Blog Posts by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

Should doctors give Plan B prescriptions out in advance?The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on Monday recommended that doctors talk to their adolescent patients about emergency contraception and offer advance prescriptions of Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill, to girls younger than 17.

Related: Should parents allow teens to have sex at home?

"Despite significant declines over the past two decades, the United States continues to have teen birth rates that are significantly higher than other industrialized nations," reads the group's new policy statement, which will be published in the December issue of the journal "Pediatrics." "Adolescents are more likely to use emergency contraception if it has been prescribed in advance of need."

Susan Wood, the former assistant commissioner for women's health at the Food and Drug Administration, called the AAP decision "significant."

"It's not often you see physician organizations saying that their patients are better off without the physician involvement," she pointed out.

As a

Read More »from Should Pediatricians Give Kids Access to the Morning After Pill in Advance?

Jenna Bush Hager and her husband, Henry Chase Hager, in October. (Photo: Gary Gershoff/WireImage/Getty)Even after years of living in New York, Jenna Bush Hager says she's never strayed far from her Texas roots. Now, the daughter of former President George W. Bush once known for her party-hearty personality, will have a chance to let her Southern side shine as the editor at large of Southern Living magazine.

"I'm kind of like a homesick Texan living in New York," she told the New York Times. "I grew up reading this magazine. My mom had a subscription. It's something that I've always known about."

Related: Jenna Bush Hager interviews her dad on "Today"

She'll be contributing to the magazine's celebrity-news fueled "Paper Napkin Interview" column and blogging for them at The Daily South, where she'll also cross-post from The Novo Project, an inspirational blog she founded with her friend Mia Baxter.

Related: Presidents' kids talk about life at the White House

Southern Living was launched in 1966 "to highlight the beauty and culture of the growing South," according to its publisher,

Read More »from Jenna Bush Hager Joins Southern Living Magazine

Consumer watchdogs have put these toys on their 2012 Dangerous Toys lists. (Photo: Fisher Price and Hasbro)Dora the Explorer guitars and backpacks, toy food, Power Rangers helmets, and Incredible Hulk hands are among the toys that consumer watchdogs have listed among their most-dangerous toys of 2012.

Related: 7 Baby Toys That Drive Parents Crazy

While the U.S Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) admits that toys today are safer than they've ever been before, there are still dangerous and/or toxic toys on store shelves, the group warned in their 27th annual "Trouble in Toyland" report, which they released on Tuesday.

Related: 8 Old-School Toys That Need to Make a Comeback

"The main trend that we saw this year was that we didn't find as many toxic toys as we thought we would," Nasima Hossain, a public health advocate with PIRG said during a recent press conference. "We should be able to trust that the toys we buy are safe. However, until that's the case, parents need to watch out for common hazards when shopping for toys."

Related: Mom Fights to Ban Toxins in School Supplies

Among those

Read More »from The Most Dangerous Toys of 2012

Should funeral homes wear pink to raise breast cancer awareness? (Photo: Wearthepink.com)A company that provides clothes to funeral homes has come out with special pink blazers that they say are meant to honor families who have battled breast cancer. But while the light-pink clothing met with rave reviews among funeral directors, the general public seems to think that Wear the Pink might go beyond the pale.

"Personalization and Service are two key components in the ever-changing funeral and cemetery industry," FD Suits, says on its Wear the Pink website. "Wear the Pink is a unique way to provide an optional serve and product to families who have battled breast cancer."

The pink blazers were introduced at the National Funeral Director's Association International Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October. Wear the Pink's website prominently displays the pink-ribbon badge that many consumers associate with breast cancer research.

Critics are calling it yet another example of "pink washing" -- when companies take advantage of the color and cause to boost sales --

Read More »from Company Offers Pink Breast-Cancer Awareness Blazers for Funeral Home Staff

Elmo and puppeteer Kevin Clash at the 34th Kennedy Center Honors on December 4, 2011. (Photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage) Kevin Clash -- the puppeteer who brought Elmo to life -- announced on Tuesday that he is resigning from "Sesame Street" as news broke of a second man accusing him of sexual abuse.

Related: Should "Sesame Street" Teach Kids About Breastfeeding?

"I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart. I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization," 52-year-old Clash said in a statement on Tuesday. "Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately."

"This is a sad day for Sesame Street," representatives from Sesame Workshop said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street."

Read More »from Kevin Clash, the Voice of Elmo on Sesame Street, Resigns. Do You Have to Tell Your Kids?

The classic version of Guess Who has way more boys than girls. (Photo: Hasbro.com)When Jennifer O'Connell's 6-year-old daughter noticed that her version of the classic game Guess Who? had way more boy characters than girl ones, she got mad. Mad enough to send a letter to Hasbro's U.K. division, asking them to "fix it soon," before parents notice and start "thinking that girls are not important."

Dear Hasbro,

My name is R______. I am six years old. I think it's not fair to only have 5 girls in Guess Who and 19 boys. It is not only boys who are important, girls are important too. If grown ups get into thinking that girls are not important they won't give little girls much care.

Also if girls want to be a girl in Guess Who they'll always lose against a boy, and it will be harder for them to win. I am cross about that and if you don't fix it soon, my mum could throw Guess Who out.

My mum typed this message but I told her what to say.

She made some pretty good points, but Hasbro's response was less than enlightening (and way less kid-friendly than one from Read More »from 6-year-old to Hasbro: Why Aren't There More Girls in Guess Who?

There's no doubt that Kate Moss is worth millions of dollars. But what's news is that at least $1.6 million of it may be inked onto her lower back.


In an interview with Vanity Fair, the super-skinny supermodel talked about her insecurities ("I hated my boobs!" she says), her paycheck (she still makes up to $400,000 for a day's work), and her breakup with actor Johnny Depp ("Nightmare. Years and years of crying"). And she also revealed that some of her body art was drawn on by the legendary German-born British painter Lucian Freud.

The 38-year-old fashion icon was pregnant with her daughter, Lila, when she met Freud in 2002. After telling a British magazine that the painter was the person she'd most love to meet, she got a call from his daughter, Bella Freud, saying, "My dad wants to meet you."

PHOTOS: Kate Moss and Other Celebs Without Makeup

She went to Freud's house for dinner, and he started painting her portrait that night. "Naked Portrait 2002" shows Moss nude and heavily Read More »from Kate Moss and Her $1.6 Million Tattoo

What happens when your employer makes breastfeeding more difficult? (Photo: Corbis)A former teacher and new mom in California is suing the Carmel Unified School District after being told to try to train her body not to lactate so she wouldn't have to pump breast milk during working hours.

Related: Woman Behind Controversial Military Breastfeeding Photo is Fired

Sarah Ann Lewis Boyle was hired by the Carmelo School in August, 2010, to take care of kids age six months to four years old in their Child Development Center. In September 2011, after the birth of her first child, she met with her supervisor to talk about her return from maternity leave. Her doctor wanted her to breastfeed her infant son, she said, and she would need 15 to 20 minutes each day between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to pump breast milk.

Related: One Dad Says No to Breastfeeding

The request was well within the guidelines of California law, which states: "Every employer… shall provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's infant

Read More »from California Teacher Sues School District Over Breastfeeding Rights