How many times have you said "Santa is watching" this season? Ten? Twenty? Thirty ... million? Using the big guy in the red suit to keep kids in line is a parenting tradition as old as Kris Kringle's tongue and a little bit older than his teeth. But a mom who sent her daughter a threatening letter from Santa Claus may have taken the charade just a little bit too far.

The little girl's uncle posted Santa's Mom's letter to Reddit this week with the headline, "My sister just dropped a nuke in the war to get her kid to behave."

More From The Stir: 15 Unintentionally Hilarious Letters From Kids to Santa

He's only exaggerating a little. Just get a load of this letter to little Lydia:

[code][/code]

Cameras in the house? And here you thought that nosy elf was creepy? Geez Louise!

Is Lydia's mom trying to make the kid behave or turn her into a paranoid conspiracy theorist who can't sit down to pee without checking the bathroom for bugs?

The temptation to use Santa as a discipline tool is strong, and we've all done it a time or two. But at some point, every parent must recognize two things. First, parents need to look beyond Christmas. Many comments on the Reddit thread noted that Lydia's sister is sure to get smacked come Christmas Day. They were joking, but they're likely not far off the mark. Making your kid behave only for Santa doesn't actually solve behavior problems. It may give you a respite, but once the threat of not getting presents is lifted, the back-talking and hitting are sure to return because you never got to the root of the problem. 

More From The Stir: I Had Santa Tell My Daughter She Was on His 'Naughty List' & Boy Do I Regret It

Second -- and just as important -- parents need to remember that Santa is supposed to be about fun and fancy. He's supposed to be a piece of the magic of childhood, a magic that kids lose all too soon. Using this benevolent creature to threaten kids saps the good from him, leaving your children confused and scared.

With all that in mind, tell us ... would you leave a note like this?

Image via Imgur

What's scarier than your teenager getting their driver's license? How about a zombie attack? Hey, that got your attention! And if you're lucky, the undead may just save your kid's life. At least that's what The Walking Dead star Michael Rooker is counting on.

The actor better known as Merle Dixon on the popular AMC show has partnered with the Illinois Department of Transportation for a series of seat belt PSAs unlike any you've ever seen before. Forget preachy after-school special type lectures. The web series, dubbed The Driving Dead, is a zombie-filled post-apocalyptic adventure, with terrifying joy rides to boot.

Check it out (beware these are directed at kids 18 and up, so there is violence ... send the little ones out of the room ... but call the teenagers over):

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

And the second installment:

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

Considering teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use (compared to other age groups), it can NEVER hurt to hammer home the message that you need to buckle up. And don't just save it for the drivers -- even the kids who are riding in cars without you need to hear this one. According to CDC statistics, a survey in 2013 revealed that only 55 percent of high school students always wear seat belts when riding with someone else.

Of course it would be nice if they listened to us, their parents, but we'll take the backup where we can get it.

How have you convinced your teenagers to wear their seat belts?

Image via The Driving Dead

Babies are big business when you're a big star: the money celebrity moms can rake in on those first baby photos can be huge. But it doesn't look like Tamera Mowry-Housley is willing to wait for baby to get here to start cashing in. The twin sister of Tia Mowry just announced her second pregnancy in the oddest way we've seen yet.

Mowry-Housley, who is married to Fox News correspondent Adam Housley, allowed a company to turn her pregnancy reveal into an ad!

Get a load of this:

[code]

#ClearblueConfirmed with Baby #2!! Love @Clearblue’s pregnancy test that counted down with me until the result! #sponpic.twitter.com/AiiAc4N14T

— Tamera Mowry-Housley (@TameraMowryTwo) January 5, 2015

Note that #spon hashtag? Apparently Mowry-Housley's folks put in a call to Clear Blue not just to get some pee sticks, but to convince them they should sponsor her pregnancy reveal. Ah, celebrities ... they really are nothing like us.

More From The Stir: 15 Fabulous Pregnancy Announcement Ideas (PHOTOS)

Then again ... companies are paying moms to name their babies these days, and we could all use a little extra dough when a baby's on the way. With a major trend in one-upping your friends with the creativity put into pregnancy announcements designed to go viral, maybe sponsorships are the wave of the future.

