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

Yet another super-sized family has added a 19th baby to its clan. The Bates brood, who are friends with the Duggars, welcomed little Jeb Colton Bates recently, although he wasn't expected to make his debut until Valentine's day. Kelly Bates, the 45-year-old matriarch of this jumbo family has spent more of her adult life pregnant than not. The couple cites religious beliefs for their lack of contraception, saying "we just want to trust God with how many children we have." However, while they don't believe that God's plan calls for condoms, they do believe it calls for hormone therapy to strengthen Kelly's uterine wall, a treatment she underwent after suffering three miscarriages in a row. While many condemn the Duggars for the number of children they've brought into the world, nobody criticizes the finances of that self-sustaining family. The same cannot be said for the Bates family, who have been widely criticized for not having health insurance for their 11 youngest kids. In the past, dad, Gil Bates, has said that a Christian clinic takes care of their prenatal care, while "negotiations" with insurance companies have helped cover medical emergencies. It's said that the Duggar and Bates families see each other on a regular basis. Can you imagine those families going out to dinner together? Table for 42 please!

The first generation of helicopter parents (and their kids) enters the job market
They say a parents' job is never done. This is especially true for helicopter parents. For some, having their kid go off to college is just the beginning. First, they make sure their kid gets the best roommate possible and coordinates the class schedule. Then, once those kids graduate from college, parents need to be on hand to send their resume on to employers. Then, parents have to work hard to negotiate a better salary or more vacation time for those "kids." The first generation of heli-kids is all grown up(well, mainly). However, their entrance into adulthood hasn't stopped their parents from coordinating all aspects of their lives. While many colleges and employers frown upon this, some are recognizing that accepting or hiring a millennial is hiring the whole famdamily. Some colleges have even created an Office of Parent Relations. Employers are also starting to embrace the involved parent, creating events like "Take Your Parent to Work Day" and sending recruiting packets to both prospective employees and their parents.

Parents of habitually tardy kids get sent to court
When we hear "contributing to the delinquency of a minor," we usually think about adults handing a six-pack to a teenager outside of a minimart -- not a parent whose kids are tardy to school. Yet, that's the charge against one mom, whose kids are habitually late to school. She now faces a misdemeanor, which could land her a year in jail. She's not the only mom in her district to be facing some fairly stiff penalties for being chronically late out of the door in the morning. Another couple had the sheriff's deputy knock on their front door, handing them a court summons because their kids were regularly late to school -- usually by less than five minutes. That dad claims the extreme crackdown on tardiness is "the nanny state gone wild." District officials say tardiness and truancy amount to a "child welfare issue." While many states and districts are scaling back on punishments for truancy and tardiness, other states are upping the ante. A couple of years ago, Nebraska passed a law  where kids with 20 or more absences (excused or not) get sent to the state attorney general. Is this "the nanny state gone wild," or is it time parents take education and punctuality seriously?

Two teachers in one school accused of abuse -- the entire teaching staff is replaced
Unfortunately these days it seems like we can't turn around without hearing of another heinous act against children. The Jerry Sandusky-Penn State scandal's been the biggest, but now there's another, new, horrible one making headlines. This time it involves two teachers in Los Angeles and some of the acts are said to have happened in the classroom. Now, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District has announced that every single teacher at the school will be replacedthis week. The abuse is believed to have gone on for a number of years, which makes many to wonder if other teachers knew but didn't report it or if they somehow participated in a cover-up. Everyone's expecting a lengthy investigation. The teachers will be reassigned to a new school that hasn't opened yet. In addition, every kid in the district who has attended the school will be interviewed. While many are applauding the district for taking the situation seriously, others are worried about the message the massive overhaul might send to the kids. Undoubtedly, many innocent teachers will be reassigned and students will be left with only strange faces during a scary and uncertain time. Do you think replacing every teacher is the prudent thing to do or will it just further frighten the kids?

13-year-old girls given birth control implants at school --without their parents' knowledge
School nurses are known for bandaging scrapes and helping out during an allergic reaction. They even have tampons on hand in case a girl finds herself in need. But, many parents in Britain are outraged to find out that nurses at school have been giving girls as young as 13 contraceptive implants without telling their parents. It is said that in 2011, 1,700 13 and 14-year-old girls were given the implant and another 800 were given birth control injections. Add to that another 4,900 15-year-old girls who were given one of those forms of birth control and it adds up to a lot of ticked off parents. But, because of strict patient confidentiality rules, the staff can't inform parents about it. In addition to being upset that their daughters were given birth control without their permission, many parents are worried about the side-effects associated with the contraception, including weight gain, depression, acne and irregular periods (as if it wasn't hard enough raising teenage girls without those delightful new traits thrown in...). The girls who got the school-administered contraception live in an area that suffers from a high teen pregnancy rate.

Should tweens have their own cell phones
Getting your ears pierced used to be a major rite of passage for tween girls. Now, it's getting your first cell phone. Surveys show that cell phone usage amongst 10 and 11 year old kids increased by 80 percent between 2005-2009. Last spring, one mom came home to find a well-reasoned, written argument, from her fourth-grade daughter, asking for a cell phone. Despite her articulateness, the girl still got shot down. She was told she'd have to wait until middle school like her older siblings. However, over the past several months, her parents started to change their minds. The safety and convenience concerns finally convinced them to give her one for her 11th birthday. Does your tween have their own cell phone?

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.

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David Beckham's revealing ad during the Super Bowl made him blush, as well as his children.

Looks like even the king of cool embarrasses his kids once in a while. Soccer star David Beckham admitted that his three boys were less than thrilled to see his new commercial that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday night.

The ad features the heavily tattooed Beckham showing off his well toned body, as much as his new underwear line for H&M.

“Yesterday when we were watching the Super Bowl, the commercial came on and I didn’t know where to look,” he told Ryan Seacrest in a radio interview on Monday. “It was kind of embarrassing. The kids loved it, but they were embarrassed as well because there were other people in the room.”

Yep, we can see how watching your nearly-nude dad prancing around in his underwear on national TV might be a tad mortifying.

Over the weekend, Becks, as he’s affectionately known at home in Britain, also confessed that he was recently thrown off the sidelines of a children’s soccer match for arguing with the referee after a penalty was given to a kid from another team.

 “I was like, ‘Come on referee, he’s 7-years old, you can’t send him off.’ He looked and me and was like ‘Yes, I can,’” he said on the U.K.’s Jonathan Ross Show.

Beckham kept arguing and the ref gave him a red card, telling him "to get out of the park. For real."

While the Beckham boys seem to take after their dad with their love of soccer, after nearly five years in the U.S., they no longer have the English accent of their parents.

“I was reading a story to one of the boys the other day and he goes, ‘Daddy, you’re so English.’”

So it seems that even famous soccer players, admired the world over, are as uncool to their kids as the rest of us. We can hear them now – American accents and all: “Dad, you are so embarrassing!”

Rachel Elbaum is a London-based writer and mom to two boys, who are still too young to find her embarrassing.

More great TODAY Moms stories on the subject of...embarrassment!

10 ways to avoid embarrassing your kids on Facebook

Do you embarrass your kids?

Mommy, why is that lady so fat?

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Does your ideal Valentine's Day include red roses? Fancy jewelry? A babysitter and a night out? A heart-pounding night of adventure with Jason Bourne?

You know who you are, Matt Damon fans. TODAY Moms and Parenting.com surveyed more than 800 moms and asked which celeb dad would be your Valentine's dream date: actor and father of four Matt Damon tops the list, followed by Johnny Depp and David Beckham. Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom and Will Smith rounded out the bottom -- sorry, fellas.

Decisions, decisions...

Related: Matt Damon sticks up for his mama

(For those 50 percent who picked "none of the above" in our survey, tell us in the comments, who's your dream date? And don't say your husband -- that's very sweet, and we're happy for you, but indulge in a little celebrity fantasy!)

Just in case Matt's reading this, TODAY Moms also told us their ideal V-Day gift. Most popular? A babysitter and a date night out with your man was top choice for a third of moms. One in five want something tangible and traditional: Flowers, chocolate, jewelry. Others go for something homemade (13 percent) or simply a night "off" from the kids and household responsibilities (14 percent). But we do want romance: Only 2 percent said they'd like a practical gift, like a blender or a snow-blower.

Related: Read more about our survey from Parenting.com

Romance can be hard to find, though. A third of respondents acknowledge that V-Day is less of a big deal when you're a parent, because really, who has the time? Another third say it becomes a holiday more for the kids than for mom and dad. Just one in 10 die-hard romantics say Valentine's Day actually becomes more important after you have kids, because it's key to take the opportunity to re-connect as a couple.

Related: How Brangelina get their romantic "alone time"

Sex? It's optional. About half of moms say they plan on getting some Valentine's nookie. Of those, a depressing one in five say they'll do the deed only because it's expected and they feel like they should.

As far as spending, most of us aren't going crazy this V-Day. Our respondents plan to spend an average of $24 on a gift for their partner and $23 on gifts for their kids. A third won't spend a dime on their partner because they don't exchange gifts. And only 2 percent plan to splash out with a gift of more than $100 for their partner.

As a wise woman (I think it was JLo) once said, "Love don't cost a thing." Happy Valentine's Day, everyone -- and check in with our Facebook page on Feb. 14 to rant and rave about your best and worst V-Day presents.

