Best Of The Web: January 4-10

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

A new year inevitably brings with it change, stresses and a
flood of emotions. For those dealing with depression, on top of everything
else, here’s a poignant post on one
mother’s recent struggle, from Jenny Lawson. (The
Bloggess
)

Twins born in separate years? No, it’s not a plot line from
the New Year’s Day Twilight Zone marathon. Three mothers gave birth to twins,
separated by midnight
this past weekend. (Huffington Post)

Pregnant moms, look away. Alessandra Ambrosio has confirmed
that she’s expecting again, and was two
months along when she walked the runway
at the Victoria’s
Secret Fashion Show! (New York magazine)

Baby dolls and toy trucks—should they go hand-in-hand or
remain on opposite sides of the playroom? Some companies are taking gender
neutral toys
to a whole new level, but others have studied toy preferences
and are sticking to the traditional boundaries. (NY Times)

What did you put in the little one’s stocking for Christmas?
This British mum with a look-like-Barbie obsession gave her tiny tot a
voucher…for lipo
! (Daily
Mail
)

Babble has compiled a list of the ten most impressive
kids—from entertaining to heroic—of 2011. Impressed?
(Babble)

Recent Icelandic research shows a correlation between milk
consumption in teenagers and prostate cancer later in life
. (Chicago Tribune)

A year after first arriving on the parenting scene, Amy Chua
is still making the news with the paperback release of her polarizing book. She
discusses
the controversy
in person with Ann Curry. (MSNBC)

Eden Kennedy’s New Year’s resolutions include blogging every
week day! More power to her. Our fav? “Blog like it’s 2002.” (Fussy)

Divorce in funny form. Writer and artist Norm Feuti has
penned a new
comic strip
based on a young boy, Gil, whose parents are separated. King
Features will syndicate the strip in cities like Chicago.
(USA Today)

Relevant Directory Listings

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Adventuring Portal

<p><a name="m_-1473885667065203258__Hlk72147528"></a>Adventuring Portal runs Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) games for kids.   We have created a safe online space for tweens and teens to learn and play D&D.</p> <p>Our D&D Summer Camp session are a one-week experience.  Monday – Friday.  Each day will be 3 hours of gaming (with 2 breaks build in).  15 total gaming hours for $180.  If you have played with us before, you are entitled to 10% off.   </p> <p>Need your kids, nieces or nephews, grand kids or neighbor’s kids to be occupied for a bit so you can get work done & take care of your to-do list? Maybe your tween or teen is still a bit isolated and craves connection with their peers? Whether your teen/tween has played D&D before or is brand-new to the experience, this safe space brings players together to have fun and solve problems as a team in ways few other online opportunities do.</p> <p>All our games focus on experiential learning.   Our players leave knowing all the basic game play as well as experiencing: teamwork, bravery, compassion, generosity, negotiation, improvisation, gamer etiquette, strategy, critical thinking, problem solving, cartography and probability - all through online D&D adventuring!</p> <p>We are an inclusive organization and welcome gamers who are LGBTQIA+ and those on any spectrum. </p> <p>All girls’ groups available. </p> <p>I am a parent, a certified elementary school and middle school math teacher and last summer in the midst of the mess started Adventuring Portal, an online Dungeons & Dragons business for kids. There are so many benefits to playing D&D and I hope you will consider us as a great way for your child to safely socialize, grow as people and have a great time.</p>

The Ailey School – First Steps and Bounding Boys

<blockquote style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"> <div dir="ltr"> <div class="m_-3740164643787738207m_4977048992707393770WordSection1"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">At The Ailey School, FIRST STEPS offers a structured creative movement curriculum that allows girls (ages 3-6) and boys (age 3), to develop body awareness and control and learn the basics of dance technique. BOUNDING BOYS (ages 4-6) provides a more athletic experience, and an energetic approach to teaching dance skills.</span></p> </div> </div> </blockquote>

USC Gymnastics & Baseball Training Facility

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">We offer sports activities, after school programs, birthday parties & private lessons for kids ages 3–13 years! Our gymnastics classes are a great way to keep your child active and healthy. We strive to empower and challenge children through the sport of gymnastics.</span></p>