Dr. Andrew Casden, associate director of Beth Israel’s Spine Institute, says “overloaded backpacks can lead to fatigue, muscle irritation and tiny muscle tears that bring kids into the office with pain. Students should know the proper way to wear their backpacks to avoid pain.”

The good news is that most times the damage isn’t permanent and pain can be alleviated by minor behavior adjustments. Dr. Casden recommends the following 5 tips for children:

· Reduce the weight in the pack – weight should not exceed 20% of the child’s body weight.

· Bend at the knees, not at the waist when lifting heavy packs.

· Wear the backpack over both shoulders, not slung over only one.

· Place heavy items in the back of the pack.

· Consider a pack on wheels that can be dragged rather than carried.

Back pain in children is rarely serious, but should not be ignored either. If children complain of persistent pain, you should consult a physician to rule out any medical problems.

With school back in it is so important to make sure that your children’s backpacks aren’t overloaded. Kids don’t realize the weight that they are carrying around so it is our jobs as parents to monitor it for them. Just like monitoring time on a PS3 or other video game, monitoring their eating habits or monitoring their personal hygiene…making sure that they aren’t overloading their backs at such an early age is just as important.

For The First Time Ever On Blu-Ray,Thomas Embarks On His Very First Journey Off The Island Of Sodor In Thomas & Friends™: Misty Island Rescue – The Movie

Available On DVD And Blu-Ray September 7, 2010 From Lionsgate And HIT Entertainment

Your little one will love going on this adventure with Thomas and Friends as Thomas journeys off the Island of Sodor and finds himself lost. Find out what happens to Thomas on Mist Island and see who he meets!

SRP: DVD $19.98/Blu-ray with DVD Combo-pack $24.98

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Thomas and his engine friends embark on a thrilling new journey that takes them from the Island of Sodor to the mysterious Misty Island in the all-new, CG animated adventure Thomas & Friends™ Misty Island Rescue – The Movie available on DVD, Blu-ray Disc+DVD combo pack, Digital Download and On Demand, September 7, 2010 from Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment. This movie marks the first time Thomas is available on Blu-ray and will be part of a Combo Pack (which is also packaged with a standard DVD) for a great value of only $24.98.

The thrilling new Blu-ray Disc will showcase the exciting new CG animation like never before, and is perfect for families looking to add to their Blu-ray collection. With nearly 25M households owning a Blu-ray player, Thomas is one of the first Preschool properties to launch into the next generation disc!

SYNOPSIS

The engines are hard at work to build a new Search and Rescue Center. When Thomas helps a friend in need, he is rewarded with an exciting trip to the mainland. Along the way, he gets lost at sea and finds himself on the mysterious Misty Island, where he meets new friends Bash, Dash and Ferdinand. Together they discover the secrets of Misty Island and help Thomas find his way home. Will Sir Topham Hatt’s search party ever find Thomas? Find out in this action-packed movie adventure the whole family will enjoy!!

BLU-RAY/DVD BONUS FEATURES

* “The Search for Thomas” Game

* “Misty Island Rescue” Karaoke Music Video

* “Sir Topham Hatt” Karaoke Music Video

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Title Copyright: © 2010 HIT Entertainment Limited. Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends™ Based on The Railway Series by The Reverend W Awdry. © 2010 Gullane (Thomas) Limited. Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and Thomas & Friends are trademarks of Gullane (Thomas) Limited. Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and Design is Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.

Type: Home Entertainment Premiere

Rating: NR

Genre: Children/Family/Ages 2-5

Closed Captioning: DVD – English

Blu-ray – English SDH

DVD Format: Widescreen

Blu-ray Format: 1080P High Definition Widescreen

Feature Running Time: 58 minutes

DVD Audio Status: English 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, Spanish and French 2.0

Dolby Digital

Blu-ray Audio Status: English 5.1 DTS HD-Master Audio and Spanish and French 2.0

Dolby Digital

Website: www.thomasandfriends.com

I was supplied a copy of the DVD to help facilitate this post. I was in no other way compensated and all opinions stated are those of my own and are in no way influenced by receipt of DVD.