Our gift to you:
Matt Damon slideshow
Johhny Depp slideshow

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My 5-year-old son and I were walking to the kitchen that November night for a snack. “Something happened, Mom,” he said. I looked back at Sam, thinking maybe he’d dropped his Matchbox car, or his pajama bottoms had fallen down.

Diana Sugg

Sam+Emma. True love... in kindergarten? Don't laugh, the experts say, their feelings are real.

Instead, he stopped and looked at me for a moment. An impish smile spread across his face. “I fell in love,” he announced. “I’m in love with Emma.”

I didn’t know what to say. For weeks, Sam had been bringing up his classmate Emma. They’d been playing and hugging and having a grand time. My husband and I laughed and thought it was adorable.

But was it love? How could it be? They were only in kindergarten.

In fact, experts say, age 5 or 6 is the moment when romantic love first arrives. Boys and girls begin to notice each other. They develop loyalties. They start to share secrets.

“These are really strong feelings that kids actually have,” said Dr. Barbara Howard, a nationally known developmental behavioral pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “They really do love each other.”

Sam and Emma both have big imaginations and lots of creativity. They’d hit it off during recess, digging for dinosaur fossils in the sandbox, and running across the field, searching the sky for hawks.  

Diana Sugg

Emma made this card for Sam, her kindergarten sweetheart.

Kindergarten is the moment when kids are in school full-time, and moving away from their primary caregiver. It’s natural and healthy to attach to another person for comfort and security, said Dr. Joyce Harrison, director of preschool psychiatry programs at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Children also start trying out adult roles. As kindergartners, they realize they’re in the big school and think they’re supposed to act like a grown-up, said Harrison. “It’s all a part of sorting out, ‘Who am I, and what am I supposed to do?’” she said.

Some boys propose to girls. My sister got a cigar band from her classmate. A friend’s aunt actually had a boy in her kindergarten bring in his mother’s two-carat diamond engagement ring. Honored, the girl wore it on her thumb all day.

But this role-playing is often more than play. Parents and teachers shouldn’t laugh at it – or make it into a big deal. These are genuine feelings that should be respected and accepted.

Because it’s also an age when children are naturally curious about their bodies, Howard noted that parents should supervise these kids, because sometimes they want to know how girls’ and boys’ bodies are different.

But rarely does anything need to be done about these relationships. They run their course. Just when things seem to be getting too intense, teachers and doctors say, interests change. Usually, by first and second grade, boys just want to be with the boys, and girls want to play with girls.

For now, Emma and Sam have decided they’re going to get married. They’ve practiced their wedding dance. They’ve named their five children. More importantly, they have fun, and they watch out for each other. She makes him cards; he brings her the water bottle she left behind.

When Sam first told me, I think I mumbled a few comments. Mostly, I tried to say it was nice.

Now, seeing them together, knowing that he wants me to pick him up later each school day – so he can savor just a few more minutes sitting next to Emma  – I find myself smiling. And I think to myself, “Good for Sam.” He’s lucky to have this special friend.

The other day, when Sam was getting a ride with Emma and her father, I bent inside the car to hug him good-bye. I noticed that Sam and Emma, each in a car seat, had stretched out their arms toward each other. They were holding hands over the empty space between them.

When I looked into Sam’s face, it was lit from within, with excitement, with happiness, with something I’d never seen before. Dare I say it? Love.

Diana K. Sugg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has covered medicine, crime and other issues for newspapers around the country. She is now a freelance writer in Baltimore raising two young sons.

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

Facebook and the nursing mom have a long, contentious, photo-deleting history with each other. Moms keep posting pictures of themselves breastfeeding their babies and Facebook keeps taking those pictures down. Bowing to pressure, Facebook changed its policy, officially allowing the pictures. However, as pictures of hungry babes continue to get flagged as "inappropriate" and deleted, moms continue to cry sour milk. A worldwide nurse-in was staged recently, where moms gathered in front of various Facebook offices to protest the social media giant's actions. Protests were staged in Seattle, Northern California, Austin, Texas, as well as Dublin, Ireland and Australia.

Pregnant? No booze for you!
You must have been born before this date in 1991 if you want to purchase alcohol. You also cannot have conceived in the past nine months if you want to purchase alcohol. Yes, if you're rocking a baby bump in South Africa, then you won't be buying booze if some lawmakers have their way. A new liquor bill has been drafted which would make it illegal to sell alcohol to "minors, anyone wearing a school uniform, anyone who 'reasonably appears to be intoxicated', or pregnant women." While most people agree that it's not the best idea for expectant mothers to be drinking, many are outraged that anyone would actually go so far as to make it illegal for a pregnant woman to buy alcohol. They reason that she might not be buying it for herself. Since it would be up to clerks to determine whether or not a woman is pregnant, this law would only apply to women who are showing. Many also feel for the gals who face the decidedly uncomfortable "is she-isn't she?" conversations?

Parents, it's time to go back, back to (driving) school
So, your teen's about ready to get his license. But, are you ready for driver's ed? Not for him, for you. Parents of teenagers are prepared to teach their kids how to drive, they don't necessarily expect to go back to class themselves. While many states have instituted graduated drivers licensing, Connecticut has actually required parents to attend a mandatory class before their kids can get their license. The New Jersey state legislature recently passed a similar law, but it was vetoed. Studies show that kids whose parents set limits on their driving are less likely to be involved in car crashes. However, many parents have complained about the new, required course load. Would you object to attending a mandatory class before your kid could get their license?

Hello Kitty backpacks, stickers, books and now... haircuts
Just because you're all grown up and have kids of your own, doesn't mean you aren't still your parent's baby. Being their baby, you'd do anything to help your parents out -- even if that means getting a Hello Kitty haircut, just to cheer your old man up. One fifty year old man had the popular feline shaved into the back of his head in an effort to cure his father's winter blues. It took two hours for a stylist to craft the girly cat on the back of his head, but it was worth it, because it made his dad laugh for days. As an added bonus, this guy's own (14!) children also find it hilarious. Now, that's a good son.

11-year-old shaves head -- internet speculates
Speaking of shaving one's head... 11-year-old Willow Smith, caused quite the uproar recently after she tweeted a picture of herself donning a bald dome. Although the budding pop star (and celeb offspring) hasn't told the world why she shaved her hair off, that hasn't stopped rampant speculation about it online. While some call it a harmless act of self-expression, others argue that parents of tweens should offer more guidance and restrictions when it comes to kids' hairstyles. Do you set limits on what your kids can do to their hair or do you rationalize that it'll grow back eventually and let them make their own choices on their locks?

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.

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Courtesy Kurt Niebur

Susan Niebur has died of breast cancer.

The world has lost another mommy soldier in the breast cancer wars.

Susan Niebur, mom of two who blogged about her  5-year battle with the disease on Toddler Planet, died this week.

As her husband,  Kurt, described in a post called "Goodbye":

Susan Niebur passed away on February 6, 2012 after a lifetime of love, crusades, and strength.  Over the last five years she lived with inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer that presents without a lump.  She chronicled her life with cancer here on her blog Toddler Planet with honesty and emotion that were even more rare and aggressive.

TODAY Moms readers got to experience Niebur’s passion and emotion when she wrote about the passing of Elizabeth Edwards, who died of cancer in December of 2010. In that post, Niebur eloquently described how  cancer had robbed her own kids of a normal childhood, describing them as “veterans of the cancer treatment dance.”

My children come to the hospital with me for checkups and blood draws.  They wait patiently during physical therapy appointments, playing with Matchbox cars as the scar tissue is ripped off my chest and I work to regain function in my arms.  They help me pull my lymphedema sleeves on in the morning, settle for quiet playdates instead of park and museum adventures, and have adjusted to quiet, easy pets like fish instead of boisterous puppies as we had planned.  They cuddle with me in the afternoons when I have no energy, and happily share their Legos and Play-Doh when I do.  They are my constant companions, my joy, my loves, and my reasons for living.

She also wrote about her darkest fears as a mother with cancer.

Cancer is a thief that separates mothers from children and tears our world apart, one mother, one child at a time. The grief that we feel at losing Elizabeth Edwards, mother, daughter, advocate, and friend, is real, even if we never met her, because she has showed us the depth of a mother's love for her children, a love that keeps them close and touches us with its strength - and yet, she was taken from them anyway.  If she couldn't triumph over cancer, how can we?

The same goes for how many feel about Susan Niebur.

As one reader commented on Toddler Planet after hearing the news:

Be at Peace WhyMommy, your bright attitude and the blessings you leave behind are but a small part of the reason so many have followed your every move. We’ll miss you.

Though many never met her, their grief is real, too, because Niebur was a shining example of courage. She shared honesty and showed hope in the most difficult of predicaments.

She many not have triumphed over cancer. But she sure went down swinging.

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Let me start by saying I wanted to hate “Bringing up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting” by Pamela Druckerman (UK title: "French Children Don't Throw Food"). I was already there with the publication of “French Women Don’t Get Fat” by Mireille Guiliano.   

