January 2008 Archives

Last week, a Santa Monica Mom answered the door to the police after a neighbor tattle-tailed on her for leaving her 18-month strapped in his carseat while she ran in the house to retrieve her cell phone. Today's article goes into detail about the incident and why it plays out across L.A. everyday, even though it probably shouldn't.

What is your take on the issue? Vote in our poll.

In a show of Mom power, Momsrising.org is crashing the Presidential candidate debates in California this week to spread the message that millions of U.S. kids have no health insurance. Momsrising members plan to hold up baby onesies embellished with slogans like: “I ♥ Healthcare’’ and “I’m Worth the Effort’’ as candidates file into Hollywood’s Kodak Theater tomorrow afternoon. For more info, see http://www.momsrising.org.

Olivia Green has been running Green's 24 Hour Family Child Care in the Crenshaw District (323-293-1991) for 25 years. But she has seen demand for 24-hour care grow in recent years as a result of more parents working nontraditional shifts. "One parent works at the police station, or the TSA or convalescent homes or hopsitals that are 24/7,'' she said.

Figuring out child care to accommodate such schedules is tough, but more 24-hour operations are opening to meet the need. Julie Mismailova started offering overnight services at Happyland, her family day care in Granada Hills four years ago. "I work 24/7, any day, any time.''

Here are a few more 24-hour child care resources: Penny & Peggy Nairn 24-Hour Child Care (2 locations in North Hills)

Happyland 818-832-6788

And two more in South Los Angeles:
Precious Little Heartbeat

A Quality Family Daycare

Here's another one from the only in L.A. category: FreshMommy.com will deliver six organic mini meals a day (one of those is dessert) AND send over a personal trainer, all with the goal of getting you back into pre-baby shape. The concept has some loveable quirks, which all add to the cost. There are bonus meals for Dad, credits for "lifestyle enhancements,'' like a chiropractor, and even personal concierge services. If you can afford it, being a fresh Mommy sounds downright decadent. Packages start at $3,895.

I don't know about you, but I have failed so far to find a free, or at least cheap, way to do background checks on potential babysitters. I have even asked for several sitters' addresses and driver's license numbers (I think asking for a social number is a little much). But I haven't had much success getting anywhere with that info.

There are tons of Web sites that will run security checks on people, but most of them seem to cost around $49. Here's one recommended by a subscriber to Jen Levinson's list: www.childcarecheck.com.

84 percent of freshman say parents are involved enough but not too involved in their decision to go to college, according to UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute survey, released today.

The annual study is based on responses from 272,000 full-time freshman students
at 356 colleges and universities nationwide.

Other interesting results: While about 20 percent of whites report "too little" involvement from parents, 43 percent of Latino students report "too little" involvement. "This is a real concern, because Hispanics and Latinos historically have had the largest proportion of first-generation college students, and the process of applying to college is unfamiliar to these parents," said Sylvia Hurtado, a co-author of the report and director of the Higher Educational Research Institute.

Freshman support for same-sex marriages has expanded steadily, from 50.9 percent 1997 to
63.5 percent in 2007. The issue, however, reveals a wide gender gap: 55.3 percent of male
freshmen report that same-sex couples should have the right to legal marital status, compared
with 70.3 percent of female students. Gender differences appear on other issues, as well:
More than half of all males (53.7 percent) agree with the statement that undocumented
immigrants should be denied access to public education, compared with 43.5 percent of all
female students; 43.3 percent of males and 39.2 percent of females at black colleges agreed.

Tom Breedlove, partner at Breedlove & Associates wrote me today in response to the nanny tax story. He said there is another tax break available to most families that is about twice as lucrative as the Child or Dependent Care Tax Credit. Anyone with a Flexible Spending Account (also called a Dependent Care Account) can pay for up to $5,000 of childcare expenses with pre-tax dollars. Depending on the tax bracket of the family, this saves $2,000 to $2,300 per year. If you have two children, you still have $1,000 remaining, which you can itemize under the Child or Dependent Care Tax Credit and save another $200 on your tax bill. Bottom line: about 80% of US families have access to Flexible Spending Account...those families can pay a nanny about $25,000 - $27,000 per year and break even on employer tax costs (employer tax costs exceed the tax breaks once you pay your nanny more than that threshold).

