For many kids, the day they receive a jersey or uniform with their name printed boldly on the back is proud one. They are on the team and everyone who goes to the games will know exactly who they are!

Which is precisely what worried one parent enough to lobby for the removal of children's first names from the jerseys of the Carmel Dads Club. "She raised the concern about someone coming up to a kid and saying, 'Hi, Mary' or 'Hi, Jimmy,' and that might lead the youngster to believe that they knew them," said Mike McKinley, president of the organization that involves 12,000 kids in nearly a dozen different sports.

While some support the change, others feel it's catering to a culture of paranoia. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children cautions parents that kids wearing clothing or carrying personalized items could put strangers "on a first name basis with the kids", but also acknowledges that in the majority of cases, children are abducted or exploited by someone the child or the child's parents knows not by a stranger.

We've never been on a team where first names were used on uniforms, only last names. Maybe I'm just naive, but my biggest worry was that someone with "Felton" across their back would do something embarrassing like scratch their butt or pick their nose in front of everyone. For me, having names on the players helps me figure out who is who on the field better than just a number. However, plain jerseys have the economical advantage of being reusable and reducing the cost of sports for parents.

Also, removing names from uniforms may make parents feel safer, but it doesn't completely remove the danger. There are enough people yelling out kids' names during sporting events to make it pretty easy for a profiler to figure out who is who if this ism information they really want to know.

What do you think is this a prudent preventative measure or just parental paranoia?

OK, is it me or is a national convention no place for a baby? As was widely covered (yet not as much as the Democratic National Convention, interestingly), the Republican National Convention showcased many of Sarah Palin's children (and a would-be teenage groom). Among them, Palin's infant son, Trig. I thought it was a lot to take my newborn to the local diner when he was born!

Now, while the Republicans seemed a little more calm and collected than their boisterous Democratic opponents, they were still a relatively rowdy bunch. The whole point of a convention is to get people riled up for the cause, and there was a lot of that going on, especially from Palin herself. It was a loud, crowded, noisy place, which, to me, is no place for a baby. Babies need stimulation and interaction with the social world, I'm sure, but the RNC is a far cry from what good old Doctor Spock imagined. I am sure that kid was terrified. He seemed ok in the arms of family members as the rest of the RNC wailed on, but I couldn't help but think he should have been home with a nanny or a sitter.

Of course, the whole point of having her family there was to drive home the point that she's a mom and that she is a working mother, too. And, naturally, rather than focusing on real issues that truly matter to the election, the focus was all on her family. Trig has down syndrome. Bristol is pregnant. Levi will we her. Both Palin and the press have done their best to constantly remind us of these things--things which matter, sure, but they shouldn't be a part of the race for the White House. Should they? Palin and her people say keep the children out of it, yet there they were, even the littlest one, at the convention. Obama was no better--he trotted his kids out for the cute factor, no denying that.

Thoughts? Should we keep candidates' kids out of the political spotlight? If so, shouldn't they NOT be on television?

According to a recent survey of 1,500 women interviewed by Psycholgies magazine, most women would rather have a comfortable, happy family life than luxury items like nice clothes and trips to the spa. They also would like to be debt free, have more free time, and be assured their kids will get a good education.

I know. Stop the presses.

It seems like these findings are a given, but according to psychologist Derek Draper, "Women have been seen as riding the rampant wave of consumerism, demanding designer labels, the latest beauty treatments, and killer heels. But this study shows that women are refocusing on family and friends. They are rediscovering what really matters and placing meaning at the centre of their lives."

Maybe Mr. Draper has been hanging out with Paris Hilton-wannabes? Or watched too many episodes of Sex in the City? Because most of the women I know -- partnered up with children or not -- have always had family and friends at the center of their lives and appreciate stability. But they also, when possible, make room for a new dress or hot pair of heels or other luxury items that fit their personality and lifestyle.

Does it have to be either/or? What do you think?

Yes, you read that right. A little early for Halloween, sure, but this is one of those stories too weird--and creepy--to not be true. A Greater Manchester man who police and family thought was dead re-entered their lives after his son spotted him on television. The man, John Delaney, was believed to have died in April of 2000. Police accidentally misidentified a body as his and his family had a funeral for him, cremating the body of what they believed to be the patriarch in 2003.