The flagrant arrogance of one culture to claim they do anything better than another is so irritating to me (ironic, coming from an American, right?).  And now I’m supposed to embrace that the French are not only skinnier and better dressed - but that they are also better parents?!  Excuse moi??  Next, the French are going to say they are better at sex!  Oh wait…

The Penguin Press

But to my surprise, Ms. Druckerman gives an enjoyable and thoughtful read that researches and explains thoroughly why she believes the French have something valuable to say about parenting.  And I kind of buy it.  Unlike many of the other parenting books I’ve read, Ms. Druckerman explores and questions French parenting techniques with the same journalistic professionalism and thoroughness she brings to all of her work.

The main point of the book is that French parents adhere to an unspoken “code.”  Druckerman refers to a parenting strategy she calls “La Pause.”  “La Pause” is the time French parents take (perhaps to take a sip of wine?) before responding to crying babies, screaming children, or the demands of tiny Napoleons.

Ms. Druckerman suggests that because French parents don’t respond immediately to their children, they learn more autonomy.

French mothers don’t hover at playdates; they don’t pack their children’s schedules with activities; and they don’t let their children be deluded into believing that they’re the center of the universe.  The result is independent children who see their parents as individuals who deserve respect and privacy.   How can any mother (American, Irish, Chinese, whatever…) fight with that?

The British cover of "Bringing Up Bebe" promises that French children don't throw food. Ooh la la!

Of course, not all French parenting ways are so digestible.  For example. the French take a negative view of breastfeeding and mothers are encouraged, and even pressured, to lose their baby weight immediately.  I personally don’t care who gives their babies formula, or has a perpetual pooch, but I am of the mind that we need to get off each other’s backs.

Like Druckerman – and this is probably the reason she won me over so quickly – I have an older singleton and twins.  Every day I am amazed at how different they are.  Each one has their own quirks, challenges and strengths.  One is a picky eater, one never listens unless my vocal chords are visible through my open mouth, and one gladly gives the best foot massages EVER!  I didn’t foster any of this (other than perhaps the foot rubs…).  It was totally out of my hands.

We are all looking for answers -- confirmation that how we are raising our children will result in success.   But maybe the answer lies in a question – “How do you define success?”  Do you want your child to be free-spirited?  Creative?  Driven?  A leader? Family oriented?    

Then there’s the question of  “What kind of child do you have?”  Sensitive?  Focused?  Outspoken?  If I ever pulled a “Tiger Mom” on my older daughter, she’d be in an institution before she was 20.  That’s not success to me.

With so many variables, how can any parenting method take credit for being the best?

I believe we can learn something about parenting from every culture.  But I don’t believe there is a “recipe” for raising the perfect child. 

Some kids need a bit of “this” and a heavy dose of “that.”  Some need a dash of “that” and a sprinkling of “this.”  But in the end, the only time-tested ingredient you can add is a heapin’ helpin’ of love, then sit back and hope your child will rise.

Are you the next Tiger Mom? Read on for more:
The tiger mother and harsh parenting
Your teen is no teacup: If you want to hold on, let go
True strength isn't the Tiger Mom, it's the Dragon Mom

Sarah Maizes is the founder of www.MommyLITEonline.com, a parenting humor site, and the author of  “Got Milf? The Modern Mom’s Guide to Feeling Fabulous, Looking Great and Rocking a Minivan”.  She is a freelance writer, speaker, comedian and mother of three.  In her spare time she… wait… she has no spare time.

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

SWF seeks SM for conception and co-parenting. Burnt out on match.com and JDate, but you still want to have kids and raise a family? Well, there's a site for you. It skips all of that pesky romance nonsense and goes straight to the heart of the matter -- the raising of the babies. Modamily claims to be the “first community to facilitate introductions between responsible, like-minded adults committed to co-parenting a child.” After a match is made, couples draw up a co-parenting contract, which outlines how things like religion, finances and time obligations will be handled. Some say that the old, "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage," plan ends in divorce all too often. So, why not make the commitment to the child first, then deal with the messy romantic love aspect later (or not)? Of course, there are skeptics, who say that raising a child is a challenging undertaking, made easier if there is love and commitment between the parents, not just towards the child, but towards each other.

Rape tag?! Say it's not so
"Rape! You're it!" For those of us who grew up thinking Friday flip up day was pretty risqué, the idea of rape tag on the playground is downright shocking. An elementary school principal in Minnesota recently sent letters home to parents, letting them know about a game dubbed "rape tag" that was being played during recess. The concept is similar to freeze tag, except players had to be "humped" before they could be unfrozen. The school first learned of the game a few weeks earlier and quickly tagged it out. But, rumors began circulating via Facebook, prompting the principal to send the letter to parents.

Catholic school girls told to ditch their skirts (for a more modest look)
Oh, those Catholic school girls and their tantalizing tartans. One private school in Connecticut has had it with the girls tarting up their uniforms by rolling the waistbands on their plaid skirts (thus, shortening them and showing a bit more leg in the process). St. Bernadette's is replacing the classic skirts with a uniform of khakis and polo shirts. However, many parents aren't happy with the new dress code and are bemoaning the break with tradition. Some parents have protested that they don't want their daughters looking like a "magnet school kid," while others are upset that their daughters won't be easily recognizable as a St. Bernadette student around town. The more practical parents are just annoyed that they have to shell out for new uniforms.

Stinky diaper forces plane to make an emergency landing
Remain calm, folks. We're about to attempt an emergency landing. Not to cause alarm, but there is a very foul-smelling diaper onboard and we must land this plane immediately. A Qantas flight was recently re-routed after passengers complained about a very strange and bad smell. Qantas procedures require planes to land immediately if a mysterious odor is detected. The plane was forced to land at a small airport (not equipped to handle the jumbo jet) and it took two hours for the passengers to be removed by a forklift, five people at a time. Investigation showed that the stench stemmed from a diaper stuffed into a toilet. Fellow air passengers are hoping the baby's parents will investigate that kid's diet to improve future output.

Teacher confesses to hating homework
All homework is not created equal. You've got your no-value-added "busy work" and then you've got your worthwhile homework -- the stuff that actually helps a student learn a subject better. One teacher, who's also a mom, has confessed to hating homework. She hates fighting with her own kids over it, and she hates seeing them spending their afternoons inside doing homework, rather than playing outside. However, she still assigns homework. So, why does she do it? For one, if she didn't, she knows she'd be labeled as a pushover or an uncaring educator. For another, she asked her students what they thought. They unanimously (although reluctantly) admitted that homework does help, if it's the good kind. This teacher calls on all teachers to only assign valuable homework and to remember that kids also need time at home to play, read and imagine. Do you think most of the homework your kids bring home is worthwhile or do they get too much busy work?

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.

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How do you solve the problem of bedtime battles?

TODAY Mom Natalie Morales shares her own struggle and success in this web-extra video. In her house – and maybe in yours – nighttime becomes playtime. Of course, she wants to have fun with her 8- and 3-year-old sons, but she also wants to make sure they get enough sleep. “My husband is the fun guy,” she says. “I’m the one that’s like, OK, time to go to bed right now!”

Creating bedtime routines, and a strict lights-off deadline, has worked for Morales. Still, she says, “every night is a struggle.” So, she’s asking for your help. What bedtime solutions have worked for you?

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By Linda Thrasybule
MyHealthNewsDaily

Spanking or slapping your child has long-term, harmful effects on their development, according to a new review of 20 years of research.

Over the past two decades, research has increasingly found links between such "everyday" types of physical punishment and higher levels of child aggression, according to the review. In fact, no studies have found this type of child discipline to predict a positive long-term effect.

"I think it's important for parents to understand that although physical punishment might get a child to do something in the immediate situation, there are many side effects that can develop over the long term," said co-author Joan Durrant, a child clinical psychologist at Family Social Sciences at the University of Manitoba in Canada.  

"For example, the more often a child sees a parent respond to conflict or frustration with slapping or spanking, the more likely that child will do the same when confronting their own conflicts," Durrant said.

The review is published today (Feb. 6) in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Some parents still use spanking for discipline
One recent poll found that 22 percent of parents reported being "very likely" to spank their children, but most said they disciplined their kids in other ways, by taking away privileges or putting them in "time out."

In one U.S. study, researchers looked at 2,400 mothers who spanked their 3-year-olds twice the previous month, and found that children had an increased risk for higher levels of aggression when they were 5 years old.

"In the U.S., physical punishment is such an entrenched part of the culture that virtually no one has experienced growing up without it," Durrant said. "This situation makes it difficult for parents to visualize raising a child without it."

Durrant also pointed out that a major factor could be that some parents have little knowledge or understanding of why children behave like they do.

"They are more likely to believe that their child is being defiant or intentionally bad, but in most cases, children are simply doing what is normal for their development," she said. 

Start early with positive discipline
Based on years of research, however, more and more doctors are encouraging parents to discipline their children with positive, nonviolent approaches.

"Parents should start out really young — as early as 12 months old," said Kimberly Sirl, a clinical psychologist at St. Louis Children's Hospital, who was not involved with the research.

"Kids have to learn how to cope with frustration, how to share and how to be patient," Sirl said. "Parents teach them how to do that."

For example, Sirl said that toddlers say no to everything, so the best thing to do when they're acting out is either ignore them briefly (for roughly 10 seconds) or redirect their negative behavior.

"If you want to encourage good behavior, provide them with reward or praise," she said.

Instead of saying, "do this [be]cause I told you so," Sirl said, it's best to explain to kids why there are rules.

