Being a parent is one of the most rewarding experiences anyone can go through. It's impossible to even put into words what it's like bringing a little bundle of mess, er, joy into this world and watching them grow up.

Along with the rewarding part, however, comes fear. Kids aren't the only ones to get scared, you know. Since the little buggers don't come with any sort of instruction manual, there's a lot of trial and error. Hopefully, there's a lot more trial and success.

Fear is only natural when you're dealing with your most precious "possessions." Fear of losing them temporarily or forever just comes with the territory. But there are a lot of very specific moments in a child's life that can scare the bejeezus out of any parent. And I'm not just talking about doctor bills. So let's take a look at 7 of the Scariest Moments in a Parent's Life.

Think the autism diagnosis numbers are unsettling for parents? How's this figure? A new poll shows one in three parents of children on the spectrum admit to having tried remedies that have no real scientific fact to back them up.

Coming from a mom who has the pediatrician on speed-dial, the very idea terrifies me. And breaks my heart.

We all say we'd do anything for our children, and I think we mean it. Sometimes, however, anything gets pretty extreme, and I'm not sure all of us would be able to do what 41-year-old Luis Brignoni did for his son on Friday.

The 11-year-old, Fernando Brignoni, was outside playing when he put his hand through the cage of one of the family's pet dogs, "Sassy". The dog bit his finger, and while his 13-year-old brother started hitting the dog over the head, by the time she let go, Fernando's entire pinky finger was gone, swallowed by the dog. 

It's the stuff of parenting nightmares. The blood is flowing, the kid is likely screaming, and you're stuck in a mixture of shock and horror knowing you have to be the adult and do something.

Well, Luis did something, all right. 

Gee, what a surprise! A new report from the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), finds that a whopping 97 percent of “kids meals” at chain restaurants do not meet nutrition requirements for four- to eight-year-olds. And, lest you think to yourself, hey, what is the CSPI anyway? Consider this: 91 percent of kids’ meals at America’s major chains do not even meet the nutritional standards of the National Restaurant Association’s lobbying group’s Kids LiveWell program.

Um, gee, ya think? This doesn’t exactly come as a major newsflash, does it? I mean, let’s consider the typical fare presented as kids’ options at just about ANY restaurant, not even just the major chains ....

The Sandy Hook shooting last December changed our world forever, but the sad truth is that in ways that matter, it hasn't changed at all. Though the images have faded for many, the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School -- both those of the victims and survivors -- are living with the post-massacre trauma every day. And it's painful and frustrating that people are living it while no one has done anything to prevent it from happening again.

Mom Carrie Battaglia posted a heartfelt letter on the Newtown Action Alliance blog this week that details the nightmare her three daughters, ages 2, 6, and 8, have lived since the shooting. She describes how her 6-year-old was huddled with 14 other children just one room away from the one in which Adam Lanza carried out his sick plan. She wrote: “She heard everything. Shooting. Screaming. Pleading. She was sure she was going to die that day and did not want to die for Christmas.”

Here’s a good reason to think twice before you say yes to that soda with dinner, or even a glass of OJ with breakfast: a new study finds that a full 1 percent of obesity-related deaths can be attributed to sugary drink consumption. That’s 180,000 deaths per year, including 25K Americans. Can I get a YIKES?

I’m always surprised by how many kids my fourth-grade daughter’s age (and below!) are allowed to drink actual cans of soda. But it’s not just soda that we have to watch out for! Even fruit juice is loaded with sugar, something that I didn’t fully really realize until my husband and I got into an argument about it the other weekend while we were out to breakfast with our daughter. I whipped out my iPhone to prove him wrong when he said that sugar-wise, I might just as well let Isabella have a can of soda as let her order a glass of orange juice. And sugar-wise -- he was right! (I hate that!)

My middle child lost a tooth last week. Again. And I once again found myself rummaging through every drawer in the house at 2 o'clock in the morning, desperately in search of a dollar bill. I finally ended up digging a bill out of his sister's piggy bank and waking her in the process, wondering who on earth came up with this tradition of trading teeth for cash in the first place. I may be alone here, but I hate the tradition. Why?

I'm kind of in trouble with my son's school. Again. I have committed the cardinal sin or sending my son to school sick. Ish. He's not really sick -- not to me, anyway. Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday he was sick. This morning he seemed much better. High energy, no fever. So I bundled him onto that school bus and off he went. And then I went to work.

But by the time I was two blocks away from my office I got a text: The boy was being sent back home. "He seemed miserable," they said. Miserable?!? Of course he's miserable. He's not at home watching cartoons in his pajamas! When did schools become so sensitive about sick kids?