Best Of The Web: January 4-10

Here’s a weekly roundup of parenting articles that piqued
our interest. Enjoy! —

A new year inevitably brings with it change, stresses and a
flood of emotions. For those dealing with depression, on top of everything
else, here’s a poignant post on one
mother’s recent struggle, from Jenny Lawson. (The
Bloggess
)

Twins born in separate years? No, it’s not a plot line from
the New Year’s Day Twilight Zone marathon. Three mothers gave birth to twins,
separated by midnight
this past weekend. (Huffington Post)

Pregnant moms, look away. Alessandra Ambrosio has confirmed
that she’s expecting again, and was two
months along when she walked the runway
at the Victoria’s
Secret Fashion Show! (New York magazine)

Baby dolls and toy trucks—should they go hand-in-hand or
remain on opposite sides of the playroom? Some companies are taking gender
neutral toys
to a whole new level, but others have studied toy preferences
and are sticking to the traditional boundaries. (NY Times)

What did you put in the little one’s stocking for Christmas?
This British mum with a look-like-Barbie obsession gave her tiny tot a
voucher…for lipo
! (Daily
Mail
)

Babble has compiled a list of the ten most impressive
kids—from entertaining to heroic—of 2011. Impressed?
(Babble)

Recent Icelandic research shows a correlation between milk
consumption in teenagers and prostate cancer later in life
. (Chicago Tribune)

A year after first arriving on the parenting scene, Amy Chua
is still making the news with the paperback release of her polarizing book. She
discusses
the controversy
in person with Ann Curry. (MSNBC)

Eden Kennedy’s New Year’s resolutions include blogging every
week day! More power to her. Our fav? “Blog like it’s 2002.” (Fussy)

Divorce in funny form. Writer and artist Norm Feuti has
penned a new
comic strip
based on a young boy, Gil, whose parents are separated. King
Features will syndicate the strip in cities like Chicago.
(USA Today)

Relevant Directory Listings

See More

This Is Cooperstown

<p>Nicknamed America's hometown, Cooperstown has small-town charm and world-class attractions including the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, a must-see for fans of the game and the ultimate homage to America's Pastime. Discover fine, folk, and Native American art at Fenimore Art Museum, acclaimed and varied performances at the Glimmerglass Festival, craft beer at Brewery Ommegang and Red Shed Brewery, fresh cider from the Fly Creek Cider Mill, great restaurants, four-season events, and outdoor fun.</p>

Gaga Madness

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">Gaga is the hottest new sport in NYC. We've taken the fun of GAGA and pushed it into overdrive. Energetic coaches, pumped up music, sideline commentary, gear giveaways and more. Stay active and keep fit with this new craze that's sweeping the city.</span></p>

Speakitaly NYC

<p>SPEAKITALY NYC offers stimulating and entertaining lessons for children 0 to 16 years through a wide combination of activities based on the communicative approach anchored in the Common European Framework of Reference: active learning (group work, role plays, etc.) and practice exercises aimed to improve listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Kids will start speaking and using Italian in a very natural way.  Small classes capped at 6 students to make sure each one gets the needed attention and facilitate learners' progress. </p> <p>Our method is driven by a didactic method that is the result of constant updates, professional certifications and more than 10 years of experience in working with non-native speakers from different native languages and levels of knowledge.</p> <p>Our aim is to develop a range of Italian language skills while improving accuracy that will enable the students and participants to interact without stress or feeling rushed. We want to help those in the community really embrace not only the true culture in Italy but the Italian culture within New York City… Who doesn’t love what Italy represents in the kitchen, in history & in the arts?</p> <p>Speakitaly wants to support multilingual families who want to learn a new language or pass along their ancestor’s heritage and culture. Raffaella, the founder said: "We see language awareness and intercultural sensitivity as the milestones for an inclusive society. Italian, like all other languages, is an enrichment and a growth in every way. Vi aspettiamo!"</p>