Unfortunately, my relationship with Barbie did little to bolster my self-esteem.  I had brown stringy hair, braces, and a face that my mother would say “had not jelled together”.  Plus, my athletic legs would never match up to Barbie’s super thin thighs.  Not that I am trying to blame Barbie for my low self-esteem, but having her in my life only added to what would ultimately be an obsession with being super thin and beautiful.

Whether you've got a handy man, a gadget freak or a dad with dreams of DIY, there are plenty of cool tools to add to his arsenal. Here are five Father's Day favorites.

Mike Biewenga, a stay-at-home dad for the last four years, noticed something funny when he took his daughter to story time at a nearby library. Gathered around the reader in a circle, mothers sat farther from him than from other moms.

Parents claiming that childhood vaccines cause autism should not be rewarded by the courts when the scientific community has already rejected any link, government lawyers argued Monday on the first day of a hearing in federal court.

Michael Milligan is a product of the baby boom, the first generation that grew old without necessarily growing up. As an ex-hippie, he decided his generation might need some help transitioning from being a product of the '60s to proud papas in their 60s. So the sitcom writer-cum-senior citizen penned a new book, "Grandpa Rules: Notes on Grandfatherhood, The World's Best Job" (Skyhorse Publishing, $12.95).

Even in the neatest of homes, children's bedrooms are magnets for clutter. Parents battle the constant influx of stuff — everything from school art projects to gifts from grandparents, hand-me-downs from friends and the plastic freebies that come with fast-food meals. These rooms also tend to be the smallest in the house, so managing clutter can be tough. Toys and clothing must be organized and out of the way, but still visible and accessible.

When I was around 9 years old, my family took a big trip to Disney World. I can't really remember what rides we rode or if I was even impressed. But I do remember the silly game my father and I played while strolling the streets of Disney. We called it "hand slaps," and basically it meant I could only hold his hand if I slapped it right smack in the middle so it made a nice clasp sound. From then on it was "hand slaps" all the time.

This Mother's Day, consider skipping the flowers and the cards. Instead, go with your mother to get a mammogram, and get one yourself if you're a woman who is old enough to need one, says "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon.

When he was younger, Ne-Yo watched from afar as his friends hugged their fathers — and he wondered where his dad might be.

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Linda Wobinson is greeted by welcomers after she returns from a year in Iraq.

Returning soldiers always receive welcome home greetings as they exit their planes at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and Linda Robinson was always among them. But on Wednesday, she was on the receiving end.

Lisa Holewa was amazed by how easily her daughter's kindergarten class moved from one project to another. There was no whining, no tantrums.

The founder of an organization that honored Dina Lohan as a "Top Mom" says things "spun out of control" when the media focused all its attention on the tabloid magnet.

American adults said they planned to spend more this year than last year for Mother's Day — although their moms wish they wouldn't.

The Mompreneur movement continues to grow.  More moms are taking the plunge and developing their own businesses or creating their own products.  Many moms are able to work from home and strike a balance between bringing home the bacon and bringing up the kids.  The internet has also opened a world of possibilities making this an ideal time for Moms to launch their own enterprises.  Still, the notion of launching an enterprise (regardless of size) can be overwhelming, intimidating, and downright terrifying.  So before you empty your savings account or refinance your home, consider these tips to ensure a successful transition to the world of Mompreneurs!

On October 2, 2006, the unimaginable happened.  A lone gunman entered the quiet schoolhouse of an Amish community in Pennsylvania and opened fire, killing 4 girls ranging in ages from 6 – 14 before killing himself.  What is almost as unimaginable is the extraordinary forgiveness that was extended by members of the Amish community to the family of the shooter.

As headlines about a struggling economy pour in, parents worried about their wallets are waiting longer to register their children for summer camp and more are asking for financial aid.

The challenge was to come up with an idea that can transform public education, particularly in poor communities. The winner: an educator with a passion for making school fun. Michael Bitz won a national competition with his idea for helping students learn academic subjects while creating their own record labels.

The U.S. breast-feeding rate has hit it's highest mark in at least 20 years with more than three-quarters of new moms nursing their infants, according to a government report released Wednesday.

Miley Cyrus' struggle with her controversial photo in "Vanity Fair" presents a great opportunity for parents to discuss how seemingly innocous photos posted to a blog or social networking site can be misinterpreted, experts say.

