If you really want to show your teens you care, embarrass them every single day. That's what one father did, by greeting his 16-year-old son as he got off the school bus, while donning costumes ranging from a bride, to Elvis, to a man sitting on a real toilet reading the paper. The devoted dad kept his costumed vigil for 170 days, without once repeating a get-up. While his son was initially shocked, he said that over time he began to dread the daily humiliation a bit less. Let's just hope the dad didn't go for the white jumpsuit Elvis, because that would be going too far.
If you believe the trouble with parenthood today is that there just aren't enough ridiculous, over-priced, baby products to waste your money on, you're in luck. Meet the BabyNes(think the Nespresso coffee maker but outputting infant formula instead of caffeinated goodness). For a mere $295, you too can provide your infant with perfectly mixed bottles, complete with filtered water - brewed in 30 seconds or less. Breastfeeding advocates are crying sour milk at Nestle, the company that developed the product, for encouraging mothers to stop breastfeeding. They also point out that a well-coordinated mom can unhook a nursing bra and get a baby to latch in 10 seconds or less, a significant time improvement over the pricier competitor.
Are parents really dropping $100,000 annually on tutoring for their kids?! In addition to spending more than $38,000 for their children to attend some of New York City's most exclusive private schools, some parents are also spending up to six figures a year in tutoring for those students. Making corporate lawyers' billable rates look downright reasonable, some SAT tutors are charging $425 for a 50 minute session, and parents are paying it...
If you co-sleep with your baby and that baby's still alive, you're "lucky." That's what one Florida nurse who's studying ways to prevent infant deaths has said. The research she has done indicates that one in three infant deaths are due to unsafe sleeping conditions. She recommends babies be put to sleep on their backs, in their cribs, without any soft objects. Yes, aesthetically it may look a bit like a 1980's Romanian orphanage but better safe than sorry.
Kindergarten enrollment forms are usually fairly benign affairs. Emergency contact information, known allergies, immunization reports, questionnaires about whether the pupil in question was delivered vaginally or by C-section... Say what?! One school district in California is asking the parents of new students for some pretty intimate details as part of the enrollment process. Some parents are calling this an invasion of privacy and wondering what's next -- asking which position the parents were using when said child was conceived, perhaps?
As long as we're not the ones pulling double duty with diaper doodie, we think twins are nothing but all sorts of cute. Especially when they synchronize their sneezes.
Meet the world's cutest fisherman. The pint-sized sportsman caught his first fish and his father caught the experience on video. While he was decidedly pleased with his accomplishment, he was less convinced that he should touch his catch. This adorable tot, who named the fish Free, warms hearts by wondering if the fish likes him. Since he released it back into the lake, we're pretty sure the fish does, indeed, like him.
Dana Macario is a TODAY Moms contributor and Seattle mom to two sleep-depriving toddlers. She is currently developing an alarm clock that will start an IV coffee drip 10 minutes prior to wake-up time. Once properly caffeinated, she also blogs at www.18years2life.com.