Parents ok with kids’ homework load

September 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has found that children whose parents have a firm parenting approach allowing them to test the rules and learn from it are more likely to assume leadership roles as adults. For the new study published in a recent edition of The Leadership Quarterly, researchers used data from a long-term Minnesota study of twins.

September 29th, 2009 LONDON - Brit kids, as young as seven, are increasingly shopping for "shag bands"- cheap plastic bracelets with different colours, referring to various sex acts. Available for just 1 pound on any High Street, the shag bands have become the latest craze among students, and horrified parents across the country.

September 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - While parents always teach their kids to be honest in life, they regularly lie to them as a way of influencing their behavior and emotions, says a new study. The research team from University of California San Diego and University of Toronto refer to this practice as "parenting by lying." During the study, they asked U.S.

August 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Aussie singer Peter Andre is set to launch a cookery book including a combination of Greek, English and Australian recipes. The 'Behind the Doors' hitmaker's "greekenglian' cookbook caters to single parents so he doesn't have to eat "beans on toast" every night.

August 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Angelina Jolie is apparently no less than a saint for the Namibian children she helped by donating the profits from her family photos of baby Shiloh in 2006. The kids helped by her are thanking her for distributing the four million dollars she had made from showing off Shilow, who was born in Namibia, to local schools.

August 6th, 2009 Steely Dan had to do some homework for tourCHICAGO — To prepare for their current tour, Steely Dan had to relearn their own music. The band will perform one of three albums — "Aja," ''Gaucho" or "The Royal Scam" — in its entirety on select dates of their Rent Party tour.

July 14th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A new survey has revealed that Aussie kids are now being given a special celebrity kind of birthday treat by their parents - a 500 dollars-an-hour Hummer ride. According to Hummer hire companies across Sydney, there is a rising demand by parents looking to give their kids a birthday with a celebrity touch.

July 6th, 2009 LONDON - A leading headmaster has warned that children, whose parents do not take risks, will end up unable to cope with work or grown-up life. Rod Grant, headmaster of Clifton Hall independent school in Edinburgh, who thinks that parents have become hugely "risk averse", says that it is wrong to remove trees from playgrounds or diving boards from swimming pools in a misguided attempt to protect youngsters.

July 4th, 2009 LONDON - Parents might be alienating their kids by allowing them to play computer games for too long, according to a leading author. Bernadette Tynan, a former child development academic, insists that the solitary nature of the games might have an adverse impact on parent-child bond, which is believed to be key to development.

July 1st, 2009 LONDON - Debunking what is called the "empty nest syndrome", scientists have found that parents, whose children stay at home are more likely to suffer depression than those whose offspring move out. Instead of feeling abandoned and lonely, adults with their children living far away seemed happier and more content than those with sons and daughters still living at home or in the local community.

June 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Bruce Springsteen has said that his kids find his rock star status "embarrassing." The Boss, who has three kids with wife Patti Scialfa - Evan, 18, Jessica, 17 and 15-year-old Sam, admitted that he faces the same challenges as any other parent does, reports Contactmusic. He says, "One day they'll say, 'Man, you rock,' then another day they'll say, 'You're embarrassing me! Don't drop me off here.

June 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Alec Baldwin is planning to pen a parenting book as the actor fears parents may be going too soft on their kids. The 30 Rock star, who previously revealed that he had become suicidal after his private voicemail to his daughter calling her a "rude little pig" was leaked, said that he was stunned at the way kids were being handled nowadays.

June 10th, 2009 LONDON - Your mom's lullabies might be one of your favourite childhood memories, but the tradition of singing bedtime songs for kids is now dying out in modern day Britain, according to a new research. The research, commissioned by confectionary firm Jakemans, has revealed that the rapid pace of life in modern Britain has killed the traditional lullaby.

June 8th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Parents who allow their kids to take their mobile phones to bed have been blamed for encouraging a generation of over-tired "zombies" in a new study. Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg says that "stupid" parents are putting their child's health at risk by letting them do so.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - Katie Price a.k.a Jordan reportedly bought a load of poisonous plants after spending an hour browsing a garden centre. The glamour model, who is set to get divorced after husband Peter Andre refused to take her back, visited Gardenpride in Hassocks, West Sussex and bought a trolley-load of delphiniums.