Now this kid is what I call an equal-opportunity hugger. It's his first time at the petting zoo, and would you look at this fantastic creature?! He doesn't know what it is, but he knows that animal needs a hug.

There, there, furry guy. Except -- oh man! There's like a hundred more of those furry guys! They're all over the place! 

And gee, now that he hugged the first what's-it-called, he doesn't want to leave the rest of them out ...

There are plenty of cute kid videos out there that will make you smile, but this one will not only give you your daily giggle but also make you pretty jealous of the amazing rhythm this 3-year-old girl possesses. Her name is Grace, and she car dances better than most people dance in a club.

She is feeling the rhythm and the emotion of the song -- "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye -- with moves and what appears to be a deep understanding well beyond her years. She gives new meaning to the phrase "feel the music."

I can just see this kid 20 years from now, lying on a therapist's couch, talking about the horrible nightmares he's had since childhood:

So there's always this giant dinosaur ... it's a T-Rex! And it's staring right at me! And all I can think to do is run, run like the wind! And I can hear people laughing in the background ... I guess the T-Rex eats them.

Of course the T-Rex of his nightmares was really part of an animatronic exhibit his parents took him to see when he was 2, so it didn't actually eat anybody. But if it had been real?

Little Zack definitely had the right reaction ...

As someone who got her first credit card in college and maxed it within a week and who spent a few of my younger (and slightly irresponsible) years learning the art of balancing a budget without bouncing checks, teaching my children fiscal responsibility is extremely important to me. I want them to learn from an early age how to manage money, save, and not have to learn those lessons the hard way like I did.

So over the years, I've researched and grilled other parents for strategies on how to start money lessons early. Here are five simple ways I've found to teach kids what they need to know about money.

Do the words "screen-free week" send shivers of utter horror down your very spine? Hello, friend! Pull up a chair over here at the Lazy Moms Anonymous table!

Don't get me wrong -- I truly respect and admire the parents I know who are somehow managing to raise their kids without the aid of on-call entertainment.

As for me?

I'm a far-from-perfect parent in many ways and for many reasons, not the least of which is my approach to limiting screen time: I don't.

Never have. My (probably brain-damaged by now) children's fate was sealed that fateful day when my daughter, then a fussy, wailing infant, was miraculously silenced by the sight of the baby-faced sun on the Teletubbies. Time for Teletubbies, indeed! I was tired. I was desperate. TV not recommended for kids under the age of 2?

You can take your recommendations and stick 'em where that baby-faced sun don't shine, American Academy of Pediatrics.

Here's the thing: I guess I'm something of a degenerate.

Well, that's not true exactly, but I've never been one to drive myself crazy "following the rules" -- or drive anyone else crazy trying to make them "follow my rules." (Can you tell I was raised by hippies?)

I knew next to nothing about the world of time-outs and sticker charts and naughty chairs until I had babies of my own and they got old enough to start playing with other kids -- kids whose parents lived in that world.

And guess what I discovered? Those kids liked having playdates at my house a LOT.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not like there are NO rules for playdates at my house ...

For all of the fun (and sanity for moms) that parks and playgrounds provide, they also present plenty of dangers. Most of them I thought I knew about -- things like slides that get too hot and can cause severe burns and falls from equipment. There's one danger, however, I've never even considered, and it's something I see parents do all the time -- myself included. 

In fact, parents are usually doing it because they think it will keep their children safer. Any guesses as to what it is?

All Kids Allowed!There's a billboard right outside my child's pre-school that seems to be reserved for all the latest movie releases. This means my kids had plenty of time to obsess over the release date of The Lorax. Of course we were going. OF COURSE. Now they're onto counting down the days until The Pirates! Band of Misfits is up on a screen near us.

These are movies for kids, and so no one should be surprised that when you sit down to enjoy that movie, you just might be surrounded by kids. And kids are antsy, occasionally loud, and always unpredictable. So do you expect to enjoy a G-rated movie in silence? Some people do, for some bizarre reason.