One of the most significant jobs you surely have as a parent is keeping your child safe while riding in a car. Thousands of young children are killed or injured in car crashes every year. The correct use of car safety seats helps keep children safe in case there is a car crash. Nevertheless, with so many different car safety seats out on the market right now, it’s no wonder why so many parents find this overwhelming. The type of car seat your child needs depends on quite a few things, including the size of your child and the type of motor vehicle you may have.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) highly recommends that all infants should ride rear-facing right from the first ride home from the hospital. They ought to remain rear-facing until they reach the highest height or weight allowed by the manufacturer of their car safety seat.  At a bare minimum, children should ride rear-facing until they weigh at least 20 pounds or are at least 1 year of age. Once your child has reached the highest weight or height permitted by the manufacturer of the seat for rear-facing, she/he can ride forward-facing in a more convertible seat. Nevertheless, it is best for him/her to ride rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of his/her car safety seat. She/he should ride in a forward-facing seat with a harness until he/she outgrows it, which in most cases would usually be at approximately 4 years of age and about when your child weights 40–65 pounds.

Once your child has outgrown his/her forward-facing car safety seats, they are now old enough for a Booster seat. It is in everyone’s best interest for children to ride in a harnessed seat as long as it is possible, which would mean at least to 4 years of age. If your child outgrows his/her seat before reaching 4 years of age, you should consider using a seat with a harness approved for children with higher weights and heights. Booster seats should be used with a shoulder and a lap belt and should never be a lap-only belt. When you are using a booster seat for your child, you must make sure that the lap belt lies low and fits perfectly across your child’s upper thighs. The shoulder belt should also be crossed in the middle of your child’s chest and shoulder.

Remember, be a good role model and make sure you always wear your seat belt. Our children always observe and learn from their parents. If you are not sure of how to use any of the safety recommendations for your infants always call the manufacture or read the instructions and make sure that you install your infant’ safety gadgets properly.

Review by Michelle Bruns

A growing trend among American children is not the latest fashion or a hot new slang word, it’s childhood obesity. This is a syndrome that experts estimate currently affects 25 million children. That’s a statistic that families cannot afford to ignore.

Amy Hendel, author of Fat Families, Thin Families: How to Save Your Family from the Obesity Trap, feels that becoming overweight is a trend that starts with family; a trend that can be broken by taking an active role and setting a good example for good family health.

Hendel bases the strategies in her book on her personal experience as an overweight child and her experience as a registered physician assistant. She has developed a health strategy for herself and her family, and turned it into a career as a family lifestyle therapist to help guide families in developing good eating habits together.

According to Hendel’s book, the eating habits children develop and take with them into adulthood are taught by the parents. The first step is to make the decision to change your family’s way of life. From food choices to exercise, Hendel’s 4 “P” action plan (planning, preparing, portion, and play), is the key to her sure-fire strategy.

Plan Together

One of the most common saboteurs of a successful healthy eating plan is lack of preparation. Making eating choices on the fly or based on convenience provides the opportunity for poor food decisions to flourish. Deciding on menus, creating shopping lists (examples are provided in the book), and hitting the grocery store is a family affair on the Healthy Family for Life (HFL) program. With everyone involved, family members can offer each other support and are personally invested in accomplishing their HFL goals.

Prepare Together

It is all-hands-on-deck when it comes to the kitchen. Scheduling time to prepare and cook meals reduces impulse eating decisions, teaches kids skills they will use for the rest of their life, and gives families time to bond. Whether your meal preparation style is “Quick and Easy,” “Adventure in the Kitchen,” or “One Day at a Time,” taking time to stock your pantry and make a day of preparing the week’s meals is the secret weapon to making your planned eating choices a breeze.

Portion Together

Using small plates and eating more slowly can help put your family in the black with portion control, but changing portion perception is not an overnight undertaking.  Hendel offers that, “It takes time to change any habit, and portion perception is probably one of the toughest.” The promise that your new “feeding habits” will help squash cravings and have you reaching for foods that are better for you can create an optimistic attitude. Switching unhealthy foods for healthier ones doesn’t even have to mean skipping dessert; it simply means substituting olive tapenade for mayo and sorbets for whole milk ice cream. Plenty of small changes like this can have your family leaning toward lean in no time.

