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Two things I love are reading stories online, and having coffee with friends in person. The best part of my job is that I get to do both at the same time — in a way. Every day I sit down at my desk and have a virtual coffee with everyone on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Youtube. I read what’s going on in the world, what parents are talking about, and get to share ideas and thoughts about news and stories that you can’t always do in person.
It’s my virtual coffee shop, and I love hanging out here. I call it Gigamom’s Cafe.
Aside from the stories we put through every day on YMC, there are so many other things that catch my eye every day that I love to share with everyone. That being said, I thought I’d do a little wrap up of what I’ve been talking about in Gigamom’s Cafe this week.
Spill it! Do you have a blog or a blog that you love to read every week? Share the link in the comments below — I’d love to read it too!
How many times have you seen someone walking around outside with a shopping cart, that was clearly taken from a store? I’m guessing you’ve seen it more than a few times, and so have I. Shopping cart theft costs retailers thousands of dollars each year—the average cost of a shopping cart is $150, and they can be upwards of $400 in value. That’s a lot of money!
Can shopping cart theft be stopped? Yes, we have the technology.
The other day I was at a store and my daughter noticed a sign saying that shopping cart will “lock” if they are taken over the yellow line. This got our curiosity going—we had never seen this before in a store parking lot and we wanted to know how that would work.
So of course, my rebellious daughter gave it a try:
You can actually hear me burst out laughing in the background. In fact, I laughed all the way home. I know, I’m one of “those” moms that has no problem laughing out loud when their kid does something ridiculous.
How does it all work, anyway? After doing some diligent research, I discovered that this technology is in essence, an electric fence—much like what some pet owners have to keep their dogs from escaping the yard.
The wheels of the shopping carts are electronic, and there is a transmitter around the perimeter of the lot, effectively “locking” the wheels if the cart goes past the boundary. With the wheels locked, the cart is pretty much immobilized. The wheels won’t move again until somebody from the store deactivates the locking device.
I can see how this system would definitely be a deterrent to shopping cart theft. I also see a few potential fails, such as someone accidentally wheeling over the boundary, having the wheels lock up leaving them to have to actually drag a cart full of shopping to their vehicle. It was difficult even for my teenager to do, and the shopping cart was empty.
The other danger I see to this method of curbing shopping cart theft is injury. When my daughter tested the system, she was walking at a quick pace and had an empty shopping cart, yet the force of the locking wheels caused her to bump into the cart quite hard. If someone was moving quickly with a cart full of shopping, I can imagine that they would definitely hurt their midsection by banging into the cart when it stopped.
In all my years of shopping, this is the first time I’ve ever seen this type of anti-theft technology in a store parking lot. I’m not sure what I think about it, part of me is thinking that there has to be a better way—is the cost of installing and maintaining an electronic system like this really prohibitive compared to the potential lost and stolen carts? Maybe.
Spill it! Have you seen a shopping cart system like this before? What do you think about it?
School’s out for summer, but that doesn’t mean kids have to stop learning. (This is where my kids start frowning at me and say that I am evil)
What I love about apps is that there are so many awesome ones now that capture kids’ imagination while actually teaching them something at the same time. Truth be told, I’m one of those grown ups that secretly “plays” on some of my kids’ apps to sharpen my little grey cells. Can’t let the kids get ahead of me in the brain game, but they usually are!
Check out these fun apps that will help to keep your kids’ school skills sharp over the summer and maybe get them off to a little bit of a head start when they head back to school in September.
With this app, kids solve math problems by collecting numbers as they roll a marble through a series of mazes. Trust me, kids won’t realize how hard their brains are working with this one.
Scholastic First Discovery: Dinosaurs
What kid doesn’t love dinosaurs? Pretty sure they will love this interactive app designed to help kids learn more about the prehistoric world.
Two thousand words with definitions and etymology — this app is a great help for kids to sharpen up their spelling skills.
The World By National Geographic
One of the best reference apps I’ve found, The World by National Geographic shows your kids hundreds of maps, flags, and photos of a rapidly changing world. I learned the hard way that my old school atlas is useless for my kids. This app is all you need.
Geared mainly to high-school students, this app provides easy access to engaging science and engineering images and streaming video on a wide variety of topics.
Designed just for parents, this app features games that parents can play with their kids. Familiar locations are used for themes that will resonate with your kids.
Bonus app (not applicable for report cards but lots of fun)
Kids love to smash things, especially when it makes a mess. This app shows kids different foods to smash, crush, and explode while at the same time teaches them about nutrition. Win-win combo to go.
Spill it! What kind of apps do your kids use to keep their school skills sharp?
Looking for more ideas to inspire your kids to learn this summer? Check out these activities kids to keep your kids school smart over the summer!