LilSugar

TV Middle School Moments

LilSugar — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:00:00 PDT

From first crushes to moral dilemmas and social hierarchies to embarrassing moments, middle school has enough fodder for seasons worth of TV shows. Some networks have hit gold capitalizing on the situations to which everyone can relate! As your tween heads back to school, check out some of my favorites.

Top-Notch Locker Accessories For Your Tween Boy!

babysugar — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:00:11 PDT

The last thing a guy wants is to get slammed in his locker! Girls like to glam up their school issued spaces, but boys also benefit from being organized. Help your son personalize his locker with these practical finds.

A dry-erase calendar board ($9) helps a guy keep track of his sports schedule and other extracurricular activities.
A small mesh laundry bag ($3) is a great for tossing worn clothes in and bringing them home for a good wash.
When a smelly gym sock gets buried beneath the books, charcoal odor eaters ($4) will mask the mistake.
Adhesive hooks ($4) are strong enough to hold key chains, hats, and bags, but can be removed without leaving a mark.
Knickknacks and pens get a home with in this magnetic plastic cup ($4).
Magnets ($13) make displaying photos or holding notes a cinch.

Top-Notch Locker Accessories For Tween Girls

babysugar — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:00:00 PDT

It's a middle school milestone! All kids want their own locker - a place to store their stuff when they are at school - and tween girls like to put a personal touch on the metal closet to make it extra cool. We've rounded up some fab and affordable items.

A neon wire shelf ($7) adds a pop of color while doubling a locker's storage capacity.
Personalize a mirror from Etsy user jnall3 ($11) with both your child's name and fabric of her choice.
A handful of these bold magnets ($3) hold homework lists, notes, and magazine cutouts of a girl's latest celebrity crush.
This bendable lady ($7) is great for cell phones, keys, and anything else you can hang off her limbs.
Dry erase boards are must haves for any social butterfly, and these colorful whiteboard markers ($2) will let your daughter and her friends express themselves.
Frame decals ($15) add an extra element to photos and can be easily removed when it's time to redecorate.

More Kids Are Coming Out in Middle School

TresSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:00:00 PDT

The middle-school version of ourselves probably had a blurry idea of the adults we would become, but some kids are proving that we knew a lot more about our identities than we thought. With no doubt about who they are attracted to, more and more kids are coming out as gay or bisexual before they make it to high school.

An article in this weekend's New York Times Magazine examines the trend and reveals that many of these kid are coming out before they've ever dated or kissed anyone of either sex. They just know they don't want to date the opposite sex.

The piece profiles Austin, a gay 13-year-old from Oklahoma. To hear what Austin thinks about tweens and teens coming out and the reactions they get,

read more. Austin's experience went something like this:

Austin doesn’t have to play "the pretend game," as he calls it, anymore. At his middle school, he has come out to his close friends, who have been supportive. A few of his female friends responded that they were bisexual. "Half the girls I know are bisexual,” he said. He hadn’t planned on coming out to his mom yet, but she found out a week before the dance. “I told my cousin, my cousin told this other girl, she told her mother, her mother told my mom and then my mom told me," Austin explained. "The only person who really has a problem with it is my older sister, who keeps saying: 'It’s just a phase! It’s just a phase!'"

"It's just a phase" is probably a common reaction to the idea of middle schoolers coming out. But since we would never question a heterosexual adolescent who announces that he or she likes the opposite sex, should we question those who say they're attracted to the same sex? What do you make of all this?

Middle Schoolers Engage in Oral Sex During Math Class

LilSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:00:51 PDT

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?

At What Age Is Birth Control Appropriate?

DearSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:00:00 PDT

Last week, The New York Times broke a story out of Maine in which the Portland school board approved a measure allowing middle-schoolers to gain access to prescription birth control medications without notifying their parents.

With this new ruling, King Middle School not only provides the birth control medications for their students, but their medical clinic also offers immunizations and physical checkups in addition to counseling for sexually transmitted diseases.

While some parents viewed this measure as a violation of parental rights, others felt that it was a necessary precaution to offer protection for kids that were engaging in "risky behavior."

I am sure this article will strike a cord with all you mothers out there, so how would you feel if your child were offered prescription birth control without your consent? And you non-mothers, do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea for middle schoolers to be exposed to birth control at such a young age?

Source

Drug Testing in Public Schools, A Good Idea?

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 03:00:00 PST

We have all heard about random drug testing in our respective places of employment and in professional sports, but what about in public schools?

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy recently announced that it would be holding four regional summits promoting random student drug testing in public middle and high schools. The program, which has actually already been implemented in almost 1,000 schools across the country, requires that kids submit to random drug testing if they would like to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities. The tests would be looking for cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, opium-based substances, oxycontin and steroids.

Do you guys think random drug testing in our schools is a good idea?

Gas Prices Are Up! What You Can Do to Save

Emily Co — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:20:33 PST

Unrest in the Middle East and the closing of American refineries have gas prices going up, up, and away for US consumers. Analysts are predicting that the prices may continue to rise.

But don't worry, there are a number of methods to save on refueling your car. Here are some tips:

Spend to Save: Look for deals around you that will help you save on your gas. For example, you can choose to frequent wholesale stores like Costco, which will give you a little bit of cash back on Costco gas. If you're a real gas guzzler, check out this full list of gas rebate cards on CreditCards.com.
Don't Top It Off: Topping off your gas may result in a higher gas bill, because you might be paying for gas that goes back into the station's tanks after your gas tank is full, says the Environmental Protection Agency. You can also ruin your car's vapor recovery system if there is no room for the gas to expand in your tank.
Smooth Trip: Starting and stopping excessively can shorten the life of your engine, transmission, brakes, and tires. Go easy on your braking and accelerating. Remember to also turn off your engine if you know you'll be waiting for a long while. Staying put without moving means you're getting 0 miles per gallon.

For more gas-saving tips, read on.

Link Time: CFDA Leaves the Garment District, Uggs Get Banned, and More

FabSugar — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:37:12 PST

Even the CFDA is abandoning the Garment District - The Cut
Is Karl Lagerfeld being stretched too thin? - The Daily Beast
Why you shouldn't buy Jason Wu for Target on eBay right now - Styleite
10 most (and least) Oscar-worthy gowns from Couture Fashion Week - FashionIndie
Lane Crawford casts a trifecta of Asian models for its latest campaign - Style.com
Is there a place in fashion for average-sized models? - HuffPo Style
Channel your inner Brigitte Bardot in these striped tops - Stylelist
The right and wrong way to do Vegas fashion - xoJane
Geek chic: fashion inspired by Doctor Who - College Fashion
Uggs get banned at a Philadelphia-area middle school - The Frisky
Givenchy makes us think that Pantone was right about tangerine - Purse Blog

Lil Links: Heidi Klum's Kids Are Standing by Her

Rebecca M Gruber — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:31:46 PST

Heidi Klum has the support of her kids these days - Celebrity Baby Scoop
Trisomy 18 stops Rick Santorum's campaign in its tracks - The Stir
The Guncles' baby Simone is a fashion star - Celebrity Baby Blog
Cooking for tiny picky eaters - Real Simple
7 lightened versions of your favorite foods - FitPregnancy
New risks of using alcohol during pregnancy - Parenting
The earliest signs of autism? - The Bump
Quantity or quality: which matters more? - Momformation
Ugg boots banned in middle school - Yahoo! Shine
The Bugaboo Cameleon goes purple – Cool Mom Picks