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The Latest Royal Baby Has Arrived

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Just when you were getting worried about a dearth of royal baby news (at least for a while), Zara Tindall — daughter of Princess Anne and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth — and her husband have welcomed a second child (their second daughter). The happy news was confirmed by Buckingham Palace, which released a sweetly stuffy statement about the birth.

“Mrs Michael Tindall was safely delivered of a baby girl on 18th June, at Stroud Maternity Unit. Mr Tindall was present at the birth. The weight of the baby was 9lbs 3oz,” the statement read. 

“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, Captain Mark Phillips and Mike’s parents, Mr Philip and Mrs Linda Tindall, have been informed and are delighted with the news. The baby’s name will be confirmed in due course.

“This baby is the second child for Zara and Mike, the fourth grandchild for The Princess Royal and the seventh great-grandchild for The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.”

MoreThere's Another Royal Baby on the Way — Guess Who

Town & Country reports that the Tindalls married in 2011 and have one other child, Mia, now 4.

They have been married since 2011, and this is their second child. No titles for this wee one (as father Mike has no title), but she does earn a spot in the very long line to the British throne — 19th place, to be exact. Princess Margaret's children (and all following them) have now been nudged even further down the line. Sorry, lambs.

The baby's arrival is especially wonderful news for the Tindalls, as Zara Tindall suffered a miscarriage in December 2016. The couple's elder daughter, Mia, has been a gift to the grieving pair according to Mike Tindall, a former pro rugby player. He told The Sunday Times in 2017, "The saving grace for us has been Mia... However down we feel, she will come running up in our faces." He continued, "I can take her swimming and I can take her to Ninja Tots. You’ll never be able to see her there because she disappears in a puff of smoke.”

You may have spotted Mia in a recent official photo shoot with the queen. During the shoot Mia proudly — and adorably — toted her great-grandmother's purse. And you may have noticed Zara Tindall's priceless expression at the nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) — or heard about it on Twitter.


More: Meghan Markle's Father Doesn't Think There's a "Stork in the Air" — Yet

Congrats to the Tindalls — and thanks to them for assuaging our rabid royal baby demands. For a while, at least.


Orlando Bloom Admits He Had a Crush on Another Star Before Dating Katy Perry

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James Corden has taken his Late Late Show back to his hometown of London, and on Monday's episode, we learned a sweet little factoid straight from the mouth of one of Corden's guests, Orlando Bloom. During Corden's chat with Bloom, the hunky Brit let slip that he had a huge celebrity crush on someone from his Lord of the Rings days, and no, it wasn't Katy Perry. 

During the episode, both Bloom and his former LOTR costar, Cate Blanchett, were guests, so when Corden brought up the LOTR connection, asking Bloom about his first impression of Blanchett, he admitted to having major feelings for her during filming. 

Bloom waffled for just a moment before answering Corden’s question about what he thought of Blanchett. Then he looked at his costar and unburdened his heart. "I can’t think — I had such a crush. I had the biggest crush on you. Well, Legolas has a crush and then I had the biggest crush on you.”

More: Orlando Bloom Wants to Play Cinderella, & We Need to Make This Happen

Blanchett gracefully picked up on his qualification, holding his hand while saying, “Oh, it was your character." Bloom replied in earnest, “No, it was me.” 

Blanchett was clearly surprised and a little flattered at the revelation as she flipped her hair and acknowledged that she had no idea. Work it, girl! For her part, she might have broken Bloom’s heart when she admitted that she didn’t know who Bloom was on set. With his blond wig and blue contacts he donned to play Legolas, he didn’t look anything like the “really cute guy out of drama school” that she saw at the cast parties. Bloom joked that at those moments he was just “walking around spying on her from the corner of the room.”


“In a non-creepy way,” Blanchett interjected, so maybe she did notice him a little after all?

The whole thing was the kind of cute confession that can only come when enough time has passed. Like telling your high school crush that you were really into them during the reunion. It’s a great moment when you can revel in the idea that all those butterfly days have gone by and enjoy the peaceful adult status of your relationship now.

The could-have-been couple shared the couch to discuss their latest projects. Blanchett is starring in Oceans 8, while Bloom is taking a turn on the stage, performing in a West End revival of the play Killer Joe.

More: Has Anyone Asked Orlando Bloom How He Feels About Katy Perry's Baby Fever

Even though there was a crushworthy celeb in Bloom's life before Katy Perry, she has nothing to worry about; Blanchett has been married for more than 20 years to screenwriter Andrew Upton. Nothing but a sweet moment between good old friends.

6 Questions With Busy Philipps About Motherhood, Friendships & Finding Self-Love

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Full disclosure: We love Busy Philipps. When she's not sharing the most relatable moments in her day on Instagram, she's popping up in films and TV shows like I Feel Pretty or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and brightening our days the only way she knows how: through a good laugh. As a working mom of two daughters who's been building a thriving career as an actor since the late '90s, Philipps has and always will continue to inspire us. Her hustle is legendary, her positive outlook on life is infectious, and we can't get enough.

More: The Real Reason Jodie Foster Took a Break From Acting

So, when we got to the chance to chat with her recently, Philipps didn't hold back when discussing how she maintains friendships that have lasted decades or how she raises two daughters at this touch-and-go moment in time. But ever the source of inspiration, Philipps was able to put such an enlightened, positive spin on it that it was hard not to come away from the conversation feel comforted and emboldened by her words.

SheKnows: You and Michelle Williams are still friends after all these years, and you have gone through so many life experiences together. What areas of life do you two still connect over or help each other out with?

Busy Philipps: It's interesting to me when I get these questions because I really question what other people's female friendships are like. I'm like, "Do they not have them? Like, why is mine so unusual that I've been able to maintain that for so many years?" I mean, I just feel like we connect over all things. We're both mothers. We have both girls. We both are working parents. We're both women. We're just at a similar age and time and life experience, and we're best friends. So that's a kind of thing that we connect over. We like the same books, the same music and we're, like, probably like most people and their friends, you know?

SK: Considering the pace of your life due to your work, how do you prioritize your friendships? How do you make time or show your friends that you're still connected with them?

BP: I think you have to try and make it a priority to show up and keep in contact. I think that at times I've been more successful with some of my friends than at other times. Life does happen, and you have to count on your friends being able to understand that, to go through these phases. 

One of the things that's important is to be able to sit with your friends when they go through one of those times where they're not able to be as communicative with you as you want them to be. I had this therapist many years ago who said, "I just want to remind you of something. Almost — almost — nothing is personal. Almost everything is about that own person's experience." And so once you descend the knee in a friendship is like the distance is personal or if it's just a product of their life being hectic and it has really nothing to do with you, then you have to be able to be willing to sit through that period of time and then be there still at the other end of it. 

It's not just my friends who are in television and film and the film industry; it's all of my friends. I'm still in touch with friends from high school and college and stuff. We go through varying levels of involvement in one another's lives, but you just have to understand that's just the way that long-term relationships go. So if there are periods of time where I'm able to make more of an effort or there are periods of time where my friends are able to make more of an effort, you just have to hope that that can sustain your relationships, because I think there is something really beautiful about having friendships that last, you know, 20, 30, maybe even 40 years.

SK: We're curious to know, in regards to your daughters, what lessons or moral ideals do you find most important to pass along to them right now?

BP:  I think that given the events of the last year and with the #MeToo movement, I'm really encouraged by the change that has begun, and I hope it continues. I think that they're going to benefit from being raised in a time where, hopefully, they won't have to deal with some of the things that, you know, my generation (or, obviously, older generations) have dealt with. 

Also, I guess this might get heavy or whatever, but also, I mean in terms of consent, [I'm discussing] what that means [with Birdie, 9 and Cricket, 4]. And I am hopeful that, like, my friends who are raising boys are also working toward raising different kinds of men. I mean, in a way, weirdly, my husband [writer and producer Marc Silverstein] and I talk about how I'm not saying we have the easier job, but we definitely have a more clearly defined job right now in terms of raising young girls who are going to become awesome women. I think that the road becomes a little bit trickier to navigate when we see some of our friends who are raising boys. It's hard. It's hard, and I think that it has to be a conversation that everyone is a part of.

SK: Have the girls gotten inquisitive at all about any specific kind of issues, like #MeToo?

BP: No, no, no, not Cricket yet.  But Birdie is very aware, but no, she doesn't [ask about anything specific either]. She doesn't know what [#MeToo] is. She's only in third grade. So now, I mean, not particularly that. 

