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Party? Hardly. If a teen drinks at your house -- even if you're totally clueless -- you could end up in the slammer.

For teens, end-of-the-school-year festivities such as prom, graduation, and the start of summer vacation usually translate into one thing: Party! But for parents, especially those who host or chaperone, the parties translate into a whole other thing: Beware!

When it comes to kids and alcohol, a parent can take every safety precaution they can possibly think of it and still be held responsible  for almost anything that happens as a result of underage drinking on their property. As a lawyer and mom myself, I think all parents should proceed with extreme caution if you’re going to have a large group of teenagers in your home.

Just ask Stanford professor Bill Burnett. He made headlines last winter when Menlo Park, Calif. police arrested him after hosting a party for his son’s team to celebrate the end of their football season.  Burnett told TODAY he and his wife did their best to chaperone, from baking cookies to patrolling the party periodically for booze. But teens will be teens, and a few of them somehow managed to sneak some drinks by him anyway.

Five months later, the District Attorney hasn’t brought charges against the Burnetts (the office has up to a year to follow through). Either way, Burnett says, the way that laws against teen drinking are being enforced is making the town less safe for teenagers. “They’re sending a perverse message,” he explains, “that parents shouldn’t supervise parties.”

In fact, you don’t necessarily have to be anywhere near the party or even know that kids are at your house to be arrested for a crime. States have different “social host laws” and under some of them, a parent can face criminal charges and hefty fines if an accident occurs as a result of any underage drinking at your home. Even if, say, you’re away on vacation and have no idea that anything is going down in the first place.

David White, a Massachusetts lawyer and an expert in social host liability, warns parents that law enforcement is going to get especially aggressive from now until Labor Day.  

“The police tend to patrol more during the next few months and put up more road blocks around prom time through the summer holidays,” he cautions. “And they will try to trace the underage drinking back to the source.”  

Related link: Are parents responsible for teen drinking, even if they don't know about it?

So what’s a parent to do -- never host a celebration for your teen? Well, you can, but the more your kids know about the dangers of underage drinking, the safer everyone will be.

Marcie Seidel is Executive Director of Drug Free Action Alliance, an organization that develops alcohol awareness programs like their “Parents Who Host, Lose The Most” campaign, which educates parents about the dangers of social host liability.

She believes the best way to protect yourself is to teach kids that drinking is an adult behavior long before they know what a keg looks like. Seidel tells parents to resist bibs and little kiddie clothes with any kind of cute, drinking related slogan, and to draw a hard line on any alcohol related activity from the get-go. “Don’t include a young child in your drinking routine, such as sending them to the fridge for your beer,” she says.

Obviously, parents of teens who have already been exposed to drinking are in a different predicament. Here are some Mom-to-Mom safety suggestions if you find yourself hosting this party season.

For starters, get as many other parents to help chaperone as you can: The more eyes, the better!

Shift parties to the daytime, since there tends to be less drinking than at night.

Avoid joint graduation parties with older siblings who may already be able to drink legally, and remember— if you catch one kid with alcohol, assume everyone at the party has been drinking too, and don’t let anyone get in the car to drive home.

At the end of the day though, many of us are left scratching our heads. If law enforcement is cracking down on parents for hosting teenagers, aren’t we just pushing kids to party somewhere else, where an adult couldn’t easily help them if they needed it?

Bill Burnett certainly thinks so. “All of this is going backwards in terms of safety,” he says. “Parents and the police should be people our kids feel safe turning to for help when they’ve made a poor decision.”

Jacoba Urist is a lawyer and writer in Manhattan. Thankfully, this party season, she’s the mom of a toddler, not a teenager. She’s dealing with a different kind of “bottle problem” entirely.

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There’s no “better parent” competition in my household. My wife and I have been in agreement to keep quiet on that topic for the greater good.

Lately, though, something happened. And this thing has happened enough times that I’m declaring it a full-blown trend.

My wife went on an overnight business trip, and 2-year-old NJ and I had a delightful time. The kid was better-behaved than usual – i.e. when both mom and dad are around. And it was the umpteenth time this phenomenon had occurred.

