"Motherhood" director Katherine Dieckmann told ParentDish how she felt about making a movie about the misery of the job. Here's what Dieckmann had to say, in her own words ...



When I started writing "Motherhood," a movie I also directed, which opens today, I never imagined some fictionalized version of myself being incarnated by Uma Thurman. I think moms everywhere might agree how very distant that concept seems when you're washing vomit-stained sheets after staying up all night with a sick child, or when you're trying to take an unexpected work call from home without ever letting anyone on the other end realize the kids are in the next room being medicated by "SpongeBob SquarePants."

Our friends at AOLHeath are conducting a poll on smoking habits and they want to hear from parents.

Jump in and let them know where you stand >>>

Our "View From the Home Front" columnist Rachel Campos-Duffy will appear on today's "Dr. Phil" show to offer her thoughts on disciplining children in public. The writer, parenting pundit and mother of five, recently chimed in on the debate in her ParentDish column after a video of a Georgia mom dragging her son through a store on a leash surfaced.

In addition to offering political and cultural commentary, Campos-Duffy is the author of "Stay Home, Stay Happy: 10 Secrets to Loving At-Home Motherhood." "Dr. Phil" airs at 3 p.m. ET on CBS. Check local listings for the show time in your area.

We all know that patience is a virtue; we also know that it's a virtue young children don't always have in large amounts. Or at all. Especially when there's candy involved. So when these kids are left alone in a room with a gigantic marshmallow and a promise that if they do not eat it, they can have another, what happens? Watch the video and see.

And then tell us -- is this the cutest thing you've ever seen, or is it just cruel?

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

It's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's Superdad!

Most dads will tell you they perform their parental duties just fine sans blue tights and red cape. But a group of British fathers who call themselves New Fathers 4 Justice dress up like Spider-Man, Batman and, of course, Superman to fight for fathers' rights.

So far, according to ComicsAlliance, the group has been unsuccessful in getting the British government to change family law in response their high-profile protests. And their public image took a blow when some members were accused of plotting to kidnap former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's son.

This summer, Captain America and Bananaman (yeah, we don't know who he is, either) perched themselves atop construction cranes in South Wales and flew banners reading "Where's Daddy?" before getting arrested, reports ComicsAlliance. Dads on this side of the pond have gotten in on the action, too. Spider-Man stood on a crane located at Ohio State University for four days and other dads took their protest to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Check out this video of Superman plopped on the roof of a British politician's home conducting a phone interview with a journalist.

Does this image make you want to support dads fighting to change family law?

AUGUST 19, 2009, UPDATE: UK's Daily Telegraph reported that the story below is fraudulent. The woman exists, but she is not pregnant with 12 babies. The Tunisian Health Ministry said the woman has "psychological problems and is unlikely even to be pregnant," according to the Telegraph.

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A Tunisian woman is said to be pregnant with 12 babies - six boys and six girls.

The teacher, who has not been named, said she is in good health, according to a report in the Daily Mail and picked up by ParentDish UK.

But experts say it's unlikely any of the babies will survive.

The woman reportedly told hospital workers: "All I want to do is be able to hug my babies and show them all my love. This is an absolute miracle, and we all feel blessed after struggling so hard to have children."

She apparently had fertility treatment after having two miscarriages in two years.

Her husband, named as Marwan, told the Assabah newspaper: "In the beginning, we thought that my wife would give birth to twins, but more fetuses were discovered. Our joy was increased with the growing number. The medical team told us that my wife would give birth naturally."

However, experts say a natural birth will probably be impossible and labor could start as early as 20 weeks - too early for the babies to survive.

It is not known how far along the woman is now in her pregnancy, but it is thought she must be at least 16 weeks if the gender of the babies is known.

"It is certainly possible to carry 12 babies but not for long," said Peter Bowen-Simpkins, a fellow of Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists."I don't like to dampen her enthusiasm but the chances are she will deliver at 20 weeks. I wouldn't even give her a one in 100 chance of even one surviving. It's frightening."

There have been other cases of multiple births surviving. In California earlier this year, Nadya Suleman -- a.k.a. Octomom -- gave birth to eight healthy babies.

But it's unusual for this many babies to survive. Back in 1996 a British woman, Mandy Allwood, was pregnant with eight babies. She ignored medical advice to abort some of them and they all died after being born at 22 weeks.

