Blog Posts by Redbook

Juzant/Digital Vision/Getty ImagesRegular life often feels like a workout - but does it count toward the 30 minutes of physical activity you're supposed to get each day to ward off weight gain and heart disease? Sometimes! The facts, from Robert Stoner, president of the American Health and Fitness Association.

Carrying your baby: It's not exercise.
It may leave your arms sore, but hoisting a baby or even a toddler doesn't rate as a workout in the health sense because it doesn't engage your cardiovascular system. What's more, studies show that women carrying things slow down, which prevents you from burning as many fat calories as you would walking solo or pushing a stroller briskly for 20 minutes.

Related: How to Find Your Magic Weight

Dashing up and down the stairs: It's exercise!
Stair workouts slash more calories than walking does - up to 100 calories in 15 minutes. So making 10 trips up and down between floors of your house counts as at least part of your daily workout requirement.

Related: Low Carb Recipes That

Getty ImagesThere's been a lot of noise about little girls acting and dressing way too sexy lately. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't that concerned when Miley Cyrus took her clothes off, or when her then-9-year-old sister, Noah, showed up for a Los Angeles Halloween event dressed in what looked like a Goth hooker outfit. (Those crazy child stars, I said to myself.) I rolled my eyes at the YouTube clip of scantily clad 8- and 9-year-olds in a dance competition, pelvis-thrusting to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies"; it reminded me of the show Toddlers & Tiaras - disturbing, but very different from the reality of most kids. But then I started hearing reports from my real-life friends. One complained that they only make padded training bras now and that her sixth-grader looked like a Pamela Anderson wannabe. Another called to talk about her 6-year-old's dance-recital costume: fuchsia hotpants with heart appliqués on each buttock. The insanity seems to be trickling down to real girls - our girls.

The terrifying

by Charlotte Hilton Andersen, REDBOOK

"Four snow days and one late start; plus tomorrow school will probably either be canceled or a late start. And that's just in January! It's ridiculous!" I was talking with my friend Beth, newly relocated to the East Coast, as she cruised the grocery store trying to stock up last night before yet another mammoth snow storm rolled in, trapping her and her five children at home for another round of everyone's favorite game "Entertain Me, Mommy!".

Related: 7 Secrets of Low-Stress Families

With La Niña bringing in record snow fall around the country, moms everywhere are scrambling to figure out what to do with bored kiddos stranded indoors for days at a time. Sure Mother Nature is known for her mood swings and property destruction, but disgruntled kids take a close second. While here in Minnesota we haven't had a snow day yet (State motto: Snotcicles build character!), being trapped indoors led my three rowdy to boys to swing from my chandelier. They

by Jessica Smith, REDBOOK

Are the shorter daylight hours, post holiday blues and cold temperatures making you want to just stay in bed? Then do it! This is the best time of year to make over your bedroom and turn it into a sexy sanctuary that will keep you warm until Spring.

Here are five easy ways to turn up the heat in your bedroom for under $60:

This is probably the easiest way to open up space and help channel some sensual energy in your bedroom - and it won't cost a thing! (In fact, you may find some money during your cleaning process). Toss or donate anything you haven't used in at least a month, and be sure to put items that don't belong in your bedroom (kids' toys, Fido's flea collar, unused exercise equipment - so not sexy) in their proper place.

According to the principles of Feng Shui, your bedroom should be filled with warm colors like red, yellow, brown

I think we can all agree that Gwyneth Paltrow is a silly goose. She "writes" (or peruses over her morning chai latte while an assistant lies prostrate before her) a newsletter, GOOP, that's supposed to relate to us, the working moms and women of the world. The regular folk, like her! Who might be interested in purchasing an "ultra-masculine" $600 briefcase for the man in their lives, or a $400 pair of platform boots - you know, for when it's all icy out! Perfect for when you're scraping your windshield first thing in the a.m.

As you may have heard, in her recent newsletter, a frazzled working mom is given "advice" on finding balance from Gwyneth and her two equally clueless and obscenely wealthy friends. It's a pretty outrageous and unintentionally hilarious piece of work, but the anti-Gwyneth rage that's emerged as a reaction is leaving me feeling...icky. Apparently we've all, collectively, been waiting to pounce on Gwyneth. On Gawker, commenters hissed, "Someone needs to punch her

Photo Credit: Nina Shannon/iStockSpray tans for 5-year-olds? A flipper (a row of fake teeth) for a 6-year-old who was just visited by the tooth fairy? Enough hair extensions and make-up for a Vegas show girl being used on a girl who may not even know how to tie her shoes yet? Welcome to the world or child beauty pageants. One mom on "Toddlers & Tiaras" gives a rundown on all the prep work involved to compete in the pageants. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Pageant moms argue that these competitions are fun for the girls and teach them poise and confidence. The girls on the show seem to be second or third generation "pageant girls" raised by moms who competed, but what if your daughter actually comes to you wanting to compete?

Related: Little Girls Gone Wild: Why Our Daughters Are Acting Too Sexy, Too Soon

"As a child, I was literally dying to be in pageants," says REDBOOK social programming editor Marissa Gold. "Dance recitals were not enough for me, and any type of performance environment was right up my alley.

by Charlotte Hilton Andersen, REDBOOK

Confession: All of my children, ages 8, 7, 4 and 1, wear velcro shoes and it isn't because Forrest Gump is their style icon. They can't tie their shoes. There, I said it out loud. It isn't for lack of teaching moments, but rather what I've been using those teaching moments for, as evidenced by my two oldest sons texting me to remind me that they only like their peppers raw and sliced. (We won't talk about the fact they were texting me from the living room while I stood 20 feet away in the kitchen.)

What kind of kids have the manual dexterity and know-how to text on their daddy's smartphone but can't wear Chuck T's to save their lives? A lot of them apparently! According to the security firm AVG, 19 percent of kids ages two to five can use a smartphone but only 9 percent can make the bunny run around the tree or whatever it is we're using these days to teach kids to tie their shoes. (Maybe that's our problem - bad analogies ruin everything!)

It

In what is often described as one of the most controversial topics among moms today, REDBOOK readers shared their thoughts on whether spanking your kids is appropriate or completely off-limits. It's hard to find a more polarizing and hot-button parenting topic. Parents are divided, with 57 percent of parents admitting to spanking their kids in a 2002 Public Agenda poll.

Most moms don't count spanking out completely - 55 percent of readers reported that they spank their kidswhen they feel it's appropriate. REDBOOK Facebook fan Nikki says, "Yes I sure did [spank] when they were 2 and 3 years old...and I have never had to do it since. Ask anyone about what WONDERFUL kids I have!"

Related: The 140-Pound Toddler and Other Shocking Kid News

But some readers are vehemently against physical punishment in any form, with 14 percent of moms stating that they never have and never will spank. Concerned reader Karrin puts it plainly, "Why do you think we have so much problems with domestic abuse?