Bob Trott

The better parent? Or is she just going easy on him? Bob Trott and daughter NJ.

Now, I certainly don’t understand every little thing behind this trend, the bottom line is clear: I’m the better parent.

Me. I’m a better parent than my wife. ME! ME! ME! I. Am. The. Better. Parent.

When my wife returned from her trip, she figured she’d see NJ in the tub. The child was already in bed, though, having sent me out of the room to find her favorite doll before she could close her eyes. My wife was jaw-droppingly amazed. (And went in to see NJ, who was delighted her mom was home. That led to NJ getting out of bed and my wife reading three more stories to her. I considered my work done and had a celebratory cup of yogurt. I got that child to bed in a timely fashion, and I had a witness. My work was done.)

It’s undeniable proof, right? I’m the better parent. ME – the one who taught NJ to slurp spaghetti. The one who considers it a parenting milestone if NJ recognizes Bruce Springsteen on the television.

This mystery needs more evidence. Here are some facts and observations that my wife and I agree on:

• I think NJ prefers Mommy to Daddy, generally.
• My wife handles the baths and bedtime readings on a regular basis.
• Like many her age, NJ is a master at delaying unpleasant things like baths and bedtimes. She can stretch out the pajamas-and-toothbrush phase of the evening a looooooong time.
• This often leads to time outs and tears.
• I’m not too strict, and my wife isn’t too lenient, but it’s safe to say I’m generally more strict with NJ than my wife is.
• I have something of a phobia about running late.

Normal dinner/bath/bedtime usually lasts a couple of hours. There’s often a crying jag in there – controversy over whether it’s time to get out of the bath, how many books will be read, etc. On bad evenings, my wife emerges from NJ’s bedroom a good two hours later, looking frustrated and exhausted.

But when it’s just me and NJ, things go much smoother.

The kid is a dream while I make dinner, thumbing through her Curious George books in the kitchen with me. Dinner is easy -- bacon and eggs when my wife was out of town.

Similarly, NJ forgoes her usual bath time shenanigans – mostly the invoking of her latest fave catch-phrase, “Two more minutes!” – when it’s me sitting there on the floor between tub and toilet. Post-bath potty, no problem. Straight to bed after bath, with no TV time in between. I read three stories (well, two stories – had to read one twice), then I get a big kiss and a hug and NJ’s off to bed.

I’m not saying it’s all laughter and balloons when NJ and I are alone. The first day, NJ was pretty bummed it was not her mom waking her in the morning. There were tears, and she had to be reminded that Mommy was working away from home and Daddy was in full command. That cleared up quickly, though, and soon she was all smiles. And we were out the door to preschool much earlier than usual.

So there’s the situation. My rudimentary theory is that because of my oh-so-slightly more strict approach, NJ doesn’t feel like she can work me like she can work her mom (she’s probably wrong about that, but please don’t tell her). Or maybe she’s cutting me a break because she sees I don’t have myself together nearly as well as her mother does. (Deep down, I know that’s probably it. I know. I know, OK?)

Can anyone come up with a better theory? Theories that back my assertion that I AM THE BETTER PARENT, in particular, are most welcome. But not expected.

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The best in parenting news and blogs from around the Web.

Being a mom's not easy and it's not for the faint of heart. Sometimes, during a particularly trying day or time, it's easy to forget all of the small, wonderful things to love about being a mom. Sometimes, even the things that kind of annoy us (like getting up to refill a milk cup for the third time during dinner), have a sweetness to them, because we know those things won't last forever. Writing over at The Stir, one mom shares some of her favorite parts of motherhood. From brushing her daughter's hair, while she's still young enough to need and want help, to seeing her kids' grins when she picks them up at the bus stop, this mom reminds us of so many of the small joys kids bring us. What are some of the small, everyday moments of motherhood that you cherish the most?

