Over the past six years, I've uttered the most peculiar phrases -- things I never would've imagined myself saying before becoming a mother. "Keep your pants on at the playground" and "Tuna sandwiches don't belong in the DVD player" come to mind.

Rare is the teen that doesn't have access to a mobile device, be it a smartphone or tablet. Even more rare is the teen that has had a "training" session on how they will use such a device provided by their parent or guardian.

I'm worried I leapt too soon. That I don't have all the tools to be the best mother possible. Scared I don't and won't know what I'm doing. Fearful of the unknown. More terrified of the known (studies, statistics, friends' horror stories). I'm worried about giving up my life as I know it.

Healthy eating habits start in childhood, where parents have the most control over food choices. It is important to take advantage of this opportunity so that your children don't grow up with a taste preference for salty, fatty and sugary foods.

Reflecting on the evolution of youthful mischief and behavior over the last 60 years, one item which has seems to have survived the test of time has been the double-dog dare.

The 110th Annual Toy Fair was recently held in New York City. It was filled with many familiar toys from my childhood as well as a host of innovative items that one could not have imagined 10 or 20 years ago.

Even at 2, my daughter is wary of risk. I'm constantly encouraging her to jump, leap and tip over all she can. I want her to push her limits, to ride the edge, even if that means falling and failing. Yes, I want my daughter to fail.

My gynecologist found it humorous that a woman who had battled infertility and miscarriages for years could end up pregnant while on birth control... but I was living proof that the pill is not 100% effective.

Parenthood has often been called the hardest job there is. Guiding a boy or girl through their childhood, into their teens and then onto adulthood can make any seasoned adult nervous, especially when some of the biggest rites of passage have to be tackled

We need to use technology as a medium for learning. Otherwise, kids will be bored and less engaged in the learning process.

For me, spring begins when the air fills with the crack of the bat or the snap of a ball hitting a glove. It begins in February, when baseball spring training gets underway. As a parent, my real joy comes from watching Little Leaguers play. I can't wait to root for my kids on the ball field.

Tolstoy was right. Happy families do have certain things in common. Today we finally have the knowledge to know what those things are.

You need to have The Talk with your kid. And not just once but many times, slowly, over many years.

Five is a whole hand. It is no longer a baby, not even a toddler or a preschooler. Five is a big deal.

You can perhaps imagine my shock two years ago when my then-6-year-old asked me if she should "make a Valentine's Day present list." At first, I was impressed -- what a sophisticated joke. Alas, no joke. "Seriously, Mommy. What are you going to get me? I mean, besides candy."

My love for my boys isn't "equal" in height, weight or circumference. The love I feel for my second is absolutely incomparable to the love I feel for my first. As if it's a different color, a different language, a different texture or a different tonality.

The very best love stories, I think, are of conflict resolved. And all the baby (or big kid) steps it took to get there.

Many people think of Lent in terms of giving up indulgences such as chocolate or wine. What I'd like to give up this season is being hard on myself.

Due to the efforts of a group of Brooklyn parents, when PS 118 in Brooklyn opens next September, it will welcome students to a school named in honor of Maurice Sendak.