Tom's company specializes in nanny payroll and tax services. It manages the payroll taxes, quarterly tax filings and year-end paperwork. Go to Breedlove Associates.

Here's my article about the nuts and bolts of the nanny tax.

THE FACTS:

• A nanny taking care of your children in your home – whether full or part time – is your employee.
• If you pay your nanny more than $1,500 a year, you are required to withhold and pay Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes.
• If the IRS discovers that the income has not been filed and taxes have not been paid, the employer could be on the hook for the taxes, disability and unemployment. For a nanny making $600 a week, the social security taxes alone would add up to about $25,000 over five years, and that doesn’t include penalties and interest.
• Most nanny tax evasion is caught as part of a larger audit, or when a nanny is fired or hurt on the job and goes to the state for compensation.

Sources: Internal Revenue Service; Daily News research

SITES:
www.irs.gov/publications/p926/index.html (Household Employers Tax Guide)
www.nannynetwork.com/NannyTax/index.cfm
www.4nannytaxes.com

This is an unbelievable story that a Santa Monica Mom sent to Jen Levinson and she then circulated on her list. I plan to look into it further and see what other rules about parenting I'm ignorant of. After all, I didn't realize I was living in a totalitarian state where neighbors spy on one another until I read this from a Mom. Read it and weep:

Earlier today I was rushing like most to get out of the house with my son and realized after I pulled out of our garage I left my cell phone on my coffee table. I pulled up to the back of our home in the ally (our front door is 25 feet from the ally) and ran into the house to retrieve it and left him in the car with the doors locked and windows up. I was gone for LITERALLY about 45 seconds and returned to the car and sped off. I took him to the park. Apparently, while I ran inside of my home, my license plate was noted by a neighbor and called into theSanta Monica Police Department for Child neglect and endangerment. The Santa Monica Police Dept proceeded to interview 3 out of 4 of my neighbors about my ability to parent while I was out at the park. They came with a long list of questions and concerns and shared them with my neighbors. So unaware of this, at about 3PM, as I was playing with my son on the couch, the Santa Monica Police Dept shows up at my door letting me know that they had a report called in for child neglect and they had to investigate us and child protective service would be involved. At this point I am frozen in fear, teary and shaking with the police in my living room accusing me of being a bad parent and scaring the !@#$ out of me. Freaking out I of pleaded my case not knowing that this is illegal. I knew it was wrong when I ran into the house and left Cooper but not illegal. I was given a notice type citation and had to call the SGT of the Santa Monica police Dept and plead my case. After review they have decided to not file a report and send it into Social Services. I just want you all to know you never know who is watching and that small errand in the store or that quick trip back into the house or post office, coupled with someone who has nothing better to do is a dangerous combination. All they need is a license plate number to track you down and scare the !@#$ out of you. Please be warned and I hope nobody ever has to go through this.

For the first time since 1971, the U.S. birthrate pushed past a crucial theshhold -- the level at which a given generation can replace itself. According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control, women aged 15-44 delivered 4.3 healthy babies in 2006, a two percent increase and the highest birthrate in 45 years.

An Associated Press report said factors for the boomlet include a decline in contraceptive use, a drop in access to abortion, poor education and poverty.

But it also attributed the growth to population growth, especially among Hispanics, who as a group have higher fertility rates.

" We are the only people who respond to prosperity by saying, `Let's have another kid,'" said Nan Marie Astone, associate professor of population, family and reproductive health at Johns Hopkins University.

First a disclaimer -- this is an online poll, not a scientific survey, and the results are based on 55 votes. But still, the findings shock me! Of 55 respondents (as of today) to date, 21 of you pay above $16 an hour. Another 13 people pay $14 and $16, and eight said they plunk down $11 to $13 an hour. Seven parents pay $8 to $10 an hour, and five people hand their babysitter more than $20. I think I’m in the wrong business.

I got a few emails from parents saying that $16 and up is not an outrageous price for quality care. I agree that when it comes to your children, bargain hunting for care seems wrong. However, is it really reasonable that a parent should have to pay almost $50 above the actual meal to go grab dinner?

I'm kind of a Luddite -- if my husband would go for it, I would live without a TV, and I'd prefer that my kids not log on until they are in middle school. I realize that probably won't fly in the United States of 2008.

But I felt somewhat vindicated when I started reading a fascinating new study by Sesame Workshop.

