Blog Posts by Babble.com

gay teensWe can talk about supporting marriage equality and gay acceptance all we want, but LGBT teens still struggle with all sorts of bullying, homelessness and other issues related to oppression. Even legal issues. A Florida crisis case right now illustrates the precariousness of being an LGBT teen in a frightening way.

A high school student is facing felony charges because on her 18th birthday the parents of her girlfriend decided to legally harass her. I don't understand why law enforcement is assisting this, because if Kaitlyn were an 18-year-old boy they wouldn't be involved. In Florida, typically legal action about consensual relationships between teens would only be pursued if the one person is 24-years-old or older.

Related: 10 things a mother should NEVER say to her daughter

It seems clear that Kaitlyn is in trouble because she's gay. There is a window of time where she has already turned 18 and before her girlfriend turns 16, and carefully timed prosecution is

Who's Afraid of the Dentist?I admit that I am not a big fan of the dentist. Unfortunately I was in contact with some less than stellar dentists when I was a kid and that fear has stuck with me ever since. I am trying hard not to let my own anxiety interfere with my kids' relationships with their dentist and I am thankful that, so far, none of my children have expressed or shown any fears or anxieties of their own.

We all know that oral health is a large part of our overall health and having access to dental care is important. Finding the right dentist for your child is key. The right dentist will take the time to answer your questions, address your fears, be up to date on the latest research, and know how to help keep your kids at ease.

The dentist chair is intimidating any way you look at it. (Those tools!) It's important to find a dentist who knows how to put those little ones at ease. (And the parents too.) When you are looking for the right dentist for you and your family, there are a few questions you

I LOVE dessert. I have a sweet tooth to beat the band. The only thing is that I am trying to loose the baby weight and I need to keep my dessert intake in check. That means I try and concentrate on skinny desserts, or things that satisfy my sweet tooth without filling me up with a billion unnecessary calories. This is not always easy, as you might imagine, but I manage. Here are a few of my favorite sweet and skinny spring desserts! - Kelsey Banfield

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The conversation about whether it is ever a good idea to give a goodbye gift while ending a relationship, all spurred by a Ryan Seacrest-Julianne Hough rumor (worry not, TMZ put an end to the controversy with a definitive statement by a "source"), led my thoughts back to the dating and break-up days before I met the Not Boyfriend.

During that time, I was dating (which was new, after a divorce from an 11-year relationship), pushing myself to go out with men I might not have previously considered (corporate lawyers? much older men? much younger men? also new) and being observant of how and who I was on each of those dinners, hikes and even one-nighters. It wasn't all a science project, but there was certainly some healthy experimenting. I was finding my way to a different identity, and it was good for me to stretch beyond my comfort zone. That included taking note of how the relationships (or arrangements, or meetings) came to an end.

Cooking with watermelon is always a pleasure in the summer months. Watermelon is naturally sweet and refreshing due to the high water content of the fruit. So many great treats can be made from its sweet juices. Usually these treats start from watermelon that has been pureed and strained so the juice is collected. Once you have a pitcher of sweet juice on your hand you can make almost anything. Here are some of our favorite refreshing watermelon treats that are perfect for kids and adults alike! - Kelsey Banfield

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Hollywood actor's heights













I blame the pressure for actresses and leading ladies to be unnaturally thin in Hollywood directly on Hollywood's little leading men. Many A-list male actors in Hollywood are short. Though the words "short" and "tall" are relative I suppose. So let's rely on facts: there are more male actors under 5'9″ than over 5'9″ and this is why there is so much pressure on female actors to be teeny tiny and unhealthily thin in Hollywood.

Think about it, if an actress is 5'7″ tall, how on earth is she going to get a role as the leading lady when Tom Cruise is the same exact height? Though men generally are built with a larger frame and bone structure than women, this isn't always the case. Some men are very slight in stature, but the camera tends to help men look meatier (and thus "manlier") on screen and hinder women in the same way, because in our society, skinny is sought after over healthy. So a woman with a larger bone structure, at a healthy weight for her height, is going to appear to be

miss lori age 3I had a really difficult conversation with my mother this week. It was about the very first time I was sexually abused as a child. I say first time because there were a number of instances after that. And truthfully, in a way I have been victimized for decades, only just now scratching the surface of my truth to get at the business of healing. Part of that healing is asking questions that I have been unable to in the past, unwilling or just plain old too terrified to ask. But the past four years I have been on a slow and painfully arduous personal journey. On the eve of my 43rd birthday, I felt compelled to ask questions that had been haunting me ever so subtly for decades.

Related: Simple tips for preventing sexual abuse in children

My first abuse event happened at my preschool in Milwaukee. It's taken me nearly four decades to begin to peel the onion back and examine the smelly, tear inducing veins of my victim experience. But if I didn't start to do it, if I didn't get

When I became a mother at 22, I still had a lot to learn about personal style. About adult style, I should say. The evolution of the way you dress can be affected by lots of different people and circumstances in your life, but some influences are stronger than others. And - believe it or not - some of my biggest style lessons so far came from my kid. Here are 7 things motherhood taught me about style:

-By Michelle Horton

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