I got home the other morning and realized I did preschool drop-off and pick-up with my pants unzipped. I don't think anyone noticed. Or maybe they were just being polite.

The number of pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes has more than doubled in seven years, a California study found, a troubling trend that means health risks for both mothers and newborns.

Don Katz has a vision for the kids of America: He wants to take the technology that brings the Jonas Brothers to their ears and use it to deliver the Brothers Grimm.

"You get the best of both worlds," Miley Cyrus sings in the theme song of her hugely popular Disney Channel show, "Hannah Montana." It's a reference to her character's secret double life as both a rock star AND a normal schoolgirl.

Here are some tips that I am taking to get my kids off of the couch and into the kitchen.

Despite its adults-only rating, many adolescents have thoroughly explored the criminal underworld of "Grand Theft Auto" and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the fourth installment in the series, which will be in stores Tuesday.

Magnificent scenery, fresh mountain air and a range of ways to explore make Colorado a great family destination.

Diana Jenkins was happy to welcome her daughter back home after college — as long as there were rules.

When Melissa Jenkins received her college diploma last year, she was ready to get on with life — and move in with her parents. The 23-year-old from North Reading, Mass., was saddled with student loans from her years at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and felt she had no solid career prospects.

Krystal Schlegel comes from a family of Hermes fans. Her mom owns a 30-inch orange ostrich-leather Birkin, and her sister received a white one for Christmas during college. So the high school senior felt graduation would be the perfect time to get her own.

With all due respect to the Pillsbury Bake-off, where peanut butter cookies won the $1 million prize last week in Dallas, there is more to after-school snacks than milk and cookies. Such as 8-year-old Hannah Weeks' Hannah Banana Smoothie and 9-year-old Tanner Williams' Salami Salad Sandwich, winning entries in the Kids in the Kitchen recipe contest.

Snips and snails and puppydog tails ... and cereal and bananas? That could be what little boys are made of, according to surprising new research suggesting that what a woman eats before pregnancy influences the gender of her baby.

So you've got the diploma. You've had the party and opened the presents. You've put away the cap and gown for posterity. Now what?

ou didn't have to know anything about Spanish politics to be fascinated by the striking photo that came out of Spain this week: The new defense minister, 37 and seven months pregnant, reviewing her troops in a chic maternity outfit. But some women who felt a jolt of sisterly pride from across the Atlantic also felt a pang of empathy at another part of the story. In Spain, some were questioning whether Carme Chacon should be able to take her state-mandated 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, given the importance of her job. And that kind of dilemma resonates for women anywhere who have jobs they need and value: What do you do when the timing of motherhood clashes with the upward trajectory of your career?

It's a good time to plan a trip to Washington, D.C. With national monuments and landmarks as a backdrop, you'll enrich your family's understanding of how and where our political process unfolds.

The souring job market and rising costs of the usual teenage indulgences — a slice of pizza, a drive to the mall, the hottest new jeans — are causing teens to do something they rarely do: be thrifty.

Divorce. Bullies. Foster care. There are books for children on just about every tough subject these days. But mommy's plastic surgery? A Florida plastic surgeon has written about just that in "My Beautiful Mommy," a picture book due out April 28 that tries to calm the fears of kids with parents getting tummy tucks, breast enhancement procedures and nose jobs.

The first Mother's Day after a drunk driver killed Debra Bonde's 19-year-old daughter was particularly difficult, for obvious reasons. Worse, the holiday fell that year on Anna Bonde's birthday — the first one she didn't get to celebrate. Since then, Bonde has found solace — and distraction — in the work she does running a nonprofit organization helping other children. For women who have had to endure the death of a child, channeling grief into good works, community service or acts of charity, particularly for children, can help manage the agony of mourning.

Imagine a video game shop that reinforces good grades instead of undermining them?

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A mother of a child in the Frisco Independent School District is speaking out against the bus service she has called dangerous. Those who live within two miles of a Frisco school don't get bus service unless they pay for it, which many families do.

ULYANOVSK, Russia (AP) -- Make a baby. Win a car. Don't be surprised if the streets are empty and curtains drawn in this central Russian region Wednesday as residents take up an offer by the regional governor to help stem Russia's demographic crisis.

