This guest post is courtesy of  Ros Guerrero who invented Ficklets, a great way to dress up a child’s eyeglasses so they look hip and cool and not geeky. Prescription eyeglasses are expensive. Ficklets give tired, old eyeglasses a quick, affordable update.

Who knew my “couch potato” idea would go this far. Ficklets was inspired by my 14 year old special needs daughter, Gem, who’s worn glasses since she was 6 years old. The concept was born while I was literally sitting on the couch watching my favorite TV show when Gem walked into the kitchen. As she stood behind the breakfast counter, I turned to look at her and the only part of her I could see were her eyeglasses. As I stared at her glasses, it got me thinking – Wow, time to add some color and life to your tired, old glasses. This I believe was my “a-ha” moment.

The first idea was to simply add adhesive decals, but decided I wanted something more versatile to mix and match with her outfits (hey, a girl’s gotta have options, right?) and thought an interchangeable charm would be the way to go. I later developed a working charm and had Gem wear it to school for the first time. With much delight, Gem brought home a note from her teacher saying Gem’s eyeglasses received so much attention from both her peers and many of the school staff. This was when I thought… hmm, I think I should run with this idea.

The next step was to come up with a name. After much thought, the word “fickle”, which means to “change often”, came to mind as it appropriately described how much fun Gem and I were having changing out her charms to coordinate with her outfits. As I worked to refine and expand my prototype designs, I deliberated more on the word fickle to come up with a made-up name, a tip I learned from Sara Blakely, the inventor of Spanx. After a few sleepless nights and several scribbled pages, the name “Ficklets” was born. We launched our website and filed patent in spring 2007 [by the way, we were granted a patent  in September 2009… Yay!!].

I would be remiss if I didn’t re-mention and give sole credit to my daughter for planting the entrepreneurial spirit in me. It’s been my mission to build a business that would not only create opportunities for Gem, giving her some sense of “normalcy”, but also a business that would provide for her to live a quality life long after I’m gone. In my quest to start a business, I’ve dabbled in various ventures over the years–real estate investor, co-owned both a window treatment design and nail salon business. It was by accident that I stumbled on the Ficklets idea and since then my business passion has soared like never before… I knew this was IT!

Visit Ficklets at  www.ficklets.com.

Our guest post is from Nicola Fourie, parent of a young child. Nicola wants to get the word out on the need for putting parental control software on home computers to protect our children from Internet predators.

Nicola shares,”I attended a very interesting talk at my daughter’s school about children and the dangers of internet usage. Let me just say I was shocked at the stats and the growing numbers of missing kids due to coming into contact with the wrong people online.

Here is what I learned :

* 20% of U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet say they’ve received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web. Crimes Against Children Research Center

* There are computer bulletin boards set up specifically for the seduction of children. They lure kids in with games and establish relationships with them on-line. Then they arrange to meet face-to-face.

* Chat rooms and instant/private messages are two main tools pedophiles use to contact children on-line.

* An estimated 62% of teens report that their parents know little or nothing about their Web activities. LAPD Protect Our Kid

* When your child enters a chat room, they have a 100% chance of coming in contact with a sexual predator. The average contact takes 60 seconds. Often it is a predator.  cleartraffic.com

* Only 25% of the youth who encountered a sexual approach or solicitation told a parent.  Youth Internet Safety Survey

* 1% of parents stop monitoring their child’s Internet use when their child turns 14. Unfortunately, 72% of all Internet-related missing children are 15 or older. Crimes Against Children Research Center

* 60% of all websites on the Internet are pornographic websites (about 1.2 billion).

* As many as 1 in 4 children who use the Internet regularly, will be exposed to unwanted sexual material, including photos of nude people.  cleartraffic.com

* 77% of the targets for online predators were age 14 or older. Another 22% were users ages 10 to 13. Crimes Against Children Research Center

At the talk they recommended that we find a good parental control software and install it on our computers.”

Thanks Nicola!

If you have a preschooler who loves music, but you feel your options are limited because there aren’t any radio stations that play the kind of music you want them to hear…have we got something for you…Preschool Radio is on the air!

It’s TRULY a different kind of radio station. It is radio for the under 6 set and those who love them.

Preschool Radio plays :30 minute podcasts which are posted each week and available for free via download or immediate play on your computer. Parents can download and enjoy shows with their kids…wherever their kids are; in the car, the living room, or the park. Preschool Radio plays fun, child friendly music that kids love, the whole family will enjoy and parents can feel good about. The music is specifically formatted for preschoolers, so there is never a time when parents will feel uncomfortable with the content or topics of the music or on the radio station.

Founded and broadcasted by Lyn Michaels-Carden, the mother of a kindergartner,Preschool Radio plays fun music while the website has fun and informative links for parents and preschoolers. Visit Preschool Radio today at www.preschoolradio.com For more information or to contact the founder of Preschool Radio email Lyn@PreschoolRadio.com or write to: Lyn Michaels-Carden Preschool Radio 1049 Atherton Lane Woodstock, GA 30189

if you have a toddler, Teaching Tiny Tots is a great resource for toddler activities. It is designed to engage your child and promote learning through playing. Fun and educational ideas, kids crafts, easy recipes and free printables are just some of the information you will find here.

Teaching Tiny Tots website is the creation of an elementary school  teacher who is the mother of twins. You can visit this site at www.teaching-tiny-tots.com. Be sure to check out the blog as well as the main site.

This site is home to wonderful free crafts that can be made inexpensively.

Thanks to Betty Bose  and her daughters, this site offers crafts from contributors who come from many countries offering fun ways to make decorations and gifts to celebrate holidays and special events as well as just crafts for every day fun.

Betty is editor of FreeKidsCrafts.com, which she describes as, “The only kid’s craft website where we bring you a new craft every day.” Betty’s experience with crafts comes from years of crafting with her daughters and her 9 grandchildren!

Check out the “Can Do” Kids Blog to see one of her free crafts, World Neighbors Handprint Poem, designed and contributed by Terri, Betty, Jamie or one of the talented staff members at MakingFriends.com. It was created exclusively for publication on FreeKidsCrafts.com with supplies you’ll be able to find around your house.