"We should let them know that grownups have to follow rules too," she said. "Essentially, time out for grownups is called jail."

10 Ways to Promote Kids' Healthy Eating Habits

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10 Medical Myths that Just Won't Go Away

Does bad parenting cause ADHD? It seems crazy to even ask the question, but some concerned doctors and parents say that’s exactly what a recent opinion piece in the New York Times suggested.

It started with an essay called “Ritalin Gone Wrong,” by L. Alan Sroufe, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development. He questions whether ADD and ADHD are over-diagnosed, and if we’re relying too heavily on drugs for kids. Fair enough. In 30 years, he points out, usage of attention-deficit drugs has increased twentyfold. Is it too much? Maybe.

But Sroufe raised hackles when he started theorizing that attention-deficit problems are caused not by inborn brain differences, but by bad parenting. He wrote:

Behavior problems in children have many possible sources. Among them are family stresses like domestic violence, lack of social support from friends or relatives, chaotic living situations, including frequent moves, and, especially, patterns of parental intrusiveness that involve stimulation for which the baby is not prepared. For example, a 6-month-old baby is playing, and the parent picks it up quickly from behind and plunges it in the bath. Or a 3-year-old is becoming frustrated in solving a problem, and a parent taunts or ridicules. Such practices excessively stimulate and also compromise the child’s developing capacity for self-regulation.

Putting children on drugs does nothing to change the conditions that derail their development in the first place.

So, you have a kid with ADHD, you’ve tried everything you can to help him, and now it’s your fault because you put him into the bath too quickly when he was a baby?

Ouch. Dr. Nancy Snyderman responded to the debate on TODAY as NBC’s chief medical editor – and also as the mom of a child with Attention Deficit Disorder.

“The maternal guilt of, ‘what did I eat wrong, was delivery too fast, what did I do wrong?’” Snyderman said. “There is a lot of self-doubt when you raise children that don’t fit into societal norms, when you have a child who can’t sit in circle time… that’s seen as bad behavior, but it means the brain wiring is different.”

It’s true that some children may be over-medicated or on ADHD drugs unnecessarily, Dr. Snyderman said, but many parents have seen medication work wonders for their children. The safety and side-effects of these drugs need to be studied long-term, she said, but “in the meantime, you want your kid to get through high school, be socially aware and go on to have a decent career.”

What do you think: Do you worry about attention deficit medicine being over-prescribed to kids? Or do you worry more about a backlash blaming parents for ADD?

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

Dads hoping to score this weekend might want to take a pass on the big game. A poll of moms found that 80 percent of them would rather spend Sunday tackling their men in the bedroom than watching the Super Bowl. After hearing this news, men across the country are busy trying to figure out how they can make both happen -- maybe a little homemade halftime entertainment? Do you think your guy would forego the game for sex?

Competitive sports leagues for kindergartners?!
C'mon kids, stop acting like a bunch of babies. You're six and seven years old -- it's time to start taking your sports seriously and let your competitive juices flow, already. Unless you're a girl, then you'll never be as competitive as the boys and you need to go find your own team. The mother of one seven-year-old girl was outraged when her daughter's coach called to say her daughter, Anna, was no longer welcome on the team. His reason? The team would eventually (either this season or next) be moving to a more competitive league, where girls and boys no longer played together. The coach noted that although Anna was a better player than her five-year-old brother, Carson, Carson was still welcome on the team. The coach also noted that another girl and some boys had been cut to make the team more competitive. Aside from the issue of whether or not girls can be as competitive as boys, do you think there should even be "competitive" teams when we're talking about kindergartners and first-graders? Given how few kids grow up to play professional (or even college) sports, and given how many kids grow up and struggle with their weight, should we even have competitive teams that cut kids before high school?

Jenna Fischer loses weight like a real mom
For many of us, pregnancy weight gain is nine months up, nine months down. In Hollywood, it seems like it's nine months of the same, followed by 2 weeks down. In the postpartum period when many of us mere mortals are still using a peri bottle, starlets can already be found flouncing on a beach in a white bikini. How?! That's just one of the reasons why we love Jenna Fischer -- she attended an awards show recently (four months postpartum) and still hadn't lost all of the baby weight. Gasp! Four whole months. "Let me please stand in solidarity with all of the women who are not a size 2 six weeks after leaving the hospital. I thought, you read all of the stuff in magazines like, ‘Oh, I breastfed my baby and I am so skinny now.’ I am breast-feeding my baby and I am not getting any skinnier! I think I’m just going to be a little bit bigger for a little bit longer,” she told US Weekly, “and that’s fine with me.” Jenna, that's fine with us, too. In fact, we love you all the more for it.

Is car culture harming our kids?
Unless we live in a fairly dense urban area, we drive. We drive and we drive and we drive. But, what effect is all that driving having on our kids? For most of us, the first concern we might have about car culture involves the decrease in exercise we get when we're all sitting in the car. But, what about other impacts the car has on kids? Some argue that by living in suburbs or rural areas, where people have to drive nearly everywhere, we're taking independence away from our kids. If kids need a ride in order to go to the store, a movie, or to play with friends, are we depriving them of their autonomy? Many of us move to the suburbs for our kids -- for better schools, bigger houses and more grass. But, if the kids can't get anywhere on their own are we really making things better for them? Do you have coffee shops, schools and libraries within walking distance? If not, do you miss that?

Marketing to kids
We all know that kids recognize brands and logos, often before they can read. However, it's always interesting to see what ideas and impressions they take away from these logos. A new video's gone viral, showing various corporate logos, while a five-year-old gives her thoughts on each of them. She may not know Starbucks, but she knows that green mermaid means the "coffee place." She also knew that the BP logo meant gas and recognized GE as the place where her grandpa works. We love that she described the Olympics interlocking rings logo as "baby toys." What logos did your kids first recognize?

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.

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Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Kelly and Stripey, who lives in her cubby when she's at preschool.

Stripey, my 4-year-old daughter Kelly's blanket, is more like a rag than a blanket these days.  The once-bright blue stripes that gave him his name are almost invisible, his hem is dragging, he's pockmarked with holes, and I'm pretty sure that red stain is Easter egg dye.

Yesterday at preschool one of her classmates accidentally sat on Stripey, and when she yanked him away, he tore. Again. I'm starting to wonder how much longer he's going to last without some major cosmetic surgery.

Like Linus in "Peanuts," Kelly latched on to Stripey as her security blanket, or what some call a "lovey." It's her comfort object when we're apart, and it goes to preschool with her every day. Even when she bathes, it has to be in sight, and when she's in pain or scared, she wants Stripey as much as she wants Mama.

Sometimes Stripey can be a hassle to haul around -- and the one time I thought we lost him at the park my heart sank -- but as far as I'm concerned, he can be by Kelly's side as long as she wants him there.

Thankfully, Dr. Simone Taylor, a California clinical psychologist specializing in child development, says "loveys" are a perfectly healthy part of growing up.

"Sometimes toddlers may gravitate to a specific 'lovey' as a way of regulating their internal emotional state -- in other words, to calm themselves," Dr. Taylor says. The attachment is "perfectly natural," and kids may use the item for security when mom and dad can't be with them.

School and daycare situations can create worries for parents. How will my child deal with a school that perhaps doesn't allow loveys in the classroom? Kelly understands that Stripey stays in the cubby at preschool except during nap time; Dr. Taylor has a suggestion for other parents. "One mother shared with me that she took a picture of her daughter's blanket and her daughter took (the photo) to preschool with her."

Since loveys go with children everywhere, they often get really dirty, and taking the precious item away for a wash can be traumatic. Dr. Taylor suggests having the child help, maybe allowing him or her to put the lovey into the washer and letting them close the door. She also urges parents to be patient with children if they want to sit and wait while the wash is done.

In my house, we schedule Stripey's weekly wash at the same time as one of Kelly's baths. She can't play with him in the tub anyway, and she knows that when her bath is done, he probably will be close to dry.

Not to worry, though, we're unlikely to be touting Stripey around forever. Dr. Taylor says most kids grow out of such attachments well before they become preteens. Some then transfer their attention to a "lucky object," like a keychain or hat, and keep that item with them in scary situations.

I had a blanket of my own in the 1970s, pink satin on one side, blue satin on the other, and still remember how much I loved it. I suspect a shred of it is still somewhere in my parents' Minnesota home.

Dr. Taylor also had her own lovey as a child. "I did have a raggedy doll named Cindy that went with me everywhere," she says. "I remember at one point we thought Cindy was lost and my mother was able to buy another for me. I then found the original and played with them both. One was always at school and the other always at home."

Realizing Stripey's in poor shape, we're encouraging Kelly to shower some love on a second blanket (this one is dubbed "Other Peopley," since he's one of two blankets with stick people on them). He's not anywhere near as beloved as Stripey, but just in case the worst happens, we want to be prepared. Stripey can't be replaced, but perhaps he can be supplemented.

Check out this related story:
Desperately seeking Lovey

Does your child have a security blanket or other "lovey" that goes everywhere with him or her? Have you ever lost it, or do you have a backup in case you do?

In between her busy schedule as a Stripey-minder, Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is the movies editor for TODAY.com and a pop-culture junkie. Her book, "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?", looks at the lost toys, tastes and trends of the 1970s and 1980s.

