what being a daddy is all about, right?

What do you think? Does life change infinitely and there are things you simply must give up when you become a parent, or can you simply absorb your child into your current lifestyle?

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If you have plans to visit a Disney theme park in the future, you might want to add a few extra dollars to your wallet. Beginning today, Disney is raising the cost of admission at all domestic theme parks.

How much more you will pay depends on which park you visit. At Walt Disney World in Orlando, the increase is $4 for guests ten years and older and $3 for those aged 3 to 9-years-old. At Disneyland in California, both age groups will see an increase of $3 per one-day ticket.

Those who like a little variety in their amusement will be paying extra as well. The popular park hopper option, which lets you visit different areas of the parks, will see a $5 increase to $50.

That may not seem a lot to an individual ticket holder, but considering the fact that millions of people visit those parks each year, that's a lot of additional money for the Happiest Place on Earth. Money that Disney says will be spent on new brochures and guidebooks for guests.

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Yes, this is true. A five-year-old in Denton, Texas managed to slip out of a local daycare undetected and made it all the way to the parking lot of a nearby Hooters. What's worse, he crossed two busy streets to get there. The boy, unnamed, is believed to have slipped out through an emergency exit, which due to fire codes should remain unlocked at all times. The owner of the daycare claims the child asked to use the bathroom and then must have slipped out. Clearly he was not being supervised!

The manager of the Hooters noticed the child was unattended and brought him into the restaurant, keeping him in the back coloring until the boy's parents could be located. They have coloring books at Hooters? Anyway, the manager did note the boy said he stopped to look both ways before crossing the road and stopped half-way through to be safe.

According to inspection records, the daycare, called The Imagination Station, has been cited eight times since 2003. Two of the citations have been for improper supervision. The boy, who has not since returned to the daycare, also managed to stop at a local gas station for a drink and some snacks before completing the half-mile trek to Hooters.

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If you want to avoid the constant queries of "Are we there yet?", try mixing rest with your ride.

When John Hammond decided to clone dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, everyone knew it was going to end badly. But what if you could give your child the excitement of meeting a "real" live dinosaur, without worrying that you'll be devoured for dinner?

The dinosaur experts at the L.A. Museum of Natural History may have accomplished just that. Check out this walking, snorting, growling, menacing dinosaur in the hallway of the museum. It doesn't actually roar or even attempt to strike, but it sure looks like it could at any moment!


Extinct, my ASS! from The Original Joe Fisher on Vimeo.

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A lot of people are choosing to skip the traditional summer vacation -- thanks to the cost of gasoline being nearly five dollars a gallon -- and instead are staying close to home -- a staycation. One Texas Minnesota county is suggesting a way to spice up your staycation -- turn it into a "fair-cation". The 124th annual Mower County Fair will be happening in early August at the fairgrounds in Austin, Texas Minnesota.

Before we had kids, my wife and I went to a lot of local fairs around the Northwestern US and hit the California state fair on a regular basis. There is always a lot to do and see at state and county fairs, including plenty of interesting exhibits and great music. I love hearing new musical groups that I might not have heard anywhere else. The Breeders' World website maintains a list of fairs around the country and it looks like almost every state is represented. A quick search on the internet, however, will likely turn up fairs in your area, even if you don't see any listed at Breeders' World.

So pack up the kids and head on over to the fair this summer for a good time close to home. And if you hear any great new bands, be sure to let me know!

Update: Thanks to reader Julie for pointing out that this particular Austin is in Minnesota, not Texas!

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Do you like baseball? Any kind of sport? What about traveling or other activities? If you said yes to any of the above, do you enjoy doing so with your spouse? A new report from a set of studies, some of which have been going on for more than a decade, seems to think that if you do, your marriage has more of a chance at surviving. You know the old saying "those that play together stay together?" Well, turns out there may be something to that after all. Howard Markman, co-director of the University of Denver's Center for Marital and Family Studies, believes that having fun with your spouse is essential to your marriage.

Seems like a no brainer, sure, but when was the last time you went on a date with your spouse? That's one of the questions asked of couples by Markman and Scott Stanley, the other co-director of the study. The results were interesting, especially when they found out that women and men have very different views on what constitutes a date. The last time you spent time with your spouse could seem forever ago due to the economy, raising kids, demanding careers and commutes, among other things. Still, I think any married couple will tell you it's critical to have fun in your shared lives if you want to get something meaningful out of your time together.

According to another study, marital interaction is actually on the decline. Paul Amato, a sociologist at the Pennsylvania State University, surveyed over 2000 couples in 1980 and another set of roughly the same amount in the year 2000 and found that the number of couples who consistently participated in leisure activities together declined. The good news? Markman, in a separate study, noted that cities with major league baseball teams had a divorce rate 28% less than cities who wanted one but didn't have one. Why? Well, it certainly gives married couples something to do! No comment on whether or not the couples were happier if their teams won the pennant.

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As I type this I'm on a plane traveling to San Francisco for BlogHer, and seated behind me is a small boy, sitting between his parents. I'd guess he's somewhere in that troublesome zone between 18 and 24 months, which is to say he's got a fair amount of control over his running and screeching abilities but is clearly still unpredictably Godzilla-esque in his motor functions and generally seems to be, well, let's not mince words: a major pain in the ass to deal with.

He's kicking the seat of the fellow sitting next to me (earning his mother a grumpy complaint: "Hey, can you keep him from doing that?"), he's wailing almost nonstop, he's whining and crabbing and his high-pitched irritating voice is causing all of passengers within the nearest five rows to roll their eyes and shift uncomfortably in their seats.

This is the sort of seating arrangement that has always annoyed me in the past: you pay hundreds of dollars for the dubious privilege of being treated like a frothy-mouthed terrorist as you stagger through various unpleasant security measures until you're finally squashed into your rigid chair, at which point the person in front of you lowers their seat into your lap, you're served a packet of pretzel salt as a meal (if you're lucky), and your flight is delayed several hours, giving you plenty of time to appreciate the screaming snot-nosed rugrat at your side, fully engaged in the activity of making your travel time even more miserable than it already was.

This time, though, I just feel sorry for the parents, and I feel bad for the kid, who's surely bored and cramped and just as uncomfortable as the rest of us -- his only crime is that he's too young to socially conform, to suck it up and sit quietly for several hours while his bladder threatens to explode, his eardrums bulge painfully, and his brain slowly atrophies from boredom without even the benefit of an overpriced gin-and-tonic to help the time go by.

I am, however, unbelievably thankful my own kids aren't with me, and that I don't have to deal with air travel and small kids any time soon. There but for the grace of etc, etc, etc. I'd like to think I could stop my own kid from kicking seats or acting like a miniscule jackass, but, ah, I can't guarantee I could -- not without a straitjacket, anyway.

How about you? As a parent, do unruly kids on planes drive you nuts? Or do you feel more sympathetic now?

You may think you know everything there is to know about the town where you live, but chances are you don't.