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Developing a habit of reading, in the cutest way ever. This PSA was produced by the Finnish Library Association for their 100th anniversary. -via Stephen's Lighthouse

We've posted before about mothers who practice one-upmanship and make other moms feel inadequate (see Mompetition). At one time, I belonged to a very large online parenting forum that was dominated by self-proclaimed experts who passed judgment on everything from formula brands to college applications. These "alpha moms" especially came down on anyone who wasn't in a perpetually cheery good mood. One day, a member jokingly suggested forming a splinter group where parents who were less than happy-all-the-time could complain and even use foul language. By the end of the day, it was no longer a joke and the new group had about 50 members, who have become lifelong friends. One member even took the name Omega Mom to distance herself from the "alpha moms". Meanwhile, the large forums survive where new members can be made to feel inadequate if they don't toe the line and conform to the prevailing wisdom -or even if they do, they can be made to feel as if it's still not enough.

It's been said that "alpha moms" sit in judgment of others in order to justify their own parenting decisions or to cover up their insecurities. I don't know, but these kinds of parents can't be as common as the online forums make them seem. The veil of anonymity, or at least physical distance, makes some internet users shed their normal inhibitions and become bullies. We all know that raising children is hard, that every child is different, and that the only thing we are experts in is our own particular children (and even so, they change from day to day).

Washington City Paper takes a look at DC Urban Moms and Dads, a large parenting forum for parents in the District of Columbia, where they seem to take one-upmanship to an entirely new level.

In many ways, DCUM is a typical parents’ message board. There are garden-variety threads on medical practices, preschools, and how to get your picky eater to try new foods. There are ads for nannies and discussions about how to fire them. There’s endless speculation about other people’s parenting styles—a subject of particular fascination in this season of debate about whether or not Chinese “Tiger Mothers” are out-parenting their American counterparts. It’s no surprise that the parenting website Babble just named DCUM one of the country’s “top 12 Listserv parent networks.”

All the same, DCUM’s vivid displays of jostling for position might make it an appealing locale for anthropologists, too. Flame wars are common wherever the Internet grants people anonymity, but the fights on DCUM have a uniquely Washington flavor to them. With all that ambient worry about where we live, how much money we make, and how gifted our children are, it’s a place to ponder what it means to raise a child in America’s highest-income, best-educated Census area. DCUM might be as close as it gets to a field guide to parentis Washingtonianis.

If reading about families with 6- and 7-figure incomes bothers you, there is an alternative. The story links to a site called the Institute for Adequate Parenting, founded by a DC mom in reaction to to forum. Its motto: "Because good enough is good enough. Really."

Read more at Washington City Paper. Link -via Fark

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Enjoy yet another parody of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back", produced by the students of Dowell Middle School in McKinney, Texas, for a reading awareness project. Don't let the 6 minute video length deter you -the last couple of minutes are credits and outtakes. -via Rue the Day

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Sesame Street is using YouTube interactive games to teach science concepts to children! Sink or Float with Cookie Monster is the first such interactive video game made available through YouTube; it teaches kids about the experimental method. Link -via Boing Boing

Tiffany Yang gave hairstyles to these redheaded kids made of Babybel cheese! The eyes are black sesame seeds. See more at Cute Food For Kids. Link -via Nag on the Lake

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There is a short window in a child's life when he knows how to say this, but doesn't use it seriously. Give him six months. When he says it and means it, it stops being so darned cute. -via The Daily What

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This is what the internet was made for. -via The Daily What

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An adorable duet between Aaron Foye and his 8-month-old daughter Sydney. This baby is going to grow up to be a rock star! Now 2, Sydney was a guest on CBS's The Early Show after this video was posted at YouTube. -via Arbroath

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Kid try some damage control (to no avail) after Wikileaks reveals all the details of Santa's "naughty" list. The secrets are out -even the one about the grape juice in the living room! -via Buzzfeed

In a word, no. New mom and statistics geek spacefem is gathering and displaying data about gestation length and found that it varies widely depending on a host of factors. The "40 weeks" gestation used as a benchmark is the average and median for term births, but only 5.6% of spontaneous births happened on the predicted due date. The upshot is that you don't have to be "average" to be "normal". Spacefem also has graphs on the probability of induction by gestation date, birth weight by gestation date, and more. And you are invited to add your data to the ongoing survey as well! Link -via Metafilter

Beth is going to make sure her niece (due in January) starts out life with a good dose of Star Wars! She began this painted wall quilt with just the Death Star, but by the time it was done, eight other Star Wars icons were included. See more pictures at Craftster. Link -Thanks, Beth!

Babycenter has released their list of the 100 most popular girls' names for new babies, as well as the top 100 boys' names. The top ten are:

	Girls' Names	Boys' Names
1	Sophia	Aiden
2	Isabella	Jacob
3	Olivia	Jackson
4	Emma	Ethan
5	Chloe	Jayden
6	Ava	Noah
7	Lily	Logan
8	Madison	Caden
9	Addison	Lucas
10	Abigail	Liam

The most popular names this years are not particularly new. I think there are students with each name on the top ten in my kids' middle school classes. http://www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names-2010 -via Fark

Here's a sled your kids can use whether there is snow and ice out or not! The secret is that the sled itself has ice on the bottom. There are two ice molds that you fill with water and set in your freezer. When the ice is solid, attach the molds to the underside of the sled. Clever! Of course, a parent should determine where this will be used. Link

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This infant must have some kind of rubber bands or gears inside! Push one arm down, the other goes up. At least he/she is sleeping soundly. -via Arbroath

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A French family admires their unborn child performing somersaults and flips. A rough Babelfish translation of the video description:

Fifteen days before the childbirth, zébulon moves in the belly, especially on the end, of the video… Lucie and Alice had never done that!

-via The Daily What, where commenters were strangely horrified.