Kimberly Jacobs went to school in a shirt bearing symbols of her religious beliefs. Actually, she did it several times -- enough to be suspended five times. Jacobs attended Liberty High School near Las Vegas, Nevada which requires that students wear khaki-colored pants and a solid-colored shirt in either red, white, or blue.

Jacobs felt that her freedom of expression was being infringed upon and the ACLU agreed. The civil liberties organization took her case to court but the federal appeals court found that the school's uniform policy did not infringe upon freedom of religion or expression. The ACLU plans to request a rehearing of the case.

"This has implications not only for schools but for all sorts of free speech. Wearing a message on clothing is like the armband in 'Tinker,'" said Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the ACLU in Las Vegas. "Tinker" refers to the 1969 case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District in which the Supreme Court ruled that wearing an armband to protest the Vietnam War was constitutionally protected speech. "What this decision essentially did is overturn 'Tinker' and precedent," Lichtenstein added.

I'm not sure I agree that this ruling conflicts directly with Tinker, but then, I'm no lawyer. I'm also not a huge fan of school uniforms, although it seems the one in question is fairly benign. On the other hand, it does seem to me that we need our young people to stir things up and protest the status quo.

Back in 2004, singer Beyoncé and her mother Tina started their own fashion line, House of Deréon. The look, dubbed "where the sidewalk and catwalk meet", is designed to embody sexy sophistication for the modern woman. Finding some success in dressing grown-up ladies, Deréon has now expanded to include clothing for girls. That's all well and good, except it seems they forgot that 'sexy' isn't exactly what most of us are looking for when it comes to dressing our daughters.

Check out this ad for Deréon Girls and you will notice sweet-faced little girls wearing high heeled pumps, feather boas and bright red lipstick. This ad campaign might be called "where the playground and prostitute meet." If you can manage to look past the inappropriate accessories and somewhat suggestive poses, the clothes themselves aren't that bad. Maybe a little on the tacky side, but not overtly sexual.

Just what message are they trying to send here? It is never to early to begin dressing like a fashion-impaired adult? Had they presented the clothing line in a more age-appropriate way, would parents have reacted with "well, that's just not sexy enough for my kid?"

Seriously, does sex really sell when it comes to children's clothing?

So, the children of Iran don't get to play with Barbie dolls because they undermine their Muslim culture. American kids, meanwhile, are apparently eschewing the dolls because of the environmentally unfriendly packaging. There's probably not much Mattel can do about the former, but they're turning the latter into a profit center.

Barbie BCause is a new line of "eco-friendly accessories for girls." And what exactly makes it so eco-friendly? The product line "repurposes excess fabric and trimmings from other Barbie® doll fashions and products which would otherwise be discarded, offering eco-conscious girls a way to make an environmentally-friendly fashion statement with cool, patchwork-style accessories."

Barbie dolls come packaged in a huge amount of plastic packaging; I'm not sure that making some bags out of leftover fabric makes up for that. Certainly, from a business point of view, it makes sense -- why waste all that perfectly decent fabric when you can sell it and rack up some Brownie points for being "green" at the same time? From an environmental point of view, I think that picking up an equivalent product at the local thrift shop makes more sense. While I'm no expert on women's fashion accessories, I have to say I don't find the pictured items very attractive. What do you think?

via Eco Child's Play

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 84,000 Children's Storage Bins due to excessive levels of lead in the paint. The bins were made in Taiwan (not China!) for Magus Industry Company and imported by L G Sourcing, Inc., of North Wilkesboro, N.C.

The recalled bins were sold in pastel green (item number 226782) and pink (item umber 226781) and are made of wood with scalloped edges. You can find the item number of the bottom of the bins. No other storage bins are included in this recall.

The bins were sold exclusively at Lowe's stores nationwide from March 2007 through February 2008 for about $6 each.

If you have one of the recalled bins, you should immediately take it away from your child and return it to any Lowe's store for a full refund. For more information, you can call LG Sourcing at (866) 493-6563 anytime, or visit the Lowe's Website.

Hand-me-downs are a beautiful thing. The bane of a younger sibling's existence can be a financial lifesaver for economy-minded parents. While the practice of passing an older child's things down to a younger child might be motivated by fiscal responsibility and a desire to reuse what is still usable, here's another reason to love hand-me-downs: you can get great stuff with a celebrity connection and support a good cause at the same time.