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With home births growing more popular in the U.S., the death of a home birth advocate who went into cardiac arrest during childbirth brings renewed attention to the debate over the safety of giving birth at home. 

Caroline Lovell, who advocated for midwife funding and legal protection in Australia, died Jan. 24, a day after she was rushed to the hospital during labor, according to the Herald Sun newspaper. Lovell, 36, had planned a home birth and was believed to have been assisted by private midwives, the paper said.

Before she was taken to the hospital, Lovell held her newborn daughter, named Zahra, who survived. She has a 3-year-old sister named Lulu.

After nearly a century of declining popularity, the percentage of home births in the U.S. increased 29 percent from 2004 to 2009, though they still account for fewer than 1 percent of all births. Most women who give birth at home are assisted by midwives, not doctors.

 Will this one, high-profile death dampen the enthusiasm for having a baby at home?

 No, says Susan Moray, spokeswoman for Midwives Alliance of North America, which represents certified professional midwives who work outside of hospitals.

 “For healthy, low-risk women, we believe birth is a normal process and the body is well designed to do it. Home-birth midwifery care has been proven to be a safe and nurturing alternative to physician-attended hospital births,” she said.

 Moray, a midwife in Portland, Ore., notes that women do occasionally die in labor -- sometimes at home, sometimes in the hospital. And maternal deaths in the hospital rarely make international headlines. One tragedy won’t change attitudes toward home birth, she says.

 “I don’t think one death is going to swing the pendulum” away from home-based labor and delivery, Moray said. “What’s swinging the pendulum to the 29 percent increase in home births is women talking about the satisfaction of their births and the good safety record.”

 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which has 55,000 members, said in a statement last year that hospitals and birthing centers are the safest place to have a baby.

“Although the absolute risk of planned home births is low, published medical evidence shows it does carry a two- to three-fold increase in the risk of newborn death compared with planned hospital births,” the college said.

Dr. Erin Tracy, head of the college’s Massachusetts section, said pregnant women are generally healthy and most will be fine, regardless of where they deliver. It’s the emergency cases -- when women need potentially life-saving surgery, blood products or medicine -- that make doctors worry about women delivering at home. The time is takes to get to a hospital often means the difference between life and death, she said.

“There are circumstances where medical intervention is necessary,” said Tracy, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “We can provide that intervention much more quickly in the hospital.”

Calling Lovell’s death a tragedy, she said any maternal death gets people talking and thinking about safety and risk.“There will be more dialogue about home deliveries in general,” she said. “It’s not adding to the literature and the studies. We know the potential risks of having a delivery outside of a hospital setting.

“People should decide what level of risk they’re willing to incur,” she said.

The college says women considering a home birth should work with a certified nurse midwife, certified midwife or doctor. Women should have a plan for a quick trip to a hospital in the event of an emergency.

The college says that 548 women died of pregnancy-related causes before, during or right after childbirth in 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available. The number has been under 1,000 since 1960.

The top causes of pregnancy-related deaths in this country are uncontrolled bleeding, blood clots, high blood pressure, infection, stroke, amniotic fluid in the blood and heart disease, the college said.

Does this change your feeling on homebirths? Tell us on Facebook.

Related stories on TODAY Moms
Mayim Bialik on home birth
Mom's hug revives baby that was pronounced dead
Childbirth as performance art?!

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Greg Kratz of the Deseret News was worried about his wife’s trip away from home. Namely, that he wouldn’t be able to wrangle his kids in her absence. It’s a common fear among dads – I had it, once, as have some of my friends – and I think it’s a good fear to have. It’s good partially because you SHOULD be worried about taking care of your children, but mostly because there’s really nothing to worry about. And for me, one of the best feelings in the world is to do something I thought would be hard and finding out how very easy it actually was.

Kratz’s kids are older than my 2-year-old NJ, and he’s got four compared to my one. And I spent the first year of NJ’s life at home stay-at-home dad-ing it, so it’s been something I’ve dealt with for quite a while. Heck, I even named myself Dad Solo  for blogging purposes. But I still think my Solo Parenting Rules can apply. Here are my suggestions:

Marry a good parent. This is key, for reasons that are obvious and maybe not-so-obvious. In his article, Kratz mentions that his wife is “an amazing mother” and a lot of his fretting seems based on the notion that he won’t live up to her standard. This is not a bug, though – this is a feature. He should leverage his wife’s mom-amazingness for all it’s worth. Obviously she can give him the basic run-down – “Kids up at 6:30 a.m. Get breakfast on the table by 7. Rodrigo won’t eat fruit in the morning, but Penelope won’t eat anything but fruit.” Etc., etc. If you’re the second-string quarterback, you’re usually not expected to win the game single-handedly. You’re just there to make sure things run smoothly. If the starting QB is on the sidelines, bring him/her a nice cup of Gatorade and ask what plays will work best.

And there’s ways to cheat here, too. Before my wife went out of town on business once, months ago, I did a little hand-wringing over NJ’s meals for daycare. Since I’m either still getting up or brushing my teeth or already at work when she packs the kid’s lunch, I wasn’t sure what, and how much, was ending up in NJ’s lunch box. I asked about this, scrunched up my brow a little bit to show confusion, and voila! My wife – because she, too, is an amazing mother – was making NJ’s lunches for the week and setting them up, in order, in the fridge. All I had to do was put them in the lunch box each morning, something I managed quite nicely and did not screw up once.  

Bob Trott

Bob Trott and daughter NJ: Not afraid to fly solo.

Take a guilt trip. My 2-year-old is a little young to get all the nuances of this one, but I can usually make my patented “sad face” and she knows I’m not happy and something needs to change. I can’t wait until she’s older so I can go full-blown “Hey, Dad’s doing the best he can, cut him some slack!” on her.

If necessary, make new rules. Earlier I said the new solo parent was like a back-up quarterback, but he’s also the new sheriff in town. Can your job go more smoothly if you ignore a rule or a step in your family’s routine? Then do it.

NJ understands that once in a while her mommy has to go away for a couple of nights for work. Still, of course, she misses her mommy. The first morning my wife’s gone, NJ will cry some because of that. But afterward, we talk about work and now mommy’s going to be home before you know it and all’s well. But just barely, sometimes – “Where’s Mommy?” usually comes up at dinnertime. And I don’t mind admitting that I have warded off toddler tears by breaking our very strict one-cookie-for-dessert rule. The second cookie comes with a long “after this we take a bath, read stories and go to bed” string attached. And it works. In fact, NJ often gets a conspiratorial gleam in her eye when I bring it up. She thinks we’ve got quite a little secret going.

Be fun. A corollary to the “new rules” rule (because extra cookies are fun!). Not that you’re not normally a barrel of monkeys at a New Year’s Eve party, but loosen up some and enjoy the one-on-one time.

Run out the clock. Back to the quarterback comparison – when you’re subbing for the starter and you’ve got a lead, don’t blow it by getting too fancy or elaborate. At the risk of offending Al Gore, I’ve driven a dozing baby around in my car for an hour or more so 1) she could finally get that nap she was fighting for so long, and 2) I could get some peace and quiet. Also, cute baristas working drive-thru coffee joints always love to see a sleeping baby in the back seat. And if there’s a game on the radio, or you’ve got 689 Springsteen tunes on your iPod, all the better.

Play for sympathy. When your spouse returns, be sure to tell him or her how great things went in his or her absence. You’re reassuring your spouse and building your own solo parenting bona fides at the same time. But ALWAYS be sure to mention the thing that didn’t go so great. A little “Of course, last night the kid wailed for hours after bedtime” will go a long way toward ensuring that the help you’re getting under the “Marry a good parent” entry above will be even better next time around.

The response to Kratz’s column was an eye-opener for him – he heard lots of “just shut up and be a good parent” from many readers. But it’s only natural to be nervous (or concerned, or wary, or whatever word fits your situation) about doing something like that for the first time. I’m looking forward to reading how his solo-dad stint went.

What else do solo dads need to know? Share your solo parenting tips.

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Are young girls getting too sophisticated? The tween market now boasts hot new makeup lines, on par with adult ones. There are new beauty collections with bold packaging, sexy product names and natural ingredients. Read this New York Times article, "For young girls, it starts with lip gloss," that explains how new tween makeup lines will sooner sit next to Burt’s Bees than next to Barbie.

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Sean Runnels and his wife, Diane, with children Abby, right, 7; Elise, 4; and Rhys, 1, in front of the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.

Most of us travel with our kids a few times a year at most. We stress about all the gear to pack, the change in routines, and how to keep our tots entertained en route.

But some folks raise their kids traveling, and have it down to an art. Their tips and tricks — some learned the hard way in such remote places as Croatia or the Cascade mountains — can perhaps help us “regular” traveling parents ease up a bit and enjoy the ride more.

Three families — two sets of physicians and a couple that lives and works on Oregon’s Mount Hood — share what they’ve learned on various adventures.

Sean Runnels, an anesthesiologist in Salt Lake City, and his wife, Diane Ellis, an obstetrician/gynecologist, have worked and traveled around the world with their three kids, ages 12, 8 and 5. After they complete an upcoming two-year volunteer stint in Africa on the Mercy Ship floating hospital, their kids will have circled the globe on its surface.