If it were up to my eight-year-old, he would happily spend an entire day rotating between video games and TV watching. He would choose screen time over family time, baseball time, meal time and practically any other time including bathroom time. Once, he was hopping around so much, I insisted he take a break on behalf of mother nature. “But Mom, I can hold it just until I get the new high score!”

It may be something of a teenage nightmare: limits on when a wireless phone can make and receive calls and to whom, restrictions on text messages and talk time, and set allowances for ring tones and other downloads – all at a parent's fingertips.

Pssst. I'm going to share my secret with you. A secret of dark shame.

A new study finds that pudgy toddlers have an alarmingly high rate of iron deficiency, and Hispanic youngsters are more affected than other groups.

They say “a picture says a thousand words.” In a child’s world, a picture may be the only way he can express the words that are hidden within. Pictures can bridge a divide that exists when words fail, offering important insights and an effective method of communication.

A busy New York sidewalk.

DMN

Is complaining now part of our culture – and is that a good or bad thing?

My husband and I would like to thank you for your kind thoughts, well wishes and prayers regarding the arrival of our son, Luka.

The Mansfield Independent School District had a change of heart Thursday and turned over scores so that a student can now head to the state Special Olympics to compete.

CPSC

Toys "R" Us has recalled 27,000 crayon and paint sets made in China because the packaging of the wooden box contains lead, as does some of the watercolor paint within, company and government officials said Thursday.

Courtesy

Kaylin Davis is a swimming champion.

A special education student who crossed the finish line at the Special Olympics to earn a gold medal has found herself at the end of the road. Despite winning city at the city level, her school says the state competition is out of the question for Kaylin Davis.

The cartoon characters who normally inhabit your grocer's cereal aisle are on the move. Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and the Disney and Sesame Street gangs are among the many children's favorites who in recent years have taken up residence in the produce section. Which is why you now can tempt your tots with Dora edamame, SpongeBob broccoli and Winnie the Pooh apples.

Pauline Amell-Nash worried that the pesticides and additives used to grow and preserve food were bad for her 1-year-old daughter Sophia, not to mention the earth itself.

For kids who commute on two wheels, half the fun of going back to school is the going. This season's crop of bikes and accessories mixes practicality with whimsy. Kind of like school.

It was a sweltering August afternoon in 2005 as I lumbered through a store with my daughter, Paige, wishing I could submerge myself in an ice-cold swimming pool and literally chill. I was nearly eight months pregnant with my son, Chip, and as we approached the checkout counter, I felt a tingle that stopped me in my tracks.

You see them in grocery stores, restaurants, at the DMV. They are sweet, innocent children one minute, and screaming, kicking monsters the next.

The word that triggers the terrible transformation is something every parent must say: "No." With this simple utterance, your adorable little helper transforms into something every parent dreads ... the drama queen.

Doubts over how well we've prepared a child for life's tough currents are a common affliction of parents sending a student off to college. Just as common is the advice aimed our way: Let go.

Pampers, move over. There's a growing "diaper-free" movement, founded on the belief that babies are born with an instinctive ability to signal when they have to answer nature's call.

Having trouble persuading your child to eat broccoli or spinach? You may have only yourself to blame. According to a study of twins, neophobia – or the fear of new foods – is mostly in the genes.

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Gary Stocklaufer with his first adopted son, Robert.

Gary Stocklaufer weighs 501 pounds and thinks he is a good dad. But a court in Missouri says he's too fat to adopt a second child. So Stocklaufer is undergoing gastric bypass surgery in Dallas today to reduce his weight.

North Texas students begin a fresh school year on Monday. We asked kids to reflect on their last academic year and offer a bit of advice for kids in the grades behind them. Much of their wisdom centered on math proficiency and time management. "Don't goof off," said 13-year-old Parker Fields, "or you'll get in trouble." Good advice for any age.

Not long ago, I was babysitting my niece and offered my help with some of her fifth grade math. It had been so long since I had tackled a word problem and I thought it would be fun to freshen up on my long division. Unfortunately, the microscopic, pea-size space in my brain reserved for retaining such nonsense as the difference between an isosceles and an obtuse triangle could not be activated. I had simply shut down that section knowing full well I would have no future use for basic geometry.

Have you met your child's teacher yet? How about the principal? Experts say you should do it as soon as possible so you can begin that important partnership.

