The Videos Are For You, Not Your Mutt

You wouldn't put your dog in front of the TV to learn new tricks, so why expect your kids to become geniuses by watching TV?

A study mentioned in Time Magazine by Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. Christakis at the University of Washington, notes that language development may actually be delayed by watching Baby Einstein DVDs.

"The more videos they watched, the fewer words they knew," says Christakis. "These babies scored about 10% lower on language skills than infants who had not watched these videos."

I can say honestly I failed here. My children had almost every Baby Einstein ever made and they loved them. But too redeem myself, my dog has never watched a dog training video...yet.

For more resources on kids and television, check this out.

Don't Give 'Em Chicken Bones

Chicken bones are too small for dogs and can cause choking. They also splinter easily. Only give your dog bones that are bigger than their mouth and are solid like cow bones or compressed rawhide (not rolled.) For your kids, I don't recommend you give them dog bones, unless they have been really, really good.

Tip: Try quartering grapes or slicing hot dogs lengthwise to prevent choking in toddlers.