parenting

What makes a father a successful dad? One answer may be ‘when his children are successful,’ and you wouldn’t get an argument from me. But that answer doesn’t provide any ground rules for mentoring a new or struggling father.

Sending your baby off to kindergarten, whether it’s your first or fifth, is a momentous occasion for any parent. For many of us, it is also a nerve wracking one. Parents – and let’s be honest, usually moms – worry A LOT.

With Mother’s Day approaching this weekend, kids, dads and adult children alike are all scrambling to find the perfect gift for Mom. Still not sure what to buy?

There’s no denying that Gwyneth Paltrow lives a charmed life.

When influential women like Sheryl Sandberg, Beyonce, and Girl Scout CEO Anna Maria Chavez have a message to share, audiences tend to listen.

For anyone who loses a parent, a sibling or someone else they love, it can be a heartbreaking experience.

Welcome to Mom's Happy Hour, in which we sort through the latest news about parents, parenting and pop culture so you don't have to.

Kids aren't always Smarties

Kids do stupid things. Like the time I walked in to find a stack of pillows at the bottom of our staircase and a four-year-old ready to jump from the top. Or the time when my brother was 16 and tried to leap a plastic construction fence to show off and got his foot caught and broke his arm.

Now kids are snorting Smarties in order to blow the candy dust out their noses or mouths like cigarette smoke. There’s no known high or benefit, just a group of middle schoolers who think the practice will get them the ladies and the respect of their schoolmates who are too scared to ingest the most inedible candy in the world.

There are a couple of huge issues with this. One, it’s mimicking the drug problem we have in this country. Two, the candy is leaving sugary remnants lodged in the nose, increasing the risk for nasal maggots. If we didn’t think our kids could get any grosser, they go and become infested.