Delaney had actually suffered a head injury and been admitted to a hospital days later. He suffered amnesia and was unable to give medical professionals his name. He was transferred to a home and stayed there for eight years before his son identified him while watching a show about missing people.

The son, John Renehan, said that while his father had been cremated, he "knew" the man he saw on television was his father. And he was right. Goes to show you have to trust your instincts sometimes. Now the family is happily reunited in what is truly an amazing story for the books. Sadly, the body of the person who was believed to be Delaney and subsequently cremated, has yet to be identified.

New York Schools will soon be tracking more than reading, writing, and arithmetic, they'll also be watching students' waistlines. Starting this fall, New York Schools (excluding New York City) will be required to collect and report on students BMI, which is a number based upon a person's height and weight. The data will be collected in annual health physicals which are required for attendance, and will be submitted in the second, fourth, seventh, and tenth grades.

The goal is to be able to track where childhood obesity is a problem so that district leaders can offer parents and children resources for leading a healthier lifestyle. But some people are asking the question: Does this kind of information belong in the hands of school and/or state officials? Is childhood obesity a government problem or a personal, family matter?

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Kids are routinely weighed at school anyway. (Remember the dreaded Presidential Fitness Awards? Or was I the only one who dreaded them? Those body fat calibers... shiver.) If children need to have a doctor's appointment anyway, and if weighing-in is a routine part of that physical, and if this information is then later reported anonymously without names attached, I can't see a problem with it. That way, schools as a whole can be targeted for health education. But if kids are having their names stuck into some kind of obesity file and are being singled out, then I might have a few questions. Childhood is hard enough. What do you think?

Regardless of your party affiliation, or how you plan to vote in November, Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention last night was a HUGE step forward for moms, and her unlikely rise from the PTA is, in my opinion, her strongest credential.

To me, Palin is the mom at the school board meeting who stands up for what is right with a winning combination of intelligence, charm, and authenticity. Last night, she did what previously seemed impossible in American politics -- delivering lethal zingers without evoking the B-word. Both men and women like her. Her opponents fear her in part because they can't help liking her.

She's like no other female politician I have ever seen, both tough and unreservedly feminine and maternal -- affectionately holding her baby after having just delivered one of the most important speeches of this election. In one short week, I believe that Palin has ushered in a new ere of "mom power" leaving the old guard female politicians like Hillary and Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson looking as stiff and dated as their white, male counterparts. Beauty queen, moose-hunter, mom, and politician -- modern moms can relate to the seemingly contradictory aspects of her biography and the complexity of issues she is dealing with as a parent and a politician.

Yes, she made history, but I think she has also made a case for the value of a mother's heart and strength in politics. And she is an inspiration to all moms who are trying to make a difference in their communities. How many of us moms have seen a situation at school, in our town or city that we have wanted to change? Maybe you jumped in, like Palin, and faced down the status quo, but how many more times have we sat back and waited for someone else to do it (we're too busy, right?)? Or, started to take on a problem only to back out when the heat turned up and the criticism turned personal? I've been there and I believe many of you have too.

Palin's appeal to women, and to moms in particular, is that, regardless of party affiliation, she really is just like us, and she is proof that being who we are can deliver very successful results. No whining, no androgynous pantsuits or posturing to look "as tough as a man." Sarah says put on your lipstick and take on the world!

Many of you will be saddened to hear this, or at least slightly nostalgic. Bill Melendez, who voiced the Peanuts character Snoopy, has died. Melendez, who was also in charge of most of the animation, was ninety-one! He is survived by his wife of sixty-eight years and two children.

The mustachioed man may not have been known by many in person, but we all knew the voice of our beloved Snoopy. Whether portraying the Red Baron or Charlie Brown's best friend (besides Linus), Snoopy was honestly the most adult of the Peanuts characters. He also lent his talents to the Met Life insurance company.

Melendez was a true talent, being both Oscar-nominated and an Emmy winner. He was set to celebrate his ninety-second birthday in November. He is responsible for animating A Charlie Brown Christmas, and my personal favorite cartoon ever, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

It's a good thing seventeen-year-old Bristol Palin has her family's support during her pregnancy because it turns out that one of the things her mother did as governor of Alaska was to use her line-item veto to cut funding for a program that includes housing for teenage mothers. In fact, Governor Palin cut the funding for Covenant House, of which Passage House is a part, by more than twenty percent.