Our final installment of real moms' potty training advice and stories...enjoy!

*Kristen from Portsmouth, NH:

• The Potty Watch is the BEST. I need one.
• These Tinkle Targets for boys are hilarious.
• This foldable potty seat with handles was great for travel too -- foldable for transport, potty seat so her little bum wouldn't fall in the big restaurant potties and with handles so she didn't have to touch the toilet when holding on for support. Although for some reason, my husband could never get a handle (no pun intended) on how to sit my daughter on it without collapsing the thing -- which he did twice and she soaked herself falling in the potty. At a restaurant. Nice.
• The website OneStepAhead.com has the best, most practical stuff.
• The one issue about potty training that I've never found any site to address -- and believe me, I've scoured them all -- is about them not being physically ready to be able to know/sense they have to go before they actually go. According to my pediatrician, I guess signs of that is when they hold their pee for longer periods of time -- for example, longer time between dry Pull-Ups/diapers, dry Pull-Up when wake up from nap, dryer Pull-Up when she wakes up in morning. We started potty training her before she was physically ready, although she showed all sorts of other signs like hating her diaper change, telling us right after she went pee in diaper because she didn't want to wear it, inquired about the potty, wanted to wear underwear, etc. So on the one hand, she's all potty-trained when it comes to her liking to use the potty. She has no qualms about it all -- she uses the real toilet, in public, pooping not just peeing -- so we don't have to give her treats to entice her. BUT she doesn't quite yet know when she really has to go, so unless we put her on the potty ourselves every hour (like we were doing for so long but stopped because it's a pain), she'll wet her underwear. She knows the second she's gone and tells us, but by then it's too late and we start to get frustrated and she senses that and feels bad and the whole thing starts to be negative. So we've stopped potty training until she starts telling us she has to go pee (which is right about now). But nobody ever addresses THIS particular issue in any of the baby posts/bulletins, etc.
• I don't have too many funny stories, but this one is more about my mom's Boston accent than anything. We had just started potty training my daughter, so we were always putting her on the potty before she left the house. As we were leaving my house for my daughter's 2nd birthday party, my mom said, "We're going to your party!" but with a Boston accent -- so it came out sounding like, "We're going to your potty!" Since my daughter had already just gone the potty with me -- and was rather proud of herself because it was early on in potty training, so we all would clap/dance/whatever when she went in the potty -- she got upset at my mom and said, "I already went to the potty!" and stomped out of the room. Ha.
  

*Jennifer from Syosset, NY:

• A clever idea would be cutting a hole in the Pull-Up so that you can "trick" your kid into pooping on the potty! Wish it worked for my kid. I'm sure it could work for others!
• "Potty Power" was a DVD my oldest one watched all the time when potty training. As soon as I stopped bugging him about using the potty, he was trained!
  

*Jill from Melville, NY:

• My best advice to moms trying to potty train twin boys is to let them train themselves. Over Christmas break from school, I decided that my 3-year-old twins should be potty trained. One morning I took away their diapers and made them go on the potty every hour or so. They had been on the potty in the past, but not using it regularly. The novelty of the new underwear wore off after about five minutes. Within an hour, one of my boys was crying that he wanted his diaper back. It turned out that he had a stomach virus complete with diarrhea, so I knew that this was going to be a failed attempt for him. I decided that it would be easier to focus on one kid at a time, so I kept my healthy son in underwear for another three days. When it was apparent that he did not distinguish the underwear from the diaper -- I had to change his underwear about ten times a day -- I gave up on him as well. Once I let it go, they basically trained themselves two months later.
• After the failed attempt over Christmas, I put the boys in Pull-Ups. I then made the potty part of our daily routine (we wake up, use the potty, brush our teeth, etc). At first we used jelly beans as a reward for making on the potty. One son was not interested until their friend (who is one year younger) came over to play and he was in underwear and using the potty. This inspired my son to try. Within a few weeks, both had dry Pull-Ups most of the time. By February, one son was ready for underwear. He had the pee thing under control, but would not poop on the potty. I watched him like a hawk and whenever he was about to poop, I got him on the potty -- but I didn't always catch him in time. I even upped the jelly bean reward to a handful of jelly beans each time he pooped on the potty. I promised him a new toy if he kept his underwear clean for three days. I didn't know whether I should send him to school in underwear after only a few days of being dry. I took a chance, and of course, much to his teacher's dismay, he pooped in his underwear at school. I think he was embarrassed, because from that point on, he was completely poop trained.
• A month later, my other son was keeping his Pull-Ups clean and dry all the time. I told him that that it was time for underwear. He told me he wasn't ready. I didn't push it, but I knew he could do it. I told him that if he wore underwear for the day and kept it clean, he could have a special box of candy. He has been trained ever since.
• My latest dilemma is night time. They are completely dry at night (it happened almost immediately), but I have been too scared to put them in underwear at night. I will probably just do it soon. Its been almost two months and they both only wet their Pull-Ups one time each.
• At first when I started, it seemed like a daunting task, but it really all worked itself out. For the most part, I trained them to pee standing up, although at the very beginning I had them sitting down.
  

