In the United States, you're considered an adult and old enough to vote, make your own legal decision, and be drafted into military service at the age of 18. However, you're not old enough to have a beer for three more years.
The Amethyst Initiative is made up of chancellors and presidents of universities and colleges across the United States who think that rather than curbing drinking issues in young adults, the 21 drinking law actually promotes a culture of binge drinking on campus. So far over 100 university leaders have signed a petition asking lawmakers to lower the drinking age to 18 and the reasons why are very thought-provoking.
Although it appears to be happening with greater frequency, celebrities giving their children unusual names is not new, just ask Frank Zappa's kids: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, or Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. What is rather unique is hearing what it was like growing up with such a unique moniker.
"My sisters, Scout and Talullah, had cute nicknames," said Rumer, who apparently had no such luck. "In school, kids would sing, 'Rumer, Rumer with a big hairy tumor.'"
Even aimless doodling on notebook paper didn't work out for the superstar celeb spawn. "When I was 12 and had crushes on guys, I'd put my first name with their last name, but it never sounded right. Rumer Depp? Nope."
Poor kid. She didn't even mention the complete absence of mass-produced personalized key rings available for Rumers at gift shops!
My teenager asked me to look at some bug bites on his back the other morning. The Cross Country team had been taking long runs through the woods and he thought something had chewed him up while he ran the trails.
A half hour later, we were sitting at the doctor's office. The itching and burning was actually poison ivy and it was spreading rapidly. My son was given a predisone shot, oral medications, and a cream to be applied twice a day. However, that left many itchy hours in between.
After conferring with friends, researching on the internet, and talking to local homeopaths, here's what we ended up trying:
Rhus Toxicodendron (known as "rhus tox") is a homeopathic pill that my son says relieves the itch almost immediately after it dissolves under the tongue
Soaking in a bath of tepid water and apple cider vinegar or baking soda 2 or 3xs a day
Vitamin C to promote healing of the skin
Black Walnut capsules which are supposed to help the body fight the poison ivy toxins
Burt's Bees poison ivy soap
Of course, if your child found leaves of three and didn't let them be, check with your doctor before trying any of these treatments out. Good luck!
The superintendent of the small, rural district (Harrold Independent includes 110 students and is 150 miles from Fort Worth) David Thweatt says the reason behind the decision all comes down to safety. "We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" Thweatt said. "It's just common sense."
I attended a rural school district and understand that not everyone is fortunate enough to have the protection of school police officers or a nearby police station. However, the thought of armed teachers in the classroom still gives me pause. While there have been some horrific, tragic school shootings, they are pretty rare. Accidental shootings happen much more often than Columbine situations and as a parent, that would be a bigger concern.
Theme parks may make it easier to entertain kids with low-attention spans from electronic gaming, but they can never match the feeling of awe one gets when viewing the vastness of the Grand Canyon, taking a tour of Mammoth Cave, or discovering a waterfall after hiking in the mountains.
It's easy to take natural wonders for granted. But as Wall Arch reminds us, these marvels may not be around forever. Instead of going to Disney again, why not spend some family time exploring some of Mother Nature's parks?
Most National Parks offer free activities and information packets geared toward children and have friendly rangers on staff trained to answer any questions about the natural world kid campers might have.
It doesn't take a lot of foresight to realize the list of acceptable words or phrases acceptable to print little girl underpants is very short. But apparently the people involved in the production of Disney High School Musical panties either lack the skill of looking ahead or just aren't very bright when it comes to double entrendre.
"I was extremely shocked when I saw what was on them and I don't believe Disney or anyone else is so stupid not to realize the implications of the wording they chose." said Sue Ralph who said she would never have made the purchase if the phrase had been visible through the packaging.
A Disney spokesperson: 'The knickers in question were designed using our High School Musical 2 artwork, which uses the creative theme of a swimming pool, as this is a key part of the film's storyline. Unfortunately a genuine oversight was made and the text on this product was used outside the context of the swimming pool. This product will not be part of any forthcoming collections."
While it's good to hear that the number of High School Musical fans wearing "Dive In!" panties will be limited, I still think it's a bit far-fetched that THAT many people could be that clueless. Sounds like what the Disney product development team really needs is the addition of parents with common sense to help them out.
"It's not uncommon for girls to get their period at 9 or 10 years old, and with that development comes increased hair growth," said Dr. Doris Pastor, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Taking an early developer's feelings into consideration and getting hair removal at a young age to prevent or curb teasing is one thing, but salon workers see more than just motherly concern from some women. Many pre-teen hair removal appointments are for girls accompanied by women who appear to be trying to make their daughters look perfect.
"I had a mother who brought her daughter in, pulled up her shirt and asked us to wax the girl's back. The hair didn't seem to be bothering the little girl, but the mom was embarrassed and wanted it done," said Diane Fisher, owner of Eclips Salon and Eclips Kids Day Spa in McLean and Ashburn, Va. "I told the mom to wait until the child wanted it, but she refused." That little girl was just six years old.