Angelina Ballerina™: Love to Dance

Pirouettes Onto DVD August 31, 2010 From Lionsgate And HIT Entertainment to retailers nationwide with a suggested retail price of $14.98

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Angelina Ballerina™, the eight-year old mouseling who dreams of becoming a prima ballerina, enters a whole new stage of dancing delight with the all-new CG animated Angelina Ballerina: Love to Dance pirouetting onto DVD August 31, 2010 from Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment. Angelina is an established, best-selling publishing brand with over 25 years of success and over 50 book titles! Fourteen DVDs have also been released, with over 1MM DVDs shipped to date. The all-new look in brilliant CG animation launched on PBS KIDS® in Fall 2009 in 100 million homes, and has landed on DVD for the first-time ever in Love to Dance.

New music, new friends and new dancing styles await Angelina Ballerina — a little star with big dreams — on her first day at Camembert Academy. Dancing in the lunch yard, making new friends while remembering her old friends and rehearsing for the big show, Angelina is passionate about dance, particularly ballet, and always tries to make the best out of every situation. When little girls share in Angelina’s experiences, they’re inspired to pursue their big dreams too.

DVD SYNOPSIS

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to take center stage with Angelina Ballerina! On Angelina’s first day at Camembert Academy she discovers new forms of music and dance, like jazz, tap and hip hop, and meets new friends who have their own unique rhythm. Together with her friends new and old, like best friend Alice and the new Hip-Hop Kid AZ, Angelina realizes that becoming a prima ballerina requires collaboration and compromise, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! Get ready to step, leap and groove as you discover your own love of dance in these fun-filled episodes!

“Angelina’s New School” – Angelina is excited, yet nervous, about her first day of school at Camembert Academy. When she finds her new classmates proficient in other styles of dance, she tries to copy their moves – without success. Angelina soon discovers that when she’s true to her own style of dance – ballet – she excels, and soon understands that everyone is different, and different is good.

“Angelina’s Dance Partner” – Angelina is ecstatic to have the opportunity to dance with her best friend, Alice, at Camembert Academy’s “Dance With a Partner Day.” Angelina likes to choreograph the routine down to the very last detail and Alice is happy to oblige! Unfortunately, when Alice gets the sniffles Angelina must partner with Viki, whose style of improvisation contradicts with Angelina’s style. Angelina learns the importance of collaboration, cooperation and adaptability when working with a partner.

“Angelina’s Oldest Friend” – Angelina loves her new Camembert Academy friends and also loves her old friend Alice. She expects that both sets of friends will love each other too. Unfortunately, their first encounter is not as smooth as Angelina would have liked so the new and old friends work together to find a new way to play so all can have fun.

“Angelina’s Sleepover” – Angelina, Viki and Gracie decide to have a sleepover the night before a rehearsal for the big performance, but they do everything except sleep! The next day they are too tired for the morning rehearsal and have to choose between an afternoon rehearsal or attending the annual Silly Hat Carnival, a fun tradition in Mouseland. Angelina and her friends decide to rehearse and learn that being prepared is the best fun of all!

“Angelina and the Hip Hop Kid” – Angelina is very excited to be directing her very first Hip Hop Show when suddenly her star, AZ, falls and hurts his foot! Who can step into his shoes at the last minute? Marco is the number one choice. However, though he can play Hip Hop music, dancing Hip Hop is another thing. The show is in danger of not going on… unless Angelina can come up with a solution in time!

DVD BONUS FEATURES

“Angelina Says” Game

“Get Up and Dance” Music Video

“I Will Be A Star” Music Video

Rating: NR

Genre: Children/Family/Animated

Age Target: 2-7 years old

Closed Captioned: English

Format: Widescreen

Feature Running Time: 62 minutes

DVD Audio Status: 2.0 Dolby Digital

Program Website: www.angelinaballerina.com

Welcome to another Wonderful Summer Wednesday!

I hope that you are enjoying some Summer fun because we sure are.

The purpose of Wonderful Summer Wednesday is to give you ideas to make your summer a bit more fun and a bit more affordable. If you are a blogger and would like to join me be sure to write your Wonderful Summer Wednesday post and link up through the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post.

Now, let’s have some bubblicious fun!