That's the idea behind Johnson's Celebrity Hand Me Down Auction. Famous parents like Matt Damon and Elisabeth Hasslebeck are passing on their child's outgrown things to the highest bidder in support of charities such as the March of Dimes, Save the Children, Zero to Three and Baby Buggy.

The auction runs from April 29 to May 9 on eBay and will feature items such as Matt Damon's diaper bag, an Adidas track suit worn by Mariska Hargitay's son, Julianne Moore's high chair, Elisabeth Hasslebeck's car seat and more. Sign up now to receive email notification when the auction begins.

I'm raising a couple of shoe shoppers. Whether it's glittery ballet flats or flashing tennis shoes, my girls just can't get enough of footwear. I let them try on shoes to their heart's content, but limit purchasing to only the necessary one or two pairs per season.

In general, my kids wear out their shoes before they grow out of them. But parents of kids with fast growing feet know what a pain in the pocketbook new shoes can be. American inventor Hank Miller has tried to solve that problem with the INCHworm trainers. These shoes have special technology that let them expand up to two half sizes, meaning that kids can wear them longer before they need a new pair.

The shoes weren't popular with American shoe manufacturers, so INCHworms are currently only available in Britain. They also aren't cheap -- nearly $100 American. At that price, the INCHworms might not save you any money in the long run, depending on how much you normally spend on shoes. I'm also pretty sure they don't come in pink glitter or flashing Princess, which would place them at the bottom of the shoe heap at my house. Still, inventive, don't you think?

Do you ever get the feeling that those who predict trends aren't actually seeing into the future as much as they are attempting to shape it? That is how I feel about this press release that excitedly exclaims that moms everywhere are rushing to dress their children like celebrities' kids. They aren't talking about the fashion influence of kids who are famous in their own right. No, they are referring to copying the children of famous people

Mosnar Communications insists that "parents view dressing their kids like celebrity kids as one of the hottest spring fashion trends of the season." In support of this, the press release quotes Cataunya Ransom, co-founder of the very same PR firm: "I am honored to have a very beautiful daughter and I love dressing her up in celebrity brands for kids."

For Ransom, the celebrity kids she copies are those of Kimora Lee Simmons, who apparently has a reality show in which her two daughters feature prominently. According to Ransom, her two-year-old daughter Charm is "drawn to the brand Baby Phat" which Simmons' daughters wear on the show. It just so happens that Baby Phat is Simmons' own line of children's clothing, but that is coincidental I am sure.

Buying expensive, brand-name clothing for your children is one thing. If you can afford it and it makes you happy, why not? But does this kind of trend hype really work? Do you now want to go out and buy your kid some pricey, celebrity parent-approved clothing?

Spring is definitely in the air and you know what all that birds and bees business leads to: a mailbox overflowing with baby shower invites, that's what!

I just stumbled across an Etsy store filled with amazing cuteness at bargain prices that will make yours the shower gift people oooh, ahhh, and possible skip their birth control over.

Mia Joie offers handmade cloth baby shoes in sizes from newborn up to six months old (which larger sizes and non-slip bottoms available on request) and there is NOTHING in the world cuter than a pair of twee little shoes, with the possible exception of a pair of twee little shoes with a matching baby barrette.

Mia Joie has thought of everything, many of the shoes are made of organic material and there are even itty bitty soft sandals for the little boys. So before you buy another boring receiving blanket off a gift registry, take a little peak at what Mia Joie has to offer the ten little piggies coming soon to a friend or relative near you!

So this is a little odd. Perhaps I feel that way because it never occurred to me, but have you heard of--or tried--perfume for babies?

Not only are there adult perfumes that make us smell like a baby--Demeter fragrance is one of many who carry such a scent--but now (and perhaps there always have been and I've just happened upon these) there are scents for babies too. Johnson and Johnson offers a Johnson's baby cologne, in a nice floral and citrus scent of all things.

Since it's for babies the cologne is mild, gentle and alcohol free. Maybe this seems like a good thing, but I have to ask--what about that baby smell? I love that smell! It's such a nice smell I don't know why anyone would change it.

Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

Today's celebrity rumor wins points for the details. Thanks to an 'an insider', we know not only that Jennifer Aniston is preparing a nursery for her soon-to-be-adopted child, we also know when the child will arrive (December) and his name (Alexander). Pretty impressive insider information, I'd say.