Humans aren't supposed to be completely hairless save for the top of their head and eyebrows, but it seems like the new ideal is to look like a life-size Bratz doll. That there are mothers so invested in the appearance of their kindergartner's backs that they're willing to pay to have hot wax applied and the hair yanked off appalls me.
You don't have to be in Beijing to catch the Olympic spirit!
The funny people at JibJab, masterminds behind the popular Elf cards and snowball fight have come up with a way for everyone to participate in Mount Olympus games. All you need is a digital head-shot (nearly any photo on your computer can be manipulated with JibJab's dummy-proof program) to create postcards or video highlights from the weight lifting, high dive, or rhythmic dance competitions.
My fifteen-year-old son achieved a perfect score on the high dive! We're so proud!
It's hard to believe, but we are mere weeks (days for some parts of the country!) away from returning to the early morning scrambling to get kids ready for school.
One of the biggest time-wasters of those precious pre-dawn hours involves the all-important "Choosing of the Clothes". However, we've found some craft ideas that when combined with a little pre-planning can make this year wardrobe worry-free for your kids!
One super-simple tactic to try out before the buses even start rolling requires- absolutely nothing! Just ask your child to create a kid out of the clothes they plan on wearing the next day somewhere in their room. If it's the sort of room where neatness reigns, this should take care of the problem, and it can be a fun project for kids to style and pose their "clothing kids" differently every night.
However, if your child isn't diligent about keeping their room picked up, a "clothing kid" on the floor may just add to the madness. If that's the case, try taking the organizing upward! Keep an eye out at thrift stores or garage sales for a sturdy coat tree, or make your own using pine boards from the lumberyard. In addition to assisting with assembly, painting a wooden clothing holder to suit their fancy will give the child a sense of ownership. Every evening, the clothing tree should be decorated with the next day's outfit, including socks, underwear and a belt hung from the hooks.
If the bedroom lackings the floor space necessary for a clothing tree, a closet will do the trick and provide the additional perk of allowing the child to plan their wardrobe for the entire week. Hanging organizers can hold six day's worth of clothing and larger ones (not the shoe organizers, which will quickly become too cramped to hold an entire outfit) have enough space to allow labels (quickly and easily created with felt letters glued onto a felt rectangle label and then sewn onto the organizer) to be attached to the side or on the top, hanging down in the openings.
And if closet space is also problematic, here's the last (and greatest!) idea: large felt tags that fit OVER the hangers. The genius part of this idea is that it can actually SAVES space by getting pants out of the drawer and sharing the same place as the shirts! Supplies required are minimal: just a large enough piece of felt (suggested size is 18 x12") for each day of the week, strong hangers, and perhaps some clothes pins to make sure the pants stay on the hangers until they are needed. Cut the top corners off the felt rectangle, cut a hole in the top for the hanger to fit through, slice two X's in the bottom to hold socks and underwear and embellish as desired. (This would be an excellent place to practice some sewing skills! Buttons and rickrack would be adorable!)
With just a little planning, getting dressed in the morning can be a painless process for everyone and get the day off to a great start!
It's been a long time since we've heard from Britney Spears. Just over a year ago, OK! magazine attempted to sit down with the pop star, but that interview and accompanying photo shoot were scrapped after Spear's erratic behavior (and non-housebroken dog) made it evident things were not going to proceed as planned.
What a difference a year makes! This time around, with her father at her side, a healthier Britney was able to sit down and finally have that talk with OK! magazine.
The Olympics are all about healthy competition, but it isn't the cutthroat kind of competition found in the music industry. It's all about working hard, perserverance, good sportsmanship and trying your best. Or is it?!
Apparently in an effort to present the best, most attractive Western-looking face possible, nine-year-old Lin Miaoke was chosen to sing "Ode to the Motherland" during the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. There was only one problem: Miaoke' wasn't actually singing the song. The angelic voice heard by a billion people actually belonged to seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, whose face was deemed not adorable enough to represent China in the ceremony.
A British ex-pat Chris Smith, who has been living in Beijing for nine years, told a reporter: "It's because China is obsessed with promoting a certain look, girls should be more Western-looking with high cheekbones. They don't like rounded faces. Olympic officials also chose only tall, slim, attractive women of a certain look to hand out medals."
The music direction of the show Chen Qigang explained it this way, "This is in the national interest. It is the image of our national music, national culture, especially during the entrance of our national flag. This is an extremely important, extremely serious matter. I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi."
Having an attractive person serve as frontman for a more vocally talented, but less marketable singer is nothing new, just ask the surviving member of Milli Vanilli. It's too bad that people in power within the Chinese government that made this decision have not yet realized that imperfections are what makes kids so great.
There was no need to cobble together a super-kid, a child with a voice like that is guaranteed to awe and inspire the world.