Just remember to thank Tamera Mowry-Housley for giving you the idea.

What do you think of cashing in on your pregnancy like this? Smart or trashy?

Image via Tamera Mowry-Housley/Twitter

If there’s one movie that kids of all ages just can’t seem to let go, it’s Frozen. The epic tale of two sisters in snowy Arendelle blasted its arctic chill into the box office in 2013, and it’s been hot, hot, hot ever since. Think you know all there is to know about Anna, Elsa, and everyone's favorite snowman? Take our quiz to find out if you’re a master of Frozen facts.  

If there’s one movie that kids of all ages just can’t seem to let go, it’s Frozen. The epic tale of two sisters in snowy Arendelle blasted its arctic chill into the box office in 2013, and it’s been hot, hot, hot ever since. Think you know all there is to know about Anna, Elsa, and everyone's favorite snowman? Take our quiz to find out if you’re a master of Frozen facts.  

When Nicole Kidman landed a role as deranged taxidermist Millicent Clyde in the new Paddington movie -- based on the popular children's books by Michael Bond -- her youngest daughters were heartbroken. Sunday and Faith Urban expected their famous mom to play a good guy. And no wonder -- at home, Kidman is anything but the bad guy.

When The Stir caught up with the mother of four to talk parenting and talking bears from Darkest Peru, Kidman dished on the role that bummed out her daughters, who does the discipline in her house (hint, it's not her), and why husband Keith Urban has a big problem with princesses.

On "mortifying" her kids:
At first, they were mortified that I wasn't playing the bear's mommy. But then they came on the set and they saw all of the kind of behind the scenes and all of that, and they kind of fell in love with the whole thing. So now they've sort of embraced it.

But I also think, because the movie is so fun and it's done with kind of a sense of humor and [is] a bit tongue in cheek, that helped it, because there is nothing really terrifying in the movie. So it's more sort of sweetly menacing in a way.

They giggled through the whole thing. That was just the highlight for me -- that I saw the film a number of times now, and the kids' laughter and what they laugh at is just so cool.

On how she's changed as a mom over the years:
I think, because I've raised four kids now, I've been probably every type of mom. I've run the gamut. So with Sunday I did attachment. With Faith it was much more about trying to just let her have much more of her space, because with Sunday we were very, very linked, and then trying to get her to pull away from me was difficult.

But I think in terms of my style of parenting, I tend to err on the side of, if there's ever a choice, I'm always like, well, I'd rather be softer with her instead of the disciplinarian. Keith's probably more the disciplinarian.

I just think these days it's so difficult knowing which style or which kind of way to parent. And lot of it is intuitive.

More From The Stir: Brooke Shields on Being the Kind of Mom She Wished She Had Growing Up

But so much of it is, I think, just respect for them and for what they're going through and feeling, but still [having] boundaries, and I think you can see children that are loved. Good love is what I call it. And good love just makes sense, you know? It's kind of logical. It's like what do I do here? Well, I choose to love. What would be the most loving thing to do here? And that isn't necessarily [giving in], because that may not be the most loving thing. But I always try to choose what's the most loving thing.

On being a lucky mom:
Keith and I are very lucky because we do have two lovely people. I mean, I just love who they are. Both of our girls are so nice, and so are my older children. They're just very nice people, which is a great thing to be able to say about your child. I like you. "I love you but I like you" is always a good thing, right?

On being a boring "normal" family:
On a typical night, we always have dinner as a family. We eat very early, 5:30, and then we just hang out. Sometimes we watch reruns of The Brady Bunch. Sometimes we play games. We just kind of have a pretty normal, easy life together. But we're very tight. There's the four of us, and we're very close.

On the challenge of raising daughters:
I think keeping them little girls because there's so much in the world that sort of is already pushing them toward being older than they are.

And I'm still really trying to keep them as that kind of slightly innocent little girl because it's a fast moving world now, and there's so much that pushes them to be older than they really are.

