Chatterbox | September 19

Once again, we bring you a strike-less round-up of parenting news. This week, a 13-year-old schools his peers, and Elmo changes jobs/:

 

• As chronicled by the New York Timess Motherlode blog, the magical reunion of a child and his long-lost stuffed monkey brought hundreds of thousands of viewers to tears this week when an Omaha family posted a video of the ordeal on YouTube. After going awol on a family camping trip three years ago, the blue plush named Ah-ah turned up when "something told" the child's mother to search eBay for a blue monkey. The very same Ah-ah, with telltale scars and all, was sent a few days later from a seller in Florida.
• Entrepreneurship is alive and well in America, thanks to those new-fangled apps. A 13-year-old boy in California is so adept at making apps that he's holding a camp—with a very strict tardy policy—to teach other kids his age how to do it themselves.
• For most adults, Elmo is just the amazingly high-voiced Sesame Street character who set off a national shopping emergency a few years back when the demand for Tickle Me Elmos could not be met with furry supply. But for toddlers, Elmo and his daily "Elmo's World" segment is a way of life. But in an attempt to keep things fresh, Sesame Street producers are phasing out "Elmo's World" for a daily "Elmo the Musical." Will such blasphemy be tolerated? We shall see.
• Now we finally have a reason to thank our parents for forcing us to play clarinet, of all instruments. According to this story, learning an instrument at a young age provides all sorts of neurological benefits, including improved auditory skills, discipline and short-term memory.
• We consider ourselves playground aficionados over here, and when one of our favorite blogs, playscapes, featured this creative space by artist Gary Webb, we had to share.