A Utah fourth-grader named Kaylee was forced to wear unstylish thrift store clothes as punishment for bullying another student. (KTSU-TV/Fox)

When a woman from Murray, Utah, learned that her stepdaughter was criticizing a classmate’s wardrobe, she made a trip to a local thrift store.

Ally* purchased dowdy, ill-fitting outfits that she knew her stepdaughter, Kaylee*, would never choose, and she forced the fourth-grader to wear them to school as punishment for being a bully.

What do you think, is Ally’s idea a brilliant way to teach a kid a lesson or is this woman an evil stepmother?

Kaylee was relentlessly harassing one of her classmates over the course of three weeks and verbally tearing apart the girl’s clothing, according to KTSU-TV/Fox. Kaylee’s stepmother, Ally, told the Salt Lake City TV station that Kaylee went as far to call the girl a “sleaze” and a “slob.”

When Ally received a note from the school alerting her of Kaylee’s bullying, she talked about the issue with her stepdaughter and was perplexed when the young girl seemed apathetic to the damage she’d caused. The bullied student was so hurt that she wanted to leave the school.

Ally decided to get creative to teach Kaylee a lesson. The stepmom spent about $50 at a thrift store and purchased clothes she knew Ally would be embarrassed to wear. The clothes were poorly fitting and dated. (Anyone with a daughter might know that fourth grade is often the year when a girl starts to show interest in fashion and care about what she wears to school.)

“I thought this was a perfect moment for us to really teach her, this is right, this is wrong, which path are you going to take? And then it’s her choice,” Ally told KTSU.

In the past couple years, the media has covered many instances of parents publicly shaming their children as a way to teach a meaningful lesson. Parents have done everything from force their kids to stand on street corners holding signs reading “I am a bully” to posting humiliating images on their children’s Facebook pages. A debate is unfolding over whether this type of punishment is effective.

Child psychologists most often advise against it. “Public shaming may be effective in teaching our children what specific behavior they should stay away from in the future to avoid future humiliation,” Jennifer A. Leigh, Psy.D., told She Knows Parenting. “However, shaming can damage the parent-child relationship. Children quickly learn they cannot trust their parents. Children need to feel safe and secure and to be able to trust their parents.”

KTSU asked Dr. Douglas Goldsmith of Utah’s Children’s Center about Ally teaching her daughter a lesson through humiliation and he said, “What happens with that is the person walks away at the end saying, ‘Now I’m really angry, that was humiliating and now I’m angry.”

How did Kaylee react to her public shaming? When her stepmother presented her with the thrift store outfits, she cried.

But the fourth grader followed her stepmother’s instructions, wore the unstylish threads for two days, and put up with her friends saying meaning things about her clothes. In the end, Kaylee admitted that she learned a lesson, has decided that teasing other kids is mean, and promises to be more kind to her peers.

How’s the relationship with her stepmother? Only time will tell.

Publicly shaming kids is the latest parenting trend. Take a look at these examples that made national news.

(*Ally asked media to keep her last name and her daughter’s anonymous.)

Eesha Khare is the brilliant teen behind an itty-bitty device that could supercharge cell phones. (You Tube / NBC)

Now here’s the invention that we’ve all been waiting for: A device that instantly charges our cell phones.

A gadget like this might soon be on its way thanks to a bright 18-year-old from Saratoga, Calif., who was recently honored at an international science fair.

Eesha Khare is the mind behind a super-powerful and tiny gizmo that packs more energy into a small space, delivers a charge more quickly, and holds that charge longer than the typical battery. Khare showed off her so-called super-capacitor last week at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Ariz. In her demonstration, she showed it powering a light-emitting diode, or LED light, but the itty-bitty device could fit inside cell phone batteries, delivering a full charge in 20-30 seconds. It takes several hours for the average cell phone to fully charge.

Khare also pointed out that the super-capacitor “can last for 10,000 charge cycles compared to batteries which are good for only 1,000 cycles.”

Khare’s invention is flexible and could be used in roll-up devices and might even have applications for car batteries.

The judges at the science fare were wowed by Khare’s brilliant invention and the senior at Lynbrook High School in San Jose received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award and $50,000.

“With this money I will be able to pay for my college and also work on making scientific advancements,” Khare told a cheering audience after receiving the prize money.

I’m sure her parents are proud and thrilled!

[NBC and DNA India]

“As a mother, you have to do what you have to do. Wherever you have to do it,” Ruth told 9News. “I just kind of wiped him off, cleaned him off as quickly as I could.”

A Starbucks employee was displeased by the Burgos’ choice and tossed a rag at the couple while shouting out rude comments. “You better clean that seat,” the barista said, and then proceeded to laugh with fellow employees.

The father Alex was irritated by the employee’s demeaning tone and dumped his drink onto the floor and said, “You make sure you clean that up,” according to USA Today.

One of the employees called 911 and cops came onto the scene. No arrests were made. Starbucks has since apologized to the Burgos family.

