I am far from perfect as a parent. Forget perfect, there are times when I feel far from adequate as a parent. Which is why I try, whenever possible, to avoid criticizing the way other people raise their kids.

Glass houses, you know? Let's just all try our best and give each other the benefit of the doubt.

But I must make an exception for the socialite who put her 7-year-old daughter on a year-long "diet" program (light on calories but heavy on shame) and then half-bragged, half-whined to Vogue about the experience as if it were some great exercise in maternal sacrifice.

Because somebody needs to set Dara Lynn-Weiss straight, and soon. Before her now "svelte" daughter is lying in a hospital bed getting force-fed through an IV.

When I read an article on CNN last week that declared "Fat is the new ugly on the playground," I immediately felt like crying in the corner. In part because I lived through the torture of being the chubby kid for the better part of my grade school experience. In part because it just about kills me to read that children as young as FOUR are worrying that they're fat and, thus, worthless. But above both of those reasons, I wanted to scream and sob, because guess what -- unfortunately, fat is not the "new" ugly.

Kids have been cruelly taunting their peers by calling one another "fat" for decades. I lived through it in the mid-'90s, and my mom lived through it in the early '60s. And now, for it to be 2012, and we still haven't figured out how to help our children evolve beyond body image bullying? And the problem seems to have gotten even worse and started affecting children even younger? It's shameful and embarrassing.

If your family is like mine, most weekday mornings are a frenzy of activities as lunches are packed, homework is searched for, and socks are hunted down. While we always manage to get breakfast on the table, it's usually about how quickly we can get it there. Let's just say my toaster oven and microwave see most of the action during the week.

The weekends, however, are another story. Things slow down; we lounge in pajamas, and I have the luxury of serving up something a little more substantial that everyone loves. In my house that means pancakes. I love having one day designated to a fun breakfast that everyone looks forward to. But as wonderful as it is, it's also great to change things up. That doesn't mean parting with the pancakes, it just means pepping up the tradition a bit. Here are five ways to do just that on those slower Saturday mornings.

At first, the anti-obesity advertisements featured in a Georgia campaign seem like a cruel joke. Pudgy, round, and yes, just plain fat kids are featured in a series of print and television advertisements with harsh messages like "Fat prevention begins at home and the buffet line" and "My fat may be funny to you, but it's killing me."

Is this just fat shaming taken to a new low level? Many think so, with plenty outraged at the advertisements. But I think they just may be the kind of powerful and poignant messages parents need to hear to help their kids get healthy.

Obesity is a problem, plain and simple; Georgia holds the title for the second highest childhood obesity rates. The scariest part is that most parents don't think their obese children are obese. In research conducted by Strong4Life, co-founded by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, it was found that 75 percent of parents whose children are overweight or obese don't see a problem. That's a BIG problem.

Sure, organic milk is probably better for your kids because it's not made with all that hormone and antibiotic crap they pump through conventional cows' veins to make them cost-efficient super pumpers. Lord knows kids get enough antibiotics all on their own by coming down with something every other week. Not that conventional milk is poison or anything, or that those few studies finding some nutritional advantage with organic are true. Many moms still feel better serving to their kids, okay? For a lot of moms it's a psychological thing, given how much pediatricians tell us our kids are supposed to be drinking every day.

But even that's not the main reason that I will continue to buy organic milk despite a shortage and the inevitable rising cost.

Poor Jamie Oliver. The Los Angeles Unified School District, which the celeb chef worked with to come up with healthier alternatives for kids' lunches, can't seem to make their revamped menus work. The L.A. Times reports that "many of the meals are being rejected en masse." Principals report HUGE waste, with unopened milk cartons and uneaten entrees being thrown away. And students are even frequenting "an underground market for chips, candy, fast-food burgers, and other taboo fare." Wuh-oh.

In response ... L.A. Unified plans to ditch the fancy-shmancy quinoa salads, pad Thai, and vegetarian curries, throw up their arms in defeat, and bring back the old junk food, like hamburgers and pizza ... (Although administrators admit they'll still try to trick kids into eating pies made with low-fat cheese and whole wheat crust.)

Pathetic!! What the heck are they thinking?! The school district set themselves up to fail.

There are so many wonderful things about this festive time of year. There are special foods, time with family, parties, and events galore. It's all fun and games ... until someone gets sick. And boy do kids get sick this time of year.

From sniffles and sneezes to the flu and other not-so-fun ailments, the season of sick is also upon us. Sometimes it feels like between now and spring, it's just one big long string of illness passed from one child to the next and back again ... and again.

But there are some things you can do to help break the sick cycle and actually keep your kids healthy. They're not foolproof, of course, but they certainly up your odds for a merrier and healthier season. Here are 10 tips to keep your kids healthy that you may not have considered:

I've always thought there should be a warning letter attached to that packet of information sent home when you register your kid for kindergarten. "WARNING," it would read, "you are about to suffer at least two years of being sick and miserable. Have a good day!"

It's with that in mind that I bring to you some absolutely absurd news. It seems some elementary school administrators think it would be a good idea to begin serving breakfast inside kids' classrooms. Are they asking for their absentee list to take a leap?