DotMoms

DotMoms Daily: Texting teens, opting in, and more

Photo: Kevin Clark, The Washington Post

In family-related news now:
> For texting teens, an OMG moment when the phone bill arrives (Washington Post)
> Teaching children about money (CBS)
> Single mom wins $1 million lottery (MSNBC)
> When stay-at-home moms go back to work (Newsweek/MSNBC)
> Senator Clinton's "woman" problem (Newsweek/MSNBC)

In family news this week:
> Test can tell baby's sex 6 weeks into pregnancy (AP/MSNBC)
> Kids' brains offer glimpse into life's learning curve (AP/MSNBC)
> Teaching kids label literacy (ABC)
> Boston suburb goes on a diet, slims kids (AP/MSNBC)
> Prescription drug use up in teen girls (WebMD)
> Cartoonist: From Bloom County to Moms on Mars (NPR)
> Does raising children bore you to death? (ABC)
> Where did all the baby sitters go? (Christian Science Monitor)

DotMoms Daily: Breastfeeding, baby food, book buzz and more

Photo: Nick Ut, AP/MSNBC

New this week:
> Study: Breastfed babies no thinner as adults (WebMD/CBS)
> Organic baby food a hit with green parents (AP/MSNBC)
> Biracial couples may invest more in kids (LiveScience/MSNBC)
> Puberty, risky behaviors go hand-in-hand (Reuters)
> How the Wii is creaming the competition (Business 2.0/CNN)
> Treating the awkward years (The New York Times)
> Mommy books: More buzz than buyers (The New York Times)

When books choose us

By Kara Madden

During times of stress or change, I have always turned to books for comfort. They're the one thing that can reliably relax me. So it was no surprise the public library was one of my first stops when I moved back home to Boston from the southwest. I'd had a difficult few weeks of house hunting and trying to get the family settled in a city that felt very different from the one I'd left behind six years before. (Read more)

Begin the year with books

By Sherry Early

I've perused all the end-of-year Best Books lists, and I've come up with seven nonfiction titles that sound interesting enough to tempt me in 2007. (Read more)

Shelving those gift books

By Anne Boles Levy

I'm probably the only mother who insists we don't need kids' books for Chanukah. None. Zero. Nada. Naturally, my relatives ignore me. Books are easy: they always fit, they're not a choking hazard, they don't get recalled. What's not to like? (Read more)

The grown-up point of view

By Rachel A.

One of my favorite childhood memories is of my mother sitting at the foot of my bed, reading me chapters from a book before I fell asleep. Even when I was a fluent reader, books seemed better when she was reading them. (Read more)

Booknoted: December 9, 2006

Here are some recent headlines for moms who read:

• Down With Homework (The Washington Post)
• 10 Children's Tomes for the Holidays (MSNBC)
• Chick Lit Authors Won't Be Dismissed (GalleyCat)

(Read more)

What was your first book?

By Julie Moos

I remember the first book that completely captured me. It was a big, heavy, hardcover book of fairy tales, and I was so intent on reading it without interruption that I climbed into a cardboard box in the living room and stayed there until I turned the last thick, colorful page in my very tired hand. (Read more)

The thing about book clubs

By Ellen Schuette

I, an English major and voracious reader of almost anything in print, have a confession to make: I don't like book clubs. I'm not sure why. I wish book clubs well; I admire what they are doing to bring literature to life in the homes and offices of America. I simply can't seem to make myself attend one. (Read more)

Library treasures

By Sarah Rachel Egelman

Every week my 2 and a half-year-old daughter, along with the woman who cares for her while I am at work, goes to the library for storytime. Afterward, she is allowed to browse and read and pick books off the shelf, selecting some to take home. When I come home on those afternoons I am always excited to see what she has selected. Excited and, I admit, nervous. (Read more)