The research finds that out of 69 video games marketed as educational, only two feature traditional educational content (literacy, math and science). The report, D is for Digital, calls for the development of more content that is truly educational.

Other findings: children beginning to use electronic gadgets at age 6.7, as opposed to age 8.1 in 2005 and they are increasingly multitasking, packing 8 ½ hours of media consumption into 6 ½ hours. And parents? The accept that their kids have become consumers of digital media, and a majority say video games are a positive aspect of their children's lives. See the complete study: www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/pdf/DisforDigital.pdf

MySpace announced an agreement with 49 state governments to make changes on its popular Web site to protect younger users from online predators. Within the next few months, the site says it will make profiles of all 14- and 15-year-olds permanently private, and will default the profiles of 16- and 17-year olds to private. It also says it will delete registered sex offenders from the site.

Industry watchers welcome the changes, but say they fall short because they don’t address the problem of kids – or predators – lying about their age or identity.

By Barbara Correa

The business of caring for and educating preschool children generates $1.9 billion a year for the local economy and employs more than 65,000 people, according to a study released Monday by Los Angeles Universal Preschool, the Los Angeles County Child Care Planning Committee and the city of Los Angeles.

The study projects that early child care and education will create the sixth highest number of new jobs in Los Angeles County through 2016.

Auxiliary services connected to day care and preschool include clerical staff, social workers, bus drivers, food service workers, all of whom contribute back to the local economy, the study said.

"That's more than is employed in computer and electronics manufacturing," said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. and a panelist at an event presenting the findings. "People think that child care is a net outflow, but it does recirculate money into the economy."

National and state studies have shown that the child-care industry is important, but this report is unique in that it focuses specifically on Los Angeles County.

"We didn't know that this (industry) is $1.9 billion," said Randi Wolfe, director of workforce development at Los Angeles Universal Preschool, a public corporation formed in 2004 and funded by a tax on tobacco. "I didn't even know if it would be in the top 20. That means jobs and the question becomes how do we train these people and how do we set things up?"

Wolfe said L.A. County is home to about 1 million children from birth to 13 who need before- and after-school care, and there are just 250,000 licensed slots in day cares, preschools and before- and after-school programs for those kids.

She acknowledged that funding the expansion of that number is an uphill battle, especially with the budget trouble the state faces. But Wolfe said support is growing for more child care.

"The presidential candidates are talking about it. Hillary came out with a plan recently. ... For every dollar we spend (on early child care and education), we save $2.62 on jails, mental health services, juvenile delinquency. The benefits of a good early care and education experience ends up costing taxpayers less in the end," she said.

For more on work, family and parenting in L.A., go to www.insidesocal.com/momspace/

The third annual Baby Boom Room kicked off Friday with a few brave celebrity parents trolling the penthouse rooms at the Century Plaza Hotel in search of cool new products for their babies and kids. The star wattage wasn't quite as bright as promised (we missed Scott Baio), but there sure were a lot of cool products.

Evan Handler (Californication, Sex & the City) was checking out Moby wraps with his wife and one-year-old daughter Sofia. He said his product essentials are pacifiers and leggings, which little Sofia loves to sleep in. Carnie Wilson's three-year-old daughter Lola has a Strawberry Shortcake obsession -- too bad there wasn't any at this show. "She's obsessed,'' said Wilson. "She has the toothbrush holder, the sheets, she falls asleep to the DVDs every night.'' I caught up with Wilson browsing the booth for Blessence, a line of maternity T-shirts embelished with celeb-friendly slogans like "Adoption Is the New Pregnant.''

Some of the most original products -- for the kid/parent who has everything -- were necklaces that double as teething rings (www.smartmomjewelry.com), Happy Heiny's (www.happyheinys.com), makers of modern cloth diapers, a kid's spa offering a chocolate facial (www.spadidala.com) and over the top custom-painted wagons by West Coast Wagons (www.westcoastwagons.com). L.A. parents Tiffany and Duane Nelson started the company three years ago when they discovered that their daughter, born with cerebral palsy, could only get comfortable enough to nap when she was in a wagon. They souped up the rig with a CD player and sun roof, and a business was born.

