• By Signe Whitson for GalTime.com

    Mean Girls Mean Girls When I co-wrote The Angry Smile, I did not intend it to be a How-To book. In fact, I know lots of ways to be assertive, direct, and emotionally honest with others. But let's face it, sometimes a situation calls for a little passive aggressive behavior...

    My 8-year-old daughter has a frenemy. She has known this un-friend--and experienced the girl's on-again, off-again spitefulness--since they were in pre-school together. The girl, in fact, is the subject of a previous article that I wrote, Sticks and Stones: A Little Girl's First Experience with Bullying.

    Things haven't changed much with this girl over the last four years. At times she is delightful and I must credit her with having an uncanny knack for charming her peers and making them want to please her. Even in her mean girl moments, she is so subtle and innocent-seeming (her extra-small stature seems to play into this) that I understand fully how she gets her covertly cruel jabs in before

    Read More »from Mean Girl Meets Passive Aggressive Mom: Game On
  • Kids Online

    WHEN TO WORRY

    The more hours teenagers spend using a computer or watching TV, the weaker their emotional bonds with their parents, reports a study of more than 3,000 adolescents published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. On the other hand, teens who spent more time reading and doing homework reported feeling closer to their moms and dads. "Strong attachment to parents" - a bond of understanding, trust, and affection - "is protective against poor psychological health and participation in risky health behaviors," the study's authors note, so "concern about high levels of screen time is warranted."
    3 Smart Ways to Handle Their Screen Time

    • Screen time can make a kid fat. Kelly Laurson, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology and recreation at Illinois State University, asked more than 700 children to wear pedometers and report how much time they spent watching TV and playing video games. He found that a lack of exercise and a surfeit of screen time each

    Read More »from When to Worry About Your Kids' Online Habits



  • Aries (March 21 - April 19)
    Busy is as busy does. You may find you're run ragged trying to keep up with your busy schedule. Try to take a breather. Your little tyke as well will benefit from a chance to rest and regroup for a while.

    Today's Aries Reading: Free Sample Chakra Reading


    Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
    Springtime is the perfect time to plant some seeds. Today, it might be literally as a fun activity with your little one. Or to imbed some helpful hints about good behavior that may take time to fully flower in their character.

    Today's Taurus Reading: Free Sample Past Life Reading


    Gemini (May 21 - June 21)
    Does it seem like your little tyke is ready to say that first word or communicate in another way? Today, especially, you'll want to make sure that you stay alert. Missing such a momentous occasion can be
    Read More »from Astrology.Com Daily MomScopes -- Tuesday March 27, 2012
  • Dear Mini Meatball...Dear Mini Meatball...Hey Mini Meatball. We have a situation!

    I hope you don't mind if I call you Mini Meatball but you're not going to have an official name for a few more months -although I have a sneaking suspicion that "Mini Meatball" may end up being preferable to what goes on your birth certificate. I don't want to scare you but celebrities aren't famous for picking good baby names. Jermaine Jackson has a kid named Jermajesty and the guy from Korn went with Pirate. I seriously doubt that someone who willingly calls herself Snooki will be the exception. But let's not worry about that now! You have bigger things to concentrate on -like growing toenails.

    Related: 8 signs you've gone to the parenting dark side

    As a mom, I wanted to let you know that I am pulling for you. Sure, things make look dark from where you float. Just because you're only the size of an avocado right now doesn't mean you're completely oblivious. I'm sure you'd like nothing better than to just GKN (gestate, kick, nap) but you must

    Read More »from Dear Mini Meatball: An Open Letter to Snooki's Fetus
  • Actress January JonesMost mammals eat their own placenta after giving birth and according to "Mad Men's" January Jones, more women should try ingesting their offspring's afterbirth as well.

    Related: Mad Men Era Advertisements

    Speaking at a press junket before the show's season premiere, the actress told People magazine that she pops a dehydrated placenta capsule when she's feeling tired or blue. "Its not witch-crafty or anything, I suggest it to all moms!" Jones enthused. Since the 34 year-old single mom was able to return to the set about seven weeks after her son Xander was born, her controversial elixir may be working.

    There is little scientific evidence to show any benefits to eating placenta, but advocates say that it helps increase milk flow and ease post-partum depression. Speaking with the BBC, obstetrician Maggie Blott explained, "Animals eat their placenta to get nutrition--but when people are already well-nourished, there is no benefit, there is no reason to do it."