She was very curious about Donald Trump and when [the 2016 election] was going on that was something that was on her radar, I think because it was sort of everywhere. You couldn't escape it or what it meant for the first female nominee of the [Democratic] party and what that would've meant, so that there were questions about that. That was very difficult to navigate, but like everything, you do it. You have those conversations. And, like, the schools are helpful. They help you figure it out and websites are helpful.

SK: You are so candid on social media; you really let the world in. Are there certain topics or kinds of posts that are a no-go? Where do you draw the line?

BP: I would say that a lot of it for me is intuitive, and if something doesn't feel quite right, I wouldn't post it. If I've ever had a question about something, I probably won't post it. It's literally the same rules that they give the kids in elementary school about the internet — I just feel like adults need to follow them as well, and they frequently do not. 

There have been times where I've wanted to be snarky about something in pop culture, but I work in this industry, and I have a lot of friends, and I often think, like, "Is it worth me being snarky about something that could possibly get back to someone I know and, like, and hurt their feelings?" And the answer is always, "No, I don't want to hurt people's feelings." So I keep whatever hot take that I've got to myself because why am I going to throw some shade? Like, what's the point? Just for a laugh that's going to last two-and-a-half seconds but could end up really hurting someone's feelings? And that lasts way longer. I feel like a lot of people could benefit from just reading what we're supposed to be telling our children about posting online and just really take that to heart. 

It's like, even as a comedian, somebody that works in comedy, it's just so rarely worth the hurt that it can cause another person [when you] take a cheap shot. You know what I mean? It would not be fulfilling to me. I don't want to make someone feel bad. That's not why we're on this Earth, I don't think. So that's what I try to follow. 

SK: Was there a time recently that another woman has shown up to support you, and how did that support come about? 

BP: When my late-night talk show was announced, I got a lot of emails and texts from people reaching out online, both publicly and privately too. To me, the private reach-outs count just as much as the public reach-outs. So, I know to some people they would prefer it to be public, but you know, I really was sort of floored by the response and certainly by some people in this industry who, you know, I, I didn't know. You just never know how people are going to react. I had people reach out and, surprisingly, not a lot of men; not a lot of men that I've worked with reached out. There were only a couple [of men who] reached out. Kevin Biegel, who was one of the creators of Cougar Town, reached out. 

But a lot of women reached out and were like, "Good for you, girl. We're so happy for you and this is so exciting." And, I mean, that really means a lot. I try to show support for all of my friends, no matter what. Like, even if it's something I feel like, "Oh, I wish I had been a part of that" or there's a part of me that feels a little envious that I wasn't a part of it. I still want to show support publicly and personally. I think it's great when people are doing well, and we should all want everyone to do well all the time. I just don't think that's that crazy of a concept, but apparently, it is for some people. 

SK: You've spent so much time in the entertainment industry. How have your ideas about self-love and your sense of beauty evolved, especially in this industry, which intensely scrutinizes women? 

BP: It's definitely changed. It evolves for every woman. Clearly, you know, it's like not — that's not anything new, but it definitely has been interesting working and essentially sort of growing up, coming of age in my late teens and early 20s and 30s working mostly on television and movies. 

I actually write a fair amount about this in my book that is coming out in the fall. I've had periods of time where people have tried to make me less than or have wanted to diminish the parts of me that made me me, both physically and with my personality. To get to a point where I'm at now in my career and my life — where the thing that people have seemingly most responded to in the last two years is really this kind of, you know, unfiltered version of myself — has been really personally empowering. 

I think that there's also been a slight shift, and I think it will continue to shift in the industry at large. But I've definitely had my fair share of, "She's not good enough for this role. She's not physically what we want. She's not pretty enough to play this part. She's not —" whatever the case may be. And it's brutal. It's brutal for anyone to feel like that. But then to hear that repeatedly over the years can be really overwhelming. 

I think that it's no coincidence, sort of, that we've ended up in this place now where I am being recognized for the things that make me so uniquely me. It feels good. 

SK: And finally, you've partnered with Red Baron Pizza for an exciting new campaign. Please tell us more about that. 

BP: As a mom of two, I’m definitely always looking for things that I know are easy go-tos that my kids will eat. Red Baron frozen pizza has always been one of them because it's so easy and fast and I knew I could just keep it in the freezer and when all the kids show up, [it's easy to cook] especially in the summer. So, to give moms a break, Red Baron is giving 5,000 families free groceries and delivery from Instacart. You just have to go onto Red Baron's Facebook page and share your parenting war story in order to qualify. 

I just think the program is so cool and fun, and I am on board because everybody's got (especially in the summertime) a parenting war story. I've had those moments where I'm a few weeks into summer vacation, and I go to the fridge and I open it and I was like, "Why has no one been to the grocery store? Oh, because I guess that's my job." So, yeah, it's a really great, fun program.

More: We Talked With Jane Krakowski About Her Womance With Ellie Kemper

See? Philipps has such an infectiously positive energy, it's tough not get on her level. If anything, we need a perspective like Philipps' in the world right now; thank goodness she's able to share it.

Gwen Stefani Gave Blake Shelton the Most Patriotic Birthday Gift

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Monday, June 18 was Blake Shelton’s 42nd birthday, and boy, did he celebrate it in style. The country singer spent his special day with his girlfriend, Gwen Stefani, and the day was complete with lots of laughs and relaxed, fun times. But we're pretty sure his all-American heart was filled with love when Stefani gifted to him a very patriotic and creative present: a new flagpole!

Over on Stefani's Instagram, The duo posed for a selfie that made Shelton's joy with the present pretty obvious. And is that a self-satisfied grin on Gwen Stefani or what?

More: Gwen Stefani Is So Happy With Her "New Country Life'"

Stefani revealed the new addition to Shelton with a helicopter ride over his property. She posted the video to her Instagram Stories as she prompted him to notice if anything was new outside his window. His surprised “Ohhhhh!” is delightful when he sees the gift. We give the girl props. It takes guts to change a person’s property.

In fact, Shelton had an entire weekend of celebration, and Stefani was happy to document the whole thing, sharing updates to Instagram as the couple spent time with family. People reported that the festivities started with a dinner with Stefani’s family, where the pop star sang Happy Birthday to Shelton while filming the celebratory desserts and even a table sparkler. “Bday weekend has begun!! Happy birthday dear Blakey!” she captioned the moment. (Aw, Blakey — how cute.) 

More: Are Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani Trying to Get Pregnant? 

The party moved to Oklahoma as a few family members, including Stefani’s sons, joined the couple at Shelton’s lakeside home. Shelton helped carry a cooler into a tiki hut where he opened it to find a custom cake sent from his vodka brand, Smithworks. The cake, an oversize bottle of Smithworks, looked delicious, and Shelton dove right in to take a bite out of it. We don’t blame him. We would have done the same.

More: Adam Levine Says Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton's Relationship Is "Disgusting"

The best part of the weekend for Shelton had to be that he was surrounded by loved ones and is so deeply content in his life with Stefani. He’s even made her Christmas album photo his Instagram avatar. If that’s not modern love, we don’t know what is.

Happy birthday, Blake. And congrats, Gwen. You win the award for best present ever.

How to Make Fourth of July Firecracker Cakelettes With Pop Rocks

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If you think about it, Pop Rocks and Fourth of July truly go hand in hand. They're both nostalgic, fun and involve explosions. Sure, Pop Rocks' explosions are tiny little crackling sensations on your tongue, and Fourth of July is all about huge displays of fireworks — but that's neither here nor there.

That said, this red, white and blue cake pop DIY couldn't be more perfect. The pops are shaped like firecrackers and filled with Pop Rocks for a huge Fourth of July payoff. So get cracking!

More: 15 Fourth of July Desserts Perfect for Your Red, White & Blue-Themed Party

Firecracker Cakelettes

Firecracker cakelettes recipe

Yields 10 – 14

Ingredients:

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • Red and blue food coloring
  • 3 packages Pop Rocks candy
  • Black licorice ropes
  • White frosting (less than 1/4 cup)

Directions:

Step 1

Mix the white cake mix, egg whites, oil, water and sour cream for 3 – 4 minutes on medium speed. Divide the cake batter into 3 equal amounts, and add red and blue food coloring to 2 of the portions. Coat 3 (4 x 9-inch) bread pans with cooking spray, and lightly flour the bottoms. Add the three batters to the pans, and bake at 350 degrees F for 18 – 23 minutes. Allow them to cool, and then remove them from the pans.

