Mindful melody
Miles Tisserand bounces into his Kindermusik class with his dad in tow, digging in his purple music bag

Is your kid's school safe?
Another school year, another round of school shootings. And another difficult time for parents,

Unhealthy body image, unhealthy mind
Amanda Elliott told her mom she’d "rather die than be fat."

Overcoming childhood obesity
DeDe Molter’s oldest son was considered skinny until he hit second grade.

Understanding eating disorders
Eating disorders are complex mental disorders more about misusing food to deal with emotions than about food itself.

The softer side of the Bears
The Chicago Bears are the pride of the midway, especially this season.

Stop, look and listen
Ten tips
When my daughter Emma started third grade, she got off the bus most days with tears in her eyes.

Hart's heart has room to spare
It’s a busy day in the studio for Kathy Hart. Actor Tim Robbins calls in for a chat,

How to strengthen your marriage after baby arrives
Comments (1)
My wife is out all day at play groups, toddler gym, the park—anywhere but home. So when I come home from work, everything still needs to be done around the house!"

A man to look up to
Dorothy Foreman of Calumet Park enrolled her 14-year-old son, William, in Big Brother Big Sister

South suburban resource guide

Belle & Olivia Gersole
Good cooking doesn’t always run in the family, but in the Gersole household in Evanston, it’s so good

A call to action
Here’s a scary thought: Some public health experts claim our kids could have a life expectancy shorter

The red herring
Each time I see the scar across the top of my daughter’s head I am reminded of what I’m most grateful for.

Success begins with the leader
Public schools that overcome the colossal odds that go hand in hand with extreme poverty must have a number of things

Time keeps ticking
But I don’t have time!" pleads my 14-year-old daughter when I remind her that today is her turn to walk the dog.

The mommy conundrum
’m the one who gets up in the middle of the night.

Teach kids personal responsibility about money
Take this experience shared with me by a reader: She was giving her 5- and 6-year-old children a fake dollar every time

Nurturing the no-nonsense way
Dear Pragmatic Parent: My husband and I have two daughters, ages 6 and 4. They’re both in ballet class, and my older

Take that 'chip' off your shoulder
Carrying the world on your shoulders? Because our shoulders often end up carrying a majority of our tensions, here’s a

Box up your holiday cards
The holidays have come and gone. It’s time to get the house back in order. Take down the tree,

Sweet victory
Most kids get in trouble for playing with their food. But when 8-year-old Aurora resident Miranda Johnson made a carillon

Love of letters
This might come as a shock to your kids, but before we started logging off with "G2G" and "CU L8R," people used

Verifying vision
Immunizations and visits to the pediatrician are a well-known part of an infant’s first year. But what about a visit to the eye doctor?

Pretend and play
It’s Sunday morning. It’s freezing and windy outside. You’ve already been to the museums this winter, and the glow has

Designer diesel
Studies have shown that school buses are a safe mode of transportation for children—but the exhaust they release isn’t.

Back to the cloth
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Most busy mothers swear by the convenience of plastic diapers.

Traditional vs. electronic
When it comes to fostering a love of reading and building early literacy skills, traditional books beat out electronic books

Mattel recalls Polly Pocket playsets
Mattel, along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, voluntarily recalled 4.4 million Polly Pocket

Local parents find hope in drug trial
Tne day last spring, as her 8-year-old son Timothy raced around the playground during her older son’s baseball game,

Independent writers offer new perspectives
First-time authors will often mention the many times they submitted their work to a publisher, only to be rejected.

These books are out of this world
There is no age requirement for becoming a hero. Read these books and find out how kids are able to save the world.

Beat the winter blues
The holidays are over and the days of hard-core winter are here. If you are lucky enough to take a vacation on a beach