Family Time

The new Eloise suite at The Plaza in New York City? Oh, it's rawther fabulous.

Designed by Betsey Johnson, the 18th floor suite features zebra-print carpet, pink-striped walls and a closet full of poufy skirts and other dress-up clothes. Hanging on the walls are original prints by "Eloise" illustrator Hilary Knight, and the pillow shams and chairs feature Johnson prints.

Oh, and in case you have an urgent room service request, there's a phone in the bathroom.

Johnson says she loves hanging out at The Plaza, so she was thrilled to be asked to design the suite.

"I just kind of live Eloise," Johnson tells ParentDish.

The designer says her granddaugthers Layla, 4, and Ella, 2, are Eloise fans, and they can't wait to stay in the new suite. As for Johnson, she says she loved designing the room and wants to do more home design.

Reading a good book can be an emotional experience. Here's a selection of new picture books that can run you through the full gamut.


"City Dog, Country Frog" by Mo Willems, illustrated by Jon J. Muth (Hyperion, $18)
We all know Mo Willems from his comedic kids' classics like "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! " and "Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale," but never before have we seen him tug those heartstrings the way he does here. This sweet and warm story, told over the course of five seasons, recounts an urban dog's visits to his human family's bucolic vacation house. With no canine companions to be found, the pooch bonds with an affable frog who teaches him the ways of the country. The ending --aided by the wonderfully realistic paintings of Jon J. Muth ("Zen Shorts") -- packs quite an emotional wallop. Adults and kids alike can expect to get weepy.

What you need: You need resealable plastic bags and buckets of water.

How to play: Dip each bag into a bucket of water to fill it up and then seal it. Make enough bags for each player and to have back-ups. Establish a line, which players can toss the bags across at each other. Divide the children into two teams, and put each team on opposing sides of the line.

The rules: Players will throw the bags at each other. If a player gets hit, she is out of the game. Play continues until only one player remains.

What you need: For each team, you need eight to 10 plastic cups and paper plates and a ball (a standard kick ball, soccer ball or volleyball).

How to play: Divide the players into teams of eight to 10 players. Line them up facing away from the middle of a circle. Inside the circle will be each team's pile of cups and plates to stack. Each team is given one ball.

The rules: At the starting signal, the first player on each team will run to his pile of cups and plates and begin to stack them, alternating them with the cups face down. He will then run back to his team and tag the next player who will unstack the cups and plates and restack them. Each team has the option of using its ball to knock down another team's stack of cups and plates. If a team's cups and plates get knocked down, the player who stacked them must go back into the circle and redo them.

In what might be a positive sign for the economy, parents in a national survey say they plan to spend more this year on back-to-school clothing and supplies.

Another sign of the times: They plan to shop for bargains through Facebook and Twitter rather than cutting coupons.

The survey, conducted by researchers for Deloitte, a New York-based consulting and financial advisory firm, found that three out of every 10 parents surveyed (or 28 percent) said they would spend more money on back-to-school stuff this year than last year. That's good news for America's retailers.

Back-to-school ranks second only to Christmas as the most lucrative shopping season of the year. In recent years, retailers have been hit hard by the recession.

Big Day Chains puts a new spin on an old tradition with its 30-day countdown chains for birthdays, weddings and baby's arrival.

The Days 'til Birthday kit is a great way to help little ones manage the seemingly endless wait until their big day, and definitely provides more fun than crossing off days on the kitchen calendar. Each kit comes with 30 perforated paper links that feature colorful printed designs on one side, and outlined birthday shapes to color in on the other. It also includes non-toxic glue dots for easy, mess-free assembly.

Rebels that we are, we love the idea of letting the kids count up, not down, coloring and adding a link to the chain each day so it can be used as a birthday decoration when it's done.

Available at Big Day Chains for $14.95.

Related: Summer Birthday Parties: 5 Fun Ideas

MIDDELBURG, Netherlands (AP) - The new cushions, sunshade, and bright red sail are in place. And now 14-year-old Laura Dekker has the go-ahead she needs.

A Dutch court ruled Tuesday the girl who was born on a yacht in the South Pacific is ready to embark on her dream of becoming the youngest person to sail solo around the world - meaning she could set sail in two weeks in a ketch named Guppy.

"I was so happy I almost jumped into the water," the teen gushed, after hearing the court's decision.

What you need: You need a standard red kickball.

How to play: One player is chosen to be "it." "It" has the ball and counts to 10 as the other players scatter around the playing area. Once "it" gets to 10, all players must freeze in place.

The rules: "It" will take four steps towards the closest person and throws the ball at that person, trying to hit him. If "it" hits the person, that player gets an "S." If "it" misses, he gets an "S" and the person he was trying to hit becomes "it." Once players get the letter "S", they can get a "P," a "U," and a "D" if they get hit or miss someone. Once a player has "SPUD," she is out of the game.

What you need: You need three or more players and a home base, such as a front porch.

How to play: Choose one player to be "it." Establish a route for players to run from home base and back. All other players think of a type of pie. After everyone has thought of a pie, players tell each other the pies they have chosen without "it" hearing. The object of the game is to not be caught by "it" when he calls out the selected pie.