Make cake
More: Your Fourth of July Needs These Red, White & Blue Rice Krispies Treats


Step 2

Using a 1-1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut circles from each baked cake. (I got 10 out of each cake, but you might be able to get more if you try.)

Round cookie cutterCut circles

Step 3

Using a serrated knife, carefully trim off the browned, baked bottom of each cake circle.

Trim bottoms

Step 4

Using a jumbo straw or plastic tube (1/2 or 3/4 inch in diameter), remove the centers of the cake circles. Be sure to save the red and blue centers to use as plugs for later.

Use straw or plastic tube

Next: Step 5

A version of this article was originally published in June 2014.

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Step 5

Put a portion of the red cake plugs back into the bottoms of the red cake circles. Pipe a line of frosting around the centers of the red and white cake circles. Stack the white cakes on top of the red cakes, and the blue cakes on top of the white cakes.

Ice the centers

Step 6

Add Pop Rocks down the hollow centers of the stacked cakes. Put a portion of the blue cake plugs back into the tops, covering the center filled with Pop Rocks.

Add pop rocks

More: 10 Affordable Destinations That Are Perfect for 4th of July

Step 7

Cut licorice rope pieces approximately 1-1/2 inches long, and insert them into the centers of the blue cakes.

Cut licorice rope pieces

Note: For maximum popping potential, pour the Pop Rocks into the cake centers no earlier than one hour before serving. The moisture in the cakes will cause the Pop Rocks to slightly snap and crackle on their own. In fact, they make a great sizzling sound on the plate. But after about four hours, the Pop Rocks lose most of their popping power, so plan accordingly.

Final productHow to Make Fourth of July Firecracker Cakelettes With Pop Rocks

Drew Barrymore Makes Emotional Plea on Instagram to 'Keep Families Together'

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Drew Barrymore is heartbroken right now, as are many Americans, about the way in which our government is handling migrants coming to the United States. On Tuesday morning, it seemed that she hit her breaking point, no longer able to stay silent as more and more reports emerged of children allegedly being separated from their parents at the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Barrymore took to Instagram with an impassioned plea and ended up giving the most heart-wrenching argument in favor of keeping families together.

More: How Drew Barrymore Deals With Instagram Trolls & Self-Doubt

Posted alongside a photo of a little girl appearing to be wailing, Barrymore first defended her viewpoint as emotions coming straight from the heart of a mother and woman. “This image is the most upsetting thing a mother and a woman could ever see. There is a pull when you have a child. It is indescribable. But it is also the most powerful thing God and Nature give you as a woman,” she wrote.


Barrymore acknowledged what many people might be struggling with — an inability to wrap the mind around what’s happening and understand how we got here. “I cannot even look at this image. I wanted to avoid it just like a lot of people because the issues around it are so complicated,” she explained.

The topic she’s discussing has been the top news story for weeks, ever since late May when news broke that the government had allegedly lost track of nearly 1,500 kids that were in the immigration system. That turned the spotlight on the policy of taking children away from parents caught crossing the border without prior permission and the quality of care provided to the kids while they’re wards of the government.  

Barrymore’s message urged readers to focus on the children and not devolve into argument or anger. She noted that she is a nonpartisan person and that her focus is on the children. “You have to pick your battles. Mine is kids,” her post read. She ended with a strong plea for readers to call their congresspeople and hashtagged the post #keepfamiliestogetheract.

Barrymore is far from the only celebrity who has spoken out during this major political upheaval. Padma Lakshmi wrote an opinion piece for CNN citing the statistic that, on average, 47 children are being separated from their parents every day. She also noted that the practice of taking children from parents was going on long before Donald Trump’s new zero-tolerance policy went into effect.

Other celebrities have taken to social media to voice their stance against the government's recently enacted policy.


More: Drew Barrymore Is Totally Prepared for Her Daughters' Teen Years

We’re all heartbroken today as the news of the conditions these children are living in seems to get worse and worse. Like Barrymore says, whatever your convictions, it is the people’s right, and our job, to hold the government accountable. Call your congresspeople and remember to vote.

Jaime King Shares Emotional Update on Son's Heart Defect

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Actor Jaime King is not just a fantastic mom; she's also an advocate for children, like her son, who have congenital heart defects — and a proponent of affordable health care for all families, not just those as fortunate as hers. She recently shared an update on her younger son Leo's health battle on social media.

King's son with husband Kyle Newman — Leo Thames Newman, almost 3 — was born with a form of a complex congenital heart issue, transposition of the great arteries. With TGA, there is abnormal development of the fetal heart during the first eight weeks of pregnancy. As a result, the major vessels that flow blood away from the heart to the lungs or body are connected improperly. According to the Stanford Children Health's website, TGA accounts for 3 percent of all congenital heart defects.

More: Jaime King Is Totally OK With Being an Imperfect Woman & Mother

King — also mother to James Knight, 4 — has written of Leo's medical challenges before on social media to promote awareness of congenital heart defects in children. Yesterday on Instagram, she posted an update on his condition featuring a photo of her boy smiling like a champ despite the tangle of wires attached to his chest.


King wrote, "This boy! For all the parents who have children diagnosed with TGA and are terrified (as we were) we hope by sharing Leo Thames journey with you gives you hope that children with congenital heart defects grow up to be happier, stronger, more fearless kids than we would ever expect. Everyday he teaches me that what we are given we will overcome. And we will be immensely more aware of the beauty and gift that this life gives us. Our bodies are miracles. All children and families not only deserve but need health care so we must fight for all people in this country to have the necessary care to fully live the life God gave to each human. #leothames#happyboy @cedarssinai"

Three months ago, King shared this photo from Leo's earliest days and more details of his fight.


MoreJaime King & Son James Knight Wear Dresses to Incredibles 2 Premiere

In August 2016, King spoke of her son's condition on Instagram — and shared a photo of a letter from Cedars-Sinai Hospital revealing that her son's godmother, Taylor Swift (yes, that Taylor Swift) had made a donation in his name to the Los Angeles institution. Swift and Leo obviously have a pretty tight bond. Check out this pure sweetness.


We love this family — including fairy godmother Tay-Tay.

Chrissy Teigen & John Legend Post Pumping Pic, Donate to ACLU, Will Likely Save World

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How do we love Chrissy Teigen and John Legend? Let us count the ways. On second thought, that would take far too long. So here's just the latest reason.


Why, yes, John Legend did post a photo of his wife breastfeeding in the car on the way to dinner out. And yup, he did give her the shoutout on Father's Day. And your eyes do not deceive you: Chrissy Teigen was clearly amused — flashing a peace sign — and didn't seem to mind the picture at all. Can we get an #AllTheGoals? 

These two continue to slay us with their playful, completely adorable approach to love, marriage and parenthood. Seriously, they're killing it. They're killing us. We would have long given up on humanity in 2018 were it not for these two.

MoreChrissy Teigen & John Legend's New Baby Is Here — a Little Early

“She’s taking me to dinner but still on Mommy duty,” Legend captioned the selfie, showing Teigen with dress down and breast pumps taking center stage. TMI? Nah, not for Teigen. If you recall, she posted a pic of herself wearing wretched post-birth meshy underpants three days after delivering their second born, baby Miles.


We love the candor. We love the teamwork. We love that these two likely fight and then have great makeup sex that includes laughing their cute asses off. We love that they're not afraid to show parenting as it is. We can't figure out how we can possibly relate so well to a supermodel/cookbook author and a Grammy winner, but damn, Legend and Teigen — for all their fame and fortune — just seem, well, normal. 

More: John Legend Dances With Daughter Luna & We All Cry

Most of all? We love them for this, which is admittedly anything but normal for exhausted parents of a preschooler and a newborn. In fact, it's extraordinary:


Legend and Teigen donated $288,000 to the ACLU from their family — $72,000 each — on Donald Trump's birthday to defend the rights of immigrant families seeking asylum in the U.S. Their bold public action inspired fans to donate more than a million dollars on top of that. 


Luna Simone and Miles Theodore, you two have definitely hit the parent jackpot. What better way to grow up than in a household where nobody's afraid to laugh at themselves? How fantastic is it to have parents unafraid to take a stand on behalf of others who are far less fortunate? We haven't gotten a dinner invite yet from the Teigen-Legends, but maybe if we keep writing adoring articles about the family, they'll take pity on us and invite us for a night of Teigen's short ribs and a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity. Maybe.


