When you've got your Windows XP or Vista setup running perfectly, you don't want to lose all your painstaking customisations to a reckless tot, an experiment-minded friend or spouse, or a rogue system-lousing program. Windows SteadyState, as we mentioned earlier this week, helps you to create a kind of virtual rubber room those types can play around in and not really harm anything. SteadyState can also restrict web site access for innocent eyes, set timer limits on user access, and get better control of those other folks who use your computer—in other words, SteadyState makes you the Grand Master Sysadmin of your single-unit empire. Let's take a look at setting up SteadyState and get familiar with a few of its key features.

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Blogger Rafe Needleman uses Gmail to record memories of his young son's life. With the hefty storage, easy accessibility and robust filter and search tools, it's a neat way to be able to quickly pull up that time when your little one met Santa Claus—or yanked your laptop off the table. Of course, with stuff this precious, it's always a good idea to back it up.

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The Geekdad blog shares a wonderful idea for a fun activity to do with your geeklet - create a treasure hunt for them - complete with a home made treasure map. There are two lovely examples in the post which draw on local history - one of a pirate treasure hunt, the other steeped in wild west history.
Key ingredients are an old looking map (parchment paper works well, singe the edges with a candle or lighter), an antique-looking chest or box, and some 'treasure' related to the story.
If you want to teach your geekling local history or how to navigate with a compass, this could be a very fun way to do it. :)

Treasure Hunting with Kids [Geekdad]

Keep your toddler from stuffing a peanut butter sandwich into your DVD player with a few kid-proofing home theatre system tips from Wired's How-To Wiki. They recommend using an enclosed cabinet for your gear, stowing power cords as out of reach as possible, and actually using the safety strap to anchor that big TV to the table top.

If your TV or piece of furniture did not include one of these, go out and buy one. Most hardware stores carry them and they are inexpensive insurance. If a five dollar piece of nylon, two screws and five minutes of your time can prevent junior from pulling over your two thousand dollar flat screen, shattering it into a gazillion pieces and quite possibly injuring himself in the process, wouldn't you go for it?

Yes, I think you would. How do you keep the expensive home theatre system as childproof as possible? Share your secrets in the comments.

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The Zakka Life Crafts blog suggests a frugal, DIY way to keep kids (and maybe driving adults) stocked up with non-spill "sippy" cups. Wash out yogurt containers with plastic lids, then cut a fast-food-style "X" in the lid, big enough for a straw to go through but not much bigger. You've got a cheap, reusable sippy cup for tykes or travelers, and one you won't necessarily mind losing. For a similar trick while traveling, try the same thing with store-bought drink bottles. Photo by {just jennifer}.

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Toy - Kaleidoscope - For more of the funniest videos, click here
Here's a weekend project that's easy enough for the kids to work on with you - building your own kaleidoscope. The materials are very simple and cheap - it looks like you can use an old vitamin or pill container, along with an old CD. The cool thing is that you can experiment with using different coloured materials in the kaleidoscope - coloured glass, crystals, old LEDs, etc etc.

[via Geek Dad]

The GeekDad blog quoted parenting advice from sci-fi author Neal Stephenson today. Talk about cool. :)

Even though I'm not a parent myself, I find myself really enjoying the GeekDad blog for the insights it offers about how to be an encouraging geek parent to your little ones. I know first hand about the stupid social forces which often succeed in dissuading bright girls and boys from pursuing their childhood interest in geeky pursuits like science and maths, so it's great to read ideas on how to let your kids know that geeky is ok.

It quotes Neal Stephenson's example of how just doing things in front of your kids can be a way to inspire and teach them 'in the background':

"Stephenson said when he was a kid, his dad was constantly tinkering on some garage project or another, and despite Neal's complete indifference for any of his dad's enthusiasms at the time, he was influenced by this embedded tinkering. It was part of the family scene, part of his household, like mealtime style, or the pattern of interactions between siblings. Later on when Neal did attempt to make stuff on his own, the pattern was right at hand. It felt comfortable, easy. Without having to try very hard, he knew how to be a nerd."

I love this notion. It's not forcing kids to participate, it's not 'do as i say' - it's leading by example.

The other thing which rocked about this GeekDad post was that it linked to an audacious Australian experimenter who dabbles in Tesla coils, high voltage and a lot of things that look incredibly cool. His name is Peter Terren and his website is called Tesla Downunder. The image I've used is a screenshot from the website. I imagine visiting his house would feel like visiting Doc Brown in Back to the Future. Woo!

Subterranean Tutoring [GeekDad]

If you have kids, or if you ever dreamed of winning your school science project competition you will love this tutorial on how to grow a square watermelon. Cooler than the cardboard box maze I built to test a plant's ability to grow towards the sun (which didn't work) or even the baking soda and vinegar erupting volcano (which did) - I reckon this would also be fun for a kid's birthday party.

Grow a square watermelon [Instructables via Wired's Geekdad]

Here's a great hack for dealing with little kids in the kitchen. Rather than banning them from the kitchen and turning down their offers to help, this mum decided it would be quicker, safer and more productive to bring the kids into the kitchen, show them how to do things safely and let them help. And it worked.

"It turned out to be far easier to teach the 5-year-old how to use sharp things safely (and with supervision) than to let her try on her own... or to turn the kitchen into a complete hands-off zone."

The hack came from Grant at 43 Folders, who said it freed up enough of his wife's time that she now has a blog for cooking with kids, called Junior Kitchen. That is just neat. :)

It's not bug, it's kung fu [43 Folders]

If your kid is playing football this winter, go buy them some boots NOW!

The new 2008 edition boots haven't made it onto sports store shelves yet, which means they still have 2007 boots in stock and they're selling them cheap to make space for this year’s footy fashions, according to our favourite geek dad and sometime Lifehacker reader, Simon:

"You’ll save a lot. I bought a pair for $21 last weekend!

And I get the satisfaction of knowing my kid will start training in boots that fit and do not deform his feet, which, let’s face it, old boots would do if he started under 7’s in his under 6 boots!"

Thanks for the tip, Simon!