Blog Posts by Parents.com

"I have no control over what my child does." This realization ranks as one of the scarier discoveries in parenthood. And sooner or later, no matter how good your child is, you still come face to face with this truth.

While you can't control them, you can work on building a relationship in which they respect you and listen to what you have to say.

Need a better discipline strategy? Get some new ideas.

Dave Herz knows this firsthand. In addition to being a psychotherapist and founder and director of therapeutic services at Vive, a Boulder, Colorado-based organization that counsels families and coaches parents to create more meaningful relationships, he's also a father.

Regardless of your child's age-toddler, tween, or teen-there are a few things to keep in mind when speaking with them, Herz says. "There's a lot of overlap when we're talking about how to get kids to listen and how to communicate, because in a lot of ways 2-year-olds and teenagers have a lot in

To snip or not to snip? It's a question that every son's parents must ask themselves. In recent years more and more parents are opting against circumcision. In 2006, 56 percent of boys in the United States were circumcised, and those numbers varied dramatically by region, with 34 percent in the western states and 78 percent in the north central states.

Should your son be circumcised? Questions to ask before you make the call.

Whether it's a religious, cultural or medical decision, parents should consider and discuss the choice with their physician first, says Dr. Douglas Diekema, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics task force on circumcision.

"I'm not someone who would push parents strongly in one direction or another on this issue," Diekema says, "but what I would say is that in addition to weighing the pros and cons, parents should also consider that this is a decision, given what

Can this veggie convince a baby to arrive faster?The photographic "baby wall" comes as a bit of a surprise if you've never been to Scalini's Restaurant in Cobb County, Georgia. All 300-plus babies were born after their mothers ate the same dish at the Italian restaurant: Eggplant Parmigiana.

The legend has been alive nearly since the restaurant opened 25 years ago, and draws masses of pregnant women through the doors ever since. Knowing that not everyone can make the trek to Georgia, the restaurant owners even posted the recipe on their website.

Not sure when to start eating Eggplant Parmigiana? Try Parents.com's Due Date Predictor.

Whether or not you're a believer in the legend, eggplant is one of many foods rumored to help start labor in a natural way. According to Sherri Ruerup, director of the Nurse Midwifery Group at Swedish Covenant Hospital, there are a number of much more precise (and tried-and-true) ways to naturally get labor going.

"I tell patients that nothing's going to throw you into labor unless

Sometimes it feels like the more you want it, the longer it takes. Dr. Hal Danzer, fertility specialist and partner and co-founder of Southern California Reproductive Center, shared the following tips about the best sex position for getting pregnant and more.

Want to get pregnant faster? Read Parents.com's 7-step quick guide!

1. Position: Missionary.

There's no real scientific evidence that one position is much more effective than any other. But the goal of baby-making sex is to get the sperm as close as possible to the cervix. That means deep thrusting is the way to go, which in turn means the man-on-top-woman-on-bottom gives you the best angle for close access. (For more baby-making sex tips, read on!) Doggy style, on the other hand, tends to be the least effective in getting pregnant.

2. Tilt those hips.

Following sex, a woman should put her hips on a pillow and lie there for about 20 minutes. That helps the seminal fluid pool in the back of the vagina,

Even if your home smells of bleach and passes the white-glove test, reading the next few paragraphs may inspire you to jump into a giant vat of antibacterial gel. That's because no matter how clean you think you are, germs are everywhere. Hear that? Everywhere: In the washing machine. Buried in the mattress. Lurking on the salt and pepper shakers.

Get your kids to wash their hands and other easy, hygiene solutions!

We asked a germ expert to spill the dirt about the microbe-iest spots around. Dr. Charles Gerba, who is a microbiologist at the University of Arizona's Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, and consultant to Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System as well as the co-author of The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu: Guerilla Tactics to Keep Yourself Healthy at Home, at Work and in the World, remarked, "We won't always be able to prevent ourselves from coming into contact with germs, butit's absolutely imperative to our health to do

As 2010 approaches, there's one thing we know we can count on: A whole slew of new babies joining us on the planet. While celebrities busy themselves coming up with names to top one another (like Jamie Oliver's Petal Blossom Rainbow and Erykah Badu's Mars Merkaba), regular parents are embracing traditional names now more than ever.

See what names were hottest with parents in 2009!

A new national survey for family history Web site, Ancestry.com, found 49 percent of us are named after a family member and 57 percent of new parents name their child after a family member. Of those children given a family name, approximately one-third are named after their father, about 17 percent bear their grandfather's name, and close to 15 percent are named for their grandmother.

Men outnumber women when it comes to passing names on, with 20 percent of men getting both their first and middle name from a family member.

"We found that looking to the family tree for

Baby bumps were a hot look this year, with some of our favorite sitcom actresses, movie stars, and reality TV guilty pleasures sporting a maternal glow. Here's who topped our baby bump list in 2009! And keep reading for even more celeb baby mania!

1. Gisele Bundchen The internationally-known supermodel went from highest-paid model in the world to most-watched mom when she and New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, became pregnant following their February wedding. This is Bundchen's first child. Brady has a son, John, from a previous relationship with actress Bridget Moynahan.
Bundle of Joy! The couple welcomed a baby boy on December 8.

2. Alyson Hannigan A star on the hit comedy How I Met Your Mother previously played Willow Rosenberg on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She's been married to her husband, Buffy the Vampire Slayer costar Alexis Denisof, since 2003. Her biggest pregnancy craving? Ginger ale!
Bundle of Joy! Satyana Denisof was born March 24th, 2009 -- it was also Alyson's

Want more great toy ideas? For the best in baby toys, click here.

Need fun toddler picks, click here. And for toys that will wow the big kids, try these.

By Kate Silver for Parents.com.