Babyproofing 101: All the Home Hacks You Need

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Babies don’t stay in one place (i.e., on their backs in Moses baskets) for long. Prepare yourself — and your space— for a tot on the move by babyproofing your home from top to bottom.

These expert tips will ensure you've covered all bases. 

More: 9 Baby-Proofing Steps You Never Even Thought of, but Are Totally Essential

Get on the ground

Every home is different with different potential hazards. According to Amber Kroeker, child injury-prevention program coordinator at a children’s hospital, the best place to start with babyproofing is on the floor — literally. “Get down on your belly or hands and knees or any other position that will allow you to see things from your baby’s perspective,” she tells SheKnows. From this perspective, you can see choking hazards (those random items that end up under the couch), fall hazards, choking hazards, burn risks and so on.

Keep danger up & away

Store all medications, cleaning products and other potential poisons up high or behind a locked cabinet. “Think ‘up and away’,” says Kroeker. “And don’t forget those laundry pods that look like candy!”

Strip your table

Remove tablecloths, advises pediatrician S. Daniel D. Ganjian. “Toddlers can pull them and cause cups and plates to come crashing down,” he tells SheKnows.

Lock everything

Affix baby locks to all drawers containing knives or sharp objects and child caps to electrical outlets (alternatively, go for pre-childproofed electrical outlets, which slide sideways to let you access the electricity). While you’re at it, fit window locks or bars (kids can climb up on the couch to get access to the window), toilet seat locks (to prevent drowning but also to keep your toothbrush out of the toilet), oven locks and stove knob covers. Get a lock on your garbage too, says Ganjian. “You won't ever have to worry finding your cell phone in the trash because your youngster wants to copy you cleaning up.”

More: The Best (AKA Easiest) Baby Carriers on the Market in 2018

Reduce climbing risks

Kids love to climb, but they won't stop to do a risk assessment before they scale your bookshelf or dresser. Anchor televisions and any piece of furniture over 30 inches high to the wall. 

Fence off areas of danger

Install gates at the top and bottom of stairs and fence off all dangerous areas. “Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries in children, resulting in about 2.8 million emergency department visits each year,” J.B. Sassano, president of repair, maintenance and improvement franchise Mr. Handyman, tells SheKnows. “Prevent accidents by installing safety gates that bolt to the wall rather than the traditional pressure-mounted models.”

Be aware of hidden hazards

Use cord keepers and blind winders to keep infants safe from cords from electronics and those dangling from blinds and shades. The Consumer Product Safety Commission lists cords and strings as hidden hazards for babies.

Assess your outdoor space

Don’t forget about outside areas, warns Sassano. Sand any splinters, remove or fix any loose nails, repair any rotting wood or ropes holding swings. Look out for hidden bees, hornets and wasps’ nests. 

“If you have a pool, install a gate around it with an automatic closing and locking mechanism,” pediatrician Dr. Gina Posner tells SheKnows. “For extra security, you can also have alarm sensors at the doors to the pool.”

Monitor smoke detectors

Check all smoke detectors once a month, replace smoke detector batteries twice a year, and invest in a carbon monoxide detector if you don’t already have one.

More: How to Get a Clean Stamp of Your Baby's Footprint

Remember, babyproofing should not replace supervision. “By using childproofing products, you are buying time, which could be the difference between tragedy and a close call,” said Kroeker. “There is no way to 100 percent childproof your home. Don’t forget that children require active supervision at all times.”

Kroeker also recommends that all parents learn CPR. “This is a simple task that can save your baby’s life,” she said. Contact the American Red Cross, American Heart Association or your local fire department to find out about training. 

Miranda Lambert Gets Real About Heartbreak & Refusing to ‘Be Good’

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Country star Miranda Lambert wants people to know she’s just a regular girl — one who drinks and swears and gets hurt and who’s just lucky enough to have the outlet of songwriting. In a new interview with Hits Daily Double, Lambert opened up about everything from her very normal relationships to her desire at this point in life to just be herself.

More: Miranda Lambert Proves She So Over Blake Shelton With New Photo

In the first part of a two-part interview, Lambert told writer Holly Gleason about the way she funneled the heartbreak of her marital breakup from Blake Shelton into her current double album, The Weight of These Wings. “2015 pushed me into a writing mode I’ve never been in before […] My intention was to use [writing] as therapy […] I was going through a divorce very publicly, and thank the Lord I am a writer. That meant I could find some way to deal with it, that people could say ‘I get it — I’ve been there too.’”

Though the writing process helped Lambert sort out heartache, she had to admit it didn’t take it away. “[The divorce] made me feel so alone, as much as it does anybody else,” she said. Then, talking about her album, she added. “There’s fun stuff on there too. I feel like I’ve captured the seven stages of grief, but it took me 24 songs to get there.”

More: Miranda Lambert’s ACM Speech Was the Perfect Tribute to Women

Like Taylor Swift, Lambert is known for pouring her personal life into her music. As a songwriter, her albums reflect a lot of her emotional states at the time she wrote them. But when Gleason pointed out that the kind of authenticity Lambert strives for also makes her an icon, the singer pushed back. “But I didn’t sign up for that. That’s a lot of pressure. I am who I am. I am honest about being flawed. That’s all I can be, you know? I cuss. I drink. I get divorced and get my heart broken. I break hearts. I can’t do or be that anymore, or it’ll drive me crazy. I won’t be any good anymore.”

More: Miranda Lambert & Anderson East Are Really Good — Like Really, Really Good

But it’s that average-girl persona that Lambert’s fans love. She’s doesn’t feel as carefully crafted as some stars and admits she gets frustrated with the social media song and dance. When Gleason asked her about keeping her private life private, she replied, “I try, but it’s not up to me. With social media, it’s a whole other thing […] They make up so many lies, no one can know the truth. The truth is in my music if you listen close enough.”

We’re listening, Miranda. Whenever you’re ready to talk, and certainly to sing, we’ll be here.

Natalie Portman Has Her Eye on Changing TV in a Revolutionary Way

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Natalie Portman is making some interesting career moves these days and it's all centered around food. Not only is she partaking in the promotion of the documentary Eating Animals, which she narrates and which takes a hard, critical look at the reasons we still eating animal products and why we do it, but she's now also speaking up about how she wants to change the face of cooking shows so that it reflects a healthier, more positive view on veganism.

More: Natalie Portman Won the Golden Globes With One Sharp Comment

While chatting during a Q&A panel following the film's premiere recently, she revealed her big dream. "I’ll share with you guys my dream. It would be my dream to make one of those cooking shows, but only for vegan food. It could provide you with a starter kit if you want to be a vegan," she told the crowd (and as it was reported by IndieWire). 

Portman nailed the remark with a sharp quip while also showing the audience she was serious about what she meant: "If anyone here wants to buy it, I’ll be taking offers in the lobby after this."

Portman, who has been a vegan for several years, explained during another interview (this time with Hoda Kotb for a Sirius XM Town Hall), how she was moved towards veganism and why she is so keen on spreading the word about veganism along with promoting Eating Animals.

"I read the [Jonathan Safran Foer's book, Eating Animals] ... and immediately called Jonathan, who's a friend, and said, 'Can we make a documentary about it?' It just really illuminates all of the consequences of factory farming, which is more than 99 percent of how animals are raised," Portman explained to Kotb.

More: 6 Reasons Chef's Table Is the Only Food Show You Need

While Portman has never done TV before, the idea of her working to make her dream a reality is an intriguing one. While various cooking shows spotlight vegan and vegetarian recipes from time to time, the idea of a cooking show completely devoted to vegan cooking is still quite new and revolutionary. If Portman does want to make this dream a reality (and she certainly could, given how passionately she feels about the subject), there could definitely been some room there to make it happen. 

Yes, There's Such a Thing as 'Good Sugars' — Here's How to Find Them

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It’s no secret that Americans consume way too much sugar. With the obesity epidemic at an all-time high, a lot of people are pointing to sugar as the main culprit. But is all sugar to blame? Contrary to what you might think, not all types of sugar make it onto the naughty list. 

What’s the real deal on sugar?

Sugar gets a bad rap, regardless of what kind of sugar is in question. What we forget, Dr. Nancy P. Rahnama, a bariatric physician and physician nutrition specialist, tells SheKnows, is that all sugar is not "bad." 

“Carbohydrates are different combinations of sugar, and all carbohydrates result in insulin secretion, which is the main component of weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes,” Rahnama explains.