This story raises the question, What is appropriate and inappropriate when it comes to changing diapers outside the house? I think it all depends on the situation, the severity of the diaper (wet or dirty?) and how discreetly it can be changed. Parents need to use their best judgement. But generally, I think you should always aim to change a diaper in a private place and it’s an especially bad idea to change a dirty diaper in a public place where people are consuming food and beverages.

Does this billboard make you laugh or make you mad? (Cougar Life)

A new billboard  rising above Los Angeles’ glamorous Sunset Boulevard is stirring up some controversy.

The advertisement for CougarLife, the largest dating site for pairing younger men with older woman, features a bare-breasted woman nursing a newborn. A conversation bubble above the baby reads, “Jealous?”

The billboard sits in the middle of the 90069 zip code, which supposedly has the highest concentration of cougars in America. Cougars are often defined as women 35 and over who like to date younger men and one-third of CougarLife’s 4 million members are single moms, according to CBS, so the ad is meant to tie in with these women who might still be nursing.

What do you think? Clever or tasteless?

A blogger over at LAist.com gives the billboard a big fat fail. “We are not quite as comfortable with sexualizing such an intimate, natural stage in motherhood and babyhood,” Lauren Lloyd writes.

Miss CougarLife Marlo Brandon defends the billboard and told CBS that an eye-catching image was necessary to cut through Tinsel Town’s billboard clutter.

While I can understand the Last’s concern that the billboard sexualizes breastfeeding and the idea of a cougar dating site using this image seems tasteless, I can’t get that worked up over the billboard. I actually find it a little funny and if anything it’s helpful to get more photos of women breastfeeding out there so people become more comfortable with the sight of a nursing mom (although I understand this wasn’t CougarLife’s intention). What do you think?

Rich moms are paying disabled guides to get their kids to the front of long lines at Disney World. (Paul Thompson / Getty)

What’s the latest indulgence for wealthy parents? A day at Disney World with a disabled guide who can help you and your precious saplings jump to the front of long lines, according to the New York Post.

These parents are taking advantage of Disney World’s policy that allows guests in a wheelchair or motorized scooter, plus up to five members of their party, to use auxiliary entrances intended to offer disabled guests “a more convenient entrance to the attraction.”  While the auxiliary entrances are “not intended to bypass waiting lines,” they are known to get guests on a ride much faster.

“My daughter waited one minute to get on ‘It’s a Small World’ — the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours,” one mom, who hired a disabled guide through Dream Tours Florida, told the Post. “This is how the 1 percent does Disney.”

The guides reportedly cost $130 an hour or $1,040 for an eight-hour day. This might seem high, especially since you’re also paying entrance fees, but Disney World’s comparable VIP service that gets groups to the front of lines costs $315 to $355 an hour.

The New York Post doesn’t quote any named sources in its article and messages left with the tour company singled out in the article remained unanswered, but Disney is still investigating the situation.

“We are thoroughly reviewing the situation and will take appropriate steps to deter this type of activity,” spokesperson Bryan Malenius, Yahoo.com. ”It is unacceptable to abuse accommodations that were designed for guests with disabilities.”

The New York Post was tipped off to the scam by social anthropologist Dr. Wednesday Martin, who learned about the underground network while doing research for her upcoming book “Primates of Park Avenue.”

“It’s insider knowledge that very few have and share carefully,” Dr. Martin told the Post.

While some New York Post readers are pointed out that the scam is a good deal for disabled people who are making some good money, I find it disgraceful. These people are clearly taking advantage of Disney policy. Plus, as someone who took her kids to Disneyland for the day last year, I don’t think the lines are that bad if you’re smart about planning out your day and using FastPasses. And if you have to wait in a 45-minute line, what’s the worst thing that might happen? You might have a conversation with your teenager or play patty-cake with your toddler.

Disability scams to make life a little easier aren’t anything new. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the trend of travelers faking a disability to get a wheelchair to speed through security. Officials at Los Angeles International Airport say that 15 percent of wheel chair users are phony. In San Francisco, drivers are known to “exaggerate injuries to convince doctors to sign documents” so they can obtain handicap placards that give them special parking privileges. In a city where street parking is scarce and meter rates high, these placards can save someone a lot of time and money.

As adults we often struggle to fall asleep in our own beds, but tired toddlers can doze off almost anywhere—in the middle of a pizza party at Chuck E. Cheese, in the front row of the Nutcracker Ballet (my son did this), at an outdoor rock concert. And the toddler pictured above nodded off in a shopping cart at Ikea. The head resting on the cart handle and the missing shoe are classic! (Where is that shoe? Hmmm…maybe she stuck it in a Birkeland dresser drawer?)

This hilarious image recently attracted a lot of attention on Reddit. CeriLKilla posted it with the caption ”Ikea is like a triathlon to a toddler.” But a blogger wisely pointed out over at the Huffington Post, Ikea is a triathlon for everyone.