The source says that the adoption is being handled through a Los Angeles-based agency and that Jen has spent $300,000 preparing the perfect nursery in her Beverly Hills mansion. The nursery includes a nanny's suite, a playroom and two children's bedrooms. The extra room is for the daughter she plans to adopt next. "She thinks having a boy first would be best, so he can look out for his sister", the insider said.

Maybe it is just the way she's been portrayed in the press, but to me Jennifer Aniston always looks sad. Maybe some children in her life would put a smile back on her face.

A fourteen year old boy is suing both rapper 50 Cent and the Universal record label for promoting the "gangsta" lifestyle. James Rosemond, the teenager in question, alleges friends of the rapper (and mogul) assaulted him.

James and his mother, Cynthia Reed, contend that Universal is partly to blame for promoting a lifestyle of violence and criminality. James alleges that four men, including a member of 50 Cent's G-Unit hip hop group and various and sundry others who are all related to 50 in one way or another (through business), assaulted him in Manhattan in 2007.

The suit claims Rosemond was targeted for wearing clothing from a rival rapper's company. Rapper The Game used to be in G-Unit but had a falling out and left to pursue his own fame, including starting Czar Entertainment. Rosemond was wearing a Czar Entertainment T-shirt.

Can a room in your home be both chic and kid-friendly? According to Better Homes and Gardens, it can. I guess personal style can determine just how chic you think the ideas in the slide show provided are, but at least they're giving it a shot.

I am about to move into a new apartment. The last thing on my mind is making my new place chic. Even though I will own it and may paint the walls any which way I choose, I'm thinking more about childproofing than whether or not Italian leather will go over well in my livingroom.

The slides tend to focus on storage and keeping kid clutter organized. I think that is a truly noble concept, except that no one I know with kids has managed to keep all the kid stuff tidied up all (or any!) of the time. I did note in several slides a rounded coffee table, which meets some safety requirements by avoiding pointy corners while still looking pretty hip.

Perhaps there is room for a coffee table in my life after all.

So take a look at these slides and see if there are any new ideas in them for your own home.

Pic of coveted (by me) leather sofa by cloneofsnake.

Don't get between a kid and his blanket. Not unless you want the cops raining down on your day care center. Okay, not really. But, police did respond to an emergency call at the Willows Child Learning Center when a parent and a teacher got into an argument over whether or not a child could bring their favorite "BaBa" to school.

The school provides blankets for the kids so as to avoid passing germs around. The parent and teacher got into it, however, because the parent's kindergartener wanted their own favorite blanket, "BaBa". The teacher hit the alarm and when police called to see if the emergency was real, told to cops that "Yeah, I need help right now."

By the time officers arrived on scene, however, the parent was gone and had been asked not to return. The police asked the day care staff to save the alarm for real emergencies. The president of the center, however, stood behind his employees. "I don't apologize for my staff member hitting the alarm to get the police there," he said. "Did they follow exact procedure? No. They were scared. They were intimidated."

Living a greener lifestyle is a huge part of daily life in Southern California. I recently read a great article in one of my local parenting magazines about the importance of modeling eco-friendly behavior to your children. We all know that children learn by example, so here are some tips for growing green kids.

• Wash and reuse glass jars and plastic containers for leftover storage.
• Buy reusable grocery bags and start using them (many local stores offer them for sale; or use old tote bags or beach bags you have around the house; keep a few in different sizes in the car for easy access).
• If you are only buying one or two items at the grocery store, start requesting "no bag,
  please".
• Use plastic bags to line your trash cans at home, to store wet swim suits and muddy shoes in transit, or as your car litter bag.
• Teach your children to draw on both sides of art paper, or better yet, on the back of used printer paper.
• Save toilet paper and paper towel rolls as well as empty dry food packages for craft projects.
• Use empty yogurt cups for paint and glue.
• Skip purchasing cheap plastic squirt guns-empty plastic ketchup bottles, spray cleaner and water bottles are just as much fun on hot summer days.

Parenting Orange County has several more eco-friendly tips involving the home, eating and recreation. Check out the article here.

I have added a new organic boutique for babies and children to my "covet" folder, thanks to a tip from a good friend.

At Nat & Helens, the philosophy is simple. They strive to offer high quality, high style goods that everyone can feel good about. To that end, Nat & Helens only buys organic or sustainable products made in the United States or in fair trade factories around the world. Plus, to give back to the community, a portion of Nat & Helens' yearly profits go to charities supporting children and the environment.

Check out the many talented designers, including Blue Canoe, Clothing of American Mind, Sckoon, and North Star Toys.