Every child that I know loves bubbles. Heck, I still love bubbles. And giant bubbles, that makes it even better. So what better way to spend a summer afternoon than making homemade bubbles…

All you have to do is combine 2 cups of liquid dishwashing detergent, 4 cups of warm water, 7 Tablespoons of glycerin and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Then shape a wire coat hanger into a big circle. I use a small kiddie pool to pour my bubble solution in but any container large enough for you to dip your wand in will work. You then simply dip and blow.

You kids will be thrilled at the large bubbles that they can create and it is so much fun. And affordable.

If you would like to join us by posting your own great affordable summer activity feel free to add it to the linky below:

He is my guy. Without hesitation. He may drive me nuts but I am sure I do the same to him. He is quiet and reserved, making most of my friends think he doesn’t like them…but really he is just quiet…and of course everyone that knows me knows that I am outgoing and loud. I like to entertain and have a house filled to the brim with folks. We are very different, but as they say…opposites attract.

He is their Dad. Without Reserve. A story that I haven’t told on here yet (I will tell it one day) is that Bric adopted Erin as his own. She has 2 Fathers…but only one Dad. Bric has always loved Erin as if she was his own…and well, she is. He may not have “fathered” her, but she is his.

If you ask Erin today (now that is she is an adult) what makes a Father, she will tell you without hesitation:

“Sperm makes a Father, A Heart makes a Dad”

So with that, I want to wish all you guys a Happy Father’s Day, for that is the traditional way of saying it.

However, to those of you that are Dad’s…

Happy Dad’s Day!! That is how we say it here at The Post-It Place.

There is a difference.

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Summer Wednesday where I feature fun, affordable things to do this summer! I would love to hear your ideas and if you blog I would love for you to join us and link up to WSW at the bottom of this post.

Many cities across the nation have free or cheap movie days. We even have them here in HickTown!

And just up the road, Ringgold has them:

Date: Every Tuesday in the summer starting June 1st and ending August 10th

Location: Ringgold Depot, 155 Depot Street

Time: 11:00 a.m.

About: All children attending must have parental supervision, please limit 4 children per parent to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone. Drinks and popcorn will be available for purchase for $.50 a piece.

And, if you have a Carmike Cinemas…

You might want to check with your movie theater to see if they are participating in any summer movie specials. Not all theaters do but when you can find them…they are a great and inexpensive way to spend a hot summer day!

Check out these other great posts for more summer activities to do with your family:

Pound for Pound. That is how we are going to do it. Pledge to loose a little weight. Feed the hungry. Make life a little better. Pound for Pound.

The Kroger Co. Family of Stores, General Mills, NBC’s hit TV Show “The Biggest Loser” and other key sponsors are partnering to donate up to $1,080,000 to Feeding America this year.

Here’s how you can help:

* Visit www.pfpchallenge.com/Kroger to make your pledge to lose weight and to get more information and to find tools to change your life for the better. It is free, easy and only takes a minute to make a change that can help you and help the hungry in your local community.

* Through June 30, 2010, for every pound you pledge to lose, the Pound For Pound Challenge will donate 14¢ to Feeding America® — enough to deliver one pound of groceries to a local food bank.

As the official supplier of the Biggest Loser Ranch and partner of the Pound for Pound Challenge, the Kroger Family of Stores wants to help you achieve your goals. If you’re a fan of the Biggest Loser, you may have seen several great General Mills products featured on the show. These products, including Yoplait Greek yogurt, Total, and Multigrain Cheerios, all are available at your local Kroger Family of Stores and can help you stick to your weight management plan.

The Kroger Family and General Mills would like to offer you the chance to win a $30 gift card good at any of the Kroger Family of Stores. The Kroger Family of Stores includes Kroger, Fred Meyer, Ralph’s, King Soopers, City Market, Dillon’s, Smith’s, Fry’s, QFC, Baker’s, Owen’s, Jay C Food Stores, Hilander, Gerbes, Food4Less, Pay Less Super Markets and Scott’s Food & Pharmacy.

To Enter: Simply leave a comment stating something about the Pound for Pound challenge. Anything. How many pounds you would pledge, why you like the idea, why you want to win the gift card. Just something.

All entries must be received by June 3rd at 5PM EST. All entries must have a valid US mailing address. Winner will be selected via random drawing and will have 3 days to respond to the verification e-mail or another winner will be selected.

Want Extra Entries:

Blog about this contest with a link back to here (leave link where the post can be found).

