Parenting

A father is about to ground his 14-year-old son, who has failed to do his chores after repeated reminders. But, as he is winding up to deliver a familiar lecture, he looks into his son's eyes and realizes that the teen-ager is both exhausted and stressed out. Disturbed that he'd been too preoccupied with work to notice this sooner, the father asks, "Are you OK?" This unexpected compassion immediately breaks down the teen-ager's defenses. "I'm sorry, Dad," he says, fighting back tears.

We all know that many bullies get their start in the sandbox, not the boardroom, and that their youngest victims can nurture the resulting hurt for a lifetime. No surprise, then, that next week, "Sesame Street's" Big Bird and Elmo--who despite their agelessness have been around a long time--will tackle the subject of bullying in its earliest phases. Three new episodes devoted to bullying air Monday, Tuesday and Friday (Oct. 17, 18 and 21), kicking off a broad initiative that includes a Web page with advice and discussion for parents and activities for kids and a five-part video series that features psychologists, advocates and educators talking about bullying.

This Is Where I Leave You A Novel Jonathan Tropper Dutton: 344 pp., $25.95 There's nothing like the death of a parent to open familial wounds anew, particularly if you happen to be in a Jewish family forced to sit shiva together for a week's time. That's precisely what radio producer Judd Foxman, the narrator of Jonathan Tropper's often hilarious and often heartbreaking latest, "This Is Where I Leave You," must do. Judd isn't exactly in the best place emotionally to spend a week mourning his father's death while sitting on those tiny shiva chairs.

Why am I throwing yet another (b)log on the towering inferno of mommy blogs out there? There must be at least a gazillion of them, to use my son's word for anything larger than 10. And yet there also seems to be an unquenchable desire to talk about parenting, as if we're the first to experience it. Turning "parent" into a gerund would have been alien to our parents, which says a lot about where we are. I used to host a radio show on NPR called...

When your teen comes home slurring, swaying and smelling of alcohol, here's a research finding that will help you pinpoint whom to finger as the major "bad influence" in the kid's life. First, a couple of hints: It's not that rowdy gang of boys your son hangs out with, and it's not those girls who wear too much makeup that your daughter's fallen in with. It's also not the new love interest in your kid's life, either (well, not precisely). In fact, a new study finds the most potent change agent upon your kid's risky drinking behavior is his new girlfriend's group of BFFs, or her new boyfriend's entourage of guys.

The outpouring of emotion and cash in the case of bullied bus monitor Karen Klein may be peaking. Nearly half a million dollars have been raised for her "vacation" fund, she's appeared on "Anderson Cooper," and some U.S. Marines have created a video to show their support. The video from Marines at Fort Meade in Maryland declares the corps' intolerance for hazing and bullying and gives the 68-year-old grandmother, the recent target of abuse by students in upstate New York, a heartfelt "Oorah!"

We're at Cirque du Soleil on the beach, amazed and giggling and holding hands. It's a children's wonderland. We're not children - my husband and I are in our 40s. But we're having the time of our lives, until we recognize a couple we know across the big top … also in their 40s, there with their small children and disapproving looks. We don't have children. We are conspicuously alone, in an altered state, and have been caught falling out of our seats with delight, popcorn spilled in our laps, tears streaming down our cheeks from the sheer joy of it all, not to mention tripping.

Your editorial raises a question of whether society should permit a surrogate-parenting arrangement. In response to that question, I should like to share with your readers the following statement adopted by the California Assn. of Adoption Agencies. This association was organized in 1963 to promote sound adoption practices and to serve the best interests of children. Comprised of members, both lay and professional, with extensive experience in adoption, the association has taken a position opposing any action that might sanction the practice of surrogate parenting.

The American school lunch, long the butt of schoolyard jokes, is in for a nutritional makeover, fueled by concern over a national epidemic of childhood obesity and funded by the first hike in federal contributions in three decades. Starting next school year, U.S. schoolchildren will see changes in school lunch programs that are expected to bring fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and potentially smaller portions to every meal served in...