Glucose (which makes up sucrose, or table sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup) causes an immediate surge of insulin, while fructose (naturally occurring sugar) causes a more delayed release of insulin, she says.

More: How to Curb Sugar Cravings — for Real This Time

This delayed insulin response happens because natural sugar is packaged with fiber, water, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that slow the release of that sugar in the bloodstream.

Therefore, when looking at the total carbohydrate content of food, Rahnama says to pay attention to soluble fiber since it will lessen the insulin effect by delaying the absorption of sugar.

"Good" sugar vs. "bad" sugar

Now that you know that natural, or “good,” sugars are in and added, or “bad,” sugars are out, the question is: What is considered a good (naturally occurring) and bad (added) sugar? 

Registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, Deborah Malkoff-Cohen tells SheKnows that naturally occurring sugars are those sugars already found naturally in food(s) like milk (lactose) and fruit (fructose).

But added sugars — the ones we need to eat sparingly — can be found in table sugar, honey or high-fructose corn syrup. They are called “added” because they are added during processing, cooking or prepping the food. 

“Both will spike your blood sugar, but added sugar typically spikes it more,” Malkoff-Cohen explains. For example, eating an apple is not as detrimental to your health as drinking a can of soda. That’s because the sugar in the apple is coupled with fiber to help slow the sugar spike. 

However, Malkoff-Cohen says the direct hit from the soda that only takes seconds to drink and has zero fiber or any redeeming nutritional qualities, will completely blow your blood sugar out of the park.

Some foods, like flavored yogurt and chocolate milk, have both natural and added sugar, she notes. They have lactose naturally found in plain yogurt or milk and added sugar from the flavors added.

More: 7 Subtle Signs You're Addicted to Sugar

Sources of good sugar

When choosing the best sugars to include in your diet, make sure you focus on the natural sugars — fructose and lactose — and ditch the foods that contain sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup. 

Malkoff-Cohen suggests opting for these foods that contain natural sugars:

  • Dairy products like milk and unsweetened Greek yogurt contain lactose, which is made of glucose and galactose. But dairy products are also packed full of protein and a variety of vitamins and minerals that can help your body take more time to process the sugar.
  • Fruit contains fructose, but the fiber it’s packed with slows down the absorption of the sugar. Fruit also contains vitamins and minerals that make fruit another healthy choice to include in your diet. 
  • Certain vegetables and root vegetables — such as carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams and parsnips — also contain natural sugars. But like fruit, they have a greater nutritional value than foods with added sugar. 

Separating the more natural or good sugars from the processed foods that are packed full of added sugar (namely high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose) can help you feel better and improve your overall health.

How to Talk to Your Kids About Families Being Forcibly Separated at the Border

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America is not exactly an easy place to live right now. Coming to terms with current events like the forcible separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico border is difficult enough for adults, but should you approach these tough topics with kids? We spoke with several mental health professionals to get their advice on how to explain to your child what's going on and how to protect their mental health.

Be sure your message is age-appropriate

What — and how — you tell your children about unsettling events in the news largely depends on their age.

“You don’t want to discuss too much with a young child and scare them more than they may already be, but you also don’t want to discuss too little with an older child causing them to come to their own conclusions,” says Patti Sabla, a licensed clinical social worker in Hawaii.

MoreHow to Talk to Your Kids About Scary Things

Therapist, educator and author Shadeen Francis, who specializes in social justice issues, agrees.

“While it may be hard for young children to understand macro-level systemic issues like racism, tailor the message into something digestible with language they understand, for example, ‘Some people are mean to others because of the color of their skin, which isn't kind,’” she suggests.

Francis provides specifics for talking to children in each age group. For those in elementary school, she recommends providing examples that relate to their own lives, using experiences they may have had themselves.

“By grade school, many children start to notice injustices and have likely witnessed someone being treated unfairly,” she says. “Use those instances to help them understand the events happening in the world around them.”

As children enter their teenage years, you can do less filtering of conversations and speak at a more peer level, Francis adds. “Ask them how they would react in those situations and help them consider their options,” she says. “You can be more candid in your sharing of experiences with older children, as they will be better able to form their own opinions, but will benefit from hearing more nuances and diverse perspectives on the issue.”

MoreDealing with the Fear & Guilt That Comes After a Major Tragedy

Lastly, if you are initiating this conversation to prepare them for an experience they might have themselves, be sure to enter the conversation prepared with resources for where they can turn for support when in crisis, according to Francis. This includes giving them the tools and strategies they might need to navigate the world safely.

Don’t ignore what’s happening

Although you may think you are protecting your child, not talking about what is currently going on can make it worse.

“Usually, what a child imagines — particularly with nuclear war or war in general — can be a lot scarier than the truth,” Sabla explains. “They tend to imagine worst-case scenarios. Talking about it can help alleviate their fears.”

Julie Barthels, a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois and coauthor of Resilience Revolution: A Workbook for Staying Sane in an Insane World to be published in November, suggests letting your kids take the lead in conversations. “Answer their questions honestly, but don't over-provide information,” she adds. “Brief interactions will allow children to process their thoughts before coming back for more.” 

Specifically regarding race, parents must first deal with their own feelings regarding the issue, according to Dr. Eboni Hollier, a pediatrician practicing in Houston. Children learn about race from an early age primarily from their parents, she explains, though later in life, they learn from the world around them, including from school and extracurricular activities.

Some strategies Hollier recommends to help your children deal with racial bias include talking with them about racial differences, encouraging them to be kind and empathetic when interacting with people of all races and ethnic groups, being a role model for them by being kind and respectful of others and having a diverse group of friends.

Monitor their media intake

The 24-hour news cycle means that disturbing scenes — everything from children being held in cages to the president's former campaign manager making fun of a child with Down syndrome — are shown on repeat. Try to limit your child’s exposure to the news coverage, suggests Keisha Blair, cofounder of Aspire-Canada, who has developed policies for clinical social workers and worked with traumatized kids in the social welfare system.

Make sure they know they’re safe

Sometimes, if children don’t understand what they see on the news, they might think they are personally in danger.

“Reassure them about their own personal safety,” Blair says. “Let them know there are responsible adults around them that have taken all precautions necessary to ensure their physical safety.”

Check in with them

You don’t necessarily need to mention specific news events when talking to your kids, says Sabla. Rather, you can ask if they have seen or heard anything upsetting to them that they’d like to discuss.

Once you’ve asked them what they've heard, listen to their explanation of the event to get an idea of how they are understanding it, Francis says, adding that intercepting misinformation early can be really helpful in developing media literacy, critical thinking and perspective-taking.

More: Trump's Election Has Been Triggering for Former Cult Members

Validate their feelings

Once you've heard what they think and understand, spend time talking about what the event makes them feel, and validate whatever feelings arise, Francis suggests.

“Children can feel scared, confused, disheartened or shocked by the current affairs, but may not say so without prompting,” she says. “Be with them in their feelings, and share yours. Let them know what they feel is OK and normal.”

Francis recommends ending the conversation by asking what would make them feel a little better or if there is something they would like to do to contribute positively to the causes they are passionate about.

“This last step is empowering and gives children agency to be global citizens that can effect change,” she adds.

Focus on compassion

Barthels suggests using this time to spark your child’s compassion.

“Help them identify a service project,” she explains. “Even a preschooler can go to the grocery store for a food pantry trip and identify what a family might need. Or put out a bird feeder. It’s a great time to be empowered rather than defeated.”

Similarly, Blair recommends highlighting positive outcomes with your kids, like talking about any heroes or how the community came together to support each other even in a difficult time.

“In particular, talk about history and how heroic figures like Martin Luther King were able to inspire a nation to come together against hatred,” Blair advises. “Let them know that these incidents present an opportunity to open up dialogue for improved outcomes.”

Francis suggests relating the events to the values you hope to instill in your children.

“Much news coverage depicts issues of violence on the basis of race, class, gender and nationality,” she explains. “What are the related family values that are implicated in the event in question? If your family encourages integrity and standing up for what is right, when the news involves a protest, bring that up. If your family believes in peace and nonviolence, when there are violent tragedies in the news, express your disappointment and disapproval of violent behavior.”

Other examples of these values include honesty, accountability, respect and acceptance, Francis notes, suggesting that parents address both where they believe the values on the events they saw on TV were misaligned and acknowledge the values they are trying to promote.