Are balance bikes pure genius or pure gimmick?
It's just like riding a bike... once you learn, you'll never forget. But, that learning part can be pretty, darn tricky for kids. For generations, the answer to learning to ride a bike was simple: training wheels. Today though, training wheels have some competition in the balance bike. Balance bikes have been around for a while now, and while they're commonplace in some parts of the country, they're still a bit of a rarity elsewhere. Balance bikes don't have pedals and kids "walk" them along, learning how to balance first, before learning to pedal on a traditional bike later on. As Slate reports, many parents and bike enthusiasts have embraced the balance bike, saying kids learn how to ride faster with them. However, many remain skeptical about buying a bike that will need to be replaced rather quickly for one with pedals. After all, training wheels often come with small bikes and can then simply be removed, leaving the regular bike intact and ready to ride. Do you think balance bikes are a great invention and learning tool or are they just a gimmicky way to get parents to drop more money unnecessarily?

I have coloring at 2:00, block-building at 2:30 and a massage at 3:00
Everyone's worried about money, jobs and the recessions --and a little R&R at the spa can do wonders for easing those stresses away. Not for you, for your kindergartener. One kindergarten in Germany is now catering to the stressed-out five-and-under set, offering kids as young as three some blissful sounding services. While treatments like massages and foot baths sound posh, others like walking through wet grass barefoot sound like typical child's play to many. Before you roll your eyes and scoff though, it's worth noting that the Mail on Sunday reports that kids enrolled in the program have increased their cold-catching resistance by 60 percent in just a few weeks. Advocates of the program say that today's kids have hectic schedules and are absorbing their parents' grown-up stresses, which they largely don't understand, but that this program helps them learn how to cope and stay healthy as a result.

Foul balls! Some say school displayed unsportsmanlike behavior for refusing to play against a girl
Girls may be allowed to play on the boys' team. They may even start on the boys' team, but that doesn't mean an opposing team will agree to play against them, because of their gender. Just ask Paige Sultzbach, the starting second-base player on her school's baseball team. A star player throughout the season, Paige helped her team secure an undefeated record and led them straight to the state championships. They won the championship, for the first time ever -- by forfeit. The opposing team refused to play against a girl and so Paige's team won by default. Paige wanted to win the state championship, but not because the other team forfeited the game. Paige joined the baseball team because her school doesn't offer a girls' softball team. Her teammates and coaches have been incredibly supportive of her. When the issue over her gender came up, her coach wouldn't play the game without her, since she'd helped get them to the big game in the first place. As AZfamily.com reports, the opposing school released a statement in explanation, which read, "As a Catholic school we promote the ideal of forming and educating boys and girls separately during the adolescent years especially in physical education.”

When it comes to baby names, will mid-century be modern once again?
The popularity of baby names comes and goes. One day, the only Sophia you've heard of is Sophia Loren. Then, within a month, you've gotten six birth announcements for little Sophia's. Ava's, Olivia's and Isabelle's suddenly abound. Names that were popular in our grandmothers' generation are, once again, all the rage. But what about the names that were popular when our own moms were girls? Why aren't people naming their daughters Judy, Carol or Barbara anymore? It seems that boy names don't change in popularity quite as much as girl names, a few newcomers, like Jayden pop up here and there, and some nicknames, like Dick, have fallen by the wayside, but the classics have generally stuck around. Babble looks at some of the names that were so popular mid-century and wonders if they're ready for a comeback. Do you think that Joan and Nancy will become popular any time soon? Or, will we have to wait for our own daughters to become mothers, naming their little girls after their own grandmas, just as we've done?

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.

"Like" TODAY Moms on Facebook, and follow us @TodayMoms

James Cheng / msnbc.com

The top baby names of the year were released Monday and with them, a powder keg of a question has been raised: How do you feel about people baby-name poaching? 

One expectant mom named Meghan experienced this first-hand. Meghan let slip at her office that she intended to give her baby a family name, Benjamin, she wrote to NY Times etiquette columnist Philip Galanes, who published her conundrum Sunday. Shortly after, Meghan's assistant, also pregnant, announced that she was also naming her baby Benjamin, because she'd dug the sound of it. Meghan asked Philip if she could call out the assistant for criminal copycatting.