*Elaine from Leesburg, VA:

If training a boy:

• Teach them to AIM. This will serve you well for life, as if they don't master this skill early, you'd better master your mopping skills.
• Use Cheerios or Froot Loops, throw them in the toilet then tell him to sink the ships! This worked beautifully and they loved it!
• Whatever you do -- no matter how frustrated you are or how long the process is taking -- do not push them. They do it when they're ready and not one minute before.
• CELEBRATE when they do their "duty" :)

More potty training advice and anecdotes from our mommy friends...

*Nicole from Mt. Kisco, NY:

• Put a potty in your child's bathroom way before you want to potty train, so that when you decide that you want to start training, it isn't a "foreign" object that they haven't seen before and are afraid of.
• Always follow your child's lead in terms of readiness and when they are ready take away his/her diapers and have him/her wear underwear all day. You may have accidents, but it is less confusing.
• When your child is totally potty trained during the day for a number of months and you want to take diapers/Pull-Ups away at night, gradually decrease the amount of fluid intake your child has before he/she goes to bed.
• If your child does not seem ready/resists being potty trained, do not force the issue. Otherwise, it will become a power struggle and you will get no where quickly!
• Have your child accompany you to the store to pick out underwear, so he/she is part of the process and can get excited about it.
• When your child has an accident simply state, "We go to the bathroom on the potty," take the child to the potty to finish up and then have he/she help you clean it up. Do not scold, reprimand or embarrass.
• While there are portable potties on the market that can be left in the car (or the stroller) for long trips or when a bathroom isn't always accessible, when you are first training your child, put an absorbent blue chuck/wee wee pad underneath your hild in case he/she has an accident. It will be much easier to clean up!
• The more your child can accompany the same-sex parent to the bathroom (even before potty training/pre-potty training) the more likely he/she will want to model him/her.
• I love the Graco potty that has the removable center, the removable soft, cushy seat that can be used on a regular toilet and which can also be used as a step stool when closed.
  

*Lori from New York City, NY:

• The first time my niece peed in the toilet, she was with me. And she screamed, "I did it, I did it ... Mommy told me it would be yellow!"
  

*Jodi from East Meadow, NY:

• When my son was about 2½, he was probably 80% potty trained. One day, he looks at me, then the potty, and says, "Mommy, I'm done with that now. No more potty." And he was right. He began to completely refuse to use the toilet! All of the books say how important it is NOT to push them, so I didn't. I'd periodically ask, "Are you sure you don't want to try the potty?" and he would quickly say "No!" Finally, after MANY months, when he was almost 3 1/2, I got SICK of changing diapers. I told him that we would be having vacation time soon (late June when school got out), which would mean a lot of "home days." I told him that we would have a bunch of days when he would not wear diapers. He would start out naked (he loved that!) and if he did a good job he could use his big boy underwear. We went out and picked a bunch of choices that he loved. Each time he made on the potty, he could have a sticker. When he earned 5 stickers on his chart, he could pick a prize. I went online to Oriental Trading and got a prize assortment.
• So the day came and he was very excited. I told him he had to go as soon as he got out of bed and I used a timer, making him try every 20 or 30 minutes. He got a sticker even when he tried, even if he wasn't successful. The most important thing was to reward him for trying. So long story short, he had 2 accidents in the morning and was completely trained by the afternoon! The main trick was waiting until he was ready!
• My biggest hint for anyone? Always keep a change of clothes with you, no matter where you are. Mine is in the trunk of my car. Accidents happen...not often, but they happen when you least expect it!
  

