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Reviews: What's New This Week
In Theaters Now: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
A dark and moody film, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is based on the second of Stephanie Myer's four novels. This installment is more violent than the first and takes the theme of obsessive love to new heights. Despite all the longing looks, passionate embraces and intense kisses, the film avoids being too explicit and the language remains fairly tame. Rated PG-13, OK for Kids 13+
Amazon.com
A weepy drama about a terminally ill child and her family's fight to save her life, "My Sister's Keeper" is ultimately a love story. Many scenes are painful to watch and, despite the message of love, it's a heartbreaking story that may upset younger audiences. Rated PG-13, Iffy for Kids 14-15
Twitter Follow Friday on ParentDish!
Love Twitter? So do we! It can be tough to keep tabs on all your favorite "Tweeters" from the "Twitterverse" -- but don't worry, we've got you covered! Here's our favorite parenting Tweets of the week, raw and uncensored, typos and all, just as you see them on Twitter. Follow ParentDish on Twitter to join the discussion (who knows, maybe we'll feature you here!).
Read any good Tweets? Give us a shout on Twitter and let us know all about it!
Diabetic Student Wins Fight For Extra Gym Classes
Medical Conditions, In The News, Education
Jack McLaughlin, 11, who has diabetes, needs physical-education class every morning instead of the usual two days in every six. Credit: Clem Murray, Philadelphia Inquirer / MCT
Jack Laughlin will start middle school every day with gym class.
What might be a nightmare for other middle schoolers is a dream come true for the 11-year-old Exton, Pa., student and his family. Jack has diabetes and as we reported earlier, he and his parents, David and Cathy Laughlin, argued he needed daily gym classes to recover from his post-breakfast sugar high.
Students at Lionville Middle School usually get gym classes two out of every six days. They spend the rest of their mornings in music and reading skills classes.
School officials initially said there was no compelling medical evidence to rearrange the schedule for Jack and he could get the exercise he needs through a school walking club and intramural athletics.
Now officials have changed their minds.
Suri Cruise Stumbles in Her High Heels
Suri Cruise steps out in heels. Again. Boston Credit: PPNY / GSNY / Splash News
Oh, baby! Those sparkly, high-heel sandals that pint-size Suri Cruise has been sporting recently look so adorable. Especially when combined with ponytails and Elmo.
But walking the walk ain't so easy, as the famous preschooler discovered. Credit: PPNY / GSNY / Splash News
But on a recent Boston outing with her mom, Katie Holmes, Suri, 3, apparently slipped while walking on a wet sidewalk. Mom, wearing flat boots, was there to keep her from falling.
And, so, the debate continues: Is it appropriate for toddlers to wear heels?
Related: Suri's holiday shopping spree
Sports Traditions as Important During Holidays as Turkey, Gifts Under the Tree
The annual Becher-Ware Turkey Bowl. Credit: Gary Becher
Thanksgiving means family gatherings for some and pumpkin pie for others. For Scott Becher, it means the annual Becher-Ware Turkey Bowl.
"It started in 1991 with seven of us playing a little touch football to kill some time on Thanksgiving. Now it's 35 family members literally of all ages. This year we'll meet two new members -- one born in early November, the other a month ago," wrote Becher, an original Turkey Bowl participant, in an email to ParentDish.
No, the infants won't play. Not this year, anyway.
Sports run deep in our holiday traditions. From football games in the backyard to ski vacations on the slopes, they bring us closer. Depending on the activity -- full-court basketball, Frisbee golf -- they also help work off the second and third helpings of Thanksgiving dinner we promised not to eat this year but did anyway.
Hot Toddler Trend: Dress Your Kid Like Suri for the Holidays
Celeb Kids, Fashion & Clothing
Suri Cruise owns this sweater dress and red velvet dress from Jacadi. Credit: Jacadi
Suri Cruise, daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, hit the Jacadi children's boutique in Boston recently, picking up a striped sweater dress, striped sweater and pleated skirt from the brand's "Sur les Flots" collection, along with dresses in pale pink and red velvet from the the French retailer's new holiday collections.
And speaking of holiday, ParentDish asked Peggy Waldo, director of Jacadi USA, what's hot this season.
"The strongest holiday trends for kids put a fresh, modern spin on authentic and timeless classics," she says. "A short-sleeve dress turns up in gray flannel; a red velvet jumper is accented with oversized buttons and, instead of white, blouses turn up in cheerful Liberty prints."
Prices for Jacadi range from $28 for a white cotton onesie to $278 for a classic duffel coat.
Visit jacadiusa.com for store locations, or to shop online.
Related: Suri in her silver, high-heel shoes
Company Charging to Decode Your Baby's Name
Celeb Parenting, In The News, Weird But True, Baby Names
Today Translations will tell you what your baby's name means in 100 languages - for a price. Credit: BalaGopalanA, Flickr
As an example, the company's chief executive Jurga Zilinskiene points to Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes offspring Suri, according to the New York Daily News. In Greek, the name means "farmer" or "earth worker." But in French, it means "turned sour." And in Farsi? "Red" or "fire." And how about in Italian? That would be "horse mackerels." (We didn't know what that meant, either, so we looked it up and it's a type of fish.)
Today Translations will look up your choice of name in 100 languages, what they call a "name translation audit," according to the News. The cost? 1,000 pounds, or about $1,700. Zilinskiene told the paper that this is not just for celebrities -- "the service will also appeal to ordinary folks who want their child's name to stand out."
Mom Says Math Homework is Racist
Teens & tweens, In The News, Weird But True, Education, Bullying
A middle-school math teacher is in the hot seat for including an image of a toothless black man on a homework sheet, and at least one parent is calling the illustration racist.
The Courier Times in Bucks County, Pa., reports that the African-American parent of an eighth-grader at Lenape Middle School was so distressed over the image of a black, toothless man on her son's math homework that she kept the boy home from school the following day.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTO>>>>>>>>
"I couldn't understand what I was looking at," says the woman, whose identity was not revealed by the newspaper. The work sheet, titled "Solving Equations using Multiplication and Division!," featured a photo of a black man in a straw hat and a shirt and suspenders, his mostly toothless mouth agape. Underneath the picture is the grammatically incorrect phrase, "NO WAI!!!"
Snack Bars: Safe or Scary?
Are snack bars healthy? Or glorified candy bars? Credit: anne.oeldorfhirsch, Flickr
VERDICT ...
Larry King's 10-Year-Old Son Gets His Own TV Show
Celeb Kids, Celeb Parenting, Media
TV host Larry King, left, and his sons Cannon Edward King, center, and Chance Armstrong King, right, earlier this year. Credit: Michael Kovac, FilmMagic
Chance's 9-year-old brother Cannon King will appear on the show from time to time, reports TMZ.
Chance and Cannon are the offspring of Larry and Shawn King. Larry is 76 years old. Shawn is 50, and is Larry's seventh wife. As far as we know, this is Chance's first television job. We hear that Larry didn't get his first broadcasting gig until 1957, when he was 24. That's two years before his current wife was born, by the way.
TMZ says that "Kid Pitch" is scheduled to begin taping in February of 2010.
Are you planning to watch?