Manage your own stress

Make sure you deal with your stresses in a healthy way, says Barthels. “You are a role model for your children," she adds. "If they see that you can experience tough emotions but still be OK, it will encourage them to do the same.”

Along the same lines, Blair suggests that parents modulate their own behavior because children will take social cues from significant adults in their lives.

Counselors & therapists are an option

If your children really seem overwhelmed or anxious and talking with you does not alleviate those fears, you may want to consider having them check in with a school counselor or therapist who specializes in working with children, Sabla adds.

10 Questions You Should Always Ask on a Day Care Visit

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Choosing a day care is no small feat; after all, this place is going to be a huge part of your kid’s life (they may even spend more waking hours there than they do at home). So choosing a childcare facility requires a great deal of thought — and shouldn't be rushed into. 

In fact, the earlier you start your search, the better, particularly if you live in a big city where day care slots fill up fast. Try to start the process six months before you want your child to start at day care. 

It might seem like a daunting process, especially if this is your first foray into the world of day care, but if you’re well prepared, you’ll feel more in control — and better equipped to make the right decision for your child.  

More: Childcare Tips for Working Parents 

Ask for recommendations

Often, nothing beats a personal reference. If you have friends, relatives or neighbors with kids at day care, ask about their experience. If you need expert help, phone the Child Care Aware hotline (800-424-2246) and ask for the number of your local childcare resource and referral agency, which, in turn, can refer you to licensed centers and home day cares in your area. Ask for a list of accredited centers in your area, and make sure you put centers with the stamp of approval from the National Association for the Education of Young Children or the National Association for Family Child Care at the top of your list. Accreditation isn’t everything, of course, but it’s a good starting point. 

Make a shortlist of “maybes” 

Your shortlist can be as long as you like — depending on how much time you have to devote to the process. To narrow your options, parent educator Susan Santoro, who used to teach training courses for childcare providers, recommends choosing facilities that are located near your home or work. “If you are the primary parent dropping off and picking up at childcare, choose a location close to your work,” she tells SheKnows. “This allows you to spend travel time with your children each day and rush to childcare quickly if there's an emergency. Also, you're less like to be late for pickup due to traffic, and you may be able to spend some lunches with your child.” 

Tick off the basics

According to Santoro (and also common sense), your chosen childcare facility should meet certain basic requirements. It should be licensed by the county or state, have a low child-to-adult ratio, be clean and well-lit, and employ staff that are enthusiastic and welcoming to both you and your child. 

Every day care facility should also comply with your state’s minimum standards for childcare centers, former day care director Cherrye S. Vasquez explains to SheKnows. Specific rules and regulations vary by state, but they all cover indoor and outdoor specifications for the building, playground safety, meal preparation and child safety. 

More: Tips to Help Working Moms Maximize Their "Kid Time"

Watch the children

During your day care visit, take a moment to observe the kids. Are they clean, comfortable and happy? While it’s easy for day care staff to be on their best behavior in the presence of visiting parents, it’s pretty hard to persuade young kids to pretend to be happy when they’re not. How the kids interact with staff can help put your mind at ease — or trigger an alarm bell. 

Ask (lots of) questions

Your child’s age, personality and any particular needs should influence the questions you ask on a day care visit, but it makes sense to arm yourself with a list of basic questions to help you compare what different facilities offer. 

Jaclyn Carnazza, owner of Kids Connect in Montville, New Jersey, recommends asking the following questions on a day care visit. 

  1. Does the center use a research-based curriculum that is appropriate for both infants/toddlers and preschool kids? Daily activities should include reading, playing, singing and crafts. Toys should be engaging and safe (i.e., no choking hazards). 
  2. How does the program share information about activities and lessons being taught in the center so parents can reinforce learning at home?
  3. What is the education level of the staff?
  4. Is there regular communication between the staff and parents? If so, how is the information communicated (email, text, phone calls, etc.)?
  5. What measures does the school take to provide a safe and secure environment? Look for gates at stairways, guards on windows, clearly marked safety exits and accessible fire extinguishers, and ask what the procedure is for guests arriving at the day care. 
  6. Can warm and positive teacher-child interactions and conversations be observed in the center?
  7. How are the children grouped together if the center provides for varying ages? You’ll want your child to have kids the same age to befriend. Also, young infants should be kept separate from older toddlers and kids, primarily as a safety precaution, as older kids often don’t understand how gentle they need to be with infants. 
  8. Are the staff and children washing their hands before meals and after diapering? What other cleaning and hygiene practices are in place for the food preparation area, the washrooms and the diaper area? 
  9. Are opportunities provided throughout the year for parent/family engagement?
  10. How many staff members have received cardio pulmonary resuscitation and first-aid training? 

More: 4-Year-Old Development Moments to Watch For

Policies, curriculum and questions aside, you have to trust your gut when it comes to choosing the right day care provider for your child. No matter how impressive a day care is when it comes to accreditation or compliance, if the philosophy on discipline is worlds apart from yours, it’s the wrong place for your child. 

Take your time, and don’t be scared to go back for a second visit — or to ask more questions. A good provider will appreciate your questions and welcome the opportunity to put your mind at ease.

How to Talk to Your Kids About Scary Things

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With the Trump administration ripping apart immigrant parents and children at the U.S.-Mexico border, it's understandable kids (and, let's be honest, parents) everywhere are feeling scared right now. As with any tragedy, unexplained violence and undelivered justice, current events are likely leaving the kids in your life with big questions that you might find difficult to answer.

How can we help kids maintain their wide-eyed innocence while also helping them grow and learn tactics to overcome fear and deal with harsh realities? Here's how you can do your best to explain the unexplainable.

More: I'm Raising My White Children to Stand Up Against Racism, Every Day

“Kids are big thinkers, and their imaginations are not limited to fun, carefree topics," explains clinical psychologist and author Stephanie O’Leary. "When you have honest, age-appropriate conversations about scary things, you provide an outlet for your child's feelings, model healthy coping and establish that you are a source of support, even when topics are uncomfortable or frightening,” 

Below are some tools and strategies for leaning into age-appropriate discussions of injustice, racism, and other tough topics — and tailoring the conversation to educate and comfort kids.

Xenophobia, racism, bullying & discrimination

Depending on your community, your child might be surrounded by people of a thousand different cultures the moment she's born. But she might not be. For children in homogenous communities, it can be a startling discovery to meet people from other backgrounds. Young kids may not know how to act around people who are different from them — or how to respond if they see or hear about someone being abused or otherwise mistreated because of their race, religion, culture, sexual or gender identity, disability, etc.

For kids under 5:

The key here, O’Leary says, is to never avoid questions about race, religion or other identifiers, as you could inadvertently breed a judgmental attitude in kids by making something seem like a taboo topic. It's an unfortunate reality of our time that your child will likely witness an act of discrimination at some point — and be rightfully baffled by the hatred behind that act. This is when O’Leary says to allow kids' questions to come up as they may. Make sure the child knows the scary thing that happened is absolutely wrong — but that doesn't mean it's wrong to talk about it. This way, you can turn the unfortunate experience into a learning opportunity. If your child asks questions about someone who was mistreated, "it's best to answer honestly and keep lines of communication open,” O'Leary says.

For kids ages 5 to 10:

As a child develops friendships, meets new people and expands their community, they might become more candid about their questions and perhaps more direct. At this age, you can step in and help them develop a healthy — positive but assertive — attitude. “Talking about current events and daily experiences within your community are great places to start because discrimination is not a thing of the past,” O’Leary says.

She also adds that it’s important to prepare your child for what, unfortunately, is the inevitable. He or she will likely observe or experience acts of hate or discrimination at some point and will likely be confused about how to react. Here, O’Leary says to get personal with your preteen. “Share personal experiences to model how you felt, how you reacted and what you wish you had done differently. Choosing examples from your own childhood will make the biggest impact on your son or daughter. Focusing on practical steps your child can take is important, such as being vocal or seeking help when observing bullying,” she suggests.

Gun violence

The statistics on gun violence in the United States are baffling. Our country has 29.7 homicides by firearm per 1 million people (which, for example, is almost 16 times as many as Germany has). The U.S. has 4.4 percent of the world's population, but almost 50 percent of the civilian-owned guns in the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 31,000 deaths every year involving guns in the United States. This makes the topic that much more fraught — and more likely to come up with a child. From the minor ("guns" in video games) to the major (the mass shootings in the news that now occur nearly daily), kids are bound to encounter gun violence at some point. “Even if you try hard to monitor what your child is exposed to, guns are present on television, integrated into various toys and action figures and carried by various authority figures, including police officers,” O’Leary explains. It's never too early to start talking about them.

