Those with kids who have suffered through mental illness with parents might be interested in this book review and author interview of "Bad Girls Club".

A fictionalized account of the author's upbringing, it was written to help.

"I write for people who have suffered and hidden their pain," she says. "I especially want to give teenagers hope, and I want to tell them that it's not what happens to you that determines your life. It's how you react and what you do with your suffering that determines who you become."

Check out the link, and then possibly the book.

Okay, I'm shocked. This "Hannity & Colmes" is partially titled "Cupcakes Banned But Birth Control is Okay for Kids?", and that should perhaps be shocking enough, but what really has me stunned is the last bit that adds, "Geraldo Weighs in."

Excuse me, but people are still listening to Geraldo Rivera? OMG! What are you thinking over on that side of the planet?

Then I read the transcript of the show and find out that he really is in favor of the banning of sweets in schools, but doesn't want his daughter to be able to get a hold of a condom without him knowing about it.

Personally, I have a different take when worrying about what goes into my kids.

Giving up TV and doing more reading? Does that sound like a good idea?

According to this report in the Christian Science Monitor it is beginning to in many households.

In US Census Bureau data, based on a 2004 survey, released this week, reading to kids and restricting their access to television is more popular an idea among parents than it was ten years ago.

(Given the my recent revelation that Geraldo is still around, I think this concept is stellar.)

There does appear to be some controversy, however, as some doubt the honesty of the responses to survey questions and others suggest the although TV time may have dropped, it's video games that have filled the gap.

Looking at something called the "Child Well-Being Index", it is reported that issues of child safety and children's behavior have improved since tracking of such things began in 1975, but, as one sociologist put it, ""There appears to be a trade-off. The improvements in safety and behavioral indicators are the inverse of the obesity epidemic."

The children of parents arrested in immigration raids, their emotional health and general welfare, is the subject of this article out of Colorado today.

A recent spate of about 1,300 arrests, mainly of people from Mexico and Guatemala, have left many kids in the lurch.

When one or both parents are deported, the family must decide whether the children - who are often legal residents or U.S. citizens - will go with the parents or remain behind with other family members ...

... If they have other family members who are willing and able to care properly for the children.

No matter what, it's always the kids suffering the most.