Gina Thoma is taking a year off work to raise a family, but she's still playing the corporate game. As part of a new program at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the 42-year-old mother of three mingles at firm events, checks in with a career coach and attends seminars to keep her professional skills fresh.

I joined the PTO when my oldest son started kindergarten. I never had the opportunity being just a parent of the school. No, from day one I was a board member, involved up to my freckled nose in school activities, planning meetings and volunteering for every event.

The minute school starts, you'll be in the market for after-school snacks. Here are some simple suggestions for healthful and tasty snacks for children.

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Hand sanitizer is a common product, but studies show young kids are getting buzzed and sometimes drunk from licking too much sanitizer off their hands.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Brad Pitt toured the construction site of a house in the city's Lower 9th Ward that is based on the winning design in a competition he launched to help the area recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Throughout the journey of parenting, there exists a constant push and pull for control. It starts early, when bedtimes and eating carrots are suddenly up for debate. The older they get, the harder it is to communicate. Cries and coos are easier to interpret than the fragmented sound bites teenagers give. To make matters worse, in order to stay in step, parents have to understand the language of technology and decode such messages as C U 2MOZ (“see you tomorrow”) and SRY 4GT 2 CAL LST NYT (“sorry I forgot to call last night”).

Educational technology can't teach kids as much as they think they know, but it's improving fast enough that students and their parents should consider some new gizmos during their back-to-school shopping. Take a look at some of the best, and find out which tech toys kids can do without.

For young athletes, back to school means back to sports – with its giddy triumphs, heartbreaking defeats and painful injuries. Here's a look at six young athletes and how they learned to recognize, heal or minimize their injuries. We've also included tips from experts for other young athletes.

I had been looking forward to the first day of kindergarten. With my son in school, I could finally find time to tackle the “to-do” list and focus on work. Even luxuries like pedicures or lunch with girlfriends were possible as long as they fell between 8:30 am and 2:45 pm! Sure I would be a little sentimental, but I was confident I could control my emotions — WRONG!

Her stomach is knotted; her eager mind is racing with the possibilities of the day. She has all her supplies: fresh new crayons, bright yellow pencils, reams of virgin notebook paper, empty journals waiting to be filled.

If you read the latest survey on how well teens are learning to manage their money, it's clear they still have a way to go. The results of the eighth annual poll on Teens and Personal Finance by Junior Achievement Worldwide found that many teens are already developing some bad financial habits.

This time of year is as exciting for me as it is for my children. I used to beg my parents to go back-to-school shopping weeks in advance; my kids do the same. They’re not that “in” to clothes shopping yet; I’m talking about school supplies! We didn’t have a lot of money when I was young- we got just the basics. But they were fresh and new and I loved organizing my pencils, papers and folders over and over again. (I still love a brand-new box of crayons.)

As a writer, Darian Smith has an impressive feather in her thinking cap: Her personal essay was included in the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

NEW YORK (AP) -- So you're between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock 'n' roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- When it comes to those they most admire, young people do not look chiefly to the worlds of music, today's wars or history. Instead, they turn to their own families.

A red rash on the cheeks and a lacy rash on the hand, feet and torso are symptoms of fifth disease.

Wikipedia

A high temperature and rash turned out to be fifth disease.

Can you imagine paying $10,000 to get a passport? That was the price tag for a Dallas physician who owed that much in child support. It's part of a State Department program to catch deadbeat parents by denying them the privilege of traveling. Call it, "No pass, no play."

Hoping to prevent a growing number of injuries to infants and toddlers, the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory on Wednesday warning parents never to give cough and cold medicines to children younger than under the age of 2 unless instructed to do so by a doctor.

Moms-to-be once resigned themselves to nine months of misery. But, frankly, they've had enough. Now, pregnant women are finding help from chiropractors. Here's how to tell if it's right for you, and how to find the right doctor.

Parents with picky eaters have borrowed a concept from the Japanese to make brown-bag boredom a thing of the past. Their solution? Bento boxes, or a variety of lunch containers that use the same concept. Here's where to buy them and what to put in.

An influential U.S. medical panel is considering changes to the medical guidelines for how much weight a woman should gain during pregnancy. It's acting on the insistence of doctors who say heavy moms are gaining too much weight and the current recommendations do not factor in the country's obesity epidemic.