We love this image so much that we thought it would be fun to create a photo gallery of kids and babies sleeping in crazy places. What’s the most unusual place your kid has ever fallen asleep? Did you capture the moment with a photo? If so, please add it to our Sleeping Babies photo gallery. Or you can email images to moms@sfgate.com; please include “Sleeping Kids” in the subject line. Thanks!

[Huffington Post and Houston Chronicle]

But what about all of those women who choose not to have kids? Do non-Moms also deserve a special day? Is it unfair to put moms up on a pedestal for a day without designating a day for women without children?

The idea of a Non-Moms Day came up in yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle. Katherine Seligman wrote a story about the new anthology No Kidding: Women Writers on Bypassing Parenthood that features a collection of stories by 36 women who opted not to (or couldn’t) have kids. Seligman writes that these writers hope to “spark conversation and perhaps consideration of a new holiday tradition, Non Moms Day.”

My reaction to the idea: Really? It’s silly because Mother’s Day isn’t about putting down or alienating women who aren’t moms. Some people are way too sensitive. Mother’s Day is about families coming together and saying a simple thank you to the mom in the family who has dedicated a huge part of her life to raising and supporting her children.

My opinion: We don’t need a special day for non-moms, but we should take steps to encourage a culture that accepts women (or couples) who choose not to have kids whatever their reason.

What do you think? Does the holiday calendar need a Non Moms Day?

A 12-year-old’s tribute to his mom

Me and my Mom

Moms are so important that we should have mother’s day everyday, but of course we can never really pay our moms back just hope they are proud of us. Ever since I was born my mom has given my learning toys, taken me to museums and has always enlightened my mind. One example is she would take me to junkyards and we would see cars get smashed. Another is she would take me skiing, to boy scouts and even horseback riding every once in a while. She has always encouraged collecting (for me it’s collecting guitars and swords) and she has even encouraged me to get into motor cross.

She as well has taken me to places less for learning and more for fun such as She has brought me to motorcycle races, Disneyland, Discovery Kingdom, 49er’s games, Giant’s games and even brought me to see some of the best bands in the world including The Who, Rush, and The Monkeys.

My mom showers me with love hugs and kisses, and she likes to read to me at night. I believe she is the best mom in the world!

And I truly believe that we should have Mother’s Day everyday.

Last week, I invited readers to submit photos that capture the similarities between mothers and daughters. I was overwhelmed by the response and many thanks to the dozens of readers who shared their family photos. The love expressed in these images was so touching that I found myself wiping my eyes with tissues while creating the slide show.

Take a look at the mother daughter images from past years below.

Inspiration for photo captions above: The Daddy Book by Todd Parr

An unlikely Texas high school student is quickly gaining fame as a video of him giving a lecture to his ‘lazy’ teacher blazes across the Internet.

With a long mane of stringy hair and a lanky frame, Jeff Bliss has the look of a heavy metal band member—and the mind of an inspired orator.

The sophomore at Duncanville High School outside Dallas got kicked out of his World History class on Monday, but before stepping out the door, he gave the teacher a piece of his mind—and he delivers his message eloquently and intelligently, with a touch of teenage sass.

I’m telling you what you need to do. You want kids to come into your class, you want them to get excited for this? You gotta come in here, you gotta make them excited. You want a kid to change and start doing better? You gotta touch his frickin’ heart. Can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell him. You’ve got to take this job serious. This is the future of this nation. And when you come in here like you did last time and make a statement about, ‘Oh this is my paycheck,” indeed it is. But this is my country’s future, and my education.

A classmate got video footage of Bliss’s tirade on his cellphone and posted it on YouTube. The original video was reportedly pulled but other clips of the footage are popping up on YouTube and bringing in hundreds of thousands of page views.

Bliss is going down as a hero. Commenters on YouTube are applauding his tongue-lashing speech. “The kid is 100% right. The teacher is uninspiring and the kid is 100 more intelligent than the teacher,” JayneHefia shares.

The teacher says little in the video. Without hearing her side of the story, it’s difficult judge whether she’s a lazy teacher as Bliss makes her out to be.

Questioning whether this video was staged? Bliss seems to be the real deal as he came forward to talk to the media. He shared with Fox News that he dropped out of high school his freshman year. When he returned as a sophomore, he decided to take school seriously and he “expects teachers to do the same.”

Bliss says schools and administrators have been supportive, and while his mom is proud that her son spoke up, she thinks her son needs to work on his attitude.

Bliss also emphasized that he’s not a hero. “I don’t want people to look up to me as something to idolize or anything, I’m just as human as the next person,” he told Fox News.

This morning the Duncanville school district released a statement in response to the video to NBC 5 Dallas:

As a district with a motto of engaging hearts and minds, we focus on building positive relationships with students and designing engaging work that is meaningful. We want our students and teachers to be engaged, but the method by which the student expressed his concern could have been handled in a more appropriate way.