On Keith's princess problem:
My husband's really interesting, because he doesn't like all the princess books and stuff.

Well, he's fine if they have the right morals, but he doesn't like things that teach kids to be demanding and spoiled. And he says a lot of those books have that kind of strange thing where it's like, "I'm a princess, I deserve this." And he's always like, "No, no, I don't really like that. I want them to be grateful and be humble." So it's that combination of humility with self-respect.

On whether she'd pick up a strange bear in a train station for her kids:
I would be like Sally's [Hawkins] character and be saying, "Can we take him home?" And Keith [Urban] would probably say, "Okay." I don't think he'd fight me as much as Hugh [Bonneville] does, because, you know, when Sunny, Faith, and I go, "We really, really want this" -- except right now we really want a puppy, all three of us, and Keith's like, "No, we're not getting a puppy."

We travel too much. We are not allowed to have a puppy until we're more settled. But he's a dog person. He's had dogs his whole life. So he's like, "No, until we are actually at home and at home for a long period of time and going to be in one spot for well over a year, we're not getting a puppy." And he will not budge on that right now.

What is your favorite Nicole Kidman role?

Paddington opens theaters on January 16. The film is rated PG. 

Images via The Weinstein Company

Any book lover knows the angst of seeing one of your favorite tales turned into a film. Any parent knows that anxiety doubles when it's a well-loved children's classic remade for the big screen. For fans of Paddington, Michael Bond's accident-prone but exceedingly polite bear from Darkest Peru, the question of the weekend is whether the marmalade-loving creature's venture into theaters is worth a trip with the kids.

The answer is a resounding yes.

In clear evidence of how far CGI animation has come, the computer created bear -- voiced by Ben Wishaw -- is every bit as cuddly as readers would expect. And those unfamiliar with the British children's books need not fear being confused as the storyline begins before Paddington is even born.

More From The Stir: 25 Top Chapter Books to Read With Your Child at Bedtime

Opening in Darkest Peru with the visit of an English explorer rescued by two bears -- later identified as Paddington's Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo -- the film attempts to explain why this bear talks, wears clothes, and is so darned polite. After a disaster befalls the family (parents of younger and more sensitive kids will take comfort in knowing this scene -- while scary -- is over almost before it begins), Aunt Lucy moves on to the Home for Retired Bears and her nephew stows away on a trip to England where he will, of course, end up in Paddington Station and meet the Browns who share his many adventures in the book.

Nicole Kidman is deliciously evil as a villian in spikey heels and Sally Hawkins perfectly portrays just the sort of mom you'd expect to take a chance on inviting a strange bear in a train station back to the home she shares with her children, but the film enjoys a clean 1950s sensibility due to the filmmakers' loyalty to Bond's sweet hero who saves his dark stares for those who are impolite.

More From The Stir: Nicole Kidman Reveals Her New Role 'Mortifies' Her Daughters

While largely lacking the fart jokes and much of the innuendo pumped into today's classic kiddie fare to keep the parents engaged, the Brown family's ups and downs are so relatable that adults can't help but follow along. And they're sure to leave the theater reminding their kids that while Paddington's mistakes are many (many, many), he always puts them right ... or tries to, anyway.

When I asked my 9-year-old daughter and mini film critic for her favorite scene in the film, she was very clear, "Every one with Paddington in it." There it is ...

Paddington opens everywhere on January 16. The film is rated PG.

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

Who is your child's favorite book character? Have they been put in a film yet?

Image via The Weinstein Company

No matter the weather forecast, inside American homes it seems like it's always Frozen these days. Anna, Elsa, Olaf, and the rest of the gang have taken up residence in the hearts and minds of our kids ... and the adults aren't exactly letting go of this Disney flick either. Ever wondered where you'd fit in with the crew in Arendelle? Take our quiz to find out.

No matter the weather forecast, inside American homes it seems like it's always Frozen these days. Anna, Elsa, Olaf, and the rest of the gang have taken up residence in the hearts and minds of our kids ... and the adults aren't exactly letting go of this Disney flick either. Ever wondered where you'd fit in with the crew in Arendelle? Take our quiz to find out.