Kathie Lee and Hoda were split on the issue. KLG thought Benjamin is too common a name to steal: "I think if it was Brently or Briella, that would be one thing," she argued. But Hoda suspected that the assistant may have taken the name purely for the sake of copycatting.

Facebook commenters had tons to say when we asked at KLGH and at TODAY Moms about Grand Theft Benjamin:

Michael Huffines said: "Happened to my sister. A cousin took her daughter's name before either was born. I'm sorta glad because it was a redneck name."

Heather 'Hill' Booker said: "When I told our first child's name after we found out we were having a girl, I had a lady tell me that it was the same thing she named her cat."

Jessica Wilkinson-Manfre said: "My ex husband and I agreed if we had a girl, we would name her "Megan Elizabeth", after my grandmother. We did not have a girl, but two beautiful boys. After our divorce, my ex husband's girlfriend became pregnant. She had a girl. My ex husband picked out her name... Megan Elizabeth. A stab in my heart. Downside: it was cruel. Upside: my sons have a sister named after my beloved grandmother."

One thing is for sure: Hoda's mom probably didn't have to deal that problem. KLG joked that "Hoda" probably didn't crack the top 100.

"Or the top 100,000," said Hoda.

What do you think? Is it stealing to take someone else's baby name? 

Julieanne Smolinski is a TODAY.com contributor. She spells her name all crazy so nobody takes it.

More: The list is out! Top baby names of 2011 are ...
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It's official -- we're all keeping up with the Kardashians now. Even when it comes to baby names.

The Social Security Administration released its top 1,000 baby name list for 2011 on Monday morning. This is the mother of all baby-name lists, eagerly awaited by name nerds and anxious parents (most of whom are praying that their kids' names don't see a sudden jump in popularity).

Jackson Lee / Splash News

Mommy's little trend-setter: Kourtney Kardashian's son, Mason, is inspiring lots of baby namers.

Mason is the big story of 2011, jumping to No. 2 and bumping Anthony from the top 10 -- it's the only new name to crack the top 10 for either boys or girls. The name has been in the top 100 for a while, but experts credit its sudden surge in popularity to Kourtney Kardashian, who named her son Mason in 2009 (and she's currently expecting baby No. 2).

Related: What do you do if someone "steals" your baby name?

The top ten names in 2011 (click here to search a name and see the full list of 1,000 on the Social Security Administration website):

BOYS

1. Jacob
2. Mason
3. William
4. Jayden
5. Noah
6. Michael
7. Ethan
8. Alexander
9. Aiden
10. Daniel

GIRLS

1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Madison
9. Mia
10. Chloe

So do people just idolize those Kardashians? Not necessarily.

While a few expectant parents may have named a baby Mason in homage to the reality-TV stars, the vast majority probably just heard the name thanks to the Kardashian clan's ubiquity, and thought it sounded nice. Mason boasts the -N ending that seems to resonate with today's parents of boys -- four of the top 10 names on the boy's list end with an N. (Parents of girls seem to favor the -A ending, with six of the top 10 names ending that way.)

Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard book and blog, does a great job breaking down the allure of the -N ending in this post here.

On her blog, Wattenberg notes that Mason may owe its popularity to an even earlier pop-culture inspiration: 

Yes, having a little Mason on tabloid covers in every supermarket in the country makes a difference. But the critical spur to Mason's rise happened 25 years earlier, when the name first appeared in the soap opera "Santa Barbara." The national Mason rate rose ten-fold during the soap's run, and it's been climbing ever since.

This is the thirteenth year in a row that Jacob has topped the boy's list. Sophia swapped places with Isabella this year to take the No. 1 spot.

The real fun in the baby names list, though, is in the trending list -- those names that are moving fastest up the popular list. Could Aria and Archer be the next Aiden or Ava? How about Nylah and Nico for a trendy sibling set? Here is the social security administration's list of top trenders:

BOYS

1. Brantley
2. Iker
3. Maximiliano
4. Zaiden
5. Kamden
6. Barrett
7. Archer
8. Declan
9. Atticus
10. Nico

GIRLS

1. Briella
2. Angelique
3. Aria
4. Mila
5. Elsie
6. Nylah
7. Raelynn
8. Brynlee
9. Olive
10. June

What do you think of the most popular names in 2011? And how did your favorite names fare in popularity? Tell us on our Facebook page.

