I really wanted to believe 18-year-old Tallulah Willis when I heard her credit mom Demi Moore for her "positive body image." According to Willis:

"My mom was very much like 'Love your body, love yourself, run around naked' ... whatever we wanted to do, it was very accepting."

As the mother of a daughter, I really really wanted to believe it was possible -- that a mom like Moore with obvious body image issues (to put it mildly) could somehow manage to raise daughters who didn't starve themselves or do drugs to stay thin or turn into plastic surgery junkies.

But deep down, I know that's probably not the case. "Do as I say, not as I do." Has that ever worked on any kid in the history of history?

How's this for shockingly non-shocking? Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were caught acting like normal teenagers this week. The young lovebirds were spotted out picnicking at a park and hitting up plain old chain Panera for their dates. And on behalf of parents everywhere, I'd like to send them a big fat thank you!

Now if only all their fans could be made aware that this is normal dating procedure, I'd be even happier. The thing is, fair or not, the Biebs and Selena have become role models of sorts to our kids. And the way they've been dating has been fine for their uber-rich lifestyles, but for our teens to emulate, they've been a bit of a nightmare.

Whoa, whoa. Try not to keel over from shock here, but I have bad news: Madonna's 15-year-old daughter Lourdes was spotted in NYC smoking a cigarette. Smoking. A. Cigarette.

Of course it's something of an unpleasant surprise to see anybody smoking in public these days, and as an under-18 years of age anybody, it's technically not even legal for Lourdes to smoke. So we can all agree on this being a not so great thing. But I've been sitting here wondering how, as a parent, I'm supposed to react -- should I be worried that more kids will start smoking now because they saw a picture of Madonna's kid smoking?

Is that really how this works?

To find out, I enlisted the help of my tween (almost 11-year-old) daughter, Charlotte.

If there was ever a day not to be jealous of President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, today is that day, folks. The president and first lady decided to give daughter Malia Obama the go-ahead to go on a school trip to Mexico, and what happens? An earthquake, that's what!

As if they weren't already dealing with some silly criticism from Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum for sending her into a county that isn't "safe" (at least in Santorum's over-generalizations)! The good news is Malia is doing just fine, as are her school pals, but I have to wonder if the Obamas are questioning themselves big time. I think they did the right thing, but I know I would be second-guessing myself anyway if I were in their shoes!

Bobbi Kristina with Whitney Houston 2 days before her deathMy heart breaks for 18-year-old Bobbi Kristina on so many levels. I know what it's like to lose a parent suddenly. I vividly remember screaming at the police officers who refused to let me see my father's body, which was also Bobbi Kristina's reaction when she wasn't allowed to see Whitney Houston's body. I guess that's an experience one doesn't soon forget.

But what strikes me as especially tragic is how the people around her are handling Bobbi Kristina's "mental breakdown." Family members are reportedly afraid the teen might be suicidal. She's already been hospitalized and released twice for "stress and anxiety" and is said to be "hysterical, exhausted, and inconsolable." Well, of course she's hysterical; who wouldn't be? But she doesn't need to be hospitalized. In fact, the isolation could make things worse.

When I first heard Jamie Lynn Spears explain why she ended up getting pregnant at 16, I was kind of confused. As the now 21-year-old recently told Glamour magazine:

I believe in safety and birth control as prevention. But like many young girls ... I was really scared to go to the doctor. And I was on a Nickelodeon show, and it [felt] especially embarrassing to ask someone to put me on birth control. I didn't want to ask my doctor, because she had a little girl.

My initial reaction was: Wait a minute. Britney Spears is your big sister and you were embarrassed to ask for birth control? I knew plenty of girls who went to their older sisters for help in that department, and besides, when Britney Spears is your sibling, is there anything you can really do that would qualify as "embarrassing"?

But then it occurred to me: I was missing the point entirely.

I wouldn't trade places with Demi Moore right now for anything. Heartbreak, health crisis, humiliation (whip-its?!) ... Moore is going through what would be considered an undeniably rough patch in any woman's life. 

But Demi Moore isn't just a woman, she's also a mom. With three daughters who are just becoming young women themselves: Tallulah, 18, Scout, 20, and Rumer, 23. I'm sure Moore would be horrified to see any one of her girls respond to a breakup with the kind of breakdown she's having. (I would be horrified to see any girl over the age of 15 respond to a breakup with the kind of breakdown she's having.) As their mother, isn't it her duty to set an example she'd want them to follow?

Selena Gomez really does have it all. She can sing. She can act. And a picture she threw up on Twitter this week of her new hairstyle -- purple and blue locks -- is the perfect example of healthy self-expression moms are always looking to share with their teens. I hope her mom is proud of it.

I can't put it any plainer than this: I'd rather my kid be hiding out in the bathroom dyeing her hair purple than shooting up in an alley somewhere. And yet, what's the first thing they tell you is the sign of a troubled teenager?