Tweens

I know a very smart, independent, tomboyish 5-year-old who is enthralled by the idea of being a princess. It was Fiona from the Shrek films that got her hooked.

Girls have always loved playing with dolls and pretending they're princesses, but it appears to be crammed down their throats even more now by toy manufacturers and movie studios. There are princess baby clothes, princess-related Barbie items, and the entire Disney Princess franchise, featuring characters from Sleeping Beauty to Mulan. Even tough chick Dora the Explorer wears crowns sometimes!

Many people who are trying to raise nonbratty girls with aspirations beyond being pretty and glamorous worry that selling the princess ethos to girls might be a bad idea. Jean Twenge, an associate professor of psychology at San Diego State and author of The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, worries as well. She argues, "It just encourages parents who put their kids on a pedestal — and who encourage their kids a lot and rarely criticize."

Twenge and her co-author W. Keith Campbell found that although a study of college-age men and women showed that men in that age group are more likely to exhibit narcissistic traits, the rate at which college-age women were developing narcissistic traits was four times that of the men.

Is the fantasy of being a princess just an inevitable rite of passage for girls? Or would girls be better off heeding, "Do not pass Princess Lane, do not collect crown"?

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A child of the 70s, Esprit, Guess, Polo, Keds, and Kappas were about the only "cool" trends that hit my elementary school. These days, kids are inundated with loads of fabulous options. From designer jeans to Little Marc by Marc Jacobs, parents and tots are paying much more attention to their youngster's apparel. Savvy Los Angeles moms Elizabeth Wiatt and Jamie Tisch are banking on it.

Creators and owners of the kiddie fashion house, Fashionology LA, the two businesswomen opened their doors to lil ladies who fancy themselves designers. Tweens choose their canvas of T–shirts or tanks and then customize it with bells and whistles making it a unique creation of their own. Parents can rent the space for private parties. Rates are between $60 — $300 a tot! This is just the kind of place I can see Leni Klum making her own. Mini Project Runway anyone?

Would you take your wee one to such a place?

I fret over the small things, like my son getting restless at restaurants or my daughter elbowing her brother in the backseat of the car, but parents in Daytona are dealing with more drastic issues when it comes to child rearing: felonies. According to an MSNBC report, police officers have attributed some of the Florida city's rise in crime to minors. The city known for racecar driving has a crime rate that is double that of the state. Police Chief Mike Chitwood is trying to curtail those statistics. The article said:

The crimes were happening under the noon sun — and not far from the city's schools. Initially, Chitwood ordered truancy sweeps. Then he had his officers fingerprint kids caught skipping school. After running the prints through the FBI's national database he saw his suspicions confirmed: Kids were behind the spike.

It didn't take long for the police to link rings of teens to burglaries, car thefts, carjackings and even armed robberies. "We even had kids taking stolen cars out of stolen-car lots," Chitwood says."

To learn about prevention attempts, read more

A substitute math teacher in Connecticut didn't put two and two together. Under her supervision in math class, two eighth grade students at Pulaski Middle School in New Britain engaged in an oral sex act. As classmates watched, one supposedly taped the act on a camera phone. The footage is now rumored to be on YouTube. While the students' conduct was wildly inappropriate, the teacher must have had blinders on. Who do you think is to blame?

I remember getting my first manicure before my eighth grade dance. It was a big deal and I appreciated how special the gift was from my mother. I didn't notice my eyebrows were bushes to be reckoned with until my first year of college. Thankfully, while growing up I never felt the need to excessively beautify myself as I had confidence. For kids these days, it's a different story.

To see what the latest underage beauty treatment is, read more

Use your tween's texting obsession to your advantage. Parents who wish their kids independence, but need to remind them to take their meds can quit the nagging and turn to technology. When children are preoccupied with school, friends, dating and Hannah Montana, they tend to forget to take the pills and injections that regulate their asthma, diabetes and other ailments.

A recent CNN article on the experiment said:

Of necessity, parents start turning over more health responsibilities to their children at this age. It's also an age of angst, sometimes rebellion, and when youths may most hate feeling different from their friends because of medication, special diets or other therapy.

To see the specifics, read more

Allow your tweens to express themselves with a pair of kicks they can tag. Graffeeti sneakers are "re-markable" shoes that let kids create their own style any day of the week.

The canvas shoes resemble Converse only they have writable side and front panels. To find out about these cool kicks, read more