Custom wagons range from about $200 range for a painted, jewel-studded princess wagon to an $1,800 Hummer wagon fully loaded with a DVD player. The Nelsons made a skull-design wagon inscribed with the names of Brad and Angelina's brood. When Tiffany Nelson cornered Brad at last year's Golden Globes and asked him how he liked it, the superstar said "That wagon kicks a** it's the collest thing I've ever seen.''

Other kid-catering startups launched in the last year or two -- no-squeeze juice box holders (www.squeeze-free.com), lice-repellant shampoo (www.socozy.com), knee pads for crawling babies (www.silikids.com) and ergonomic diaper bags (www.gogagalife.com) -- reflect the exploding market for kid products that make busy parents' lives a little easier. The fact that Tom & Katie and Brad & Angelina and Ben & Jennifer have made having kids trendy only helps. "I don't know if stars are having more babies,'' said Betsi Schumacher, at the Baby boom room to promote a new BPA-free sippy cup callled Foogo. "But with Celebrity Baby Blog, it's the hype.''

Ever feel like you're finally finishing the cleanup from one meal or snack, and then it's time to start preparing the next one? A playwright Mom has put the sentiment into words with a collection of essays called "Somebody's Always Hungry'' www.somebodysalwayshungry.com.

L.A. native Juliet Johnson writes with hilarious detail about the quirks of toddlerhood -- like the obsession with packing assorted toy-junk into various containers and insisting her or his little life depends on taking it along to "school.''

Good stuff, and every parent can relate. Thanks to Jen Levinson - this came in her list

It used to drive me batty when, shortly after the babies were born, well-meaning people would say to me, "Be sure to take care of yourself. Get plenty of rest.''

I wanted to shout at them, "well I'd love to take a 13 hour nap, but they just don't seem to allow me that luxury!''

Mothers -- especially busy, working mothers -- notoriously put themselves last on the list when it comes to health, well-being, and self-treating. I'm getting better at pampering myself now and again, but I still feel guilty about it. Here is my top 10 list of signs you may not be taking care of yourself as you deserve:

1. You find yourself borrowing your husband’s cologne because you’ve run out of perfume (I actually did this the other day)

2. You haven’t set foot in the gym since the summer of 2005

3. You have taken to storing a tube of cookie dough in the freezer, which you gnaw on periodically in times of stress

4. In your fatigued state, you tell your husband that "Mommy is coming'' when he calls you from another room.

5. You were so grateful for your last pedicure that you tipped the manicurist $20

6. When coworkers were discussing "atonement'' at work, your first thought was that they had all converted to Christianity.

7. Your youngest is three, and you have yet to hire a babysitter for an evening out.

8. Your dentist doesn't recognize your name, and says they have no information about you on file.

9. Instead of using that department store gift card from Grandma for a shopping spree at Zara, you use it at Gymboree instead.

10. Once a worldwide traveler, you are seriously considering cashing in your air miles for a family vacation to Disneyworld.

Two years ago, Yale University rocked the child development world with a report that said three and four year olds in preschool get expelled three times more often than kids in grades kindergarten through 12.

Now, Yale's Edward Zigler Center in Early Child Development and Social Policy issued a followup to those findings. It announced today that preschoolers can avoid getting expelled if their parents make sure the teacher-to-student ratio is 1 to 8 or less, and that the preschool program they choose is a half-day instead of an 8-hour or more day.

I hate to get cynical, but it's scandalous that it took Yale two years to figure out what every mother pretty much knows inherently. Of course preschools with more teachers are better, and of course parents' would opt for shorter classes if they could. A lot of parents send their kids to "preschool'' all day because they go to work full-time.

In addition, the kind of kids who get kicked out of preschool frequently have a learning or behavioral issue that canonly partly be blamed on fewer teachers or long hours. The reason kindergartners through 12th graders don't get expelled as much is because they are part of the publicly funded school system, and districts are legally bound to work with their developmental problems, whatever they might be.

Come on Yale. Tell us something we don't know!

I don’t know about you, but I ended up paying a jacked up $22 an hour for a New Year’s Eve babysitter because my husband announced at 4 pm that evening that a colleague was throwing a party that we just had to attend. The rate was through an agency I use only when I’m desperate. The sitters are always professional and wonderful, but it burns me to pay such crazy prices to someone to sit in my living room watching television. What’s the most/least you’ve ever paid for a babysitter? What do you consider a reasonable rate?

