parenting news

Would you let your child poop in the potty in a restaurant?

That's just what one Manhattan woman did at an outdoor restaurant, allowing the boy to do "No. 2" right next to the table while others were dining nearby, Today reports.

Even if you needed to keep your child on a strict schedule, Today show hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb suggest moms choose less offensive options, like taking the potty to the bathroom and having the child use it there.

After all, Gifford says, "Children on a potty are adorable, but . . . "

"Not what happens after, which is the wiping portion," Kotb concludes.

We know the dangers of huffing and smoking, but who knew that our kids' safety could be in danger from a simple spice in the cupboard? Kids are actually dying from taking the "Cinnamon Challenge." What is it, why is it so dangerous, and what are moms doing to address it? Keep reading.

Some kids collect rocks or marbles. Ten-year-old Archer and his 6-year-old brother, Ansel, collect napkins . . . their mom's, that is.

Every day since Archer was in nursery school, Nina Levy has created colorful napkin illustrations and packed them with her sons' lunches to remind them that she loves them and is mindful of what they're doing each day, reports the Huffington Post.

"The act of drawing something for them every evening reminds me to pay attention to what they are thinking about, even if it is the 15th rendition of Batman," she says.

The creative napkins became such a hit that Archer and Ansel slowly began bringing more and more of them home at the end of the day. And after garnering even the New York Times' attention, Levy has begun collating the art into a series, "24 hours of dysfunctional parenting," that tells the story of a day in the life of her family.

With such works of art, the boys might give up a tuna sandwich or even a cookie from their school lunches, but it's unlikely that they'll trade away their napkins.

A 7-year-old's suggestion for gun control recently received a surprising response after it was brought to the attention of Vice President Joe Biden. 

Wisconsin second-grader Myles wrote a letter to the vice president a few months ago suggesting that guns shoot chocolate bullets to help make the nation safer, according to the Associated Press, via the Huffington Post. If his idea could be implemented, no one would get hurt, he explained. 

To the boy's surprise, Biden agreed. He recently sent a handwritten note, agreeing that, "If we had guns that shot chocolate, not only would our country be safer, it would be happier." 

Perhaps a chocoholic himself, Biden added: "People love chocolate."

A New Hampshire teen surprised fellow competitors and judges when she took home the top prize in a Boston computer-programming contest. The mostly male field of 80 competitors included professionals from ESPN and Klout, yet the Associated Press reports that Jenny Lamere was the only person to complete a project. Her winning idea: Twivo, or TiVo for Twitter, which allows you to block tweets using key words, in case you don't want tweets to spoil the ending of a show you haven't yet viewed.

Lamere says she got into computer programming thanks to her dad, a tech company developer, who would routinely share "intriguing" stories about projects he was working on. With women representing only 12 percent of the US workforce with computer science degrees, Lamere's win is a source of inspiration.

How can you, too, spark your daughters' interest in male-dominated careers?

Robert "Bobby" Tufts may not be the first 4-year-old we know who rules the roost, but he's certainly the only one who has officially been put in charge! After a two-month campaign that his mom says he took very seriously, the kindergartener was recently chosen to be mayor of his hometown, Dorset, MN.

Granted, Dorset only has 26 residents, but locals say that doesn't diminish the importance of Mayor Tufts. As Yahoo! Shine reports, it's a seasonal town, and the charming little mayor is "a good ambassador," according to shop owner Wizik Wills.

Watch him do his thing, below.

Would you tag-team and take a driving safety course with your child?

That's the recommendation the state of Virginia is making. It's piloting a project that would require parents and teens to take a drivers' safety class together, before taking part in a licensing ceremony before a judge, because the state believes the joint training will help to reduce teen driving accidents.

While highway crashes are the leading cause of death for young Americans, parents play a big role in preventing fatal car crashes among teens, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. "I think too many parents — we're all guilty of doing as I say not as I do," NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman says.

The best tack for parents to improve teen driving: model good behavior, don't talk or text on the phone while driving, and restrict driving at night, NPR reports. "Giving kids better experience behind the wheel, more supervision, making sure that they don't have a lot of teen passengers in the car with them — if you've got four teenagers in the car, you're four times as likely to have a fatal crash — nighttime driving restrictions, portable electronic device restrictions," Hersman says, "those are the things that really help."

Does your daughter love Merida from Brave for her courage and independence? As Disney prepares to make the plucky teenage heroine into the 11th official princess at a ceremony this Saturday, they've given her what The Huffington Post describes as a controversial "head-to-toe makeover."

With makeup, a more demure expression, a whittled-down waist, a shoulder-baring neckline, and defrizzed curls, the new Merida (pictured on the left) now looks much more like Ariel, Cinderella, and the other princesses in the pantheon, all of whom are known for being pretty rather than brave, as writer Peggy Orenstein notes. Orenstein, author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, is one of many writers urging other concerned parents to sign a petition asking Disney to leave Merida alone.

Should Disney leave Merida as she is?

The most popular baby names of 2012 have been announced! According to the new annual baby name data released by the United States Social Security Administration today, Sophia and Jacob are the most popular girl and boy names for 2012, just as they were in 2011. Keep reading for the top 10 names in 2012 for each gender . . .

This video has to be seen to be believed. Even though 7-month-old Ryder Blair can't yet walk, he moves faster than any baby we've ever known. In the video below, we get a perfect view of the quiet glee that grows on his face as he takes off — on water skis!

The Huffington Post notes — and we want to repeat — that even though Ryder is accompanied by his mom and other adults and is not actually attached to a speed boat, this isn't something you should try at home!