For kids under 5:
O’Leary says the most important lesson to teach a preschooler is that under no circumstances are guns toys; it’s important to underline how much harm they can cause. “Answer any questions that may arise simply and honestly to provide factual information without creating undue anxiety,” she says.

For kids ages 5 to 10:
With a more mature child, O’Leary says you can get more specific regarding gun safety and offer solutions for how to protect themselves and handle various situations. “Review what you expect them to do if they are ever in a situation where a gun is present," O'Leary urges. "While every parent fears this, the fact is that guns are often present in homes. Gun violence can occur even during innocent playdates,” she adds. “Empower your child with a focus on safety, and answer any questions that arise.” 

More: America's Gun Problem in 7 Startling Images

Other acts of violence 

Tensions are soaring high these days, and it can feel like an attack or tragedy of some sort is happening every other week. When a child catches the evening news or the anniversary of a tragic event is discussed at school, you might be asked questions like "Why would someone do this?" or "Are they coming for us next?" Sadly, these inquiries don’t always have concrete answers; but you can provide valuable context.

For kids under 5:
While O’Leary doesn’t suggest approaching a topic like terrorism with a child under 5 unless they specifically ask, she says that being direct and simple — without providing graphic details — is ideal. However, with one important caveat: Avoid labels and dichotomies such as "good guys" versus "bad guys." “This perpetuates the idea of continued conflict," O'Leary explains, "and it's likely less stressful for your child to hear you say, ‘There are some people who want to hurt others who are different, and we do everything we can to try and stop that."

For kids ages 5 to 10:
As a kid ages through elementary school, he or she may become more comfortable talking about what they hear at school and throughout the community. This makes them consider violence through a more analytic lens since they might have had experiences like going through a metal detector or security at an airport. “At this age, you can provide some more factual background regarding the cultural and political circumstances that have contributed to terrorist acts as well as the specific safeguards that your family relies on for safety,” O’Leary suggests.

More: Want to Donate Diapers to Hurricane Harvey Victims? Here's How

The world we live in can be a frightening place, and the people in it don’t always help. But when you're raising kids, it’s always more helpful to have sad, difficult conversations than no conversations at all. That way, you can prepare them as best you can to face our frightening world — and change it for the better.

A version of this article was originally published in September 2017. 


Actual Things You Can Do Today to Help Families at the Border

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Watching the news is never easy, but it has gotten particularly sad lately with the coverage of families being forcibly separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. Ever since President Donald Trump enacted his zero-tolerance immigration policy in May, more than 2,300 children have been taken from their parents at the border, the Associated Press reports

These seized children have been placed in government-run shelters, including "tender age" facilities for toddlers. Images of kids being held in cages inside U.S. Border Patrol processing stations are impossible to ignore. Feeling helpless and overwhelmed by this injustice is understandable, but there are ways you can help.

1. Donate money

Figuring out where to donate money can be tricky: You want to make sure it's going somewhere to directly help people, but finding an organization can be easier said than done. One way around this is to donate through a secure Act Blue page set up to fund organizations like La Union Del Pueblo Entero, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and 12 other groups. Your donation will be split evenly among the organizations unless you specify otherwise. 

More: How to Talk to Your Kids About Families Being Forcibly Separated at the Border

2. Volunteer

If you don't have money to donate or would like to do something more hands-on to help, there are several organizations that are actively seeking volunteers to help with the border crisis. One is called CARA, and it's a basically a pro bono supergroup consisting of four organizations all working together to provide legal assistance to people at the Texas border.

CARA says their most urgent need is for attorneys, law students and paralegals with interest and experience in asylum work — especially ones that speak Spanish. Not a lawyer? They're also looking for social workers, psychologists, forensic anthropologists and individuals with strong research skills.

Similarly, Kids in Need of Defense is also seeking to partner with major law firms, corporations, law schools and bar associations to recruit and train attorneys to help families at the border. Lawyers don't need to have prior background in immigration law — KIND will provide training.

More: Dealing With the Fear & Guilt That Comes After a Major Tragedy

There are plenty of other places to donate and volunteer, and Slate and Mashable have put together comprehensive lists, which they are updating regularly, so those are excellent resources.

3. Call your representatives

Whether your local representatives are Republicans or Democrats, it's a good idea to call them and let them know where you stand on the zero-tolerance policy. If you need to find a specific number, USA.gov has a handy section that shows you where to find it. If you need a script, the "Activism for Non-Activists" newsletter has one for each party.

4. Vote

The midterm elections are less than five months away, so if you're not registered to vote yet, now is the time. We have a bad habit of ignoring elections not involving a president, but staying home on Nov. 6, 2018, isn't a luxury any of us can afford. Regulations for registration vary by state, but here's a guide to help walk you through the process.

These may all seem like relatively small things, but when enough people become outraged over something like the current immigration policies, we can help, and change can happen.

How Faith Hill & Tim McGraw Have Really Kept Their Love Alive After 21 Years

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Faith Hill and Tim McGraw may be the queen and king of country music, but it isn’t just country fans inspired by their long-lasting relationship. Everyone wants to know the secret to this power couple’s love story! And as part of People’s July cover story, the pair is opening up about how they continue to make their marriage work after more than two decades together.

More: Tim McGraw & Faith Hill Have Special News on Their 21st Wedding Anniversary

McGraw and Hill are currently making the most of their time together by touring à deux on their "Soul2Soul: The World Tour" — and they consider themselves pretty fortunate to do so. “It’s such a rare thing to be able to experience what we do for a living, and to do it together, really feels like all the moments are special,” McGraw told People.

Touring together again at this particular junction in their marriage has also given Hill and McGraw a chance to connect in a way they hadn’t been able to yet. “In all of our years together, we’ve never been in the studio at the same time for any of our duets,” said Hill, adding, “It was nice to be together for the creative process.”

While a lot has changed since Hill and McGraw first met and soon after fell in love so many years ago, a lot has remained the same too. The couple is still clearly crazy about each other. And they still honor their favorite touring tradition. “Tim and I share a quick quiet moment together before hitting the stage. Always praying,” Hill said.

More: Tim McGraw Is Resting Up Stateside After His Onstage Collapse

What’s that the kids say? We can’t even with these two. They’re the sweetest! In case you had any lingering doubts about that, consider the fact that they still make date night a priority — even though they work together every single day.  

Just recently, the pair caught a Bruce Springsteen concert on Broadway. These days, though, most date nights look a lot like ours do.   

“Funny, as we get older it’s less about the big gestures and more about just spending the time together at home,” admitted McGraw. “For our 20th wedding anniversary, we stayed home, in our pajamas and watched TV. We loved it.”

While it would be easy to imagine the novelty of watching each other perform having worn off after so many years, McGraw and Hill still feel like they did when she was his opening act on the 1996 "Spontaneous Combustion Tour."

“I watch him perform and still to this day I’m awed by it,” Hill said. She elaborated, “Tim is the absolute best entertainer, hands down. He can bring a crowd to their feet with the motion of his hand. He knows how to deliver songs to the fans and make them feel like he’s singing to them.”

McGraw can’t help but gush about his wife too, saying, “She’s such a powerhouse that it forces me to raise my game every night.” He also swears he could “listen to her sing all night.” In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2017, McGraw even commented about one of his wife’s hidden talents that has emerged on tour, saying, “Faith’s dance moves have been surprising me! She’s bringing out Beyonce on this tour!”

More: A Timeline of Faith Hill & Tim McGraw's Relationship

But even though the couple is still just as in love as they were 21 years ago, they don’t make any false pretenses about their age or what it took to get them to this point. “It’s an honor to be up on stage with this 50-year-old man!” Hill, also 50, told EW, prompting McGraw, now 51, to joke, “She’s got my can ready for me every night.”

10 Ways Kissing Is Actually Good for Your Health

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Kissing is pretty much the best thing in the entire world — but probably not for the reasons you think. Sure, a good make-out sesh feels amazing and is the ultimate form of foreplay, but it turns out kissing actually does a body good — as if you really needed another excuse to smooch.

Below, the great reasons you should be kissing someone right now.