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Moms' picks for best and worst celebrity baby names

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Pronounced dead, revived by mom's hug: Miracle baby turns 2

Flashback: Top baby names of 2010 announced

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Rosemary Ruiz

Mom Hero Jennie stayed by her daughter Shennie's side every time she was hospitalized, always pushing to improve her care.

In honor of Mother's Day, TODAY Moms is celebrating Mom Heroes, those everyday wonder women who quietly change the world. More than 700 readers submitted essays for our Mom Hero contest, and we wish we could give everyone a prize. Ultimately, the winners told us beautiful stories about mothers who are unsung heroes. Check back every day this week for a new winner.

Do you know a mom hero who deserves thanks? Send her a TODAY.com e-card or print out your own Mom Hero certificate.

By Rosemary Ruiz

My sister, Jennie Pascual, is my mom hero. Jennie was pregnant with her first child when our mom started having serious heart conditions due to diabetes. Because she was not working, my sister dedicated herself to taking care of mom at home and every single time she was hospitalized during that year. (My mom would spend 2 to 3 weeks at home and returned to the hospital for a lengthy stay.)

My mom passed away in 2005 from complications due to diabetes and heart surgery. Just five days before, Jennie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl she named Shennie. Shennie was diagnosed with Aicardi Syndrome a few months later. She was attached to a feeding tube and on a ventilator until her life ended just one month shy of her second birthday.

During the time Shennie was sick, my sister became a super mom. She educated herself on medical terminology, CPR and everything she could find that would help her take care of her daughter. It was because of research that my sister had done that the doctors were able to correctly diagnose my niece with Aicardi Syndrome.

My sister spent weeks on end without going home. She was at Shennie's side every single time she was hospitalized. When Shennie was home, my sister took care of her, maintaining a very strict medicine regimen, suctioning her, feeding her through the tube, cleaning her tube and so much more.

The loss of her daughter and her dedication to her care inspired her to become a pediatric nurse. My sister now has two boys. They are the most beautiful, happy babies that I have ever seen. All this, thanks to my sister's care. Because she is so dedicated to her boys, she hardly has any time for herself. She has gone through a period of tremendous weight loss, and I am sure she would love to have time to get pampered and go shopping.

My sister deserves the best. They used to tell me that I needed to be a good example for my sister because she looks up to me. In my case, I look up to her. She is my source when I need advice or just someone to talk to, laugh with, or cry with. She is the best mom in the world.

All bundled up: Jennie and son Ean.

(Editor's note: Winner announced subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with Official Rules. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.)

Each winner of the Mom Hero contest will receive a free Xbox. But wait, there's more! Anyone with an Xbox can be a big winner this Mother's Day -- download the TODAY app on your Xbox and use it to watch TODAY videos, and you could win a trip for two to a Beaches resort. Click here for details.

For Mother's Day gift guides, video and more, check out our special section here.

More stories about inspiring moms and amazing kids:

Pronounced dead, revived by mom's hug

After the storm: Don't take a moment for granted

Tornado mom on the comeback trail

Your cute kids are... super-heroes!

"Like" TODAY Moms on Facebook, and follow us @TodayMoms

Cherise Desper

Rebecca Cherise Desper, Cheryl Chambers, Christin Hope Chambers and Rebecca Faith McKenney all particpated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

In honor of Mother's Day, TODAY Moms is celebrating Mom Heroes, those everyday wonder women who quietly change the world. More than 700 readers submitted essays for our Mom Hero contest, and we wish we could give everyone a prize. Ultimately, the winners told us beautiful stories about mothers who are unsung heroes. Check back every day this week for a new winner.

Do you know a mom hero who deserves thanks? Send her a TODAY.com e-card, or print out your own Mom Hero certificate.

By Cherise Desper

I know there are so many amazing mothers in this world but I have to tell you about mine, Cheryl Chambers, who has been a huge inspiration to me.