Play Together

Eating healthier is only one part of Hendel’s plan. Grabbing your kids and getting active is a vital piece of the pie. Simple activities like planting flowers, playing tag, and walking the dog can burn up the calories you don’t need and boost your metabolism. You’ll not only feel better, you and your family will improve your health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “about 20 million people have type-2 diabetes, and more than 60 million people are overweight or obese.” If the statistics are not enough to motivate you to move, then perhaps another opportunity for family bonding will.

Make the Choice

Setting realistic goals, avoiding food traps, and creating healthy habits are just a part of Hendel’s lifestyle strategy. Fat Families, Thin Families offers more than guidelines for healthy living; it offers families a chance to learn to become healthy adults together. Packed with sample grocery lists, menu ideas, and tips on supporting one another, Fat Families, Thin Families is your chance to bring your family closer together, beginning at the dinner table.

How do you make eating healthy and fun in your family?

Your children can learn a lot over the summer, especially on an educational vacation. Here are some smart getaways.

Learning in the sun can be fun!

By Mary Fetzer

School’s out, but that doesn’t mean your children can’t learn something new over the summer. With educational vacations like these, kids will have so much fun, they won’t even realize they’re learning!

Visit the Pueblo people

“Srai Wri,” is a Pueblo term that translates as “gather children together and share with them.” Built on the Santa Ana Pueblo reservation in New Mexico, the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa is an ideal place for an educational vacation.

Surrounding this family-friendly resort is a landscape of scrub grass, wildflowers, and the Sandia Mountains. The scene looks like it did 1,000 years ago, when the tribal people of Tamaya lived there. Adobe-style buildings and open courtyards reflect the architecture of the old Pueblo village.

The resort offers a wide array of cultural activities led by members of the Santa Ana Pueblo. Kids knead dough and bake bread in authentic clay ovens, create pottery masterpieces, and make their own adobe bricks. They can view ancient tribal weapons and masks at the Cultural Learning or 1,000-year-old ruins in the pueblo backcountry.

Families who want to learn more about Native American history should check out the Tamaya Experience Family Package at www.tamaya.hyatt.com.

Swim with the dolphins

Bored with the prospect of lying on the beach for a week? Learn something at the ocean by visiting Belize! Located south of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Belize is a small, English-speaking Caribbean island. Families can spend a week with biologists from the Oceanic Society as they conduct exciting, educational field studies of wildlife including dolphins, monkeys, and manatees.

Guided snorkeling adventures into exquisite coral reef habitats provide underwater access to the feeding and resting areas of dolphins. From there, families travel to the Community Baboon Sanctuary along the Belize River. Black howler monkeys, known locally as baboons, live harmoniously with Belize villagers and have little fear of humans. Vacationers can easily observe the monkeys in their natural habitat. After getting to know the howlers, families move on to find manatees. This vacation offers hands-on opportunities for family members to assist with tracking tagged manatees.

To learn more about Belize Family Week, visit the Oceanic Society at http://www.oceanic-society.org/famexp_Belize_family.

Explore Alaska

Experience the wild terrain of Alaska on a family-oriented adventure tour. Guests of the Glaciers and Wildlife tour from Austin-Lehman Adventures will experience close encounters with wildlife as they investigate Alaska’s wild terrain. They’ll explore the Kenai Peninsula by train, ship, kayak, bicycle, and foot.

Visitors to Alaska will be in awe of the abundance of breathtaking scenery and wildlife. Kids can hike to an active glacier, bike past gigantic waterfalls, and kayak the bays in search of seals and eagles. Accompanied by knowledgeable guides, they’ll learn about humpback whales, salmon, and puffins. The Glaciers & Wildlife adventure takes families to less-traveled areas for a glimpse of true Alaska. Busy days will end with a relaxing bonfire under the Alaskan midnight sun.

Alaska Wildland Adventures (ASA) offers the Alaska Family Camp where families can learn about Alaska’s native cultures and join in making their own Alaskan arts and crafts. Suitable for families with children ages 6-12, it offers rafting on the Kenai River and hiking on the trails of the Chugach National Forest.

More information about Alaskan expeditions can be found at http://www.austinlehman.com/trips/alaska_family___glaciers___wildlife/26.php and

http://www.alaskawildland.com/alaska-family-camp.htm.

Whatever your family does this summer, find a way to make it educational. Kids are curious by nature, so build on that with new learning experience. Keep it fun, interesting and unlike school, and they’ll enjoy learning.

