Got a lazy kid? Of course you don't! Kids are NEVER lazy. Har har. Everyone seems to have a different opinion about how much responsibility kids should have, and at what age. I remember being surprised to learn a friend of mine had already taught her 3-year-old how to make his bed. My next thought was, Why isn't my kid making his own bed?

Because! I hadn't shown him how to, yet. That's why. My 3-year-old was living off the fat of the land, with no responsibilities whatsoever. Well, that put me on notice. There are some household chores a preschooler is capable of taking on. These tasks teach them self-sufficiency and help them feel more a part of their family community. How many chores you assign is up to you and your child, but here's a few you might want to start with.

Quick, when was the last time your kid saw some other kid's privates? A kid of the opposite gender, I mean? When I was growing up, this was sort of a given. I'm the oldest of five children, so I saw all my sibs' diapers getting changed. And I saw my friends' mothers changing their babies' diapers. And I saw diapers getting changed at church. From an early age, I learned that little boys look different -- and it wasn't a big deal at all.

So it's just been weird to grow up and discover some people think children should be shielded from the horrifying knowledge that there are babies out there with DIFFERENT GENITALS! I mean, from there it's just a slippery slope of childhood corruption. Sayonara to your little darlings' shattered innocence. Now she knows there's such a thing as a penis -- OH MY GOD, you didn't tell her that's what it's called, did you?!?

Let’s get this out of the way: My dad is a great guy. He doesn’t meet strangers. He has one of those laughs you can hear even in a roomful of laughing people.

Naturally, my 15-month-old son is terrified of him. On our last trip to visit my parents--unlike all the other times they'd met--my now15-month-old son shrieked every time Granddad drew near.

Admittedly, my little guy looked warily at everyone. He has only met them a few times in person. But he saved his loudest yelps for the 6’2” mustachioed man who I look a lot alike. Dad took it in stride, but I was at a loss. For the briefest moment I considered covering my father in my son's favorite food (strawberries) to see if that would break the ice.

We should teach our toddlers to share, right? This is something we all agree about. Or so I thought, until I saw this article, Stop Telling Your Toddler to Share! What the -- no sharing? (And was that exclamation point really necessary?) I've gotta hear this one. What, it teaches them to be passive and let other kids walk all over them?

Nope, that's not it at all. Child development specialists say that your child is almost -- but not quite -- ready to share. And if the whole point of teaching your kids to share is to teach them to care about other people, no worries there. Your toddler already knows a lot more about being good social actors than you realize.

Well you survived the baby years. But guess what?!? Toddlers are next! It's a whole new, exciting, crazy world. Say goodbye to clean surfaces, unbroken everything, and your sanity. How can you tell when you're the mother of a toddler? That Dora sticker on your butt is a dead giveaway. You can't have nice things anymore. And don't even get me started on potty training. Here are 25 ways you can tell you're the mom of a toddler.

Everybody, gather 'round ye computer monitor, for it is time for another child-unintentionally-swearing video. We love those! This time, it's a 21-month-old girl saying "flamingo." Only she pronounces it just a wee bit differently than most of us do. And I don't know how she came up with this pronunciation because it doesn't even make any sense. Still awesome, though! Here, let her father show you -- over and over again.

Most of us don't want to be a helicopter parent. It just sounds bad. And annoyingly loud. Choppy even. Hover parent? Sounds awful as well. Overprotective. Overbearing. No. No. No thanks. But the reality is, sometimes we are despite our best efforts. Parenting is confusing. We work it out, though. Try to figure out the best course of action while we react to each action -- terrible, mediocre, fantastic -- of our kids. Some days it feels that everything we do is wrong. And sometimes it really is. 

Two studies have come out revealing that things we do to protect our kids can actually be hurting them. It could make them more susceptible to bullying and in other cases give them unhealthy views of food, in turn increasing their risk of being obese. 

There are times when I'm driving with my children, and they're screaming at one another so loudly in the back seat I feel my brain cracking. One is yelling she's Thirrrrrrrrrrrrrrsty!, and the other says that her voice is making him nauseated and will I please pull over now. And then we hit a traffic jam, and they start trying to hit one another with the straws from the smoothies we had two days ago, and I'm convinced that no one should have EVER invented automobiles in the first place.

Other times, however, there's nowhere I'd rather be than in my minivan with my kids. I'm randomly struck by feelings of pure joy when we're all in there together in our own crumb-filled bubble, navigating our way through the town. Here are seven of my favorite times in the car with my kids.