She has overcome breast cancer, donated her bone marrow to help save her sister's life, been a huge advocate for patients’ rights in front of Congress, helped start a school for “at risk” teenagers, and spent countless hours helping others as a minister’s wife.

I am still amazed every day with how huge her heart is. My mother and father were high school sweethearts and married soon after. While my father was in seminary, she worked to provide the best for us even though we were very poor. She must have done her job because I do not have any memories of being less fortunate. She has always been great with children and has taught Sunday School for 40 years. She has also has been a teacher for the alternative school (Community High in Chesterfield, Va.) since its beginning.

Many days, she has given her lunch, clothes, and even money to those teenagers trying to better their lives. I am amazed at her patience and respect for the kids that come through the program that she helped create. In her 30s, she and my father decided to have another child and my sister was a blessing to us all!

During that time, my mother’s sister was diagnosed with leukemia. My mother flew to Seattle, Washington, from Virginia and spent many months with her sister, donating her bone marrow twice. She gave blood every day for her sister, Becky, and never left her side.  My mother was invited to speak about patient’s rights by Senator Bill Frist and by Representative Dianna Degette. The new law on Patient’s Bill of Rights was helped formed because of her testimony.

Almost five years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent eight surgeries within one year. The picture shown above is of her doing the Komen Race for the Cure. It’s deceiving because she had a lumpectomy the day before, but she still wanted to be there. I pushed her the whole way in a wheel chair and she shared her story with many. During this time, she also let me move in with her (I had decided to finish college at age 37). Mom helped me with my children and schoolwork many days and nights.

My mom is soon retiring and is preparing for knee replacement surgery, but I know she will do fine. She has been so strong through so many adversities and has been such an awesome role model and mother. I am a very proud daughter.

(Editor's note: Winner announced subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with Official Rules. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.)

Each winner of the Mom Hero contest will receive a free Xbox. But wait, there's more! Anyone with an Xbox can be a big winner this Mother's Day -- download the TODAY app on your Xbox and use it to watch TODAY videos, and you could win a trip for two to a Beaches resort. Click here for details.

For Mother's Day gift guides, video and more, check out our special section here.

More stories about inspiring moms and amazing kids:

Pronounced dead, revived by mom's hug

After the storm: Don't take a moment for granted

Tornado mom on the comeback trail

Your cute kids are... super-heroes!

"Like" TODAY Moms on Facebook, and follow us @TodayMoms

When you have kids, you realize that heroism comes in lots of different forms, and most of it doesn't get recognized.

That was the point of the Mom Hero contest on TODAY Moms: To sing the praises of unsung heroes. To give these quiet champions their due, and celebrate the mom hero in all of us.

As the editor of TODAY Moms, I hoped we'd get enough good entries to inspire a few people. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

We got about 800 entries, and as I read through them, each seemed deserving of a grand prize. Nominations poured in for moms who have done so much for the people around them, never expecting a word of recognition. They love because they are moms (and aunts and grandmothers and daughters and sisters and friends); they give because they are good people. I wished I could declare everyone a winner. I wished I could give every mom an award, because you all deserve something.

But, we only had five Xboxes to give away. So there were five winners. (You can read the winning essays here -- the last one will be published on Mother's Day.)

Still, all those essays about amazing, deserving moms haunted me. So here's what we came up with: The Mom Hero Award. Like motherhood itself, it has no financial benefits. You can't trade it in for cash or prizes. But to me, it's priceless.

If you know a mom hero -- whether you entered our contest or not -- please let her know. Click this link, print out the Mom Hero Certificate, fill in her name as an official Mom Hero, and give it to her this Mother's Day.

Now's the time. Let your mom hero know how you feel. Happy Mother's Day.

Thanks to web designer Ashley Zammitt for her usual amazing work creating this certificate.

Here's more for Mother's Day:

Read the stories of the official Mom Hero contest winners here.

Do you know a mom hero who deserves thanks? Send her a TODAY.com e-card.  

Anyone with an Xbox can be a big winner this Mother's Day -- download the TODAY app on your Xbox and use it to watch TODAY videos, and you could win a trip for two to Beaches Resorts. Click here for details.