Passage House is there to offer "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" as well as helping them "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families." At least, that's what they'd like to do. Perhaps they will still be able to accomplish their mission despite the cuts; it's possible that the program was spending more than necessary and can operate just fine with the reduced revenue. It's possible.

It seems to me that this, combined with her dedication to abstinence-only sex education, does not bode well for teenage girls in the coming years if Palin and McCain make it to the White House.

Suicide rates among the nation's youth continue to climb. Many experts fear the reason for this is due to fewer antidepressants being prescribed. After a fifteen-year decline the rates are climbing--what was seen as a possibly random increase in 2004 was repeated in 2005. The outcome of the study of 2004 and 2005 tracked outcomes based on actual instances from 1996 through 2003. After more than a decade of decline, suicide rates among those from 10-19 years of age skyrocketed by 18% in 2004, the largest increase in a one-year time period over fifteen years. Researcher Jeff Bridge feels, based on this study, that we could be on the verge of a public health crisis.

Bridges sites possible reasons for the increase, including online and social networking as well as returning from deployment overseas in Iraq along with the controversy over giving youth antidepressants. In a 2003 a public health advisory was issued noting children who were prescribed SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, were more likely to attempt suicide or engage in suicidal behavior. The result was the black box information on such medicines as well as doctors being less confident in prescribing them. In another study, however, Bridge noted that such treatment could be beneficial for children in the short-term.

According to Diana Zuckerman, National Research Center for Women & Families, children may be more likely to attempt suicide now due to the lagging economy, the stress of not having enough money for college and because those with depression go undiagnosed. She also noted a factor could be that families aren't spending enough time together.

Imagine you're at your local McDonald's, a few blocks from home, in a decent neighborhood. You and your eleven-year-old son get into an argument that gets worse every minute. So you tell him to walk home, jump in your car, and take off. You cool down and, a few minutes later, return to collect him. Sound reasonable? Perhaps. It really depends on just how far the restaurant was from home, what sort of neighborhood it was, and how mature the boy is.

Well, those are some of the questions being asked now after a Texas newspaper columnist did just that. Dave Lieber returned to collect his son from the local McDonald's only to find him being questioned by police officers. The police gave Lieber a talking-to and let him take his son home. Lieber wrote about the incident in his column, but that wasn't the end of it. Almost two weeks later, Lieber was arrested on charges of child abandonment and endangerment.

Now it's up to the district attorney to decide whether or not to press charges. According to Eric Franklin, an investigations supervisor for Child Protective Services, the questions that need to be answered center around the child's maturity and ability to reason, the dangerousness of the situation, and the father's intentions.

I'm not sure this is something I would ever do, although I've certainly offered to let my kids walk home if they couldn't behave themselves in the car. Still, at eleven years old, I was wandering about some of San Francisco's worst neighborhoods on my own and at night and no one thought twice about it. I'm not sure this father deserves jail time and a record over this -- what do you think?

Sandy recently told us about a new Census Bureau report that found that, not only are women waiting longer to have children, many are choosing not to have children at all. That same report turned up another interesting piece of information: Midwestern moms are more likely to go back to work than other moms.

Over at The Curious Capitalist, Barbara Kiviat has an interesting discussion going on about why Midwestern moms are more likely to go back to work than their counterparts in other areas of the country. She theorizes, by comparing maps in a very unscientific way, that Midwestern moms have access to a higher number of childcare centers, which may be why they choose to work. A commenter points out, however, that there may be more childcare centers because there is a higher demand.

Children born to men who are older than the ripe old age of 30 are more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder, according to a new study. The results of the study, published in the Archives of General Psychology, suggest that the risk increases as the age of the father increases. Bipolar disorder is more commonly known as manic depression. Symptoms of the disorder include periods of extreme happiness offset by mood swings of severe depression and hopelessness.

The reason for the connection? According to Emma Frans of Sweden, who led the study, it could be that older men have more degraded sperm. The Swedish research team used a national medical registry of 14,000 who had the disorder along with five people without the disorder for each person in the registry to uncover the connection. After factoring for the mother's age, the results indicated that those with fathers over 30 had an 11% increase in risk and those with fathers as old as 55 had a 37% increased risk. Frans was quick to point out that the results shouldn't keep older men from fathering children all together, but that they should be aware of the increased risks.

Older fathers have also been linked to autism and schizophrenia.

