Nothing kills the bliss of being a new mother quite like colic, a condition marked by hours of constant crying that afflicts 25 percent of all babies.

Experts say they routinely see mothers near the end of their ropes, wondering what they did to cause their baby so much misery, and that study after study has shown no known specific causes. Even the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis says numerous studies have failed to find a cause for all that wailing.

It's not allergies, lactose intolerance, maternal anxiety, spicy food, rich food or the birth order of the child. It's also not mom's fault. Colic can occur equally in boys and girls and the number of children afflicted has remained constant over the years.

Brown University has a colic clinic that families go to for help after exhausting every other option. It offers medical and mental health professionals to the families.

"We treat colic as a family issue," says Barry Lester, director of the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk. "The thing to remember is this will end."

The baby has arrived, the room is decorated and you've got diaper changing down pat. But have you created a will?

It's a question that may strike you as maudlin, but experts say every parent should have a will and make guardianship decisions. As unpleasant as it sounds, if you don't get it in writing, a judge will be left to decide who raises your child if the unthinkable happens.

Draining as the process might seem, creating a will and guardianship papers is pretty easy to pull together.

First, find a lawyer. Check with family, friends or even a local parenting list serve for recommendations and make an appointment. Lawyers are necessary because of the legal nature of the will and guardianship papers.

That new iPhone might be lots of fun and oh-so-chic. But it turns out it might have been manufactured by children.

Apple, a company that has carefully crafted an image as king of cool, says that during an audit of its suppliers, the company found at least 11 workers were 15-year-olds toiling in factories that supply Apple, according to the London Telegraph.

Most Apple products are put together in China, but the company did not say where the underage workers were located.

At the time of the audit, the minors were no longer working underage nor were they working at the factories, according to Apple's report. The company also has suppliers with factories in the United States, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and the Czech Republic. Workers in the faulted factories were supposed to be 16 years old and are now in compliance, according to the report.

Friendships can turn on a dime in middle school, as a girl named Jamie learned the hard way.

She was part of a group of friends until one of them casually suggested, "Let's hate Jamie." The next thing she knew, her former friends had created an "I Hate Jamie Club." Other than being a preteen, Jamie had done nothing to deserve such treatment. But it was a horrible feeling nonetheless.

Kids can be cruel, even to their friends. But parents need to know that all of these behaviors -- while often mean -- are part of the roller coaster development process of early adolescence, Carl Pickhardt, author of "Why Good Kids Act Cruel: The Hidden Truth About the Pre-Teen Years" tells ParentDish. In the book, he uses anecdotes, such as Jamie's story, as well as his experience as a long time counselor, to help parents coach their children -- whether they are handing out some of the cruelty or on the receiving end of it.

ParentDish caught up with busy working mom Lesley Spencer Pyle to talk about her company HireMyMom.com, which pairs stay-at-home moms with work that allows flexibility and a paycheck. Pyle was between caring for her two-year-old and driving her 12-year-old to the orthodontist when we touched base.

ParentDish: How old is your company?
Lesley Pyle: I started HireMyMom.com in May 2007.

PD: How has the economy impacted the business?
LP: With the economy uncertain, many moms are looking for ways to bring in additional income. HireMYMom allows them to search and find jobs and projects that they can do from home without forcing them to work outside the home.

PD: What about the companies?
LP:Companies that may not have the budget for full-time or even part-time employees can find their solution in hiring these mom professionals at a much lower cost than hiring traditional employees. They save not only on salaries but on benefits as well because most of projects are on a contractual or freelance basis so the benefits are not included.

Good news for moms and dads in the fight against childhood obesity: It turns out when calories are listed in fast food places, parents make better choices, according to a recent study.

When calorie information about menu items is listed, parents will chose roughly 100 fewer calories for their child's meal, according to a story published in BusinessWeek. The story based its conclusion on a study published in Pediatrics and done in conjunction with fast food giant McDonald's.

Currently, menu labeling is done only in certain cities and states, Vanessa Cavallaro, a registered dietitian and president of the Massachusetts Dietetic Association tells ParentDish.

"I think menu labeling can really help consumers make good decisions for themselves and their families," she says.

Parents may want to take a closer look at the sippy cups and baby bottles they have in the house following a statement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expressing concern over the effects of the chemical BPA when it comes to children.

Bisphenol A has been used in hard plastics since the 1960s, and health concerns have been raised about its use in the past several years. Results from recent toxicology studies have raised concern at both the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health and the FDA, according to a statement.

"(Both) have some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland, in fetuses, infants and young children," according to the FDA.

After health concerns were expressed about the use of BPA, new manufacturers of BPA-free baby bottles and sippy cups began popping up. In 2007, Thermos introduced Foogo brand sippy cups that are stainless steel and completely BPA-free, Betsi Schumacher, spokesperson for Thermos Foogo, tells ParentDish.

Food companies have agreed to limit the amount of junk food advertising they aim at kids, but that doesn't mean they've stopped.

A study by Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found that cereals marketed to children have 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber and 60 percent more sodium than cereals advertised to adults, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

The study was released as cereal makers try to burnish their images with parents. In December, General Mills announced it was continuing to lower sugar in cereals aimed at kids, and said any of the brand's cereals could be a part of a healthy breakfast because they contain vitamins and whole grains. The Yale study agrees food companies are lowering sugar, but says advertising is a problem.

"When we looked at the nutritional quality of the cereal, we realized it's not just that companies are marketing unhealthy products to children," Jennifer Harris, lead author of the Yale study, tells the Tribune. "It's that they are only marketing unhealthy products."

Who would have thought childhood snacks could create so much anxiety? But, as a diatribe in The New York Times asserts, snacks for children can be treacherous ground for many parents who find themselves constantly being pressured to offer treats for soccer practice, school events and parties.

"It's out of control," Ruth Frechman, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association tells ParentDish. "Just 100 calories extra a day can add 10 pounds of weight a year."

Anyone with a toddler can tell you it's good to have a bag of cereal or a handful of pretzels on hand to prevent hunger-fueled tantrums. But now, it seems, snacks are required at even the most mundane childhood events.

"Apparently, we have collectively decided as a culture that it is impossible for children to take part in any activity without simultaneously shoving something into their pie holes," writes Jennifer Steinhauer in her Times rant.