The rules: "It" calls out a type of pie. The player who chose that pie must run through the established route and back to home base without being tagged by "it." Players who are tagged are out of the game.

Is it a battle every time you need to reapply your kid's sunscreen while you're at the pool, park or beach? UVSunSense wristbands can bring peace to your play day.

Simply wrap one around your kid's wrist, apply sunscreen to their body and the wristband, then monitor for color changes that tell you it's time to reapply or get out of the sun. The bands work with sunscreens of SPF 15 and higher, and change color at different times depending on the SPF level.

They're also designed to be used in salt, fresh or chlorinated water, and in showers -- so readings stay accurate no matter what your kids are up to.

Available at Amazon for $6.84.

Related: Baby Gear for the Beach

Some children welcome the adventure of a new school year, eagerly heading off to explore the classroom and make friends, and barely noticing as you say goodbye. But for other children, every school day begins with tummy aches, frantic tears, and desperate drama.

If you have a child who struggles with separation anxiety, here are some tips for helping them successfully manage a new school year:

Develop a bond with your child's new teacher
During the school day, your child's teacher becomes her source of security and comfort. Visit the classroom before school begins and help your child forge a special connection with her new teacher. Look for common interests, and help the teacher begin to take a personal interest in your child, to strengthen a natural attachment between them.

Buy One, Get One Free Ice Cream at Baskin-Robbins: Get a free soft serve ice cream cone at Baskin-Robbins when you purchase another soft serve ice cream cone. This coupon expires August 8, 2010.

Free-After-Rebate Backpacks at Staples and OfficeMax: Buy a backpack at Staples or OfficeMax this week and you can get a full rebate back for the purchase price of the backpack. See more back-to-school deals and freebies.

Get 140 Kids' Name Labels for $3: You can order 140 kid's name labels from VistaPrint right now for only $3.16 shipped. These would be perfect to stick on folders, lunch boxes, school books, notebooks, sippy cups, snack bags and more.

Buy One, Get One Half Off Plus 20 Percent Off at Famous Footwear: Famous Footwear is running a Buy One, Get One 1/2 Off Sale right now. Order online and use coupon code SCHOOL1 to get an additional 20 percent off your order. Shipping is free when you purchase three pairs of shoes or $4.50 if you purchase one to two pairs.

Get Pampers Diapers for $0.09 Each: Amazon.com is currently running a 30 percent off diaper sale. You can combine this sale with the $2 off Pampers coupon on their website and the 20 percent off coupon code from Parents or Parenting the Early Years magazines to get Pampers for $0.09 per diaper or less. If you don't use Pampers, you can combine the 30 percent off sale plus the 20 percent off coupon to score a great deal on other brands of diapers.

What you need: You need a tennis ball, one outside wall, and at least two players.

How to play: The object of the game is to throw the ball up against the wall, let it bounce on the ground, and catch it.

The rules: If a player throws the ball and it hits the ground before hitting the wall or if a player drops or fumbles the ball, that player must run to the wall while the other player tries to hit the ball against the wall before the player can get to the wall. If the player gets to the wall first, play continues. If the ball gets to the wall first, the running player gets a strike. When a player gets three strikes, he is out of the game.

How to win: The last player remaining is the winner.

What else you need to know: You can make up rules where each player must take turns throwing the ball against the wall, or you can have the rule that whoever catches the ball throws it.

Related: More Kids' Games

Whatever you want to do, there's an app for that: It's already a stale joke.

But, as they say, there's truth in jest. And when it comes to bedtime stories, yes, there's an app for that. Many, actually. And a lot of them are (ahem) not very good. But there are a few picture book apps out there that are mind-blowingly great. Here's a look at just how cool virtual storytime can be.


The Little Mermaid and other stories by Hans Christian Andersen (Game Collage, $8.99)
With the look of a well-worn tome, pulled off the shelf of a long-forgotten library in Grandma's house, the cover of this e-book alone is enough to entice book lovers to dive in. And once you start flicking pages, you'll come across Andersen's original text, augmented by beautifully lifelike three-dimensional illustrations, nearly all of which you can interact with on your iPad. Light and unlight swaying lanterns, swat mosquitoes, pop bubbles, swish the tendrils of sea anemones -- even set off fireworks. These are truly interactive illustrations. There are even neat Easter eggs in the text (tap the word "bells" and you'll hear them tolling). The app also includes equally interactive versions of "The Emperor's New Clothes" and the garden snail fable, "The Happy Family." If you're squeamish, you should love the unbelievably real-looking bugs and slugs that crawl across your iPad screen in that last one.

What you need: You need a swimming pool, ropes, and a beach ball for every player.

How to play: Rope off one section of the swimming pool, and tell the players to get in that section of the pool. Give each player a beach ball. Players will balance themselves on the beach ball by holding on with their arms.

The rules: At the starting signal, players will swim around, balancing on their beach balls, and try to push other players against the rope or wall of the pool. If a player touches the rope or the wall, she is out of the game. If a player loses her balance and falls off her ball, she is out of the game.