Subscribe to The Post-It Place (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list for contests and giveaways).

Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at).

Follow me – Its_Jyl or Jillybean01 (or both, just leave in separate comments) on Twitter and Tweet this contest making sure to use the @Its_Jyl or @Jillybean01 (leave ID in a comment and I will follow you back).

Friend Me on Facebook.

Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post.

(Please note that the Kroger Family of Stores gift card, information, and giveaway were all provided by the Kroger Family of Stores and General Mills through MyBlogSpark.)

EcoSMART offers the only complete line of EPA exempt pesticides sold in the United States. They use a proprietary botanical oil blend that only attacks pests, they have no effect on people, pets or the environment. The primary active ingredients in EcoSMART products are approved as Direct Food Additives or classified as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. These oils are commonly used to add flavor and aroma to many cosmetic, beverage and food products, including cake, candy, sweetener, gum, soft drinks, and lipstick. Children and pets are safe. No need to clear them out after application or be concerned if they are near their products. It might make them sneeze a little, but that is about it.  Their products have no adverse effect on mammals, birds, and fish and also will not contaminate water sources.

Pest control for the home can be a huge concern if you have children and pets inside the home but with EcoSMART products you never have to worry again. Their products are safe and effective…making them my new go to source for all pest control products. It makes me feel better knowing that I am using products that are great for the environment, my dogs and my children but that I don’t have to worry about creepy crawlies in my home. And trust me when I say that the South is full of creepy crawlies. The Home Pest Control has been working great for us and the smell is not like a pesticide, it is more like a minty herb smell.

Product Description
Kills and repels over 100 home invading pests: Ants (including Carpenter, Red Harvester, Pavement and Argentine), Beetles, Centipedes, Cockroaches, Crickets, Earwigs, Fleas, Millipedes, Pantry Pests, Pillbugs, Silverfish, Spiders, Sowbugs, Ticks and other crawling insect pests.

Unlike other insecticides, it is made from organic plant oils and kills bugs naturally to better protect your family. Plus, there’s no pesticide residue.

It’s safe. It’s effective. It’s smart. Naturally.

So, for natural home pest control that is safe for you , your children, your pets and the environment…check out EcoSMART today! And thanks to the great folks at EcoSMART you have the chance to win a bottle of their Home Pest Control product.

To Enter: Simply visit EcoSMART and leave a comment here stating which product you would like to try or which pest you have a problem with. All entries must be received by March 22 at 5 PM EST. All entries must have a valid US mailing address (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Winner will be selected via random drawing and will have 3 days to respond to the verification e-mail before another winner is selected.

Want Extra Entries:

Blog about this contest with a link back to here (leave link where the post can be found).

Subscribe to The Post-It Place (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list for contests and giveaways).

Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at).

Follow me – Its_Jyl on Twitter and Tweet this contest making sure to use the @Its_Jyl (leave ID in a comment and I will follow you back).

Friend Me on Facebook.

Leave a comment on any non-giveaway post on The Post-It Place.

” I was supplied with one bottle of EcoSMART Home Pest Control to help facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are those of my own and individual results may vary.”

FANTAGE.COM is a colorful virtual world where tweens cruise around castles, forests, and cities on rocket boards. Along the way, they can shop (virtually), play games, and meet fellow Fantagians. They can use their purchases to dress their characters in different clothes to suit their mood. For keeping in touch with buddies, there’s group chat (regular or safe mode), Instant Messaging, and texting. A premium membership can be purchased for $5.99 per month which allows for a bigger allowance and more places to hang out, but Fantagians can also earn virtual bucks through game play. Kids under 13 need a parent to activate their account, and parents can choose levels of safety options. I think Fantage is a great site that allows kids to play freely without parents having to worry about who they are interacting with. The games are fun and entertaining. Fantage has a lot to offer the tween set that is looking for a place to hang out and interact online. There are also extras on the website such as wallpaper, stationery, coloring pages, cards, etc.

Founded in 2007, Fantage (Fantastic Age) is a next-generation destination site for children and the fastest growing community site for children 7-14. Fantage’s games and adventures entertain and delight children, instill important lessons like sharing and giving, and promote positive social interaction in an engaging, exciting, safe environment that both kids and parents love.Upon signing in, users pick the servers they want to join like Emerald Elephant or the popular Auburn Hippo and then select a region they want to visit, whether you want to go Uptown or Downtown; play some games at the Carnival or play some water games at the Beach.