Are you planning an educational getaway this summer?

5 tips to keep in mind as you approach (dread) college exploration time

by Gina LaGuardia

How the day got here is beyond you. All of a sudden, that little girl in pigtails who used to cling to your leg is spending more time surfing college Web sites than downloading videos off YouTube (for now, anyway). Last week she wanted to go to nursing school, this week it’s business, just last month it was engineering. Though an array an opportunities await her – she can, after all, be anything she wants – so does the confusion on how to start planning for college, which college to choose, and how to pay for it all….

Here’s a list of five tips to ease your mind in between pangs of nostalgia for lollipops and playdates being replaced with tuition price comparisons and the thought of her dorming:

1)    Know that there will be hurdles. With so much choice and so little knowledge (your college days are a long way off and times have definitely changed!), expect some confusion. To prevent information overload, hit into a trusted site like The CollegeBound Network http://www.collegebound.net/college, which has been advising college-bound teens on colleges, careers, and more since 1996 and provides easy-to-search profiles of four-year and community colleges along with career schools that offer specific training based on your teen’s professional interests.

2)    Get organized. If you thought organizing your child’s diaper bag way back when was key to your sanity, think again. Helping her manage all of her  college mail, emails, open house material, and then applications, essays, and recommendation letters (oh my!) is a job in itself. Use a calendar, charts, and a foolproof filing method you’re comfortable with, advise experts at College Data.com (https://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_getinarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10053). “The most important thing is to find a system that works for you. It does not matter if it’s an old-fashioned wall calendar, a stack of folders, an electronic spreadsheet, or all of these.” Some ideas to help get things in order: Separate schools by “Yes” factors that mean something to your child: Where a school is located, majors offered, cost. Then work through your files/choices that way to start.

3)    Avoid the December mania. We all know that preparing for the holidays is a major time suck – add college application deadlines to that mix and it’s a recipe for disaster. Unless you’re prepared. Make sure your child begins her senior year of high school ready to hit the ground running: Schedule an appointment with the school’s guidance/college counselor as soon as possible, and be sure to work on applications as soon as they are available, leaving plenty of time for reworking, proofreading, and ultimate completion and submission.

4)    Get your finances in order. Make an appointment with your financial advisor to figure out what moves (if any) need to be made with available money for tuition. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available January 1 of a teen’s senior year, but you can take a look at what data you will need for it ahead of time by logging onto http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. Experts advise familiarizing yourself with the form, the process, and then adding (and checking off) the following items form your to-do list: Determine your dependency status; review the FAFSA on the Web worksheet; search for school codes; apply for a PIN; and make note (a big note!) of application deadline dates.

5)    Remember: You’re not alone. Millions of parents have navigated these tumultuous waters many times and survived! Ask them everything you can think of, log onto sites like College Parents of America (http://www.collegeparents.org) and The College Board’s parent portal (http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/plan/), then be proud of the fact that your baby has approached this important milestone. It won’t be long before she’s walking down the graduation aisle with a college diploma in hand and you’re hit with a wave of nostalgia thinking back to these very moments. Good luck!

Gina LaGuardia, former editor-in-chief of CollegeBound Teen Magazine, is the editorial director of The CollegeBound Network. She has watched hundreds of parents stress about – and then bask in – the excitement of college plan

What Your Choice in Baby Names Really Says About You

From old school to new school, any name is fair game

by Jarrod Thalheimer

The little stick turned blue and it became official. You’re havin’ a baby, which means the race is now on for choosing the best name possible. You hit the ‘net, buy the books, and begin scrambling to assemble your list of potentials. The ground rules are clear – you each retain veto power to ensure your child doesn’t get saddled with the name of that stalker you had in college or the stripper your husband frequented during his early-20s dry spell.  You’re both determined to pick the most perfect name ever for your little bundle of joy. But where do you start? How do you choose? A lot depends on how you and your significant other define yourselves.

Old School Parents

Old school parents possess a strong sense of tradition. They appreciate the tried and true names of history and the family that came before. The importance of honoring living and dead relatives by including their names on the birth certificate cannot be overstated. They would even be prepared to accept names like Edgar or Eunice if the relative was important enough. The likelihood that their children may posses a minimum of two middle names is high and jumping to as many as five is not out of the question. These are not mere names – they are unbreakable links to the past designed to influence the future.

