Contributors: Briehn Trumbauer

Here’s a weekly roundup of parenting articles that piqued our interest. Enjoy!

If you only read one parenting article this week, let this be it: 12 ways to mess up your kids. It has some surprisingly counterintuitive ideas, and some intuitive ones that we tend to forget. (The Atlantic)

A heavily tattooed Barbie has sparked a fresh controversy on age-appropriate toys, but others weigh in on the fact that Barbie shouldn’t be a role model at all. (Forbes)

This article introduced us to Captain Dad, and we can’t get enough. New Yorker cartoonist Pat Byrnes pens a stay-at-home dad blog—with awesome illustrations to boot. In his latest post, he un-schadenfreudely admits that the sound of someone else’s child causing a ruckus is “pure music to a parent’s ears.” (Captain Dad)

Are teenage “hook-ups” going to eventually phase out dating entirely? As psychotherapist Fran Lasker so aptly puts it: “Everyone misses out on developing intimacy if the currency is a ‘hook-up’ and not a date.” (HuffPo)

Move over, Garfield and Snoopy. A new Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon is in town! Tim Burton has designed a character called B. Boy to float down Seventh Avenue for the annual turkey day celebration. (NY Times)

If you’re getting ready to name a baby, check out these Halloween-inspired monikers–with options ranging from Jack to Jason. (Parents Connect)

A study published in Pediatrics indicates that girls, but not boys, exposed to high levels of the estrogen-like chemical BPA while in vitro are more likely to be anxious, depressed and hyperactive. (USA Today)

A real-life Grey’s Anatomy-worthy situation: Two girls who were switched at birth have decided to stay with the mothers who raised them. (Babble)

One working mom’s lament: having to actually work during her office’s Kids Day. Good thing the babysitter was able to fill in so that face-painting, balloon animals, art projects and fun could still be had! (Mom-101)

Starting next spring, the NYCDOE requires one semester of sexual education in 6th or 7th grades and another in 9th or 10th. But some parents are wary of the widely recommended HealthSmart and Reducing the Risk curriculum, noting some pretty “outrageous” assignments. (MSNBC)

Do we really need an app that allows parents to track their kids as they go trick or treating? Lenore Skenazy thinks not. (Free Range Kids)

Whatever happened to old-fashioned books and board games? A recent study shows that kids 8 and younger are spending more time than ever in front of screens. But it’s not because of the usual culprits, video games and computers. Instead, parents are using iPads, iPhones and iPods as a means of distraction. (NY Times)