If you want to do secret-agent style missions, you can head underground. You can earn medals and gifts by playing mini-games. Every time you play a game, the user receives stars (money). This money can be used for stickers, clothing, hover boards for your inventory & IDFone!

Some of Fantage’s favorite games include Buzzer Beater, Bricks Breaking, and most importantly our Top Models, Inc. Fashion Show, where there are three rounds of timed themed looks! Warning: this game IS highly addicting!

Not only does Fantage have exciting, fun games, but parties! Fantage hosts a party every month whether it’s for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Christmas! Each member gets some rare free items then and more chances to win stars! We have our monster color battle planned until Monday!

The best part? Fantage provides an age-appropriate, safe social networking experience within a fun virtual world. They allow the option to customize everything in your child’s communication privilege. Being dedicated to the safety of Fantage members, they have created a highly sophisticated, three-tier safety system providing the greatest level of protection of any community site for children on the Web.

Fantage is also free. However, Fantage also offers premium packages as well to become VIP members!

More information on that and more can be found on their website here: http://www.fantage.com or follow Fantage on twitter here: www.twitter.com/fantagefans

Thanks to Fantage I am going to give away 2 game cards that are worth $10 each. These game cards will give 2 individual readers 50 days of premium membership!

To Enter just leave a comment stating what your favorite part of Fantage is. All entries must have a US or Canadian mailing address. All entries must be received by 5 PM EST Thursday March 15th, 2010. Winners will be selected by random drawing.

Want Extra Entries:

Blog about this contest with a link back to here (leave link where the post can be found).

Subscribe to The Post-It Place (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list for contests and giveaways).

Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at).

Follow me – Its_Jyl on Twitter and Tweet this contest making sure to use the @Its_Jyl (leave ID in a comment and I will follow you back).

Friend Me on Facebook.

Leave a comment on any non-giveaway post on The Post-It Place.

A Basket Full of Fun for Everyone Just in Time for Easter!
Barney^TM: Egg-Cellent Adventures

Available On DVD March 2, 2010 From Lionsgate And HIT Entertainment at retailers Nationwide for a suggested retail price of $14.98.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

It’s magical make-believe time with everyone’s favorite purple dinosaur, Barney^TM, and his friends when Barney: Egg-Cellent Adventures springs onto DVD March 2, 2010 from Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment. Available for the first-time ever on DVD, it’s the perfect addition to any Easter basket! Trusted by moms and adored by children, Barney displays sharing, caring, imagining, dancing and learning on television, online and through live events, home entertainment and publishing. The Emmy® award-winning series, Barney & Friends^TM is one of the top-rated preschool shows today, airing on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS SproutSM.

DVD SYNOPSIS
Your search for tee-riffic fun with Barney & Friends^TM is over! Baskets full of egg-citement abound when Mother Goose, a nest full of eggs, and a mysterious, carrot-eating visitor bring super-Dino adventures to the whole family. Hop along for the super-dee-duper adventures with Barney and his friends!

Episodes include:

“Rabbits”
“Mother Goose”
“Ducks and Fish”
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES

“Barney’s Easter Egg Hunt”
“Gumdrops Matching Game”

One lucky reader will win a copy of Barney^TM: Egg-Cellent Adventures thanks to Lionsgate/HIT Entertainment!

To Enter just leave a comment stating what your favorite part of Easter is. All entries must have a US or Canadian mailing address. All entries must be received by 5 PM EST Thursday March 15th, 2010. Winner will be selected by random drawing.

Want Extra Entries:

Blog about this contest with a link back to here (leave link where the post can be found).

Subscribe to The Post-It Place (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list for contests and giveaways).

Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at).

Follow me – Its_Jyl on Twitter and Tweet this contest making sure to use the @Its_Jyl (leave ID in a comment and I will follow you back).

Friend Me on Facebook.

Leave a comment on any non-giveaway post on The Post-It Place.

“I was provided with a complimentary DVD thaqnks to Lionsgate/HIT Entertainment to help facilitate this review. I was in no other way compensated and all opinions are my own. Individual results may vary.”