“I think it’s a good way for them to get the idea of how big the Earth really is, something you can’t get an appreciation of when flying,” Runnels said, referring to their plan to travel to Africa by boat, rail and hiking trail, starting with sailing from New York to England on the Queen Mary 2.

Runnels shares his thoughts…

On gear …
“Less is more,” Runnels said. “You can always get more if you need it when you arrive, but most likely, you’ll not miss it.”

They pack one pair of shoes per child, and earth-tone-colored clothes (“to hide stains”) as well as tie-dye shirts to quickly spot the kids in a crowd. After watching their middle child nearly drown in a lake in Croatia, they now travel with life jackets if they plan to be near water. They favor backpacks over suitcases, after finding that wheeled suitcases leave no hands for controlling children. 

On planning …
Runnels said they try not to plan more than one step ahead so they can remain flexible. They stay in one location for at least two days for every day of travel, and have learned to slow their pace and lower expectations, gravitating toward smaller towns where the environment is typically safer and more interesting for kids.

The Runnels’ youngest child took his first steps while on a month-long, 250-mile trek in Nepal, in which their 7-year-old daughter walked the entire way and their 4-year-old daughter walked a quarter of the way. They took frequent breaks, often hiking one day and resting the next.

“We went from village to village, stopping at tea shops where there were chickens to chase and goats to play with,” he said. “It’s hard to have that kind of down time in big cities.”

Runnels said success when traveling with kids comes when you have realistic expectations and learn to plan just one activity in the morning and one in the evening.

“If you put kids in the right environment where you’re not having to say no all the time, and they’re seeing and doing new things, they’re going to have fun,” he said. “They’re kids — that’s what they do."

On lessons learned the hard way …
In addition to the life-jacket lesson, they’ve learned:

• to spend a bit more when traveling, if necessary, versus “taking a midnight ferry in Croatia to save $10.”
• that high-end hotels are no place for kids.
• that when changing time zones, stay at hotels with pools since it’s impossible for kids to sleep when it’s their day time.
• to pay attention to what your kids are eating before “a monk tells you the nuts they just grabbed in a Thai temple are powerful laxatives.”

On go-to travel spots with kids …
Runnels swears by Asia. “Everyone loves kids, lots of great street food, and eye candy everywhere.” He also recommends trekking inn-to-inn in Europe, where there are “cheap hostels with good food, castles and medieval cities — it’s all a fairy tale to them.”

Rafting around the world

Jenny Blechman, a family physician in Bend, Ore., and her husband, Tim Carney, an anesthesiologist, make the most of weekends away to the coast and longer raft trips around the Northwest. With their two sons, ages 8 and 5, they have traveled to Mexico, Alaska, New Zealand and Spain.

Blechman shares her thoughts…

On gear …
They pack light, bring books and occasionally hand over Blechman’s iPad for movies and games. They never leave home without Zack’s favorite stuffed dog and Alex’s blue blanket.

On planning …
“We started traveling with them early so it made it normal for them,” Blechman said. “They don’t mind sleeping in strange beds or waking up somewhere else.”

They took Zack on a week-long raft trip down the John Day River in eastern Oregon when he was just a few months old, and Alex to Spain when he was 5 weeks. 

On lessons learned the hard way
Bring (or rent) car seats! When traveling in Mexico four years ago, they were in a car crash caused by a hit-and-run driver. Blechman’s husband, Tim, was arrested for questioning and held in jail for 24 hours, along with the other drivers involved. Blechman had almost let the car-rental employee talk her out of needing a car seat for her oldest child, then 3 1/2, but then rented one, “thankfully,” she says. Both boys suffered significant skin burns from the crash’s impact.

On go-to travel spots with kids …
“We go rafting!” she said. “It’s a lot of prep work bringing your own food and gear, but the kids love it — there’s nothing to entertain them but just being outside, and we all have a lot of fun.”

Adventure travel for the whole family

Tammy Villali, catering manager at Timberline Lodge on Oregon’s Mount Hood, and her husband, David Villali, wine program manager, do a lot of day-tripping with their 9- and 3-year-old sons to hike, ski and kayak around Mount Hood where they live. They also travel to Florida, California, Maui and southern Oregon.

Villali shares her thoughts:

On gear …
In addition to snacks and books, the Villalis now pack a portable DVD player, something they resisted for years because they permit only a half-hour of screen time a day at home. 

“But for long trips over 2 hours,” she said, “it was worth the lower stress levels and enjoyment level for all and I wish we had bought it sooner.” 

On planning …
Villali said her biggest hurdle traveling with kids has been changing her expectations of how long and how far they would go. 

“I had to go from ‘Let’s go ski six miles or snowboard today’ to ‘Let’s have fun getting there, getting gear on, playing in the snow,’ " she said. “It’s not about the distance we cover as much as the time spent making it fun to get outside and spend time outside.” 

On lessons learned the hard way …
The only routine they stick to now when traveling is meal times and bed times, having found that naps don’t happen when they want them to.

“I also learned that a hungry and tired child is close to impossible to reason with … a fed but tired child can buy you the extra 15 minutes you need to pack your gear, car or them!” she said. 

On go-to travel spots with kids …
They often hit Trillium Lake and Frog Lake around Mount Hood for frog-catching, hiking and kayaking in summer, and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter.

“Stash a plastic garbage bag in your pack to slide down a hill here and there to keep it fun for the kids and again,” she said, “pack lots of snacks.”

Do you have tricks and tips when traveling with your kids? Tell us about it on Facebook.

More on TODAY Travel

• Finding a baby sitter while on vacation
• Tips for taking a trip with toddlers
• Great gear for kids on the go

Colleen McBrinn, a freelance writer in Portland, Ore., strives to maintain an active lifestyle of outdoor sports and travel with two wee ones in tow.

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

So you want to go rock climbing but you don't have a sitter handy to watch your two-year old? Eh, just strap the kid to your back and scale that cliff... Besides, everyone know toddlers love extreme sports. You say you have a helmet for yourself but not your kid? Eh, don't let that stop you either... We're sure her little skull will be just fine. A mom in Wales has come under fire after she posted a picture of herself rock climbing while her two-year-old was strapped on her back. In response to the outrage, this mama defended herself saying she was in a safe beach environment (aside from all those rocks, that is) and surrounded by experienced climbers. She also claims that today's sue and blame culture makes everyone too afraid to take small risks. Yes, small risks like rock climbing while child-wearing without helmets...

Baby books - exhaustive or exhausting?
To do list: change diapers, feed baby, work on baby book. To do list: take kids to preschool, make lunch, work on baby book. To do list: go to kids' graduation, make dinner, work on baby book... When it comes to the baby book, we seem to have the procrastinators and the ultra-documenters. Sometimes, those people are one and the same. One mom who went from leaving the baby book untouched on the shelf, to documenting everything her kids did, is now trying to find a middle ground. She's found that she's spending too much time photographing, observing and blogging about her kids' days and not enough time participating in those days. If you blog or journal, how do you find the balance between documenting your kids' lives versus recording their every move?

Principal jumps in icy river to save autistic student
If a kid runs away from his teacher, he might be admonished that he's skating on thin ice, so to speak. One 10-year-old autistic boy who ran away from his teacher found himself skating on thin ice, literally. Then, he found himself falling through that thin ice. Luckily for him, when he ran away, his teacher and the school's principal both chased him and were present when he fell through a patch of thin ice into a river behind the school. Principal Gwen Rhodes jumped in the river after him, and used trees to pull them both to safety. This modest administrator dismisses the claims that this act make her a hero, saying "This is just something that was a circumstance and you did what you needed to do when the circumstance happened, but what we do every day is what makes people that work in schools heroes." While she may not be comfortable calling herself a hero, we certainly are. Nicely done, Principal Rhodes. Thankfully, the boy was treated for exposure but is said to be doing fine.

Evolution of cheerleading in pictures
 “Rah, rah, rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-so-tah!” This is said to be the first chant ever led by a cheerleader, back in 1898. The cheer was led by a lone guy with a megaphone a the University of Minnesota. Since then, cheerleading's changed a lot. From groups of guys in the 1920's, to increasingly female squads in increasingly shorter skirts, cheer has seen quite an evolution over the years. A blogger recently put together a slide show of pictures depicting the changes in cheerleading (and their uniforms) over the years. While most of the older pictures show high school and college cheerleaders, many of the newer ones (and the skimpiest of uniforms) are NFL cheerleaders. Many high school and college cheerleaders today try to distance themselves from the scantily-clad NFL dancers, saying that not only do their uniforms provide a bit more coverage, but that they demonstrate a lot more athletic talent as well. Some of the national cheerleading organizations have pushed to have the activity recognized as a sport. What do you think? Is the very nature of cheerleading a supporting role or do today's pom pom girls deserve sport status for the high levels of gymnastics and daring tricks they perform?

VBAC baby dolls?
See here, kids. The first baby comes out of the mommy's belly during a C-section, like this. The second baby, comes out of the mommy's vagina, in what's called a VBAC birth, just like your dollies are doing, like this. While some might argue that if you're young enough to play with dolls, you're too young to be schooled on the intricacies of VBAC deliveries. Not so, say the makers of the new VBAC dolls. The mama dolls have two Velcro openings, one for the C-section and the other for the VBAC delivery. The little baby dolls can be stuffed in and pulled out at your pleasure. Honestly, we're not sure anyone's ever old enough to take in (or push out) a doll like this.