Examples of old school names: David, Anne, Patrick, Victoria, Edward, Catherine, Robert, and Joseph

Hip Parents

Falling into the hip category usually causes the most problems due mainly to the basic definition of the term. “Hip” refers to being fashionably current, which is fine when you’re buying shoes or picking restaurants but can be brutal when it comes to choosing a name that’s supposed to last a lifetime. The hip almost always grab the “name of the moment” that, while insanely popular during the year of the birth in question, almost always results in the child sharing that name with three of four other kids in their class (think mid-eighties and Jennifer). Consider this – like-named syndrome is often “cured” when peers attach descriptive additions such as Fat Lucy and New Lucy, or Tall Ted and Small Ted.

Examples of hip names: Aiden, Emma, Jacob, Sarah, Ethan, Emily, Tyler, and Ava

Counter Culture Parents

These folks walk the fine line between desperately attempting to avoid group-think and veering dangerously off into being different just for the sake of being different. Determined to up-end societal norms, you’ll often find these frustratingly self-aware individuals going out of their way to choose names that broadcast their world view, incite debate, and subversively reveal the stupidity of the masses. It almost goes without saying that members of this group have very high opinions of themselves.

Examples of counter-culture names: Ziggy, Noam, Janis, Jimi, Stick, Revolution, Sage, Winston Smith (first and middle), Vishnu, and Nug.

Pop Culture Parents

This group is interesting in that they try to choose names that best reflect their happiest moments in life. These are usually based in popular media or commercial interests that struck a nerve once-upon-a-time but can still cross the spectrum in style. The desire to honor that which gave them so much joy in their youth is beyond question. In many cases these names provide the very best, and most intensely personal, advertising known to man as they link people and products together forever.

Examples of pop culture names: Bo and Luke, Fred and Daphne, Tiffany, Lexus, Jager, Obama, Macy, and Carl Jr.

Artist Parents

Of all the groups, this is the one that is almost completely free of even the softest grip on reality whatsoever. Their name choices go from the free-flowingly abstract to the outer reaches of hazy-crazy. There is little hard reason for choosing these names as they are often words, emotions, or even sounds that tweaked something, somewhere, sometime. For whatever reason, the parent feels it must be immortalized on a birth certificate. These names are usually constructed to achieve maximum attention (for the parents).

Artist name examples: Apple, Rain, Bloom, Tract, Patience, Dew, Whip, Fad, Folio, Cacti, and Beatrick.

Hopefully, most parents will recognize whatever category they fall into and either attempt to expand beyond it or, at the very least, soften their choice by employing a sensible middle name (Ptero David Smith). At least the kid will have a couple of choices as he grows up.

Telling the world who you are is wonderful and inspiring, but remember that the most important needs belong to the small child biding its time in-utero. The name you pick is something they’ll be stuck with for an awful long time, so going beyond your own chosen persona would be a nice gift to give your child. You remain free to pull a Johnny Cash (name your boy “Sue”) or show-off your affection for jingoistic Cuban T-shirts by naming him Che. Whatever you choose, just remember that someday you’re going to have to explain your reasons for doing so. Knowing that suggests you best choose wisely.

What made you choose your baby’s name?

Famous Parents

Lessons in disguise?

by Jarrod Thalheimer

How is it even possible that Kevin Federline comes off as being the better parent to his children than Britney? How about notorious hooker-hound Charlie Sheen? He’s downright “Father Knows Best” stacked up against little Miss-Pimpin’-Out-the-Kids-for-My-New-Reality-Show Denise Richards. Are such children destined to live lives of rampant overexposure and chronic drug abuse all culminating in an early death? Is fame to blame or is it just their crappy parents?

Do Perfect Parents Exist?

And what about the other side – the picture-perfect celebrity parents? Everyone knows Angie and Brad bend over backwards in service to their tribe. As a couple they commit to making sure at least one of them is always home while the other is not. They travel together, play together, and even save the Earth together. Thanks to the tattoos and a few alternative-lifestyle forays, Angelina’s not exactly June Cleaver. But the attitude she displays toward her children appears downright responsible and mature. How frustrating is that to absorb when you fed your kid Cheetos for her last breakfast?

So what do you do? Can famous parents, good or bad, somehow help you to be a better parent?

