If there were a medication that would make you forget downing one too many at the company holiday dinner and laying one on the boss’s better half, would you take it? Would you slip it …

Add another item to your running list of “reasons I fear my child will grow up to be a serial killer.”
A new study from Finland indicates that young children who snore have more problems with …

By the time the guys were 3 they’d learned that sooner or later their pretty balloons would pop if I gave in to their pleas to blow it bigger. It took a few bouts of …

It’s been Big Guy’s most-repeated plea for five years, ever since he learned to say “goggy” and used the word to describe everything on four legs, from cats to horses.
“When can we have a dog?”
It’s …

From the state that could not resist wading into the evolution debate again comes a plan headed straight for the Legislative Micromanagement Hall of Fame.
Texas State Sen. Juan Hinojosa, concerned about reports of problems with …

There are two different kinds of people in this world:
The kind for whom socks are a fashion statement, a love note to the toes, a borderline obsession. These might well be the kids who grow …

How long does it take the average house to devolve into chaos once spring break begins?
I don’t know if there’s an industry standard, but based on anecdotal evidence here this week I’d say roughly 23.6 …

Maybe this part of the world is different from everywhere else – and that could well be, since the recession started hitting California earlier and is blasting it harder – but the trend here of …

Lemon and I just don’t seem to get along.
It’s not that I don’t have a deep love for it. It’s just that every time I try to convert a lemon recipe to egg-free it results …

When we last left Pulmicort, the asthma medicine popular for children was about to become a generic after Israeli company Teva Pharmaceuticals got permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to produce it. British …

If you hold your breath every time a letter arrives from your bank and pray it’s not telling you your credit-card interest rate is about to skyrocket, don’t exhale just because Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd’s …

If I play my cards right, I won’t have to lift a single flash card to get Boots ready for kindergarten.
He and his brother will take care of it. And they’ll even think it’s fun. …

Researchers have known for years that overweight toddlers are more likely to grow into overweight teens, who in turn have a greater risk of becoming overweight adults.
The problem might start before even preschool, though.
New research …

Yes, I know the statistics.
A relative, neighbor, friend or acquaintance is much more likely to kidnap my child than the stereotypical trench coat-wearing stranger. It’s much more likely to happen at home or at a …

The headline – Feeling stressed? You can combat the worry line – was enticing enough that I clicked.
It included some interesting anecdotal nuggets about how the economy has taken its toll on our health – …

Befuddled by exactly where that yogurt you’re about to eat came from?
You’re in good company. According to a report released Friday, even federal inspectors with access to an array of government and industry records were …

I learned to be grateful for “I Spy” after it saved my life almost a year ago when a 20-minute drive home mutated into a three-hour road trip.
Big Guy was just learning to play at …

The obvious punch line to Sen. Benjamin Cardin’s bill that would make it easier for newspapers to become nonprofit organizations is that many companies have mastered the “nonprofit” part.
The reasons are partly economic, partly corporate.
The …

Sometimes, the easiest answer is “no.”
It takes little time to say it and requires no effort to implement. I’ll admit that too many times it’s my go-to response with the guys, when I’m too tired …

Maybe Boots is not just on a mission to explode my head and make Big Guy late for school every morning when he wails “I can’t remember my shoes.”
Turns out he’s not just being whiny …

Big Guy probably had been pondering the move since Bear’s disastrous visit to kindergarten but, just like his mom who left for lunch one day in a clunker and came back to the office with …

Here’s a sucker bet:
Within the next year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will go to Boston to trumpet its charter schools as one of his “islands of excellence” where children can blossom and principals can take …

Six months into this work at home gig, I have to confess a renewed appreciation for my sweats.
Not that I haven’t always been infatuated, but before it was a love affair consummated only on weekends. …

Lewis Smith, you flick your Bic for all of us fed up with basketball hoops on sidewalks and weed whackers blaring at 7 on a Saturday morning.
You’re carrying the torch for millions annoyed by gas-powered …

Last weekend was one of those overload specials: Magic show at the library Saturday morning, birthday party Saturday night. Stop at the house to sleep briefly before a fun run Sunday morning – at least …

Sometimes it’s hard to decide who to root for in a hissing match between giants such as the one that’s been going on since December between Warner Music Group and YouTube/Google.
Unable to reach a new …

In general, there is no reason good enough to get up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday. Especially not on a drizzly overcast Sunday that begs you to ignore the alarm and snuggle back into …

Note to self: Set parental controls to block access to all articles mentioning “Obama” and “garden.”
Nah. Too vague. That also would filter anything happening in the Rose Garden. OK, then let’s try “Michelle Obama” and …

From the second he started  kindergarten, Big Guy gravitated toward Best Buddy.
By the end of the first day, they already knew each other’s names – an accomplishment when you’re not quite 5 and faced with …

Once in a great while an idea comes along that’s so deliciously foolish that you’re eager to see it put to a vote of the people. With all the serious issues on the ballot, a …

I love to cook. I do not love making six meals a day.
I don’t mind at all spending money on quality ingredients for dishes. I hate like heck throwing away food.
For years, the guys have …

Scholastic Inc.’s effort to push toys and trinkets on kids in the name of reading: Bad
Chuck E. Cheese’s generous offer to give schools 15 percent of the take from fund-raisers held at its restaurants: Tempting, …

Since we’re into adding warning labels to children’s media this days, “The Foot Book” needs to be next on the list.
Innocent introduction to literature suitable even for young babes? Yeah, I fell for that, too, …

Talk about good evidence but the wrong assumption.
New test results presented this week at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s annual meeting showed that 2 percent of foods without any type of allergy …

At what the point does “it’s just a phase” morph into “it’s a personality trait that’s not going to change”?
When, six months down the road and after untold lectures, scoldings and timeouts, a 3-year-old still …

Go ahead, tell us we just don’t understand.
Patiently explain why the $165 million in bonuses American International Group is paying 400 people are necessary to keep “some of these brainiacs in their seats.” Tell us …

I am the biggest dolt since all those folks who bought Pet Rocks back in the 70s, though as the guys clamor for a puppy I’m beginning to realize the value of a pet that …

Next to “bop brother over the head” and baseball, “pretend I’m not allergic” is Big Guy’s favorite game.
Boots will sit with their toy cash register as his brother orders at McDonald’s. “I’ll have chicken nuggets, …