More: This Is What Happens to Our Brains After Sex

1. Burns calories

Sure, kissing may not burn as many calories as, say, running a mile, but it does pump up your metabolism to about twice its usual rate. Most people burn about one calorie a minute at rest, but according to Dr. Sharon Stills, naturopathic physician and author of R.E.D. Alert — Get Real and Heal, kissing burns about 2 to 3 calories per minute. You won't want to skip Zumba in favor of a makeout session, but next time you're lounging around on the couch with your spouse, turn up the heat with some calorie-boosting kisses.

2. Boosts bonding

Whether you're smooching a baby or passionately kissing your spouse, locking lips promotes intimacy and boosts bonding. Dawn Maslar, a biology professor, sums it up like this: "When we kiss, both men and women produce the hormone oxytocin. It's often called the 'love hormone' because it causes us (particularly females) to bond." The fact is we kiss the ones we love and love the ones we kiss!

3. Spurs arousal and enhances sex

Frequent sex can enhance everything from heart health to your self-esteem, and there's no better primer for sex than kissing. As Carol Queen, Good Vibrations' staff sexologist and founding director of the Center for Sex & Culture, points out, "Kissing is a powerful type of foreplay. It helps increase the chances that both partners will have a good and pleasurable erotic experience."

4. Fights illness

It may sound counterintuitive, but swapping spit is a great way to fend off viruses — especially if all that kissing leads to sex. Research from the journal Medical Hypotheses in 2009 indicates that women build up immunity against the cytomegalovirus by kissing infected partners. Another study performed at Wilkes University in 2004 found that study participants who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of the infection-fighting antibody immunoglobulin A. So if you want to make it through cold season unscathed, it's time to pucker up!

More: How to (Safely) Look for & Have No-Strings-Attached Sex

5. Makes better marriages

Seriously. It's not just that frequent kissers may have stronger marriages (which is great for mental and emotional health), but kissing can actually help you choose the right partner. When you kiss someone, your body is subconsciously sharing information about your respective immune systems. The technical term is major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Biologically, it's important for partners to bring different immune system genes to the table so that their offspring will have a better opportunity for survival. So if kissing your crush immediately douses the flames of love, you might be able to chalk it up to biological incompatibility.

6. Increases happiness

Kissing releases endorphins, and to quote Elle Woods from Legally Blond, "Endorphins make you happy." 

Next: Decreases pain

A version of this article was originally published in February 2013.

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7. Lowers cholesterol

According to a 2009 study in the Western Journal of Communication, the authors found that affectionate behavior, including kissing, could have a positive effect on your cholesterol. "We hypothesized that increasing affectionate behavior would effect improvements in physical and psychological conditions known to be exacerbated by stress," such as cholesterol. After six weeks of tests, the group showed improvements in perceived stress, relationship satisfaction and total serum cholesterol.

More: Things to Keep in Mind When You're in an Early-Days Sex Haze With a New Partner

8. Lowers stress

How often do you feel frazzled and exhausted at the end of the day? Blame it on your body's natural response to stress: Dr. Stills points out that "kissing lowers cortisol levels. Cortisol is our stress hormone and it has a negative effect on our immune system, endocrine system and brain health, specifically the hippocampus."

So if you can lower stress and reduce those negative effects by simply stealing a kiss with your partner, do it as often as you can!

9. Improves allergy symptoms

Wait — kissing improves allergy symptoms?! Yep. According to a 2003 Japanese study published in Physiology and Behavior, participants kissed for 30 minutes in a private room while listening to soft music. At the end of it, the participants experienced relief from hives and signs of allergic reaction from Japanese cedar pollen and house dust mites.

10. Turns up the fun

Speaking of fun, kissing is a blast! According to Gina Cloud, women's health advocate and creator of GinaCology, "There are more than 30 kinds of kisses in the Kama Sutra. Kissing is such an important way of expressing ourselves, and the many different ways we can do it bring it into the realm of creative. With so many ways to kiss and express ourselves through it, fun becomes part of the experience, and fun is a great tool for happiness!"

52 Patriotic Names for Fourth of July Babies

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Are you having a baby in early July? Or are you simply the most patriotic person you know? Then an all-American, patriotic baby name might be just what you're looking for — especially if kiddo is lucky enough to have a Fourth of July birthday.

But you don't have to name your kid "Washington" (or any other state) or go all out and call her "America" in order to be patriotic. Instead, take a cue from the notable folks who shaped our great country. The best thing about patriotic baby names? Virtually all of them have a story behind them.

Below, you'll find 52 baby names from American leaders, revolutionaries and luminaries your kid will be proud to have as a namesake.

More: Surfer Girl Names for Your Beach-Loving Babe

Names from the American Revolution

The people below fought for independence from Great Britain — and their names are still quite popular well after 1776.

More: 30 West Coast Baby Names With a Laid-Back Vibe

Names from historic feminists

Want to name your baby after the women who helped shape the earliest forms of feminism in the U.S.? Look no further.

More: Beautiful Native American Baby Names for Girls

Names from trailblazing women of color

These women truly made history — as activists, artists, politicians, scientists, thinkers and everything in between.

  • Maya Angelou: A Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet and civil rights activist
  • Ella Baker: A civil rights activist who founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
  • Grace Lee Boggs: An activist who worked closely with Black Marxists
  • Shirley Chisholm: The first Black woman elected to U.S. Congress in 1968
  • Angela Davis: A prominent counterculture activist in the 1960s working with the Black Panther Party
  • Barbara Jordan: The first Black woman from the South elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
  • Coretta Scott King: A leader in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Addie Wyatt: The founding member of the National Organization of Women
  • Mary Jackson: A Black mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
  • Dorothy Vaughan: A Black mathematician and "human computer" who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and NASA
  • Katherine Johnson: A Black mathematician who worked for NASA

Next: Baby girl names from influential suffragists

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Names from influential suffragists

Your baby girl deserves a strong, beautiful name — and these American suffragists are all of the above. After all, they're the reason women have the right to vote today.

More: 64 All-American Baby Boy Names That'll Never Go Out of Style

Names from famous military figures

Want your baby's name to pay tribute to those who have served our country? Here's some inspiration from American military leaders and heroes.

  • Audie Murphy: World War II
  • Douglas MacArthur: World War II
  • Dwight Eisenhower: World War II
  • George Patton: World War II
  • Omar Bradley: World War II
  • Pat Tillman: Afghanistan War
  • Dakota Meyer: Afghanistan War
  • Lewis Albanese: Vietnam War
  • Ryan Pitts: Afghanistan War
  • Salvatore Giunta: Afghanistan War
  • Donald Ballard: Vietnam War
Patriotic baby names

Starbucks Adds New Perfect-for-Summer Refresher to Its Menu

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Starbucks' motto for the summer must be "can't stop, won't stop" because the powerhouse coffee chain continues to add delicious new drinks to its menu. Just a couple of weeks ago, it added three new items to its permanent menu, one of them being the Serious Strawberry Frappuccino. And now? We have a new refresher to choose from: a mango-dragon fruit refresher.

More: McDonald’s New Cold-Brew Coffee Reviews Should Make Starbucks Nervous

Joining the already tasty lineup of berry, strawberry-acai and lime flavors, the tropical mango dragon fruit refresher is a refreshing combo of sweet mango and dragon fruit flavors according to Starbucks' website. And as you'll always find in their refreshers, each cup comes with a scoop of real diced dragon fruit (also known as pitaya). 

The new refresher hit menus across the U.S. and Canada yesterday and ranges in price from $3.25 to $4.95, depending on what size you get. While the price might seem a bit steep (as the price of most Starbucks drinks do), the number of calories is relatively low: a grande size has 90 calories with no artificial colors or sweeteners. Just don't look at the amount of sugar per serving… (19 grams!). 

It doesn't end there: Starbucks also released a version 2.0 of the new refresher called the Dragon Drink. Cute, right? This is basically a creamier version of the mango-dragon fruit refresher, using coconut milk instead of water. 

We didn't think they could possibly top the Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher in taste, but it seems they got pretty close. According to the Real Simple team, who tried the new refresher, it's a great pick-me-up on a hot summer day.

"It was sweet without being overpowering, and the mango flavor came through. We decided overall it tasted a little bit artificial, but was good for an afternoon pick-me-up."

But it sounds like they liked the Dragon Drink even more, saying, "the coconut milk's fattiness cut through the sweetness of the drink and balanced the flavors out." 

More: The Best New Summer Snacks to Try

Looks like we're stepping out to Starbucks during our lunch break — and framing up the perfect Instagram photo of this new, photogenic pink drink. 

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