Today's teens not as hooked on TV

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Teens are watching less TV today than they were a decade ago, according to research by the Child Trends DataBank.

The percentage of adolescents watching one hour or less of television per weekday increased from 1991 to 2001, and the percentage watching four or more hours per day declined.

Theme party can make a kid's day

If you're planning a birthday party for your son or daughter, www.birthdaypartyideas.com is a mother lode of ideas, submitted by parents all over the world.

Click on the "Big List of Kids' Parties," and you'll get an alphabetic listing of party themes from airplanes to Zorro.

Some of the entries make great reading — like the parent who threw a Willy Wonka party for her 4-year-old with "golden ticket" invitations, lickable wallpaper (made with melted lollipops), and a chocolate river fashioned from cardboard, aluminum foil and chocolate pudding.

To share a party idea, just click on the site's "Submit Idea" form.

Get butterflies to flutter by

Most kids love being outside, digging in the dirt and playing with bugs. Planting a butterfly garden lets them do all that.

A butterfly garden doesn't require much space, but does require at least six hours of sun a day. Planting near trees, shrubs or a building will offer some protection from the wind. And avoid using insecticides — those will kill butterflies and caterpillars.

Some plants that attract butterflies: asters, bee balm, black-eyed susans, butterfly weed, cosmos, lantana, marigolds, phlox, purple coneflowers and zinnias.