If you're a modern mom, you've most likely had the Barbie discussion with other moms, or just in your head. If not, it goes something like this: "Should I allow Barbie in my home, or do you think she'll give my daughter an eating disorder?" As a feminist to a princess-loving daughter, I've been especially on guard with the messages my gal is receiving at this young age. Yet as a mom who works hard to instill confidence and self-worth, I also ask myself if one doll is really going to bring all of that crashing down.

It's tough being the modern mom. Which is why when I was offered the Barbie Dolls of the World to check out, I balked for a second. Then I thought, hey, if Barbie is trying to represent all kinds of cultures, bring it. So Ireland Barbie, China Barbie, and Argentina Barbie came into my home and my 5-year-old daughter and I explored Barbie, and what it all means.

And that's when she made me realize how not a big deal this whole Barbie issue really is, after all.

I used to think I was a pretty go-with-the-flow mom when it came to the kid and her toys. Video games? We've got 'em. Girly LEGO Friends? We love 'em. Breastfeeding baby doll? Sure, if she wants to! But I have officially met my limit.

Ladies and germs, behold the VBAC baby doll. Lift her dress, and you get to see a C-section scar across the tummy AND a baby popping out between her legs.

When it comes to the Kardashian sisters, I'm with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. My apologies to the whole Klan, but they're far from role models for my daughter. So I'm going to jump right on the pearl clutching bandwagon and beg Mattel to tell us the rumor that a Kardashian Barbie doll line is on the way is just that: a rumor.

Because Kim Kardashian as Barbie's doll pal means all you have to do is have a rich daddy, make some fantastically bad choices about love, share every single iota of your personal life with the world, and someone thinks you'd make a great role model material to the wee ones. Heaven help us.

Most of us have a pretty strong opinion on whether or not our little girls should be showered in "princess stuff" from the moment they enter the world. Whether or not they should be encouraged to play with princess dolls, watch princess movies, dress up like princesses in sparkles and pink, etc. I've heard plenty of women pledge that their little girls will be decked out in all things princess; cultural or gender stereotyping repercussions don't factor in to their plans. But what happens if your daughter ends up feeling trapped and suffocated by all things pink and princess?

One adorable and brilliant little girl named Riley seems to have figured out the "tricks" toy marketers are using to trap her. Her dad caught her on video having an epiphany about this and giving a little speech right there in the doll aisle of a toy store ...

Eeek! Did you just remember those nephews and nieces that are coming over on Christmas Eve? Why yes it is the last minute, but that doesn't mean you're completely out of luck. (You're out of luck when you come home after the stores close and you're out of tape.)

But as long as you have the Internet, a 24-hour drug store, and some tape, you're in business. Here are five great gifts for kids that you can still get right this minute.

At every holiday party, with every gift to your kids, the fear is there. As each relative and friend passes along the shiny box all wrapped and sealed with a bow, the intensity grows. What's in it, we wonder as parents. And will it make my life living hell?!?

These dreaded gifts come from warm hearts with good intentions and of course are appreciated. But I'm here to spread the word, to help us all, by sharing the worst gifts you can get another person's child. Let's hope those buying for your kids are reading.

Those stockings aren't going to stuff themselves, everybody! While you may wish you could rely on Santa to get the job done, sometimes you have to take care of Christmas business yourself. Stocking stuffers should be small gifts, nothing that's going to break the bank because you've got an entire sock to fill up before the kids wake up the next morning.

Inexpensive, however, does not mean cheap. There are super fun stocking stuffers you can buy for under $10 that will last longer than the trip to the 99-cent store. Which is also what you were thinking of doing at the last minute, right?

Here are 10 fabulous stocking stuffers for kids, $10 and under.

Isn't it so cute when your kid labors, crayon in hand, over their letter to Santa? Such an adorable keepsake, perfect for storing away to revisit some year in the future when you can look back on the simpler times of—wait a second, that fourth item down ... did he just write IPAD?

What do you do when your kid asks for a gift there's no way in hell he's going to get? After all, some presents simply fall outside the boundaries of what we're willing or able to pay for, or they might be age-inappropriate, or they might require 27 "D" batteries in order to produce their hideous migraine-inducing level of loud electronic noises.

While it may be tempting to laugh yourself sick over his request while repeatedly slapping your knee and shouting, "I KNOW YOU'RE ONLY 5 BUT ARE YOU HIGH?"—here are three alternative approaches to gently resetting your child's gift expectations: