Money's tight for many families, yet food prices are going up, making tough times even tougher. But, kids don't care -- they like their brand name cereal and are convinced that the label name juice is better than the store brand. So, what's a mom to do? While some moms would opt for a "tough, deal with it" attitude, others are taking a different approach. Twenty-five percent of moms in the U.K. have admitted to refilling the brand name cereal box with generic cereals. Others confess to removing sell-by date stickers so that kids who are squeamish about drinking milk just a day past its "best by" date won't toss out spendy groceries. Have you ever swapped out the brand name version of something and secretly replaced it with a generic?
Sorry Peter Pan, being grown up can be awesome.
Our kids are living the life. They don't have to pay taxes or worry about the mortgage. Life's just one big playdate. But, let's be honest, there are some things about being an adult that just rock. When you're a kid, you have to follow someone else's rules. When you're an adult, you get to make those rules. So, what are some of the best things about being all grown up? According to one mom, you can eat cookies for breakfast if you want to. You can also stay up as late as you want and no one will make you clean your room or eat your veggies. Don't feel like wearing a coat? No problem. No one will make you wear one. You can also walk right into that liquor store and buy yourself anything you darn well please. What do you think is the best perk of adulthood?
Dance, dance, objection -- to the fake gun props.
Shuffle-ball-change, plie, point and shoot. The reality-TV "Dance Moms" got into a conflict with instructor Abby Lee Miller recently over the use of fake guns as props in a routine. The moms were uncomfortable with their daughters using large, gold guns in their routine but Miller defended her choice, saying she wanted the girls to be "armed and dangerous" for the competition. The moms thought the weaponry was inappropriate, unnecessary and aggressive -- they even thought the routine didn't live up to the normal "caliber" of Miller's dances. The girls said they understood the difference between fake and real guns. Do you think it's inappropriate?
Mom models are the hot, new trend this season.
Size-0, pre-pubescent models might want to consider looking for other lines of work because moms are taking over the runway. We used to think of moms as the ones who remembered to feed the family cat. Now, they're rocking the catwalk. Just recently, we talked about the fashion show just for moms, with real moms serving as models. Now, an expectant mom just strutted her stuff on the runway, wearing nothing but a hat. Our hats are off to this gal, who looks tremendous eight months into her pregnancy and has the guts to go out there in all her glory, donning only a fabulous scrap of headwear.
Schools fine even the smallest infractions.
Banks have long been known for instituting annoying fines and fees for just about everything you can imagine. Schools? Not so much. Until now. A group of charter schools in Chicago is getting a lot of criticism for making students pony up for just about every infraction imaginable. Shoelace untied? $5. Chewing gum? $5. Too many detentions? $140, plus a mandatory behavior class in the summer. Some defend the fines, saying that with 90 percent of students going on to college, the fees are clearly working. However, others say that the fines unfairly target poor, mainly minority, students, who can't afford the fines and wind up leaving the schools.
Dana Macario is a TODAY Moms contributor and Seattle mom to two sleep-depriving toddlers. Once properly caffeinated, she also blogs at www.18years2life.com.