Delivering a 13 pound baby -- without drugs
The number 13 has long been considered unlucky. If you gave birth naturally to a 13-pound baby, chances are your vagina might be feeling a little bit unlucky. However, an Iowa woman recently did just that -- no surgery, no epidural and 13 pounds, 13 ounces of bouncing baby boy. That's one cute little guy, but ouch, we're sore just reading about it.

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.

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“Why doesn’t God sleep?” asked my 4-year old son at dinner the other night. I gave what I hoped was an age-appropriate answer, while really thinking, 'When did you turn into a theologian?' Since kids were invented, they have asked parents questions that stump even the most intelligent among us. What are the best ways to answer them, and when is it OK to say you just don’t know?

Today, thanks in part to the Internet, finding answers is easier than ever. Looking up explanations can be a fun activity to do together, and sites like Whyzz give parents “kid-ready” explanations to an endless array of topics, including animals, holidays and the human body. It even covers more serious issues like death and illness.

Another site, Life’s Little Mysteriesis great resource for older children, and has a range of answers to head-scratchers like, “What if there were another technologically advanced species?” or “Why do Americans and Brits have different accents?”

There’s also no shame in admitting to your child that you don’t know.

“Parents seem to believe that they have to have answers for everything, but it’s good for children to realize that their parents are not all knowing,” says Susan Newman, social psychologist and author of several parenting books, including “The Case for the Only Child.” “You can suggest that they call an uncle or aunt who may know, with the added benefit that you are strengthening the bonds that they have with their relatives. And depending on the question, you can explain that there are people who have been searching for the answer for thousands of years and they haven’t found it yet.”

Even if you do know how to respond to your child, try listening to what they think instead of replying right away.

“Giving your child a chance to be heard makes him use his brain and also validates what he thinks,” says Newman. “Often it can be easier to give a straight answer, but it’s better for the child and for your relationship to talk it out.”

And if there’s a question that you really don’t want to answer? That’s OK too, say the experts, as long as you explain that in the right way.

“It’s ok to be honest and say, I don’t want to talk about this right now, but we can talk about it later,” says Brenda Nixon, author and host of Internet radio show “The Parents Plate.” “You always want to keep communication open with your child, and saying that you will talk about it later is not dismissing the child but letting them know that there are boundaries.”

How do you react when your kid asks impossible-to-answer questions?

More stories from TODAYMoms:

Parent confession: Many skip booster seats for carpoolers
Co-nursing conundrum: Are four breasts better than two?
7 tricks to help stressed moms chill out

Rachel Elbaum is a London-based writer and mother to two very curious kids.

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

Courtesy: Cassie Paez

Lali Ann, 14 months, looking over her mom's tattoo.

Joe Klamar / AFP - Getty Images

Actress Kyra Sedgwick shows off her "family tattoo."

On Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Kyra Sedgewick wowed the red carpet by showing off some fresh ink. Sedgewick called the symbol on her right ribcage a "family tattoo," expaining that it was a combination of her family's initials -- K (for Kyra), K for (Kevin, as in Bacon), T (for son Travis) and S (for daughter Sosie).

We especially love Sedgewick's way of honoring family because we know many TODAY Moms readers do the same. Just check out Cassie Paez's tribute to daughter Lali Ann, shown above. In a recent TODAY Moms story, we asked readers whether they thought tattoos were a parenting "do" or "don't".  The majority polled said that, yes, tattoos were a good look. When we asked TODAY Moms Facebook fans to show off their tatts alongside their toddlers, they didn't disappoint. Here's a sampling of some of them, inked up and proud of it.

Courtesy: Jessika Jessen

Max, 5 months, and his Mommy

Courtesy: Gail Moggy

Mama and Pru, 3 months

Courtesy: Colton Whyte

Lola holds onto Dad's hat.

Courtesy: Katherine Street

Raleigh has a "tattoo" just like Dad!

Courtesy: Lindsey Bliss

Rocco, 6 months, hanging with his mom

Courtesy Elizabeth Dauner

Mommy and Vivian, 6 months

Courtesy Sara May

Alli cat (Allison, age 2) and Mommy.

Courtesy Shannon Vaughn

Precious load!

Courtesy: Danielle Cooke

Brand new!

Courtesy: LaToya Pugh

A tattoo in honor of Mom's little princess, Amari

Courtesy: Kristine Pavlik

Rhys, 3, is mom's pride and joy.

Courtesy: Erin Engwall

Jonas, age 2, with mom Erin

Courtesy: Sarah Challender

Zoey, 16 months, with her mom Sarah

Would you get a tattoo as a way to honor your family? What symbol would you choose?

More great TODAY Moms stories on the subject of tattoos:

Are tattoos a parenting "do" or "don't"?

Barbie's got a tattoo; Mom, do you?

What's the big deal, Mom? It's just a tattoo.

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For those of us keeping tabs on Jessica Simpson’s baby bump -- which has gotten rewardingly large in recent weeks -- there is now a new body part to watch.

@JessicaSimpson

The singer and upcoming “Fashion Star” mentor, who is known for such bon mots as “Is this chicken, what I have, or is it fish?” has coined a new phrase: “Pregnancy face.”

She tweeted Sunday: “Woke up looking like the lip injection fairy visited me in the night! Is this how pregnancy face begins?! Yikes!” The attached photo shows a close-up of her pouty lips.

This type of oversharing is, of course, what made America fall in love with Simpson when she was a newlywed on MTV. Back then, she was 23. At an older and wiser -- so to speak -- 31, Simpson has a fashion empire under her belt and enough business savvy to mentor aspiring fashion designers on NBC’s new reality series “Fashion Star.” The show also stars fashionista-turned-designer Nicole Richie, menswear designer John Varvatos and former supermodel Elle Macpherson.

The tabloids would have you believe there's a brewing rivalry between Richie and Simpson, who both rose to fame on a similar reality show-fashion designer-gossip magnet trajectory. But Richie has assured the press that the pair are practically besties. So we'll see how that plays out.

Of course, a little old-fashioned catfight never hurt ratings on any TV show.

In case you're wondering, Simpson's maternity style is all about stilettos, curve-hugging mini-dresses and the occasional wayward sequin. She's spoken publicly about her desire to launch a maternity clothing line and joked about delivering the baby in heels (speaking of good television ...)

Simpson, who is engaged to baby daddy Eric Johnson, is due this spring. “Fashion Star” is due in March. Here’s hoping for a maternity wear challenge!

Related content:

• What changes happened to you during pregnancy? TODAY Moms discuss
• Jessica Simpson slideshow

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

What if... It's the what if that's so terrible to contemplate, we often put it off. What if something happens to you and your partner? Who would act as guardians for your children? For the lucky ones, there's a clear-cut choice and it's an easy decision. For the rest of us, this can be an agonizing and difficult decision. If our own parents are elderly or in poor health, they might not be the best options. We might not have siblings. Or, our siblings might live across the country, not want kids, or not be good options for other reasons. What about friends? That's asking a lot of even the best of friends. Plus, if your children are raised by friends, will they lose touch with their extended family? One mom, who's in this common predicament, is wondering how other people have made their decisions, to help give her some ideas and guidance. How did you select the guardians for your children? Or, are you still putting off that oh-so-difficult decision?

Making friends, mommy-style
For many of us moms, we find ourselves losing touch with old friends after we have kids. Maybe they're childless, or maybe the new scheduling demands just lead to an eventual drift. We don't mean to lose touch, it just happens. Happy hours and girls' night outs are replaced with playdates and soccer practice. While there are oodles of moms at all of these kid-centric outings, finding a new mom-friend can be tricky. Not only do you need to connect on an adult level, but you also need to have fairly similar parenting styles. Yes, you may agree on politics and movies, but if one of you is a free-ranger and the other is a helicopter parent, a friendship isn't likely to blossom. Add to that the difficulties in developing a friendship when it's nearly impossible to have an uninterrupted conversation. We need friends. We want friends. It's just often harder to make friends once you're a mom. One mom, who's found the quest for new mom-friends to be tricky, vows not to give up hope.

Kids feel your financial stresses
The bad economy has left many families in financial binds. Money's tight and it affects everyone. Unsurprisingly, a new study has shown that parents who are stressed about their finances are more likely to be depressed. That depression, in turn, leads to parents feeling less connected to their children. Kids pick up on their parents stress and react to it. The study showed that kids whose parents were depressed had lower "pro social" behavior (they were less likely to agree that they "really enjoy doing small favors for my family" or that they "like to help others even if it's not easy for me"). Since nothing slips by kids, experts advise being honest and up-front with them about the family's finances. They also advise that parents need to reach out and seek support wherever it's available.

Happy birthday, The Snowy Day
50 years ago, Peter went out into the deep, deep snow. Then, kids everywhere read about Peter and thought about his adventures. They thought and thought and thought about them. And they loved it. Not only did The Snowy Day capture the majesty of a child's adventures in the snow, but it also broke down color barriers. Although the text never mentions Peter's skin color, the pictures let us know that he's African-American. While that may be commonplace today, in 1962, it was a big deal. Peter was one of the first "non-caricatured" African-American characters to appear in a children's book. The Snowy Day came out during the early days of the civil rights movement and some of the movement's leaders were upset that the book didn't go far enough to help the movement. However, over time, people of all ages and colors came to love little Peter. Although race was never mentioned, the book did have a positive impact on African-Americans. One teacher wrote to the book's author, saying, "The kids in my class, for the first time, are using brown crayons to draw themselves." Makes us want to call to our friend across the hall.