    Still, there is a

    Read More »from January Jones Eats Own Placenta: Healthy or Ick?
  • The author's husband as a new dad.The author's husband as a new dad.
    If you're reading this, chances are good that you've read my previous posts on stuff you shouldn't say to people, particularly pregnant women and new moms. In my effort to help society (and myself) stop saying boneheaded things all the time, here's a cheat sheet of comments we should all avoid saying to another key group: new dads. Feel free to add your own ideas and experiences in the comments section below, so that we may all be further enlightened!

    Read More: 25 Things You Should Never Say to a New Mom

    1. "Are you sure he's yours?" That's a great way to call a man stupid and his wife a slut at the exact same time. I don't care if the baby comes out looking exactly like his best friend. Unless you are extremely close with a person you should never voice concerns over his child's parentage.

    2. "Sorry you had a girl." I've actually heard this one said before, although not to the dad's face. It seems that some people think that men are disappointed by any baby that

    Read More »from 10 Things You Should Never Say to a New Dad
  • by Lexi Dwyer, Epicurious.comPhoto: Condé Nast ArchivePhoto: Condé Nast Archive

    Hosting a children's Easter party should be fun and easy. So what's there to do besides hiding some eggs? In fact, young guests (and their parents) will have a better time if you tailor the festivities to their ages. "You don't want the little kids getting lost in the shuffle or the older ones getting bored-giving the day some structure allows everyone to participate," says Leesa Zelken of Send in the Clowns, a children's party company based in Los Angeles.

    Related: Easter Baskets for Food Lovers

    With help from Zelken as well as entertaining experts Amy Atlas, Linda Kaye, Xiomara Roman, and Gwynn Wasson, we've put together a complete guide to planning and executing a lively and manageable Easter egg hunt for kids of all ages in your home or backyard. Read on for tips on what kind of eggs to use and where to hide them, plus creative ideas for prizes, food, and decor.

    Party Prep

    Size Up Your Space

    First, decide whether your event will happen indoors or

    Read More »from How to Host an Easter Egg Hunt
  • How to talk to white kids about raceHow to talk to white kids about raceIf you are a white mother of white kids, like I am, you have probably been watching as the Trayvon Martin murder story unfolds with a sick feeling in your stomach. Because a black boy was stalked and murdered by an adult with a history of stalking other black boys and no one in law enforcement seems to care. But also because you know that your children could end up being part of a system that allows this to happen.

    I'm not suggesting that any of our children are going to be racist predators like George Zimmerman. But there were an awful lot of systematic things that allowed Zimmerman to murder a child in cold blood that shouldn't have happened-a community unwilling to talk productively about race, fear on all sides, complacency (maybe even complicity) of law enforcement, inaction by people who witnessed Zimmerman's verbal and written rants about black people (especially boys). If that system had been healthy and functioning, Zimmerman wouldn't have been given de facto permission to

    Read More »from Talking About Race with My White Kids: How Trayvon's Tragedy Affects Us All
  • When Diaper Duty Calls..

    Most moms have experienced the moment when they realize their baby needs an emergency diaper change pronto and there happens to be no bathroom equipped with a changing table in site. This situation can get even more difficult if you happen to be in an upscale restaurant or boutique where those around you may not want to get down and dirty with your diaper changing duties.

    Though it happens to all of us, there is still no easy solution. Do you stop what you're doing, find an outdoor bench somewhere out of the way, run home, or just plop the little one on the floor and make the change as quickly as possible pretending those around you are not staring in your direction?

    And it's not just us every day moms that face this diaper changing dilemma, celebs struggle too. A few months ago Today Moms featured a photo of Victoria Beckham changing her littlest one's diaper smack dab in the middle of a Marc Jacobs store. And back when Britney Spears' children were in diapers she

    Read More »from When Diaper Duty Calls..
  • Easter Egg Hunt Ideas

    Daisy Kuchins is a blogger who shares her thoughts with us at SheSpeaks

    Easter egg hunts are pure fun for children of all ages. This Easter, provide kids with a variety of exciting Easter egg hunt ideas. Here are some fun Easter egg hunt ideas for kids and kids at heart.

    1. Checklist Easter Egg Hunt

    Provide each child with a list of the type of eggs he or she must find. As the child finds the items, he can check them off of the list. The child who completes his or her checklist first wins a prize. Here is a sample Easter egg checklist:

    • Find 2 yellow eggs
    • Find 3 green eggs
    • Find 1 gold egg
    • Find 2 blue eggs
    • Find 3 pink eggs

    2. Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt:

    Use plastic eggs with notes inside to create a backyard scavenger hunt. Give each child a different clue to start on. You can use a combination of regular eggs and clue eggs, or just clue eggs. You can also have the clues pertain to where they can find a prize. Possible clues are:

    • "Sticks and
    Read More »from Easter Egg Hunt Ideas

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