RELATED: The 20 Hottest Holiday Toys of 2017 But with every company trying to capitalize on the branded tie-ins (Star Wars cashews, anyone?), it can be tough to figure out which Star Wars stuff is legit and which is just a container of ordinary nuts pretending to be from a galaxy far far away. This list of Star Wars action figures, dolls, and droids ⏤ from indestructible lightsabers and R2-D2 coffee makers to Kylo Ren dolls and Porgs that talk ⏤ represent a few of the coolest Star Wars swag currently on the market, and make great holiday gifts....

We’ve known for awhile that director Matt Reeves was planning on taking a hardcore approach to the legend of the Dark Knight, but now rumors are swirling that if you thought the Christopher Nolan movies were serious, you haven’t seen anything yet. According to a Twitter leak, from someone who claims they’ve talked to someone else who was in a test-screening, “The Batman movie is a horror movie. Very graphic, very dark, very scary....

But bad-faith arguments from Republicans and conservative Democrats and, one has to assume, howling from wealthy campaign contributors, have taken their toll. The bill that made it out of the House Ways and Means Committee would leave the loophole intact, allowing it to continue to perpetuate the racial wealth gap in this country. Here is everything you need to know about the step-up tax loophole: how it works, whom it helps, and why it looks like a part of the tax code that harms American families will likely make it through this session of Congress unscathed....

Rosalio was, in his own words, in and out of jail for the better part of nearly thirty years, starting at age 16, when he was tried and sentenced as an adult. His last stint in 2007 began a series of events he calls a “blessing, in hindsight.” His wife got caught by child services under the influence of drugs. His children were removed from his home. And for both of them, it was the catalyst that set them off to reunify with their kids for good....

That’s the intent of The Book of Dares: 100 Ways For Boys to Be Kind, Bold, and Brave. Written by Ted Bunch and Anna-Marie Johnson Teague of the anti-violence organization A Call to Men, the book provides 100 challenges for boys in the form of dares that work to promote a healthy respect for women, different cultures, religions, interests, and themselves. Broken up into such dares as “Dare to ask a friend to teach you something,” “Dare to wear a female athlete’s jersey,” and “Dare to prove a stereotype wrong,” the book is a smart, accessible tool that parents can use to engage their sons and encourage everything from emotional literacy to healthy manhood....

After “the day on the dock,” my ex-husband and I were inseparable. He was easy-going and carefree and, at the time, I valued those traits above most others. We fell in love, had a baby, got married, and had another baby (in that order). In the span of a few years, our lives changed in just about every way possible. We had more responsibilities and less personal freedom. In many ways, we rose to the challenges....

How should I react if my child trips and falls? My wife and I decided that we would let our children hurt themselves, but would not let them damage themselves. If they fall and hurt themselves, but draw no blood, then we comment on their fall, but don’t make a fuss. Did you hurt yourself? Oh, that makes me sad. How does it feel? Can you get up? Do you want help?...

Marijuana’s stress-reducing, anxiety-lessening, creativity-boosting benefits have been lauded for years, but they’re particularly primed to assist modern moms and dads who are stretched thin. When speaking to parents who smoke weed about the reasons they toke, answers ranged from the expected (“It’s a nice treat at the end of a long day”) to the more nuanced (“It makes playtime better,” “It helps my anxiety so I can be there for my kids”)....

That’s why we spoke to 14 men about what they were feeling after the loss of their father — the good, the bad, and everything in between. For sons, the loss of father — no matter how present or distant he was — confronts them with truths about how they want to live their lives. These stories reflect that. As such, grief and sadness are common themes. But so are relief, inspiration, joy, and contentment....

The Return to Normal May Be Slow While it felt like the world stopped suddenly in March 2020, it will take time for life to ramp back up both externally and in our own minds. Psychoanalyst and author Laurie Hollman, PhD, encourages parents to view this summer as a time of transition and emergence for their family. Doing so will help kids with the pace of change while assisting them to remain flexible for the future....

Parenting Coach Joani Geltman says kids in the preschool and kindergarten age range are really just trying to figure out how to get what they want. The problem is that the bad influence child is good at getting results. So the previously non-annoying child will repeat what they’ve seen succeed. “They don’t have the brain power or life experience to say this is bad and we shouldn’t be doing it,” she says....

Disney+ might just be the most important family streaming service ever, if not the most important streaming service ever. Netflix and HBO Max might be trying to convince you that they’ve got the best stuff, but Disney+ continues to have an essential backlist. Also, the fact that having Disney+ is soon to be indistinguishable from having Hulu and ESPN, is kind of important. For the most part, you don’t just get Disney+ when you get Disney+, you get Hulu too....

Let The Birds Come To You Early on in his kids’ lives, Lajewski put up bird feeders and bird boxes to transform his yard into a feathered Ritz Carlton. When you get them literally flocking to the front of your house, you can start pointing out different species while everyone is having breakfast. Here are a few ways to prep your yard: Plant native vegetation. You’re going to want to make a place for them to nest, but also choose plants that yield seeds or berries, so they have a snack....

This, of course, isn’t great. But it happened. Now what? Fights happen. They’re necessary. But these small fights and spats sometimes gather and form into bomb cyclones of arguments where curses fly. Assuming that a husband understands the line he crossed when he used such language and wants to bridge the gap between himself and his partner, the first thing that needs to happen, according to Dr. George Ball, a marriage counselor in Dallas, Texas, is to take a break....

While it’s completely normal for instances of low self-esteem to pop up on occasion (especially for parents for whom there’s no lack of responsibilities and expectations), low self-esteem can be a chronic issue. This can be draining and toxic for the person struggling and, over time, everyone around them. Being in a relationship with someone who has low self-esteem can be particularly tough, especially if you’re relying on them to contribute to the family....

With this, the very thing that was supposed to rubberstamp a couple’s permanence – “look how committed we are, we’ve made a human!” – can become its greatest threat, chipping away ruthlessly at any weak spots. And when there are two babies? Well, that threat is even greater. My wife and I have twins. And although the strains experienced by twin parents are similar in nature to those with just the one baby, they are dialed up to 11 and played on loop....

Every night your kid expects to settle in with an original, epic bedtime tale. And, like a tiny Hollywood producer, they always have a few notes. Can it star them? What about their friends? Is there a fire engine parade? A mountain of candy? Does it feature a narrative arc from Sofia The First? The best bedtime stories for kids tend to be relatable, feature a clear process of growth, and possibly, has your child as the hero....

It’s a grim reality not just for those saving for retirement, but for parents building up their children’s 529 accounts for college savings. In just a couple weeks, some have seen their college funds suddenly plunge by as much as one-third. So what’s a parent to do when their 529 is as battered as a prize fighter slogging through the 12th round? Here are some of the dos and don’ts for managing these tax-advantaged accounts in the midst of a pandemic....

For the next week, the tiny animated character, clad in his iconic red and white sweater, will pop up in the corner of the Google Maps window and prompt users to click on him and play the game. Originally published as Where’s Wally? Where’s Waldo? — as it’s better known in the U.S. and Canada — was created by English artist Martin Hanford in 1987 as a children’s puzzle game in which readers are challenged to find the character Waldo by scouring a dense double page illustration for his likeness....

“We all want to live in a civil society,” says Dr. Maypole. “For the greater good of everybody, we want to live in a world where people are kind to each other, and pass on respect. One of our jobs as parents is to raise the next generation to be good to each other.” Here are the five things that parents who raise polite kids do. They Walk the Walk Like trying to model any positive behavior, parents who raise polite kids don’t just tell their kids to be nice....