From red rooms of pain to red carpets, Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson has been on fire of late. And it looks like Anastasia Steele went with her lucky color for this year's Oscars. With her mom, Melanie Griffith, on her arm, Johnson absolutely tore up the 87th Annual Academy Awards red carpet in a tight-fitting Yves Saint Laurent gown with a slit straight up her thigh.

Check her out!

And the front:

HOT!

And her Mom may be the cutest accessory of the evening. Although we got a little taste of what it's like to be the star in the sexiest movie in the world and have to face your family  when Lara Spencer asked if Griffith has seen the film. Turns out she hasn't ... even though Dakota jumped in to say she's just fine with her Mom watching.

More From The Stir: Quiz: What's Your '50 Shades of Grey' Movie-Viewing Style?

Said Griffith, "I don't want to say I'm so proud, I've said it so many times it seems like it's not enough. I am ... so proud!"

But when Lara asked if she'd seen the flick, Griffith got a bit uncomfortable:

"I don't think I can. I think it would be strange ... She's a really good actress. I don't need to see that to know how good she is."

Er, the extra shade of red in here? Mom's face!

Dakota was dishing up Fifty Shades secrets to Ryan Seacrest too -- turns out girlfriend stole a flogger from the set! Could make for an interesting after party, no?

More From The Stir: Quiz: Test Your '50 Shades of Grey' Knowledge

But that will have to wait ... Dakota's presenting for her first time at the Oscars since attending with her famous mom and stepfather Antonio Banderas when she was just a kid (and apparently fell asleep!).

What do you think of Dakota's red carpet appearance?

Images via ABC/Rick Rowell

Bed sharing. Co-Sleeping. The family bed. It goes by many names, but it all comes down to one thing: cuddling with your sweet ones at night. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns parents not to place their infants to sleep in adult beds due to suffocation hazard and other risks, but still moms are doing it. Whether it's because Mom's still breastfeeding or your pre-schooler has night terrors, there are myriad reasons why parents bring baby (and big kids) to bed. But how much do you really know about co-sleeping safely? Take the quiz to find out if you're following best practices at bedtime.

Bed sharing. Co-Sleeping. The family bed. It goes by many names, but it all comes down to one thing: cuddling with your sweet ones at night. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns parents not to place their infants to sleep in adult beds due to suffocation hazard and other risks, but still moms are doing it. Whether it's because Mom's still breastfeeding or your pre-schooler has night terrors, there are myriad reasons why parents bring baby (and big kids) to bed. But how much do you really know about co-sleeping safely? Take the quiz to find out if you're following best practices at bedtime.

It may have been created with kids in mind, but My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has become a cult classic, spawning its own conventions and a following of adult fans who refer to themselves as the Bronies. These days teenagers are just as likely as their toddler siblings to spend an afternoon watching a violet unicorn named Twilight Sparkle and her dragon buddy, Spike, prance around a place named Canterlot on Discovery Family (formerly The Hub). Think you've figured out why their hooked on My Little Pony? Take the quiz to find out how much you really know about MLP.

It may have been created with kids in mind, but My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has become a cult classic, spawning its own conventions and a following of adult fans who refer to themselves as the Bronies. These days teenagers are just as likely as their toddler siblings to spend an afternoon watching a violet unicorn named Twilight Sparkle and her dragon buddy, Spike, prance around a place named Canterlot on Discovery Family (formerly The Hub). Think you've figured out why their hooked on My Little Pony? Take the quiz to find out how much you really know about MLP.

Living in a house with both pets and kids is not for the faint of heart. Between Cheerios scattered across the kitchen floor and all that HAIR, you could spend all your time cleaning. And then there's the time spent wresting your kiddo's beloved toys from the clutches of the cat ... or the dog. But can you really blame Fido or Felix when kid toys and pet toys look so much alike? Between the bright colors, the "no small parts or they'll choke" rules, and the push to make both our kids and our pets smarter with "educational" toys, sometimes it's hard to tell the two apart ... even as grown-ups. Think you could tell the kid toys from the pet playthings? Take the quiz to see how well you do!