Uggh, we can't wear our Uggs to school anymore
Spies have hidden cameras and guns in everything from fake eyeglass frames to lipstick containers. Every bit as resourceful as 007, teens at one school have gotten around the strict cell phone ban by hiding their phones in their Uggs. Now, the cozy, Australian boots have been banned, leaving many kids crying baa baa, we want our sheep skin boots back. "Open top outdoor boots" are the fashion victims of teens who texted too much in class and now appear on the school's do not wear list. Kids (and parents) argue that phones can be smuggled in all sorts of clothes, so it doesn't make sense to pick on Uggs. Some have also argued that since girls tend to favor the popular ped-covers more than boys do, the dress code winds up unfairly targeting female students.

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.

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Heads up, parents who carpool: Half those surveyed said they sometimes let kids who should be in booster seats skip them if not every kid in the car is using one.

By Stacy Lu

You set out with a crew from the birthday party, but find you’re a booster short. Do you make sure your own child gets one?

Or do you, instead, let all the kids use belts only? In a national survey published today by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), half of the 1,612 parents of 4- to 8-year-olds questioned said they sometimes let passengers – and their own kids – go booster free if not every child is using one.

Why? A third of the respondents said arranging for that extra safety seat in advance was too hard, and research  suggests that many drivers just find it easier to have all the kids either in or out of booster seats.

Boosters help protect kids from serious injury, though, and just a bit of teamwork can keep everyone in the safety seat, says Debra Smiley Holtzman, a safety expert, mother of two and author of “The Safe Baby: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Safety and Healthy Living.” You won’t be the only parent grappling with the issue, and most will appreciate some polite initiative.

It helps to know the laws in your state. Half of the survey respondents did not, and another 20 percent guessed it incorrectly. (The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has an interactive map.) If you’re chauffeuring a child for the first time and see that she needs a booster, ask her parent to provide one – after all, the law is on your side.

“I say, ‘It’s my policy that when people ride in my car, they need to be appropriately buckled.’ Make it matter-of-fact, so that it’s unlikely to be questioned,” Holtzman says.

It’s fine to apply the same my-way-or-the-highway firmness to a finicky passenger, whether it’s someone else’s child or your own.

“It gets awkward because my older daughter is on the small side, and some of her friends have now outgrown boosters – or at least claim to have outgrown them,” says Katrina Hunt, a mom of two from Del Mar, Calif., who puts her passengers in safety seats anyway.

Holtzman said her car pool arranged for the same parent to drive round-trip, to avoid excessive seat shuffling. It doesn’t hurt to keep a spare in your trunk, either.

About 80 percent of survey respondents said they always asked that a carpool driver put their own child in a booster. So don’t feel shy about insisting, and provide a seat to make it easy. Most backless boosters are fewer than 20 inches wide and shouldn’t cause a space issue. Or try an inflatable seat: the affordable BubbleBum is just 13 inches wide.

The longer you can keep them in the seats, too, the better. For added safety beyond most state laws, the AAP encourages boosters for any child shorter than 57 inches – the average height of an 11-year-old.

Fess up: Have you ever let your kid or another child skip the required booster seat? Tell us on Facebook.

More TODAY Moms stories to help you enjoy the ride:
When is it time to fire your pediatrician?
Ten best and worst states to raise kids
Do you tattle on bad babysitters?
Homeless dad's message of hope

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

Angela and Dorea Vierling-Claass

Angela Vierling-Claassen, left, and her wife Dorea Vierling-Claassen successfully co-nursed their baby son – but they don't think they'd do it again.

Did you ever wish, during those bleary nighttime feedings, for an extra set of boobs to shoulder the burden? Dorea Vierling-Claassen got that wish, when her wife, Angela Vierling-Claassen, agreed to co-nurse.

Co-nursing is exactly what it sounds like: two moms breast-feeding their baby, be it biological or adopted. Thanks to the Newman-Golfarb Protocols for Induced Lactation, women who’ve never been pregnant can successfully breast-feed. But are four breasts better than two?

Not necessarily, said Angela, 40, who lives in Cambridge, Mass., with her wife, her 5-year-old daughter Margaret, and her 2-year-old son, Jacob. Among the benefits: she’s certain it enhanced her bond with Jacob, who she was first to breast-feed.

“After he was born, Dorea had to go get stitched up, so I was the first person who nursed Jacob,” Angela recalled. “It was really lovely.”

And, she was able to help with the nighttime nursing, which had been a point of tension with their first child. Angela had carried that baby, and the couple had decided against co-nursing while she was pregnant. Too hard, too many chances for hurt feelings.

“When you’re a new lesbian mom and you’ve got one of you pregnant and one of you not, you’ve already got enough issues to wrestle with,” said Angela.

When Dorea, 34, was carrying Jacob, though, she lobbied hard in favor of co-nursing. “I like a challenge, and here was this opportunity unique to our family situation,” she said.

Save for a few blogs, though, there’s not a lot of resources for women who want to co-nurse. Donna Norris, a registered nurse and lactation consultant in Newton, Mass., has worked with lots of lesbian couples, but has seen only a few that attempt to co-nurse.

“If (the couple) has looked into it all, they’ll see that it’s really hard to do. To induce lactation, you have to start way before the baby’s born, do medication, hormones and pump,” said Norris, who works at Newton Wesley Hospital.  “In the end you get some milk, but you often don’t get a full milk supply.”

Angela did all of the above to induce lactation, including lots and lots of pumping. Adopted moms who nurse have the baby at the breast as often as possible, which stimulates milk production.

“In a two-mom family, we were trying to make sure that we protected my full supply,” said Dorea. “Anytime Angela nursed, I needed to pump. And every time I nursed, she needed to pump.”

Angela also took birth control pills to simulate pregnancy, and domperidone, a gastrointestinal drug with a side effect of milk secretion. She also took blessed thistle and fenugreek, two herbs known to increase milk supply. “I got tired of taking 25 pills a day,” she said.

So after six months of co-nursing, Angela hung up her breast pump for good. “It was very successful, and very hard,” she said, adding that she wouldn’t necessarily recommend co-nursing, and definitely not for couples having their first baby: “That would have felt impossible to me.”

“I’m completely thrilled that we did it, and I felt very good about the way that all three of us navigated it, “ said Angela. “And I was completely thrilled to be done with it.”

More great stories from TODAY Moms:

Teen calls cops to report mom having loud sex

More adoptive moms learn to breast-feed their babies

Breast milk shortage hits milk banks

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How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?

Tell us: Take our Valentine's Day survey with Parenting.com

It's one of those questions that often gets a BK-AK answer: Before Kids, and After Kids.

Before kids, maybe there was a fancy dinner involved, wine, candlelight, roses.... After kids, the definition of "fancy dinner" expands to include anything that doesn't involve microwaving fish sticks. And romantically dimmed lighting may just induce sleep in chronically tired parents.

Still, some parents spring for a baby-sitter and make a special effort on Feb. 14, because it's important to take those opportunities to connect as a couple, especially after you have kids.

And while moms may miss out on some of the fancy trappings of the Valentine's Day industry, we get other benefits: Nothing can melt your heart faster than a misspelled, gluey "Be My Valentine" card from your little one.

Sound off in our survey about your Valentine's celebrations, or lack thereof. And while you're at it, check out Parenting.com's "What is Love?" project. They're asking parents to send in videos of their kids answering the question, "what is love?" for a compilation video. Sounds pretty darn cute. Check it out here, and send your video to askkidswhatislove@gmail.com if you're interested.  

We asked TODAY Moms readers on our Facebook page how they plan to celebrate this "romantic" holiday.

Some create their own traditions as a couple:

Lauren Williams: My husband and I celebrate every year by cooking dinner together and watching zombie movies all night.

Amy Jo Syfert Schilling: We get each other cards, sometimes, we buy the kids little boxes of chocolates and cards, sometimes I get flowers, sometimes I get chocolates, sometimes I find a cute pair of boxers or something for my husband. It's just a silly holiday.

Kim Davenport Ross: My husband is on his 3rd deployment. I'm shipping out his valentine's care package this week from the kids and I. Hopefully I'll get to say "Happy Valentine's Day" on Skype while he opens his box in the early afternoon. After that it'll just be another Tuesday.

Some skip the whole Hallmark holiday thing, or just make it a fun day for the kids:

Nikki Cousinaw: Valentine's Day = Hallmark Holiday. I don't need a holiday to remind me to love my significant other.

Christine Anderson Horn: My husband hates Valentine's Day so we ignore it and he just brings home a box of chocolates for the kids.

And for some, Valentine's Day is extra-special:

Wendy Coleman Godwin: Valentines Day is even more special for us as our son, Bradley was born on Valentines Day last year. So, we will be celebrating his first birthday :) I couldn't ask for anything better!

Sara Arevalo-Thompson: Last year we spent it in the hospital due to the birth of our little girl. This year it has definitely become more important and we hope to celebrate with a little bit of alone time.

What about you? Take our survey and tell us your thoughts!

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