"Like" TODAY Moms on Facebook, and follow us @TodayMoms

Courtesy Mara Schiavocampo

NBC Correspondent Mara Schiavocampo, pictured here with her baby daughter, wonders: Breast-feeding is such a beautiful thing, why does the conversation about it turn so ugly?

When it comes to Time magazine’s cover of a mother breast-feeding her nearly 4-year old son, there’s one thing most of us can agree on: It’s shocking. We’re simply not used to seeing a child of that age suckling his mother’s breast. But what I’ve found nearly as shocking is much of the public outcry against it. For many people, the problem isn’t that a grown kid is breast-feeding, it’s that the magazine had the gall to show breast-feeding period.

Time’s cover has generated a flurry of discussion, and much of it speaks to the ick factor so many feel when they see a nursing mother. On Facebook, Twitter, and in old-fashioned face-to-face conversations, I’ve heard person after person say essentially the same thing. Breastfeeding is gross, and they don’t want to see it.

“That’s what breast pumps are for,” wrote one poster. Another called nursing “animalistic.” Sadly, it’s a sentiment I hear all the time. The message is simple: Breastfeeding is yucky, and if you’re going to do it, make sure you lock yourself in a room so no one can see it. I have no doubt that many people would be equally offended by the magazine cover if the child were a 1-year-old.

But here’s what kills me - as a society we have no problem with breasts, or milk. We just don’t like them together. A woman’s breasts are fine as long as they are sexualized. Cleavage lurks around every corner. It’s on billboards and commercials, at the beach and on city sidewalks. But the moment a woman uses her breasts for the purpose they were actually created, they suddenly become gross.

People are entitled to their feelings. If breastfeeding bothers you, so be it. But since so many insist on forcing their negative opinions on the world, allow me to share mine. My daughter is 4 months old. Minutes after she was born, the nurse asked me if I’d like to nurse. I said I did, though I had absolutely no clue what to do.

She gave me the baby, I put her in position, and she latched on and started sucking immediately. She had just entered the world moments before, had never seen another human being, and she knew exactly what to do. It floored me. It was like staring into the face of God and it was the single most magical moment of my life. I only wish that when they come across breastfeeding, more people would see it that way, viewing it not as madness, but magic.

Related stories:

Time's breast-feeding toddler cover spurs shock, talk

Controversial ad uses breast-feeding to sell cookies

Wean, baby, wean: The pressure to rest the breast

More adoptive moms breast-feed babies

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Traci French and her son.

Facebook was yesterday's time suck for moms. Today it's Pinterest.

The online bulletin board, where people can organize and share all the beautiful things they find on the Internet, has become a hot spot for moms to get inspired. And while we aren't the ones who need to come up with Mother's Day ideas (dads, kids, that's your job!), Pinterest is a great way to see what the creative masses are up to.

Sometimes it’s a yummy brunch idea or a craft to do with the kids. Sometimes it’s just a great gift idea.

And sometimes it’s nothing more than a short break from dirty diapers and deadlines to look at pretty pictures.

“I usually pin stuff that catches my eye,” says Michelle DuPuis, a photographer in Minneapolis who has a 20-month-old son.

DuPuis, who has more than 200,000 followers on Pinterest, shares these easy-to-make gift ideas. (Click on the photos to go to Pinterest for instructions on how to make them. If you're not currently on Pinterest, just request an invite.)

Courtesy Michelle DuPuis

chalkboard vases

Courtesy Michelle DuPuis

DIY fruity dish towels

And what mom would turn down breakfast-in-bed on Sunday, especially if it includes these chocolate croissants?

Courtesy Michelle DuPuis

chocolate croissants

Traci French, a photographer and blogger as well as a mother of two in Bend, Ore., often finds inspiring new ideas on Pinterest. She likes sharing ideas with women who have a similar aesthetic.

“It’s really easy to connect with people who have similar interests and gravitate to the same things as you do,” says French.

"You can kind of get lost in it for a little bit.” 

Courtesy Traci French

I love clocks by Mrs. French

Courtesy Traci French

horse

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