Find a Good-Bad Example

Let’s say your children gang up and shave the neighbor’s cat butt-naked. You lose your cool, scream like a crazy woman, and then douse the whole lot of them with the garden hose. As you leave your damp offspring shivering and crying in the yard you head inside, mix up a mid-day margarita, and put up your feet and relax, secure in the knowledge that your parenting methods – as shocking as they may be – aren’t anywhere near as bad as that “monster” Alec Baldwin or perma-stoned rapper Snoop Dogg. A good-bad example can work wonders for our self esteem.

Then you have the super parents. They spout off their quotes left and right about how much they care, how good they are, and how much they provide for their little ones, but everyone knows they don’t do it alone. They have teams of nannies and assistants to ensure they never lose too much sleep or ever leave the house with baby blech on their shoulder. Perfect parenting is an illusion – making it right at home in Hollywood.

One can suggest Tom Cruise is bananas, but when my own neighbor makes his kid practice competitive bocce until 3 a.m. six nights a week you start to realize Hollywood doesn’t exactly own the franchise on crazy. Tommy-boy is just more visible than the bocce bozo next door. Besides, when you get right down to it, we all more or less think everyone else is nuts.

Where Do We Go from Here?

Knowing that there are celebs out there who aren’t exactly winning parent of the year awards doesn’t let anyone off the hook. A bad parent is a bad parent, famous or not. So if there’s anything to be gained from the rollercoaster of insanity that Hollywood families present, it’s a sound note of caution. Watch carefully all that you see. Remember you don’t know the whole story, and focus instead on committing yourself to becoming a better parent in your own right each and every single day. It’s the only thing you can really do.

We can all agree that dangling a baby off the balcony over a street in Berlin is not something we should do with a child. To waste our time lecturing that bizarre man-child Michael Jackson on what he should be doing is stupid. He went over the ledge a long time ago. Better to instead make a few mental notes about babies and balconies and focus instead on your own day-to-day adventures in the wide world of mom-and-dad-dom. Your kids will be glad you paid attention to them instead of to the tabloids.

What’s do you consider the worst celeb parenting moment?

Dressing Your Little Rock Star

By Brie Gatchalian

Your daughter may be in grade school, but that doesn’t mean she can’t dress like a rock star. She loves Hannah Montana’s style, so why not dress like her idol? Not sure how to turn your little sweetie into a star? Follow these steps for her Hannah Montana wardrobe makeover:

Step 1: You’ll need bling.

Bling is synonymous with rock stars these days. Don’t worry – you won’t have to spend much to give your sweetie some dazzling accessories. She’ll look like a hundred bucks with this Belle Bow Headwrap ($2.80 at www.forever21.com) and 3-Row Necklace ($8 at www.wetseal.com).

Step 2: Wear fun colors.

Sporting bright colors is nothing new for your little girl, but this time around, consider a hot trend like skinny pants. These Isa Skinny Jeans ($27.80 at www.forever21.com) are not only super-funky, but who ever pulls them off is a guaranteed star-in-the-making.

Step 3: Layer

Now here’s a Hannah Montana trick you’re familiar with: layering. Accomplishing the fun-color step 2, layer this Short Puff Sleeve Jacket ($22.50 at www.wetseal.com) with something not-so-colorful like this Collared Denim Vest ($28 at www.mandee.com).

Step 4: When in doubt, belt it.

For Hannah Montana, belts are not for belt loops. For real rocker style, your daughter must wear the belt over her shirts. Consider this Michael Kors Braided Metallic Snake Embossed Belt ($44 at www.nordstrom.com). Or, she can use a sash or scarf – just make sure it’s a different color than her top.

Step 5: Wear fabulous yet comfortable shoes.

Although your daughter won’t be dancing around on stage, she’ll be strutting her stuff at school. Give her the gift of comfort with these Gabriella Rocha Studio Cyra wedges ($99 at www.zappos.com). Not only will these shoes turn heads in the classroom (they’re so fabulous!), your daughter won’t come home with blisters.

Baby Models and Talent Agencies

Baby modeling can be great fun for the parents and the baby model. Every man and women that enters parenthood will tell you that their little one is the cutest little baby on the planet!

Many parents do not realize that there is a huge demand for baby models, due to the big range of baby products in the market. Each company producing one of these baby products want to maximize its sales. There could be no better way of doing so than by having some really cute baby model, beautiful kids associated with the product. Welcome to the world of baby mo

Baby Modeling

deling!