VOTE IN OUR POLL:

My MOMSPACE column, based on this blog, runs every Thursday in the Los Angeles Daily News. I spend my week perusing the Web for weird, useful, fun trends in parenting, so check here every week for tidbits you won't find anywhere else. And let me know what you like or didn't like, at barbara.correa@dailynews.com.

DROP-IN DAYCARE: It's a working parents' greatest dilemma: the preschool is closed; your babysitter is sick; your neighbor is at work, where you are due in less than an hour. What to do? A company called Bright Horizons (www.brighthorizons.com) runs child care centers that will take drop-in kids if they have space. There are just three locations in greater L.A., and the hours, availability and price vary. See details at www.insidesocal.com/momspace/

ONLY IN L.A.: Being bilingual is all the rage in multicultural Los Angeles. You see it in elementary school immersion programs and parks & recreation classes, and now bilingualism is becoming part of everyday life, from Kindermusik classes to playgroups. My local Moms club just sent around an Evite for a bilingual playgroup for toddlers speaking English and Spanish, and the California Association for Bilingual Education has started parent workshops. Habla Espanol? It’s time to learn! www.bilingualeducation.org.

BABYSITTER RATE POLL: I don’t know about you, but I ended up paying a jacked up $22 an hour for a New Year’s Eve babysitter because my husband announced at 4 pm that evening that a colleague was throwing a party that we just had to attend. The rate was through an agency I use only when I’m desperate. The sitters are always professional and wonderful, but it burns me to pay such crazy prices to someone to sit in my living room watching television. What’s the most/least you’ve ever paid for a babysitter? What do you consider a reasonable rate? Participate in our poll at www.insidesocal.com/momspace/

FED UP: Two Angry Moms is a documentary by two Connecticut mothers “fed up’’ with the low quality of school cafeteria food. They take a video camera to school to record students consuming neon green slushies, greasy fries and supersize cookies, and calling it lunch. The film has been making the rounds at community theaters since last spring in an effort to start a movement toward healthier school food. See clips of the film and more info at: www.angrymoms.org

SURVIVING TWEENS: Oh pre-teen and teenaged girls. The tortured soul, the raw emotion, the unbelievable sensitivity of young girls. I figure we have a good ten years until we'll be confronted with all this as parents, and I joke that my husband will be so old by then that a lot of the drama won't register. Still, it's never too early to prepare.
The current January/February issue of Daughters magazine focuses on nurturing the parent-daughter relationship during the angst-ridden tween years. Highlights include “girl-led’’ conflict resolution, getting an inactive girl moving, and eating disorder 911. (www.daughters.com)

For more on work, family and parenting in L.A., go to www.insidesocal.com/momspace/

Cynics (including my husband) are saying that since Hillary teared up the day before the New Hampshire primary, she pierced the hearts of women, who voted her into first place in that state yesterday. I heard a radio interview with one NH voter who said that her daugher -- an Obama supporter -- called her on the way to the primary to say that she had made a mistake and that they should both vote for Hillary because of the historic opportunity to elect a woman.

What is your view? Tell us your plans in the poll below:

Two Angry Moms is a documentary by two Connecticut mothers “fed up’’ with the low quality of school cafeteria food. They take a video camera to school to record students consuming neon green slushies, greasy fries and supersize cookies, and calling it lunch.

The film has been making the rounds at community theaters since last spring in an effort to start a movement toward healthier school food. See clips of the film and more info at: www.angrymoms.org

Toy makers, including El-Segundo-based Mattel, have hired new Washington lobbyists to help educate lawmakers about the industry; critics say the move is an attempt to hold off any serious reform in consumer product safety of the toys. Here's Lisa Friedman's full story in today's DN.

It's a working parents' greatest dilemma: the preschool is closed; your babysitter is sick; your neighbor is at work, where you are due in less than an hour. What to do?

A company called Bright Horizons runs child care centers that will take drop-in kids if they have space. There are just three locations in greater L.A., and the hours, availability and price vary. Here they are:

Bright Horizons at the Water Garden
1620 26th St #1020, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: 310-449-0047
*$64 for the day; call for hourly rate

South Bay Children's Center
2270 E El Segundo Blvd, El Segundo, CA 90245
Phone: 310-535-5580

Northridge Hospital Children's Center
18460 Cantara St., Reseda, CA 91335
Phone: 818-885-5498
$10 per child per hour

According to Babycenter.com readers, the top ten names bestowed on new babes last year are: Top ten girls' names: 1. Sophia, 2. Isabella, 3. Emma, 4. Madison, 5. Ava, 6. Addison, 7. Hailey, 8. Emily, 9. Kaitlyn, 10. Olivia.

