Filed under: Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, In the news, Gadgets & tech, Mealtime, Resources

Would you use the new milk jug? Or, are you wedded to the cardboard cartons of what is soon to be the past? I remember when I was a kid and we got milk delivered to our house every week in a glass bottle. Nothing tasted more refreshing. By the time I was a teen those days were gone and we got cartons. Now, those cartons are being replaced by something less expensive to produce and more environmentally sound.

Sound good? It is. Still, the new concept has some consumers fuming, or at least perplexed. The problem with the new milk jug is that it SPILLS. Kids drink more milk than anybody, and this new design, being favored by places like Wal-Mart and Costco, which is becoming more available by the day, is not easy to use.

Kids have trouble pouring anyway, but the new milk jug, so foreign in its design to many, makes that simple task more manageable. Some sellers have taken it upon themselves to educate consumers on the how-to, to make pouring from the jug easier. Folks still are a little unnerved by the square shape of the jug--and they're not convinced the same old milk is in there. I had the same problem with Parmalat. Now I love it, but it was hard getting used to it at first.

What about you? Had any experience with the new milk? And???

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Filed under: Teens & tweens, Health & safety, In the news, Environment

This chilling incident luckily had a (mostly) happy ending. A fourteen-year-old girl was attacked by a bear during a bike race in Alaska but was saved by her 911 phone call. The teenager, who remains unnamed as of press-time, was participating in a 24-hour long mountain bike race in Anchorage when she was mauled.

The girl was able to make a call to 911, wherein all she was able to say was the word "bear." She later underwent surgery at a local hospital. Experts say the bear was probably a sow grizzly, and some speculate it was the same bear that went after two joggers earlier thew past week.

Dispatchers called the girl back as part of regular procedure, and another biker heard the ringing and went onto the darkened trail to investigate, discovering the teenager. Another biker remained with her until help arrived, despite the knowledge of the bear attack. Although little information has been released about the teen's condition, Police Lieutenant. Paul Honeman said the girl was in a fight for her life.

Grizzly pic by Ber'Zophus.

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Filed under: Newborns, Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Eating & nutrition, Mealtime

Lesley Porcelli over at Gourmet isn't a mom yet, but she's well on her way and pondering what kind of eater her kid will be. Like a lot of non-parents, she readily admits that she has strong opinions about successful parenting, particularly when it comes to feeding the child. And when it comes to picky eaters, Porcelli is pretty sure that parents are to blame.

Her theory goes something like this: If the whole family sits down to eat together and nobody makes a big deal out of what is on the plate, the kid will happily chow down without complaint. If a parent assumes the kid wouldn't touch a lasagna with a ten foot pole and therefore doesn't bother to offer it, chances are good that the kid will subsist on nuggets and fries until maturity.

I think Porcelli has it only partly right. Kids aren't blank slates waiting to be molded into actual people. Even as they try their first bites of solid food, they are individuals with their own likes and dislikes. From her first bite of pureed chicken as a baby, my Ellie disliked meat. She gobbled up the fruits and veggies, but spat out anything that tasted of animal. I don't know if her aversion was about texture or taste, but to this day she would sooner eat a plate of green beans than a bite of chicken. For Ellie, it isn't about not wanting to try new foods (she loves crab cakes and calamari), she just doesn't like meat.

That said, I do think parents can - and should - influence what foods their child will consume. The old "just take one bite" routine works well for us and is the reason we can all enjoy a plate of calamari together. But in the end, I don't worry too much about my picky eater. After all, I lived off bologna and mustard sandwiches as a kid and I survived just fine.

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Filed under: Teens & tweens, Fun & activities

I have a friend with three daughters who has a simple plan for when his daughters come of age -- he'll bury the first boyfriend in the front yard to serve as a warning to others. I think I'm going to use the advice someone gave me -- When a boy comes to take my daughter out, I'll put my arm around his shoulders as I walk him into the living room and calmly explain that "I just wanted to let you know that I'm not afraid to go back to prison -- but I know you'll treat my daughter right."

All kidding aside, the rules you set for your kids do have an effect on their love lives, the Wall Street Journal reports. Not only that, they reflect your own satisfaction with your relationships. Rules that set parameters for dates, including curfews, minimum dating ages, and limits on where teens can go are most often set by parents in stable relationships. Those rules, however, often lead to closer, more positive relationships for the teens.

On the other hand, parents who dictate specifics about dating behaviour are often insecure in their own relationships. By telling their teens to "act like a gentleman" or not to let their dates "walk all over" them, parents may be trying to steer their kids into a happier situation than their own. This apparently doesn't work, though. Such kids weren't especially happy in their own relationships.

The better tactic is what Dr. Stephanie Madsen, the author of the study, calls "supervisory" rules. This involves keeping communication going -- having the teens let you know what their plans are, tell you when they change, and check in occasionally. Hmm... I guess I won't be getting that Mossberg shotgun with the pistol grip after all.

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Filed under: Teens & tweens, In the news, Weird but true

If you are reading this, chances are you are least somewhat Internet savvy. I would also venture to guess that you are familiar with common Internet acronyms like LOL, IMHO, BRB, and the ever-popular WTF. If not, perhaps you work for the Division of Motor Vehicles in North Carolina. Those guys may be first in flight, but they are apparently the last to know that when you put the letters W, T and F together, they convey a rather inappropriate message for a license plate.