Lifelike dinosaurs will invade Dallas in October, and children everywhere will be begging Mom and Dad for tickets.

It’s a new school year. You and your child have high hopes. This is going to be the year to master math, ace spelling, and sail through science! Brand-new notebooks and newly sharpened pencils will set things off in the right direction. Fast forward three months and two report cards later, and the smell of defeat is in the air. Grades are not what you expected, much less what you dreamed. Is your child lazy? Unmotivated to succeed? Your child, of course, wonders if he is simply not smart. He questions why he should continue trying. Homework becomes a battle of wills, and the entire family is miserable.

CPSC

The recall includes this toy truck that contains lead paint.

Even as a massive toy recall was announced today, Mattel officials warned that it could grow as the company implemented more rigorous testing measures.
• TELL US: What do you think about the recalls?

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It's the battle of nature versus nurture. Are kids born geniuses or do they become one through teaching?

For boys, it was between G.I. Joe and Star Wars. For girls, My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake.

A generation later, the back-to-school ritual of selecting a new lunch box involves much more than choosing among pop culture icons. Upgrades in style, storage and technology -- not to mention changes in eating habits -- have redrawn the lunchbox landscape.

Whooping cough is a growing public health threat. State health officials recently re-launched a campaign in the fight against the coughing disease. Part of the problem, according to health experts and patients, is that many doctors aren't paying attention to the signs.

Julia Alvarez didn't originally want to write about the quinceañera, a Latino coming-of-age ritual that celebrates a girl's 15th birthday.

A gaggle of my girlfriends has been popping out babies lately – one even doubled her efforts and had twins.

My parents were not hippies. We were a deeply conventional, middle-class American family, but my clean-cut mother and father tried to embrace, in a haphazard and innocent way, the values of the counterculture – at least enough to send me, their moody 14-year-old daughter, alone on a four-week bike trip through Greece.

Sandra Poulin couldn't have been more thrilled when she found out she was expecting. Then, when Rachel was born in 1996, the Dallas mom, who had always thought of herself as a happy person, couldn't sleep and began crying for no reason. Relief didn't begin until she learned about postpartum depression (PPD) and realized that she was among the 15 percent of new mothers affected by it.

As the dog days of August get their hairiest, we see over the horizon what some consider the light at the end of the tunnel (while others consider it the headlight of fast approaching train). Yes, it’s school again, and it’s right around the corner.

In 1997, I spent nine months of my life pregnantly puking up anything that wasn't crabmeat or root beer. After 40 weeks of what felt like the worst food poisoning ever, my daughter Bella was born.

Babies come with everything they need except an owner's manual. So, what do you do when things go wrong?

Sleep ranks No. 2 on the wish lists of many new parents, one notch below having a healthy baby. Here are some ideas for getting more.

Parents and babies share a special bond, one that requires nurturing, learning, protection and nonstop action. Get off to a healthy start with the latest developmental toys, fitness gear and natural skin care that'll keep you both safe and smiling.

For several weeks after we'd had our first baby, my husband and I could focus on nothing else.

Anything made by McDonald's tastes better, preschoolers said in a study that powerfully demonstrates how advertising can trick the taste buds of young children.

It's called the "word spurt," that magical time when a toddler's vocabulary explodes, seemingly overnight. New research offers a decidedly un-magical explanation: Babies start really jabbering after they've mastered enough easy words to tackle more of the harder ones. It's essentially a snowball effect.

The classic children's show aims to expand watchers' vocabularies this year with Sarah Jessica Parker breathily demonstrating "sigh;" Ellen DeGeneres doing a little "ballet;" and Rachael Ray being pretty perky about "pumpernickel."

Nearly three-quarters of new mothers in the United States are breast-feeding their babies, but they are quitting too soon and resorting to infant formula too often, federal health officials said Thursday.

Pastel bunnies and cutesy bears are out. Tiffany blue and camouflage peace signs are in.

Forget the three-ring circus. You won't miss it.

CPSC

One of the toys involved in the recall.

Toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys—including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters—because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead. The recall being announced Thursday involves 967,000 plastic preschool toys made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August.

The silver lining for children who aren't happy that a new year of school is just around the corner is that new stuff – clothes, accessories and supplies – is likely to come with it. And if these kids are anything like their mothers, one of the highlights will be new shoes.