A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but is sugar ready to work as medicine on its own? The New York Times recently featured a mom who started a company to market a new pill called Obecalp. It’s “placebo” spelled backwards. And maybe it’s just what the doctor would order.

She’s a mom with a story we know well. She was taking care of her niece, who was complaining of pain. Suspecting hypochondria, she just needed something that would seem to help ease the pain. And the idea struck her for a placebo pill for kids…cherry-flavored sugar pills that taste enough like medicine to let kids think they’re getting something to make them feel better. A bottle of 50 Obecalp tablets costs just under $6.

The good news is, they can ease kids’ minds, which is probably where most of the pain is. And they don’t have the side effects or concerns that come with standard over the counter medicines. (Your dentist may have a different set of concerns.) But would you use it? Have you ever tried just passing off candy to see if the placebo effect would work? Do you think we’re just setting up our kids to join the overmedicated ranks of adulthood? Let us know your thoughts.

--Daniel Halperin, Health Producer

Suri Cruise, the adorable daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, may be two years old, but she's still devoted to her bottle. Most pediatricians recommend that parents introduce the sippy cup when their babies are between 9 and 11 months old. So, yes, Suri is behind the curve, but so long as she doesn't take a bottle to her high school prom, is it really such a big deal?

In the blogosphere, there are plenty of naysayers who think it's high time that Suri said goodbye to her bottle, but every child is different and does things at her own pace. When did your child graduate from bottle to sippy cup? Did you do anything to encourage the transition, or did you let your baby decide when she was ready? Share your thoughts.

--Victoria Loustalot, Real-Time Associate Producer

When a photo of Princess Beatrice, the 19-year-old daughter of Prince Andrew and Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, wearing a bikini was published in Britain, members of the British media castigated her figure. The Daily Mail columnist, Allison Pearson, who is known for her corrosive tone and is a mother herself, implored, "Can't someone buy that girl a sarong? For her sake, as well as ours." The Duchess of York wasted no time in coming to her daughter's defense. "Touch me, fine, but don't touch my children," Ferguson said at a press conference. She went on to applaud her daughter's academic achievements and called Bea a "healthy size 10."

Every day women of all ages all over the world feel societal pressure to look a certain way. Most likely, as a woman, the struggle to maintain a healthy self image is something you can relate to. And if you're a mother of a daughter, that struggle is probably even more pronounced and challenging. So how do you shield your daughter from the pressure to be thin, which Princess Beatrice, as a public figure, can't avoid? Do you try to limit your daughter's exposure to gossip magazines and celebrity news? Do you look for ways to bolster her confidence through athletics and positive role models at school or in your neighborhood? Share your thoughts.

gURL.com addresses body image
The secret to raising healthy eaters
Help your teen understand the importance of eating right
Everything you and your family needs to know about dieting and fitness

--Victoria Loustalot, Real-Time Associate Producer

In a surprising turn of events, a Texas state appeals court ruled yesterday that the officials of the State Department of Family and Protective Services illegally seized 468 children from the polygamist ranch they called home. Although the court's decision only directly applies to the kids of at least 38 of the 200 mothers and fathers involved in the case, the ruling gives all of the families reason to believe they may eventually be reunited with their children. There is speculation, though, that some of the kids will be removed from foster care and placed with their parents in as little as 10 days.

According to the court, the raid in April was illegal, because the state failed to prove that the children were in immediate danger, which is the only grounds in Texas for removing children from their parents' care without court approval. The court also concluded that the state department did not provide sufficient evidence that any more than five teenage girls were being sexually or physically abused.

What do you think of the ruling? Do you agree that the state was out of line in taking the children from their parents? Is the abuse of only five teenage girls insufficient proof that all of the children are in immediate danger? Do you think the children are better off living in foster care or living on the polygamist ranch with their families? Share your thoughts about the latest events in the largest custody case in American history.

--Victoria Loustalot, Real-Time Associate Producer

In Eastern Europe, as many as 60 percent of young adults live with their parents, but in the States, there has long been a stigma associated with living under your parents' roof after a certain age. That, however, may be starting to change. Since 1980, the number of children in their 20s sharing their parents' homes has risen 5 percent. It's true that economic factors have contributed to this shift in American family dynamics, but psychologists believe there's also a cultural shift at play. Because of careers and the demands of running a household, many parents of young adults regret that they were largely absent when their children were young. Consequently, they're trying to make up for it now by encouraging their kids to return home after college, save money and take their time figuring out what they want to do with their lives.

Children in their 20s aren't the only ones coming home, however. More and more middle-aged kids are returning to their childhood bedrooms as well. With a shoddy job market and a pitiful economy, many adults in their 40s and 50s are being forced to reconsider their independence and privacy after suffering divorces and layoffs. And parents say they're happy to be there for their kids, no matter what their age.

But at what cost? Accountants warn their clients that they shouldn't bend over backwards to accommodate their adult children's financial needs at the expense of their own financial security. Are you prepared to take care of your children years, and maybe even decades, after they enter adulthood? Instead of adjusting to an empty nest, how do you feel about the possibility that your children may see your home as an "open nest"? Should we do as the Europeans do, or should we stick with the good old-fashioned American mentality of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps? Share your thoughts.

--Victoria Loustalot, Real-Time Associate Producer

Before and after the birth of a new baby, parents spend countless hours agonizing over the baby products they should buy: Which crib is the best? Which car seat has the highest safety rating? Then there is the question of whether mom will breast feed or opt to give her baby formula. For some moms who decide not to breast feed, organic formula is the obvious choice. It's organic, so that means it's better, right? Not necessarily.