Budget tightening has forced many sleep-deprived parents to forgo that delicious morning Starbucks and brew their own non-frothed coffee at home. But good news for sleep-deprived parents: the Seattle-based company has just unveiled a nationwide promotion to help get coffee back into the weary hands of the people help and boost their own sales at the same time!
Any morning Starbucks purchase allows customers who return that afternoon bearing the earlier receipt, to purchase a grande-sized iced drink for the discounted price of $2. The promotion was offered earlier in Seattle, Chicago, and Miami with great success.
As with all good things, this will come to an end September 2nd, which is just enough time to get you good and addicted to that afternoon hit of caffeine.
I'm willing to take that risk, though. Ice vanilla lattes, yum!
Having a child not only opens up a whole new section of your heart, it also cleans out the tear ducts on a regular basis. Here are some things that are nearly guaranteed to have parents scrambling for a tissue:
Signs of affection between siblings- We become immune to the sounds of sibling squabbles, but seeing little brothers holding hands or comforting each other? Instant waterworks.
The Olympics- The competition was always compelling, but having your own child means you can truly relate to what the parents of the athletes are feeling, and for the first time appreciate the sacrifices made to get kids to that level.
Various "firsts"- The first step, first day of school, first car, all amazing events that remind you how quickly time passes and your baby is no longer much of a baby at all.
The destruction of a treasure possession- They say 'You can't take it with you', but you CAN pass down Great-Grandma's teapot to the next generation AS LONG AS THEY DIDN'T DROP IT PLAYING CATCH IN THE DRIVEWAY WHILE YOU WERE IN THE BATHROOM.
When the child does well- pitching a great game, nailing the high note in a solo, it doesn't matter. They did great and the sniffles of pride soon follow.
When the child tries but bombs- what a brave little soldier!
Hearing about other children who are sick, hurt, or suffering in anyway, anywhere
When Dumbo's Mom is taken away after defending him from those horrible kid who were hurting him and she sings the "Baby Mine" song
What has been making your eyeballs leak since you've become a parent?
For thousands of years, henna has served as a temporary way to add intricate and beautiful designs to the human body in North Africa, Egypt, India, and parts of the Middle East.
Body art created with pure henna, (an ink, which is actually paste made from the from dried leaves of a henna plant) starts out a dark brown/black color and is applied with a brush or squeeze bottle. After the henna paste completely dries, it falls off, leaving behind a stain of the design which will lasts about two weeks. Skin allergies to pure henna are uncommon.
However, as interest in henna body art grows in Western cultures, so do short-cuts and "improvements" to this ancient art. Street vendors and temporary booths found at concerts and summer festivals offer long-lasting tattoos made with "black henna"-henna with the addition of the chemical para-phenylene diamine (PPD). While longer lasting designs sounds good in theory, PPD can cause contact dermatitis and those lovely swirly designs are not nearly as attractive when rendered in oozing, swollen red blisters!
And if the oddity of a raised rash in an ornate design isn't bad enough, just one reaction to PPD can mean the sufferer could have an allergic reaction to even the slightest contact with the chemical for life. PPD can be an additive in: printer ink, hair dyes, photographic products, and black clothing and can cross-react with chemicals found in some medications for diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.
So while the advertisement might say that henna tattoo is temporary, it's best to err on the side of caution and make sure you know what kind of henna is being applied to you or your child's body. The ramifications could be long lasting.
In the United States, you're considered an adult and old enough to vote, make your own legal decision, and be drafted into military service at the age of 18. However, you're not old enough to have a beer for three more years. 
Although it appears to be happening with greater frequency, 
My teenager asked me to look at some bug bites on his back the other morning. The Cross Country team had been taking long runs through the woods and he thought something had chewed him up while he ran the trails.
There's a brand new reason not to mess with Texas-the teachers might be packing heat!
Last week, 
It doesn't take a lot of foresight to realize the list of acceptable words or phrases acceptable to print little girl underpants is very short. But apparently the people involved in the production of Disney High School Musical panties either lack the skill of looking ahead or just aren't very bright when it comes to double entrendre. 
Whether it's from improvements in nutrition or chemicals in the food, the fact is many children are physically maturing at a much earlier age. While menstruation used to start around age 12, 
It's been a long time since we've heard from 
The Olympics are all about healthy competition, but it isn't the cutthroat kind of competition found in the music industry. It's all about working hard, perserverance, good sportsmanship and trying your best. Or is it?!
Budget tightening has forced many sleep-deprived parents to forgo that delicious morning Starbucks and brew their own non-frothed coffee at home. But good news for sleep-deprived parents: the Seattle-based company has just unveiled a nationwide promotion to help get coffee back into the weary hands of the people help and 
Having a child not only opens up a whole new section of your heart, it also cleans out the tear ducts on a regular basis. Here are some things that are nearly guaranteed to have parents scrambling for a tissue:
For thousands of years, henna has served as a temporary way to add intricate and beautiful designs to the human body in North Africa, Egypt, India, and parts of the Middle East. 