Top ten boys' names were: 1. Aiden, 2. Ethan,
3. Jacob, 4. Jayden, 5. Caden, 6. Noah, 7. Jackson, 8. Jack, 9. Logan, 10. Matthew

For boys, trendy Brody and Jayden edged out Adam and Kyle in 2007, while Addison and Aubrey became more popular girls names than Ashley and Leah. For more baby name trends, see Babycenter's special report at http://www.babycenter.com/0_top-100-baby-names-of-2007_3637303.bc.

Here is this week's column as published in the Daily News - there are some great nuggets here that did not appear in the blog previously so check it out:

SOCCER MOM FANTASY: Divide The Ride (www.dividetheride.com) is a free Internet tool that creates a car-pool calendar based on participating families' schedules, then sends it via e-mail and text message to each participating parent. Using this simple application, a parent can open a free account, enter their kids' activity info and invite other families to carpool. So if your daughter plays soccer with several other kids from the neighborhood, you can figure out a sane and environmentally friendly way to get all the players to practices and games. How very 2008.

PARENT PODCASTS: If you're an iPod mom, check out Sabrina Weissler's tour guide-style podcasts that focus on things to do with kids in L.A. Aside from the standard local attractions - Long Beach Aquarium, Disneyland - Weissler offers a show about local independent toy stores and an interview with Nanny Stella Reid from Nanny 911. www.LAwithkids.com

BLOG POLITICS: MomLogic is seeking a few good moms to blog their thoughts about the 2008 election. Whether you're left wing, right wing or somewhere in the middle, e-mail them and you may be chosen to contribute to the Moms the Vote campaign.

http://www.momlogic.com/forms/info.php

TOY TRACKER: For parents who track these things, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency responsible for making sure toys sold in the U.S. aren't tainted with lead or other toxins, is getting a big funding increase for fiscal 2008 that should help it do a better job. Under an appropriations bill passed last month by Congress, the agency will get $80million this year, $17million more than in 2007. According to press reports, that's the biggest budget hike for the agency in 30 years.

ZEN DAD: If more fathers thought about parenting the way Leo Babauta does, there would be a lot more happy moms - and kids - out there. The father of six writes Zenhabits (zenhabits.net), a blog devoted to productivity and simple living. His How to be a Great Dad list is among the best I've seen, instructing dads to read to the kids, do the mom stuff and, most important, give kids your time.

For more on work, family and parenting in L.A., go to www.insidesocal.com/momspace/ barbara.correa@dailynews.com 818-713-3662

Oh pre-teen and teenaged girls. The tortured soul, the raw emotion, the unbelievable sensitivity of young girls. I figure we have a good ten years until we'll be confronted with all this as parents, and I joke that my husband will be so old by then that a lot of the drama won't register. Still, it's never too early to prepare.

The current January/February issue of Daughters magazine (www.daughters.com) focuses on nurturing the parent-daughter relationship during the angst-ridden tween years. Here are some highlights:

*Steer her from smoking: One in four girls smoke by high-school
graduation--effective tactics to curb smoking from a leader of a
girls' tobacco-free group

*Girl-led conflict resolution: Teach your girl to work out
disagreements with friends using six simple steps

*Get an inactive girl moving: Guidance for girls who aren't jocks to
enjoy the brain- and body-boosting benefits of exercise; plus tips on
using active play to build girl-parent bonds

*Eating disorder 911: What to do if you think your daughter could
have a dangerous eating problem

There's also a nice pullout section about handling the "do-not disturb'' treatment.

In an attempt to keep sex offenders off Web sites like Myspace and Facebook, the New Jersey state legislature passed a law last week restricting Internet use for sex offenders who used the Web to help them commit sex crimes. The rule is being called an update to Megan's Law, which requires sex offenders to register after being released.

According to the New York Times, there are no federal laws restricting sex offenders’ use of the Internet, and Florida and Nevada are the only other states to impose such restrictions. My question is how effective is this going to be when simply keeping track of registered sex offenders seems to be too big a job in itself?