Most organic formula brands like Earth's Best and Parent's Choice supplement their recipes with organic lactose in place of sugar. Similac Organic, however, uses cane sugar, otherwise known as sucrose. This means that Similac Organic is also much sweeter than the other formulas. So far, babies on Similac Organic haven't exhibited any health problems, but many pediatricians remain concerned. Sucrose is likely to harm tooth enamel, and according to studies, it also encourages babies to overeat, which can lead to rapid weight gain in their first year of life and be a precursor for childhood obesity a few years down the road.

The hard part is that because babies and children almost always prefer the sweetest foods, once an infant has been introduced to sucrose it can be extremely difficult to switch her to a less sweet formula. What's more, the infant is more likely to resist solid foods that aren't as sweet as the formula she's grown accustomed to.

Making healthy choices for your baby can be overwhelming. Let iVillage help:

Feed your infant well
Nutritional guidelines for babies
Everything you need to know about starting your baby on solid foods

--Victoria Loustalot, Real-Time Associate Producer

The heartbreaking suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier in 2006 came after she believed she had been rejected by her MySpace friend, "Josh Evans." In reality, Josh Evans never existed. According to officials, Lori Drew, the mother of a former friend of Megan's, actually created the Josh Evans MySpace account. Drew is accused of using the character of Josh to make contact with Megan, write her sexually-loaded messages, and eventually, send her nasty and threatening notes via the social networking site. After receiving just such a note from "Josh," which claimed the world would be a better place without her in it, Megan took her own life.

And now, after many months of speculation as well as new safety regulations on MySpace, Lori Drew has been charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing a computer without authorization to obtain information in order to inflict emotional distress.

Many feel that Drew, who was 48 when she allegedly created the Josh Evans profile, was maliciously picking on Megan for no other reason than the fact that Megan and Drew's daughter had recently had a falling out. Arguments between 13-year-old girls is nothing new; in fact, such disputes are practically a rite of passage. And for almost as long as tween girls have been bickering, their mothers have been getting involved. As a parent, it is incredibly difficult to stay out of it when you daughter comes home upset. You want to defend your child, and you're most likely going to be furious with anyone who makes your child feel bad. But there is a big difference between trying to defend your child and viciously attacking someone else's kid.

Few would argue that if Lori Drew did create the MySpace account of Josh Evans, she went too far. But is it ever OK to get involved in your children's disputes with their friends? Do you try to stay out of it completely or do you find yourself intervening? Share your thoughts, and then take our internet safety quiz.

--Victoria Loustalot, Real-Time Associate Producer

From the Brady Bunch to Eight is Enough to Step by Step, it used to be that a big family, combined with just the right amount of drama and love, was the perfect equation for a successful sitcom. Now, reality T.V. families are taking their place, in an even more supersized way.

According to CNN.com, the Duggars (from the Discovery Health T.V. series) are expecting their 18^th child. The other children range in age from 20 years old to nine months and are apparently as well-tempered, if not more so, than the Von Trapp kids. According to the family’s Web site, every Duggar child learns to play both violin and piano and the family organizes their household chores by assigning "jurisdictions," so everyone knows exactly what their daily responsibilities are.

On the other side of the behavior spectrum are the eight kids of TLC’s John and Kate Plus 8. With two-year-old sextuplets and six-year-old twins, each episode displays a new bout of sibling squabbles and tantrums.

In your opinion, what is the perfect-size brood? How much does your own birth order play into your opinion? Which reality T.V. family sounds more like your own?

According to a recent story on ABCNews, psychologists say lying to children about their adoption can cause depression, anxiety, or relationship issues. Since lying to your child about anything has the ability to cause levels of distrust, this connection seems plausible. However, the story brings up two greater issues: When is the right time and how is the best way to tell your child that they were adopted?

What do you think? Is it OK to lie to kids about their adoption? Did you wait until a certain age before telling your child he or she was adopted? How did you decide? Did your child ask you before you had a chance to figure it out?

• Get advice and share your experience with other parents on the adoption message board
• Show your little one how much you love having him in your life with one of these ideas
• Get more adoption resources

--Daniel Halperin, Health Producer

An interesting segment from NBC's Today show... Mommy blogs! Top mommy blogger Heather Armstrong joined  Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford for a look at what mothers share online. Take a look at the video below or click here. Moms used to meet on the playgrounds or chat on the phone, but now moms are connecting online through blogs. NBC's Janet Shamlian  talked to three moms who have made a living blogging about their love life, careers and thoughts on motherhood.

What do you think?  Are you a part of the blogosphere?

Maybe being born first isn't all it's cracked up to be, after all. According to a new study from Johns Hopkins University, parents are frequently much harder on their eldest child than they are on their other kids. The study found that firstborns who drop out of school are 20 percent less likely to receive most of their income from their parents than younger siblings in the same situation. Additionally, firstborn daughters who get pregnant as teenagers are 30 percent less likely to receive significant financial support from their parents than younger female siblings in the same situation.

The researchers believe that parents punish firstborns more severely as a means of setting an example for their younger children. But the study also found that this might not be all bad news. Firstborns are typically more reliable and conscientious, because for most of their lives they have been held to a higher standard than their younger brothers and sisters.

What do you think? Do you agree with the study's findings? Were they true in your household when you were growing up? What about now? Are you harder on your eldest child? Is your firstborn more responsible? Share your thoughts, and then check out our Birth Order Compatibility Tool.

• Sandwiched In Between: Parenting the Middle Child
• The Oldest Child Is Smarter…So Says the Research

-- Victoria Loustalot, Real-Time Associate Producer