Every parent of a small child knows about the huge list of baby care products available in the market. Just to count a few, from nappies and wipes, to rusks and cereals, to rash creams and skincare products, to baby clothes, the list is endless.

Baby modeling is a great way to show off your adorable baby to the world. While steering your baby on a path towards a modeling career might be the last thing on your mind, a modeling photo shoot can prove to be a lot of fun for baby as well as the parents.

If you intend to take your baby one step closer towards a modeling career, you can start off with a reputed talent agency for kids. These agencies have tie ups with big companies who want some talented, cute kids to represent them.

It is always a good idea to start off with a good talent agency, for the directors and photographers, who run the photo sessions, are good at working with young babies and anxious parents because they have done it many times earlier.

BABY CONTESTS

Baby contests have become quite popular now-a-days. There are a lot of Baby photo contests and video contests that you can get your little one into. You can register online for participating in such contests. Some of the famous and legitimate baby photo contests are Gerber baby photo contest, The Cute Kid contest and The Regis and Kelly baby contest. You can even start off with a simple Google search and you will find a lot of contests to choose from.

Most of these contests give money and prizes to the winners. Imagine your kid being rich and famous at the age of 3! Some of these contests are free and others charge a small fee for participation.

Most of these contests require you to send your baby’s photograph to the contest website. You can do this by emailing the pictures or uploading the photos on the contest website itself. It is a good idea to take professional help, which would make it more fun and take the stress out of the whole process.

If you have a really cute and beautiful kid, you can enter into such contests and who knows, your kid might be the next baby superstar!

Along with the fame and the riches, it could bring a lot of fun and enjoyment to you and your baby.

Famous Parents and their Famous Kids

Lessons in disguise?

by Jarrod Thalheimer

How is it even possible that Kevin Federline comes off as being the better parent to his children than Britney? How about notorious hooker-hound Charlie Sheen? He’s downright “Father Knows Best” stacked up against little Miss-Pimpin’-Out-the-Kids-for-My-New-Reality-Show Denise Richards. Are such children destined to live lives of rampant overexposure and chronic drug abuse all culminating in an early death? Is fame to blame or is it just their crappy parents?

Do Perfect Parents Exist?

And what about the other side – the picture-perfect celebrity parents? Everyone knows Angie and Brad bend over backwards in service to their tribe. As a couple they commit to making sure at least one of them is always home while the other is not. They travel together, play together, and even save the Earth together. Thanks to the tattoos and a few alternative-lifestyle forays, Angelina’s not exactly June Cleaver. But the attitude she displays toward her children appears downright responsible and mature. How frustrating is that to absorb when you fed your kid Cheetos for her last breakfast?

So what do you do? Can famous parents, good or bad, somehow help you to be a better parent?

Find a Good-Bad Example

Let’s say your children gang up and shave the neighbor’s cat butt-naked. You lose your cool, scream like a crazy woman, and then douse the whole lot of them with the garden hose. As you leave your damp offspring shivering and crying in the yard you head inside, mix up a mid-day margarita, and put up your feet and relax, secure in the knowledge that your parenting methods – as shocking as they may be – aren’t anywhere near as bad as that “monster” Alec Baldwin or perma-stoned rapper Snoop Dogg. A good-bad example can work wonders for our self esteem.

Then you have the super parents. They spout off their quotes left and right about how much they care, how good they are, and how much they provide for their little ones, but everyone knows they don’t do it alone. They have teams of nannies and assistants to ensure they never lose too much sleep or ever leave the house with baby blech on their shoulder. Perfect parenting is an illusion – making it right at home in Hollywood.

One can suggest Tom Cruise is bananas, but when my own neighbor makes his kid practice competitive bocce until 3 a.m. six nights a week you start to realize Hollywood doesn’t exactly own the franchise on crazy. Tommy-boy is just more visible than the bocce bozo next door. Besides, when you get right down to it, we all more or less think everyone else is nuts.

Where Do We Go from Here?

Knowing that there are celebs out there who aren’t exactly winning parent of the year awards doesn’t let anyone off the hook. A bad parent is a bad parent, famous or not. So if there’s anything to be gained from the rollercoaster of insanity that Hollywood families present, it’s a sound note of caution. Watch carefully all that you see. Remember you don’t know the whole story, and focus instead on committing yourself to becoming a better parent in your own right each and every single day. It’s the only thing you can really do.