A few months after they began making WTF plates, someone finally clued them in., That someone was a 60-year-old teacher from Fayetteville who complained about her plate after her teenage grandchildren told her what it meant. Not only are there about 10,000 WTF'ers driving around the state, that letter combination was also used on the DMV's own Website as a sample personalized plate (it has since been removed).

Now that they know about it, state officials are happy to replace the plates free of charge for anyone who would rather not drive around displaying that particular acronym on their vehicles. For those who choose their keep the plates: LOL!

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Filed under: In the news

The perpetrators of the horrifying and and heartbreaking case of Baby Grace discovered to be the blonde toddler's own mother and stepfather a mere seven months ago, are in the headlines again.

Kimberly Trenor, 19, just gave birth to a baby boy fathered by Royce Zeigler II, 25, the same man accused of helping beat her 2-year-old daughter Riley Ann (dubbed "baby Grace" by investigators before the body was identified) to death.

The infant was taken into the custody of Child Protective Services immediately after he was born and Trenor was returned to jail. In spite of both parents initially agreeing to give up their parental rights, Zeigler changed his mind and now wants his parents to raise the child. CPS was in the process of placing the newborn child with some of Trenor's relatives but now the courts will have to decide who will raise the baby boy born into such unfortunate circumstances.

It's hard not to feel sympathy for the members of the extended family. Not only did they lose a darling little girl due to the horrific actions of their own flesh and blood, they might also be denied the right to see this little boy as he grows up.

I'm sure glad I'm not a judge.

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Filed under: Image of the Day

If wish we all could approach Monday with such wonderment. Thanks to James Lee Photography for a shining example.

If you'd like your own picture featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr Pool - We'll highlight an image every day. Remember: we're on the lookout for shots with interesting backgrounds, cool angles, or original composition. Be sure to read the intro on our main Flickr page for more information and limit your uploading to 5 photos per day.

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Filed under: Newborns, Pregnancy & birth, In the news, Weird but true

How far would you go to help your child have a child? A Michigan mom recently showed the world exactly how far she would go when she gave birth to her daughter's twins.

Crystal Sirignano, 52, gave birth last week to two healthy children, a boy and a girl. Crystal's daughter, Kendra, and her husband Aaron Simpson, struggled with infertility for years before turning to surrogacy. Though they were both hesitant at first, Crystal ended up being a healthy and helpful candidate. She moved from her home in Goodrich, where she owns a fitness center, to Arizona to be near her daughter and struggled with all the usual pregnancy symptoms at an age when pregnancy is the last thing on many women's minds.

Continue reading Michigan mom carries twins for daughter

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Filed under: Just for moms, Eating & nutrition, Life & style, In the news, Playground bureau

"Things are different today,"
I hear ev'ry mother say
Cooking fresh food for a husband's just a drag
So she buys an instant cake and she burns her frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day.

-The Rolling Stones "Mother's Little Helper"

Between the proliferation of kid activities, the increased expectation of parental involvement, and the demands of work AND home, today's mothers are being pulled in more directions than ever before. How are modern mommas getting more hours in their day? It's not a pill like the Rolling Stones sang about.

A study by The National Sleep Foundation found that 65% of mothers regularly drink caffeinated beverages to make it through their day. And we're not talking just a cup or two, Sarah Kripal, mother of two from Lincoln, Nebraska admitted, "I need about four energy drinks, three cups of coffee and a six-pack of soda every day." Lindy Smith, a mom of three says, "I usually drink two to three pots of coffee a day. I am sure this is not good for me, but how do you keep up?"

In spite of research that coffee can reduce inflammation and decrease blood sugar levels, caffeine can trigger migraines, heartburn, gastrointestinal problems and put women at an increased risk of miscarriage. And unlike the original Mother's Little Helper, liquid energy requires no prescription is readily available in various sweetened and foamy forms (vanilla lattes are my weakness!) in nearly every city in the nation, making it easy for busy moms to grab a delicious cup of jet-fuel whenever energy levels sag.

No doubt about it, caffeine is a hard habit to break and current lifestyles make it hard to imagine why we'd even try giving up the one thing that helps us squeeze more hours into a day.

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Filed under: In the news, Media

There are few childhood characters that have stood the test of time as well as those on Sesame Street. Kermit Love, creator of one fhe most famous of those characters -- Big Bird -- passed away last week at the age of 91. Though Love's career spanned decades, he's known worldwide for his contribution to the children's show and for his work on Sesame Street's most beloved characters.

Big Bird, as you know, is a towering 8-foot, 6-year-old bird, whose head and neck are controlled from inside the costume by levers. Mr. Love was protective of his creation, according to a NYT article, and the costume got its own seat when they traveled by plane. Because he wanted Big Bird to seem natural and more real to small children, he designed the costume so that stray feathers would fall off during shooting.

Carroll Spinney, who plays both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street talks about his old friend Kermit Love on NPR. In a CNN article, Spinney said of Love, "He looked very much like Santa Claus but was a little bit more like the Grinch."

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