Screen Savers

Today’s parents don’t just need to monitor their children’s exposure to television. They need to manage their ‘media diets.’

Like many well-meaning parents-to-be, before my children were born I compiled a long list of parenting no-nos. Using the TV as a babysitter topped the list.…MORE

Driving Me Crazy

Many teens are waiting longer to get their licenses. It’s a good thing for safety. But it means Mom and Dad have to play chauffeur a couple of extra months (or years).

>On a recent Sunday afternoon, I found myself in a predicament familiar to any suburban parent: I needed to be in two places at the same…MORE

Game Change

In the wake of concerns about permanent head injury, local youth football leagues are adopting new safety measures. But some parents still aren’t sending their boys onto the field.

Before Monkton resident Heather Crowe even had kids, she told her husband, “If we have sons, they are not playing football.” Today, she has two boys,…MORE

‘A’ is for Adderall

For some local high school students, misusing prescription stimulants is a way of coping with academic pressure.

Exhilarating.” That’s how John* describes it. He was on top of the world, making good grades and feeling in control of his heavy workload— all thanks…MORE

Everyone into the pool!

There are as many theories on teaching kids to swim as there are fish in the sea.

Everyone with young children knows the difference between a wet pool parent and a dry pool parent. For 11 years, I’ve been a wet pool parent,…MORE

What’s for dessert?

Writer, mom and nutritionist Carrie McFadden takes on the age-old question.

Last night, with candles still aglow from the evening’s meal and the new Lady Antebellum CD playing softly in the background, my girls and I sat…MORE

Hola, baby!

As the world gets smaller and smaller, more parents want their children to be bilingual. How soon can kids start learning Spanish or Chinese? Try 18 months!

For our family vacation last summer, we drove from Baltimore to Quebec City. At first, there were shouts of joy from our three children— the hotel…MORE

A New Kind Of Sleepover

For some 'tweens and teens— and their parents— an invitation to a coed slumber party promises good, clean fun. But plenty of others see it as an invitation to trouble.

When Aden Bailey turned 13 this past March, she sent out an invitation describing the “who, what, where” details of her birthday sleepover, including the fact…MORE

School Daze

Think getting into college is tough? Getting accepted at Baltimore’s best private schools can be just as difficult.

I ran into my friend Jenny at Eddie’s the other day, and she was ecstatic. Out of the five private school kindergarten programs her daughter applied…MORE