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Most children will do just about anything to get out of writing thank-you notes. This holiday, encourage your kids to embrace the task.

By Thomas P. Farley

Clean your room. Come in for dinner. Do your homework. If you were anything like me growing up, these weren’t necessarily words you lived to hear. But chances are, the dread you experienced in response to such requests paled in comparison to the most reviled entreaty of all: Have you written your thank-you notes? When the unavoidable day arrives that Moms and Dads stop inquiring and start insisting, the majority of youngsters aim to get the ordeal over as quickly as possible. The result usually reads something like this:

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
Thank you for the striped socks. I like them a whole lot.
Love,
Timothy

In all likelihood, the ink is barely dry on this missive before little Timmy has grabbed his skateboard and headed out the door. Unfortunately, by treating the process of thanking his grandparents as something painful, tiny Tim has passed up a chance to consider how much he really values the special people in his life.

So don’t let your kids talk their way out of thank-you note duty. It’s a habit that will set them apart from many of their peers—both as children and eventually, as adults. Trust me: They will thank you later. Read more

Everything you want and need to know about today’s fastest-growing makeup trend.

By Jessica Saslow

The biggest secret in the natural cosmetics marketplace—that mineral makeup can make skin look and feel significantly better—is a secret no longer. Walk down the cosmetics aisle of your local drug store and you’re bound to spot mineral products—foundation being the most common—offered by traditional brands like L’Oréal, Jane and Physicians Formula.

So what makes these items so special? Partly, it’s what they contain—very finely ground minerals, like zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and mica—but just as crucially, it’s what they don’t, says Meredith McGann, of Bare Escentuals, a mineral makeup company with a massive cultlike following. “There are no fillers, fragrances, dyes, preservatives or oils, all of which can irritate the skin.”

Coverage and texture are the two other big draws, says Pauline Youngblood Soli, a former medical aesthetician who originally created her line, Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics, to help women gently camouflage the redness caused by dermatological procedures like laser peels. “It hides imperfections wonderfully, yet is so lightweight that you barely feel like you’re wearing anything at all.” Read more

Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile—authors of I’d Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper—interviewed hundreds of women (and plenty of men) about marriage after kids. Here, they dish about juggling children and husbands and explain why there’s no such thing as the perfect marriage.

Which is harder: motherhood or marriage?

They are both very, very tough. What we found from our interviews is that admitting the hardships of marriage is more taboo than talking about the challenges of motherhood.

Before you had kids, what did you think your marriages would be like with children?

We all have this image of what marriage and kids will look like—some Hollywood version of perfection that simply doesn’t exist. Then reality hits. We need to know that the ups and downs and figuring it all out are normal. To succeed, we have to start talking about expectations with our spouses: What are our roles going to look like? What do we each need on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? Every marriage needs to be redefined and reinvented after kids. Read more

By Kate Siberine

Spending just ten minutes a day in the tub can help the whole family de-stress and sleep more soundly. Many bath products contain ingredients such as parabens and sulfates—both no-no’s—but these natural options will let parents and kids soak without a care in the world.

Real men take baths, and we think dads will love EO Bubble Bath in Be Well, with its masculine scent and eucalyptus and arnica oils. ($10)

Every teenage girl will want to toss the candy-colored Lush Blue Skies Bubble Bar in the tub and watch as the bathwater turns blue. ($11)

Nothing will ease Mom’s back-to-school stress better than the luxurious Deep Steep Honey Bubble Bath in Honeydew-Spearmint. ($19.50) Read more

Postnatal nourishment tips for preoccupied new moms

By Jennifer Medley

For the crucial nine months of your pregnancy, you ate healthy to the max. Now that your precious little one has arrived, you’ve stopped paying attention to feeding yourself—it’s all about baby.

Not an uncommon scenario, and as a result, postnatal nutrition is a factor many new moms neglect. However, nutrient intake at this stage is just as important as it was during pregnancy. According to Karen Gurwitz, founder and president of Mothers & Menus, a New York City–based food delivery service for new moms, “The first thing I have to remind women is that they must nourish themselves in order to properly nourish the baby. Even if they’re not nursing, they need the stamina to take care of the baby.”

Getting the right nutrients can boost a woman’s recovery from the birth itself. And, if she decides to breastfeed, she’ll also need plenty of extra dietary support to keep the milk-producing machine running. It takes energy to make all that food, which is why requirements are quite high for Mom, not to mention the fact that a balanced diet produces better quality food for baby. What is needed when nursing? Much more water than normal (to replace lost fluids), 500 or so calories beyond prepregnancy intake, extra protein and more vitamins and minerals, in addition to the ever-important Omega-3 fatty acids. Read more

By Cynthia Ramnarace

If you ever needed a reason to keep meat and fish in your diet, here it is: vitamin B12, which is essential for making healthy nerve and blood cells as well as replicating DNA, is only found in animal proteins. There is no vegetable that has it, no legume. So by eating that salmon or liver, you’re helping stave off dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and pernicious anemia. Research also shows that B12 might protect against heart disease and pancreatic cancer.

“B12 is the only vitamin that we actually keep a ten-year supply of in the liver, which indicates that it is very, very important,” says Carol Johnston, Ph.D., chair of the Arizona State University Department of Nutrition. Read more

By Cynthia Ramnarace

Have you or your kids been feeling tired lately? If so, lentil soup may be the remedy. That’s because lentils, as well as beef, chicken and tofu, are rich sources of iron.

Iron helps transport oxygen to the organs and muscles. Iron deficiency, which in its extreme form is called anemia, causes lethargy and reduced immunity and makes it harder to remember things and learn new tasks, according to a Pennsylvania State University study.

On the other hand, excess iron can be harmful. Men with too much iron are at increased risk of gallstones, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Some research also points to a link between excess iron and heart disease. The good news, though, is that the body regulates our iron storehouses. “Unless you have a medical disorder such as hemochromatosis, which is very rare, it’s very difficult to get too much iron,” says dietitian Debbie Petitpain, M.S., of the Medical University of South Carolina. Read more

What you eat can affect how you feel. Omega-3 fatty acids may give you a boost.

By Theresa Cerulli, M.D.

What do Japan, Finland and Greenland have in common? The answer: depression rates that are drastically lower than in the United States. Is our 24/7, overworked, high-tech culture more prone to depression?

Scientific evidence is pointing in another direction. Simply stated, it’s our diet. The standard American diet is low in antioxidants and nutrients, but high in saturated fats, starches, sugar, sodium and preservatives. Americans are particularly deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, lipids that scientists believe are essential to mental wellness.

Interestingly, our “stone- age” DNA was programmed to survive on fish and nuts (both very high in omega-3 content), vegetables, fruit and lean protein. Our ancestors relied on these basic foods, not medication, for their mental and physical health. The reduction of omega-3s in the American diet is significant because our bodies can’t manufacture these essential oils—they can only be obtained from food products. Read more

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