I’m getting ready to show my age here, but when I was a kid (the key phrase that indicates someone is indeed about to launch into a story that will show their age), I used to rap the molasses outta the lyrics to “Push It.” I loved Salt-n-Pepa anyway, down to my ripped jeans and my replica of their asymmetrical haircuts. I don’t know about them, but mine took a regrettable and absurd amount of time to grow out. So that combo, the fan-dom and the haircut, made me the fourth member of the group in my mind whenever that song came on. Perhaps Salt-Pepa-n-Curry? Or was I more of a Paprika? Either way, I obliviously ooh-baby-baby-edsong  and emphatically ahhh-pushed-it in front of my mama whenever it came on. She never said a word to encourage or put me on ice either way.

My friends and I got together with our kids recently, and a dance party broke out. The song was "Sexy and I Know It," and the kids were going wild. And then something awkward happened. Kids, none of them older than 8, took their shirts off.

None of the moms knew quite what to say. Were our kids just being silly? They're just kids, after all? Or did our kids really know what this song was about?

It's the question we all ask, isn't it? When we're listening to the latest hot song on the radio and the kids are singing along, is it the catchy beat that's getting to them or do they really understand the adult themes of most top 40 hits?

I decided to find out.

Did you see this article where a first-grader tried to guess what Oscar-nominated movies were about, based on their posters? I got such a kick out of reading the answers I decided to try my own version of this, since I have an opinionated 7-year-old of my very own who I haven't exploited for blog entertainment purposes in at least 20 minutes or so. Instead of focusing on critically-acclaimed films, though, I asked my first-grader to take a look at the promotional material from a variety of popular topics -- including the Kardashians, Fifty Shades of Grey, Honey Boo Boo, Twilight, and more -- in order to give his best description of what the hell it is America's so obsessed with.

Check out his answers:

It's finally here! Oz the Great and Powerful opens in theaters today, and I can finally take my daughter! I wasn't sure if I would, to be honest. I wondered if the new Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, and James Franco movie was going to be too scary for a 7-year-old.

After all, the Wizard of Oz that generations of kids have grown up with is as feared as it is beloved by children. But after attending the red carpet premiere of Oz at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles last month, along with the stars of the film, I felt like I had enough information to decide if she could handle it.

Not sure if your kids will be scared by Oz the Great and Powerful? After watching the film, here's what I think parents need to know:

There’s no valid reason why a 10-year-old boy should have his hands, or any other part of his tiny little person, on the rear end of a grown woman. There’s no valid reason why a grown woman should allow a 10-year-old boy to inappropriately put his hands on her rear end. And yet we’ve seen the debauchery play out just like that, in the YouTube videos and online infamy of Lil’ Poopy, an unfortunately named prepubescent rapper who is grabbing cheeks and bringing the ruckus, one booty smack at a time. 

Whoa. As if picking on kindhearted philanthropic Ellen DeGeneres wasn't absurd and pointless enough! Those "One Million Moms" must be more desperate than ever for a scandal, because their latest target is ... oh hell, I'm not even gonna bother setting this one up: It's the GEICO pig. THE GEICO PIG. The non-existent, computer-generated farm animal mascot of an insurance company. You're probably wondering what the One Million Moms could possibly find offensive/threatening about the GEICO pig. I mean, he is kinda sorta creepy, but creepy enough to accuse the ad campaign of exploiting children ... by promoting bestiality?!

If you're a parent or even if you just spend a lot of time around kids, you know they're full of opinions ... hilarious opinions. So with the Oscars just around the corner, what better subject to let the kids opine on than the movies up for Academy Awards?

My daughter has already told me that she wants Wreck-It Ralph to win Best Animated Feature Film (it just won out over her other favorite, Brave, and, yes, it's probably because I bought her a Vanellope t-shirt last week and promised her the DVD). But what about all the other films in the running for big prizes? What do kids think of them?

Don't worry, we didn't let a bunch of kids watch Argo or Life of Pi. But we did ask our mini movie critics about 11 flicks up for Oscars, and their answers will leave you in stitches.

During the course of the past couple of years, the one-time hoorah for Black History Month has been fizzling out and people, even the ones who should seemingly be on fire for the next 28 days, have kind of let February whisper in and waft right back out without much fanfare. But the celebration is still worth celebrating: research published in the Journal of Child Development proves black children who learn about their race not only have higher self-esteem, they do better in school.