Living in a house with both pets and kids is not for the faint of heart. Between Cheerios scattered across the kitchen floor and all that HAIR, you could spend all your time cleaning. And then there's the time spent wresting your kiddo's beloved toys from the clutches of the cat ... or the dog. But can you really blame Fido or Felix when kid toys and pet toys look so much alike? Between the bright colors, the "no small parts or they'll choke" rules, and the push to make both our kids and our pets smarter with "educational" toys, sometimes it's hard to tell the two apart ... even as grown-ups. Think you could tell the kid toys from the pet playthings? Take the quiz to see how well you do!

Like most married American women, I rolled my eyes wildly when Eva Mendes recently opened her mouth and inserted her foot, blaming sweatpants for who knows how many divorces in America. If my husband leaves me over what I choose to put on my legs in the morning, he's not the man I thought I married in an off-the-rack on sale after Labor Day $9 white dress more than 14 years ago. I don't worry about my sweatpants ending our wedded bliss. I do, however, worry about the message they send to our daughter.

After all, on a recent Friday night, when she stood in our bathroom and announced, "I'm dressed just like a businesswoman!" I winced as I looked down at the same pair of purple sweats I'd been wearing since Tuesday. The "y" in Old Navy had been hanging by a thread for months, the hoodie had traces of flour from the mac and cheese I'd made Wednesday night.

In her dress with an owl on the chest, sweater tights and Mary Janes she looked not like a businesswoman but like the 9-year-old headed to her first dance that she was. Beside her I looked like a bag lady.

More From The Stir: My Mom Clothes Are So Bad My 7-Year-Old Is Embarrassed by Me

"A businesswoman?" I protested? "I'm a businesswoman!" 

In fact, I'm one of a growing number of Americans who works not in an office but from the comfort of one's own home. My job is full-time, with benefits, and in five years with my company, I've climbed the ladder to a job I've wanted for years: editor. Although lucky enough to be home already when my daughter's school lets out early due to inclement weather or run out for 10 minutes to grab her from her after-school dance class, mine is not a job fit in between bouts of brownie baking and laundry folding. I field -- and answer -- hundreds of emails a day. Lunch -- if eaten at all -- is done so at my desk, crumbs falling on my laptop. And often when it's time for dinner, I'm still huddled over the keyboard while my husband is throwing something into the oven.

I do it all in my sweatpants, save for the rare day when a Skype meeting is planned, when I moan and groan about the necessity of showering before I sign online, the need to wear something other than my favorite hoodie for the whopping 20 minutes it will take to chat with my co-workers on video.

But my daughter doesn't see it that way. I've worked this way since she was 4, while the other adults she knows work -- and dress -- differently. Her father dons collared shirts and dress pants every day to trek into an office building. Her teachers wear dresses, high heels. Even her bus driver has the wherewithal to throw on a pair of jeans in the morning.

"I don't mean you," she answered my protestations. "I mean a woman who works in business, someone who goes to an office! They wear 'real' clothes. You wear sweatpants!"

Businesswomen, she continued, wear dresses and fancy shoes and bracelets (she held her arm, with its rainbow loomed bangles on it, high above her head to prove that point). The unsaid, but very clear implications were that businesswomen are important people, and that important people make an effort ... with bracelets.

I have a bracelet that my husband bought me, to which he adds charms on important occasions. I wear it occasionally. Never to work -- it would get in the way of my typing.

This is much the attitude I hear from other moms -- be they work-at-home or stay-at-home mothers. We could dress up, but it's easier not to. The work we are doing -- and yes, stay-at-home moms are certainly working -- is ill-suited to donning a pant suit and heels. We don't dress up not because we have little respect for ourselves, but because it's not terribly comfortable ... and more than a little illogical.

Sure, I could sit in my dining room in a dress. But then I'd have to pay to dry clean said dress after a day of getting up 15 times to let the dog out to pee, sweating like a normal human being, and standing up 30-odd times to get more comfortable in an outfit not made for extended sitting in front of a computer. 