*Vicki from CO:

• I live in the mountains of Colorado and I have potty training 4 daughters who have now potty trained 8 grandchildren. I refused the potty seat for my children because I didn't want them to do the training twice. And I didn't want to empty it and didn't want them to develop a fear of the sound of the big potty 'flushing', which happens. There was a little step we built and they each got to paint it for their special training occasion.
• Each child is different when it comes to training. My first daughter wanted ONLY nylon ruffled underpants -- and I found her on her little stepstool rinsing them out one day. She was horrified she had wet them. My second daughter wanted ONLY soft white cotton underpants and could care less about rinsing them out if she wet them. My third daughter escaped to the outside, preferring to wear nothing. My fourth daughter wore anything the others had already worn, as long as it was a pretty color.
• I once asked my neighbor why her son sits down to go potty. "Didn't he ever watch his Daddy?" I said. Her reply was, with an eye roll, that "Daddy sits down too." Seems Daddy was traumatized as a 6-year-old when the seat came crashing down on his little private part!
  

*Jodi from Arlington, VA:

• My girls were trained using the book, "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day," by Nathan Azrin ). It took more than a day, but we were very pleased with the success. And, my daughter taught me that it's pointless to try too soon -- if they aren't ready they aren't ready and it becomes a power struggle.
  

More real mom potty training advice and anecdotes...

*Becky from West Orange, NJ:

• Potty training is not easy and you must have a lot of patience! If you do find it easy, your child is some sort of angel. At first, we tried training my son by putting him straight in underwear (no Pull-Ups) and having him tell us when he had to go. Several soiled, cute pairs of underpants later...we just let him run around naked (this is easiest to do in the summer). After peeing on the floor once, he got the hang of it pretty quickly, but that's not to say that he didn't have several accidents. He seemed to find peeing in the potty easier than pooping there, which I don't understand. I mean, doesn't it seem easier to feel when you have to poop and less disgusting to just do it in the potty? Once he was trained, he wore Pull-Ups for almost a year at night. The best thing to do is just wait until your child wants to (or is ready to) wear underwear at night. It is not easy for them at all, especially since so many are deep sleepers and/or have vivid dreams that may lead to wet sheets.

My most important tips are:

• Always be patient. You cannot get mad. Even though it seems easy to us -- as if our children may be spiting us or just not listening (which they may be) -- it is very, very hard for them to learn how to use the toilet. We should always stay calm, not yell, and speak to them about their accidents in a rational way.
• Buy LOTS of underwear. It can never be enough!
• Always carry a spare set (or two) of clothes and maybe even shoes, even when you think your child is fully trained. It was definitely not a fun day when my son peed all over his shoes and I didn't have an extra pair.
• Reward charts and lots of little rewards are never a bad thing. However, be prepared for the especially-smart child to then ask why he/she should do anything good if they don't get a present for it.
  

*Marines from Miramar, FL:

• I tried to teach my child -- again -- this weekend. I left him in underwear (no Pull-Ups) until 1pm. He didn't pee and he didn't want to do it in the toilet. We were going to a baseball game, so I went to change him and put on a Pull-Up, and as soon as he felt it he said, "It came out." I guess he feels secure with it...I will try again this week. But ultimately, I think what would work best with me would be to have my son with me for a full week at home to work on it -- no school, no work.
  

*"Real Mom" from CT:

• I used the method called 3 Day Potty Training (by Lora Jensen), which REALLY TOOK 2 weeks. But it totally works -- I found the workbook online. You pay for it and then you can download all the information. You basically spend 3 days at home and don't leave your house for those 3 days. You need to buy lots of underwear and be prepared to be cleaning up a lot of pee and poop. Basically the idea is to keep saying to your child," tell me when you have to go to the potty." By saying this 4 million times over the course of 3 days it really sunk into my son's head. Every time they would make it to the bathroom you would reward them with M&M's, stickers or that toy they have been wanting. The scary part was leaving the house after the potty training was completed. My son proceeded to have accidents at the playground and at his pre-school where he would disrobe and then go about his business. It was frustrating yet comical at times! Plus, he thought that once he was outside he was free to pee and poop anywhere. Not a fun experience. I also recommend keeping a potty seat and extra clothing in your car.
  

*Julie from New York City, NY:

• Cheerios are not just for eating! They make great target practice for a boy learning to use the potty standing up. The targets they sell in the store are really expensive and this is a fun way to motivate and help their aim!