Last year, kids were willing to negotiate with their parents, agreeing to less clothing and outright shunning some things to get what they wanted in an electronic item.

If your parents pandered to your every need, chances are you'll do the same with your kids. Dare to break the pattern.

As kids approach puberty, parents should talk about sex and set up the right kinds of guidelines for social interaction.

You can't sit around and say it was the absolute hot item of the season because there wasn't enough of it around.

When gas prices go up 5 cents a gallon, that's maybe an extra $10 a week out of consumers' pockets. But when they're going up 15 cents and more, it means $20 extra a week.

Consumers traditionally barreled through and absorbed higher costs. But it's now no longer just their wallet that's being affected; their emotions are being affected.