We can all agree that dangling a baby off the balcony over a street in Berlin is not something we should do with a child. To waste our time lecturing that bizarre man-child Michael Jackson on what he should be doing is stupid. He went over the ledge a long time ago. Better to instead make a few mental notes about babies and balconies and focus instead on your own day-to-day adventures in the wide world of mom-and-dad-dom. Your kids will be glad you paid attention to them instead of to the tabloids.

What’s do you consider the worst celeb parenting moment?

8 Fun Ways to Celebrate the End of the School Year

Kick off the summer break with a bang!

By Mary Fetzer

School is hard work. Kids get up early every morning to catch the bus or walk to school. They spend their afternoons in extracurricular activities and their evenings on homework. Summer break – and the freedom it brings – is definitely something to celebrate.

So how can you make the best of this fun time of the year?  Here are eight great ways to jumpstart your summer vacation…

1 – Commemorate the Season

Do something special – a picnic, a movie, a shopping spree, a ball game – to signify that the school year is over, and make it an annual event. One mom told us that she always took her kids swimming after their last class of the year. Always their first swim of the season, it truly marked the beginning of summer for them.

2 – Make a Plan
At the start of the break (or before, if possible), make a calendar of what you hope to do over the summer – all of the things you didn’t have time to do during the hustle and bustle of the school year. Keep it light and fun and, most importantly, don’t over schedule. Having your plan in writing gives you a better chance of sticking to it. But, it is summer after all, so if you skip a couple of those calendar events, who cares?

3 – Learn Something

School’s not in session, but that doesn’t mean the learning has to stop. We’re not talking about summer school, but it’s a great time to indulge kids in what they want to learn. Look into day camps that feature his or her new interest. The additional free time summer offers allows children to immerse themselves wholeheartedly into a new hobby without spelling tests looming over their heads.

4 – Go Somewhere

Millions of students and their families will travel to beaches and parks for summer break. Others will take educational trips, touring historic landmarks or cultural areas. Hit our nation’s capital and make friends with the three pandas at the National Zoo. A change of scenery is always helpful – whether it’s your one big trip for the summer or a one-day jaunt to a nearby tourist attraction, it’ll do the whole family good.

5 – Take in the Great Outdoors

What a feeling to be on the outside of those institutional walls … fresh air, green grass, sunshine. It’s healthy for children to be outside – they get Vitamin D from the sun, and some experts suggest that more contact with greenery and grass will lessen hyperactivity symptoms. And of course kids are generally more active when they’re outside, a plus in this childhood-obesity-conscious society. Limit electronic usage to an hour (or less!) per day, and don’t be tempted to use the gadgets as “babysitters.” If your child gets bored with unstructured outside time, sign him up for a day camp or a sport.

6 – Get Healthy

I was mortified to find out that in our school’s cafeteria, kids can opt to eat chicken nuggets every day. It’s not necessarily any better if your kid packs a lunch – trading food is apparently a popular lunchroom pastime. Fruits and vegetables and good food are abundant in the summer. Day one of summer vacation is the time to get kids on a three-squares-a-day schedule: no more no-time-for-breakfast morning rush, or who-knows-what-they-ate-today school lunch, or let’s-just-drive-through-McDonald’s for supper on the way to softball. Your kids will be amazed by how much energy they get from a proper diet – and you just might eat better, too!

7 – Pitch a Tent

There is nothing like the smell of a real campfire, complete with roasted marshmallows, s’mores, and mountain pies. If you have a back yard, set up a tent and sleep outside! If you don’t, then pitch the tent inside and use a fondue pot for your camping treats. Go on a scavenger hunt by day, tell ghost stories by night. No matter where you live, your kids can experience a camping adventure to ring in the summer.

8 – Read

It’s important to read to your child for at least 15 minutes a day. Reading is not just a school subject; kids should be reading every day, year round. Fun reading opportunities abound in the summer – read the comics and teen mags that were off limits during homework time; dig into a new novel on the beach, by the pool, or in the car; make a game of reading billboards and bumper stickers on a road trip.

No matter what you do to mark the occasion, do it together. Praise your kids for finishing another school year and reward them with a fun-filled and relaxing summer. Make a tradition, and make a memory.

Does your family have an end-of-school tradition?