More From The Stir: I Let My Daughter Dress Herself for a Week & The Results Were, Well ... (PHOTOS)

A stay-at-home mom could throw on dress pants and a silk blouse. But then she'd have to pay to dry clean said items to remove the baby puke, and, well, you get the idea.

This all makes sense in my head and in the heads of the countless women (and men) who cried out at the outrageousness of Mendes' 1950s sentiment last week. But explaining it to a 9-year-old is far harder.

Kids don't understand nuance or necessity. They don't calculate costs vs. rewards. They go by what they see.

They see women who "make an effort" as successful.They work. They bring home paychecks. They affect change in the world.

They see women who sit at home in their sweatpants as "just Mom." They see those of us who toil in obscurity in much the way the rest of society does: as sidebars, after-thoughts.

And it's hard to argue with them when we, their mothers, tell them not to dress like slobs, demand "nice" outfits for family portraits and other important events, berate them for ruining their "school clothes," and dictate which outfits should only be used for "play" (read: sweatpants and similar attire). I admit I've even banned my daughter from wearing sweatpants outside of the house -- with the exception of dance class or soccer practice -- because I was raised to see them as slightly slobbish.

Like it or not, clothing does dictate how people are judged in our society. In one survey, two-thirds of women said they felt pressured to dress a certain way to get noticed at work ... and more than half of women admitted they judged others on how they dressed at work.

More From The Stir: Why I'll Stop Arguing With My Daughter About Her Need to Be Pretty

Therein lies the struggle: how to teach our kids when clothing matters ... and when it doesn't.

Because clothes may make the man, as they say, but they only tell half the story.

Because being a mom who chooses to be practical should be something we should be proud to teach our kids ... not something that fills us with shame.

What do you wear day after day? What do your kids think of it?

Image via © iStock.com/1Raymond

It's never easy for a child to tell their parents a big secret. And when you're a gay kid coming out to your parents, you never know just what the response will be: loving acceptance, indifference ... or something not so kind. But one mom's reaction to her child's big news is winning her major attention -- and big laughs -- as a video of her re-enacting her daughter's big announcement goes viral.

It seems Bri Johnson's mom always knew her daughter was gay ... and she'd been (im)patiently waiting for the day when they'd finally get to talk about it:

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

Thank you Mom! If you only more parents could be this open ... and loving! According to a caption from Bri, who originally posted the video on Instagram, the mom in question is a minister. But as her daughter said, "religion shouldn't involve hate."

More From The Stir: Dad's Loving Note Spares Gay Teenager the Heartache of Coming Out

Amen to that! There are quite a few parents out there who could learn a thing or two from Bri's mom. 

What would you have done if you were Bri's mom?

Image via Brosiedon Johnson/YouTube

From the reports we've had about autism rates skyrocketing in recent years, some have used the word "epidemic" to describe the number of kids being diagnosed with the spectrum disorder. Not a bad use of the word when you consider we've gone from 1 in 150 kids on the spectrum back in 2002 to 1 in 68 today (according to the CDC). But could it be that autism rates aren't climbing at all ... that the same number of kids have autism, but more are being diagnosed? That's what researchers at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden are saying now.

In a study published in the British Medical Journal, the scientists are now claiming that autism rates aren't rising at all but that better autism awareness is helping get kids diagnosed. And this is no flash in the pan study. The conclusions were drawn after the researchers looked at nearly 20,000 twins whose families were asked about their symptoms plus the diagnostic records for more than a million children born between 1993 and 2002.

More From The Stir: Autism From A to Z: Everything a Mom Needs to Know

By reviewing symptoms, they say they found that the incidence of autism has been "fairly steady for decades," even as Swedish rates increased. What's more, the researchers say there's no reason their findings don't translate to the diagnoses of autism in other developed nations -- including the United States.

So is this good news for moms? That all depends on how you look at it. Sure, this would indicate there is no sudden autism epidemic, but it still does not explain what's causing 1 in 68 kids to land on the spectrum in the first place.

What do you think is causing the spike in autism rates?

