'Tis The Season For Parents And Kids To Be Scammed

As the parent of a 16-year-old (the TeenWonk) high school junior that has a 4.35 G.P.A., we've been getting a number of so-called "nominations" for inclusion in this or that "national honor roll," "who's-who book," and, of course, the United States Achievement Academy.The "nominations" were made by her well-intentioned (but unknowing) teachers, who think that they are doing the kids a favor by so

Helicopter Parents Vs. Stinger Teachers

When are "involved parents" too involved? In one Maryland district, the fur is flying between some parents and a number of teachers: The Baltimore Sun ran an article on Tuesday about parental involvement taken to the extreme. The trigger was an annual survey by the Howard County Education Association that shows a majority of teachers say they have been subjected to harassment, and most of the

Smaller Than The Average Baby?

CNN has something for new parents to chew on: There are few issues that preoccupy new parents more than this: Is my baby growing normally? When the percentiles seem off-kilter, we worry -- but experts say there's rarely reason for concern.For starters, healthy kids come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and they don't grow at a steady rate, either.Your child can look very different from your