Brandon Garabrant of New Hampshire had a special request for his high school graduation -- since he will have completed Marine boot camp in South Carolina the day prior, Garabrant wanted to wear his military uniform for the school's ceremony, as opposed to the standard cap and gown. The authorities at ConVal Regional High School thought about it, asked fellow military members for their opinions, and ultimately decided that Brandon should wear the standard cap and gown like everyone else. No military uniform for him.

It isn't easy to give a good graduation speech. It's hot. The kids just want to get their diplomas. And you've got to keep a huge crowd of kids, parents, and grandparents from falling asleep on you. But if you don't believe it can be done, maybe it's just because you've never heard a REALLY good speaker take to the podium at commencement. Fortunately for the Class of 2013, there have been some good ones!

From Avengers (and Buffy) director Joss Whedon telling Wesleyan grads like it is to a gay high schooler's heart-rending comments about equality, this has been the year for speeches that should be studied by future commencement speakers as a guide of what TO do in front of a class full of new grads.

Behold the best of the best (well, so far):

A high school senior in Silverdale, Washington is claiming that she wasn't allowed into prom because her breasts are too big. The school would argue that it has little to do with bust size and everything to do with dress code, but 18-year-old Brittany Minder thinks the authorities at Central Kitsap High weren't taking into consideration the fact that her larger-than-average breasts afford more cleavage, and there's nothing she can do about it.

A few weeks ago, my daughter asked if she could sleep over at her (teenage) babysitter's house. The mom said it was OK with her, but warned me that she wouldn't be home. It would be just my daughter, the sitter, and the sitter's dad. I didn't hesitate. Of course she could sleep over at a house where a dad was in charge.

My decision was made purely on how well I know this family, but I'm finding that's not how it works for everyone. Some parents -- many parents -- don't let their daughters have sleepovers if there's a guy supervising, even if that guy happens to be the father of one of the girls involved.

In a recent Dear Prudence article, one single dad even confessed he was worried he couldn't throw his 12-year-old a sleepover birthday party because of his gender.

America, is this really where we are?

As our sons grow from boys to men, it's important to make sure they have all the tools they need to blossom into those fully functioning adult males we've heard so many wonderful rumors about. That doesn't just mean a fully stocked fridge and gas money, there are some life lessons they should learn along the way that will help them become a solid individual.

We've already covered the girls, now it's the boys turn. Here are 8 things your teenage son needs to know how to do before leaving the nest.

Sending kids off to school or dance class or camp when they're small can be scary because they're so vulnerable -- what if, God forbid, they should cross paths with an abusive teacher or coach? But I've found that sending tweens off to class can be just as nerve-wracking, and this video of a female dance instructor in China both verbally and physically assaulting her 13- and 14-year-old students explains why.

The worst part of the whole thing, in my opinion, is that even though the students are almost the same size as their horrible teacher and could conceivably fight back or at least leave the class, they don't -- they just take the abuse. Why? Because the teacher is an "authority figure." And while this is an extreme example of a very, very dysfunctional dynamic, a less hateful version of the same harassment could be happening to your kid right now.

If you've been wondering about whether watching "sexually explicit media" will speed up your teen's sex life, wonder no more: According to a study from the Netherlands, teenagers who are exposed to racy content are "more likely than other teens to have sex for money and to try new sexual behaviors." Aha! Numbers don't lie! And these numbers are ... wait a minute. Apparently only 0.3 to 4 percent of the differences in "behaviors" were linked to watching sexy media. Whoa, that's some staggering evidence right there. (And what's up with "sex for money" being an actual thing for teens in the Netherlands?!)

Look, I get it. No matter how pragmatic and/or progressive we might be as parents, none of us really wants to think about our kids having active sex lives. Or anything remotely close to active sex lives. So some of us go out of our way to try and figure out what we can do/avoid to stop that from happening.

A high school promenade is the stuff legends are made of. Sneaking drinks! Making out! Drama! Sex! Dresses! DJs! After-parties! But before that magical night can even get off the ground, a lot of money is spent. According to a new study, the average American household spends just over $1,100 sending their teen to prom. A thousand dollars!

Am I old-fashioned, or is that just absurd. Even though the average teen covers 41 percent of the cost of prom, it's still a lot of cheddar to spend just for one night. Prom should be special, naturally, but it shouldn't put you in a financial crisis.

Here are 8 tips to get the whole prom experience ... for less.