Image via © iStock.com/ktaylorg

Congratulations, you're pregnant! You could wait for your ultrasound to find out the gender ... or you could turn to the Old Wives. Here are some tried-and-true signs you're expecting a boy.

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

Image via © ArtisticCaptures/iStock

If you have a hunch you're carrying a girl, you may not need a medical procedure to tell you you're right. Plenty of moms swear the old wives' tales about being pregnant with a girl are absolutely right on track. Check out these signs and see if you're having a girl:

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

 Image via © RuthBlack/iStock

There's nothing like choosing a baby name to send a mom-to-be's (and her partner's) stress level sky-high. But help is on the way! Introducing the Baby Name Game, whereby two parents settle on one baby name in just about 5 minutes:

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

Image via © KatarzynaBialasiewicz/iStock

You don't have to be a mom to use Pinterest. But let's face it, if you have kids, chances are you've been victim to pinsanity: That agonizing moment when you've asked a mom where she got that [insert over-the-top masterpiece here] only for her to respond, "Oh, I didn't buy it. I found the idea on Pinterest, and I made it!" Cue the tears from the mom who can't imagine finding the time -- or the dexterity -- to draw a straight line ... forget turning out 26 perfectly proportioned pirate hats, for a 2-year-old's p-arrr-ty.

Unless ... you're that mom? The perfect Pinterest-er? Take the quiz to see just how much much you've let Pinterest take over your family.

You don't have to be a mom to use Pinterest. But let's face it, if you have kids, chances are you've been victim to pinsanity: That agonizing moment when you've asked a mom where she got that [insert over-the-top masterpiece here] only for her to respond, "Oh, I didn't buy it. I found the idea on Pinterest, and I made it!" Cue the tears from the mom who can't imagine finding the time -- or the dexterity -- to draw a straight line ... forget turning out 26 perfectly proportioned pirate hats, for a 2-year-old's p-arrr-ty.

Unless ... you're that mom? The perfect Pinterest-er? Take the quiz to see just how much much you've let Pinterest take over your family.

It's been called the most influential book in the world. Not bad for a children's book published just two decades ago. We're talking, of course, about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first of the seven magical adventures of a boy wizard with a funny scar on his forehead and a band of faithful friends. Think you know everything there is to know about J.K. Rowling's first book? Take the quiz to see how you'd fare at Hogwarts.

It's been called the most influential book in the world. Not bad for a children's book published just two decades ago. We're talking, of course, about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first of the seven magical adventures of a boy wizard with a funny scar on his forehead and a band of faithful friends. Think you know everything there is to know about J.K. Rowling's first book? Take the quiz to see how you'd fare at Hogwarts.

If your baby sucks her thumb, you've probably heard the warnings: Thumb sucking will ruin their teeth! Been trying to wrench that little digit out of baby's mouth ever since but struggling? You're not alone. As much as 46 percent of "typically developing" kids under 4 suck their thumbs. And yes, it can damage their teeth. But you can stop pulling that thumb from baby's mouth right now -- and don't bother grabbing a pacifier, because we've gotten some good news from a pediatric dentist.

"Both thumb sucking and pacifier use can shift the teeth unfavorably, creating a bite discrepancy," Dr. David Zirlin, pediatric dentist at White Plains Pediatric Dentistry, tells CafeMom. "The most common dental movement is the upper front teeth (central incisors) move forward and upward, creating an anterior openbite."

Sucking your thumb can also cause maxillary constriction or crowded, crooked teeth, and what's known as a posterior crossbite or misalignment of your dental arches.

But! Zirlin tells parents the "damage" thumb sucking does to your kiddo's teeth is usually not long-term.

"Dental effects directly correlate with frequency, intensity, and duration of the habit," he explains.

If a baby is sucking his or her thumb, it's likely no big deal. What Dr. Zirlin calls "adverse dental effects" typically don't happen until after 24 months of thumb sucking, and they're more significant after 48 months.

Even then, he says, "Many of the effects are reversible and unlikely to cause long-term problems if the habit is discontinued before eruption of the adult teeth."

Considering one survey found only 12 percent of adults still suck their thumbs, chances are your child is going to be just fine!

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