Over the weekend, the internet was awash with rumors that Sarah Palin, the 44 year old governor of Alaska and newly named running mate of Republican presidential candidate John McCain may have faked the pregnancy of her 5th child, Trig to cover that the baby was actually her grandson and was born to her 16 year-old daughter, Bristol.

The details of the soap opera-esque tale revolved around the fact that Bristol missed several months of school, ostensibly due to having mono, and that the Governor's staff were said to be shocked at Palin's pregnancy announcement late in her 2nd trimester because she didn't appear pregnant and none of them had a clue. However, the internet is also awash with rumors that Obama was not actually born in the United States and was raised Muslim, that John McCain is actually a reptilian overlord bent on taking over the Earth for aliens and that Biden isn't actually real, he's a hologram.

But it turns out that there may have been a grain of true to the Palin baby rumor: Seventeen-year-old Bristol is currently five months pregnant and planning on marrying the father and keeping the baby.

Sarah and Todd Palin issued a statement saying they are "proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents."

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," the statement said. "Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family."

I really feel for Bristol, who will now be known as one of the pregnant teenagers of 2008 alongside the girl in Juno and Jamie Lynn Spear. On the one hand, it's refreshing to see politicians actually showing they live by the same values they profess to believe. It's easy for wrinkled, white-haired men to say abortion is wrong and should be illegal as it's not longer a concern in their lives, but it's much different for politicians with younger kids who could actually GET pregnant. But between having a pregnant teenage daughter and a special needs baby of her own, the timing seems a bit bad for Palin. What do you think about the whole thing?

The most common birth defect found in newborn boys is undescended testes. This condition may affect up to 8% of males and is also believed to be linked with infertility issues and as a risk factor for testicular cancer later in life. Research on rats found that the reproductive system of male fetuses could suffer damage starting as early at eight weeks' gestation by some chemicals, including those found in many cosmetics. During the time window of 8-12 weeks gestation, the male reproductive system is being established and certain hormones are being activated.

But researchers feel they may have found a simple way for expectant mothers to possibly spare their sons the from heartaches of infertility and health issues down the road: lay off perfume.

"Women could stop using body creams and perfumes. Although we do not have conclusive evidence that they do harm, there are components about which there are question marks; for example it could be certain combinations of chemicals. If you are thinking about how a baby might be exposed, that's one way, and it's something positive you can do. It might have no consequence, but it's something positive women can do for their baby."

It's pretty amazing that the more things are studied, the more brilliant the apparent protections Mother Nature seems to have built-in to protect fetuses during pregnancy appear. Coffee, alcohol, and perfume are three common nausea triggers among newly pregnant woman.

Did you have a nausea trigger? In the name of research, let us know in the comments!

Recently we all got a good laugh, intentional or not, from a mom who posted on Craigslist looking for a nanny. For those of you unfamiliar with Craigslist, it's a now international site where one can post or look for anything from a job to household goods (used baby clothes too!) to a hot date, and everything in between. Hence, it should come as no surprise that someone would post looking for a nanny.

Finding a good nanny, especially in a city as big as New York, can be daunting at best. Sure, there are many to choose from, but they're expensive and trolling through their credentials can be arduous. All the good ones seem to have been snatched up by a neighbor uninterested in doing a nanny share. Finding affordable daycare, however, can be twice as hard. There are waitlists and questionnaires long enough to boggle the mind. All the good ones are very expensive, and few if any actually provide a discount for siblings (often they will give your child preference over another if you already have a child in regular attendance).

I find myself in this very situation right now. To live in New York, I have to work full-time, so childcare is a necessity for me. I am a Brooklyn mom so things in my part of New York should be less expensive than, say, the Upper East Side (from whence the poster looking for a nanny hailed), but it's still eyepoppingly absurd how much everything costs. If I were to put both my kids in daycare it would cost more than my new mortgage. Yep. So a nanny seems like a good idea, if I could just find a good one that wasn't too expensive and that didn't need to live with me. I, too, have thought about posting on Craigslist. Perhaps not in quite the manner in which the other mother posted, but it's certainly crossed my mind. After all, folks post for everything else so why not?

Would you post for a nanny on Craigslist or any other site or is that a crazy idea? Also, if you happen to be a nanny or know of a good one in the New York area, please let me know. My kids are NOT a pain in the ass. They're cute.