Photo by Momof3cuties

I'm so lucky that my son loves his teacher and seems to be doing well in her class, but that's not the case for all moms. ajzuell in the Newcomer's Club wants to request her second-grade son get a new teacher but wonders what her chances are.

"Next to impossible," one mom said. "Principals always defend their teachers and you will be looked at as the problem."

So I went straight to the sources in Teacher Mommies (a private group that requires joining) to find out if that's really true. Several teachers gave their perspective of the issue to help you decide if and how you should pursue this course:

It's stories like this that make me wish I could home-school.

By now you've heard about the first-grader who was suspended for 45 days for bringing a fork to school.

It all turned out okay. The public school educators reconsidered and will allow the kid to come back to school next week. But this whole mess could have so been avoided if school officials just used some of those critical thinking skills they feel are so important to teach our kids.

It was a Swiss Army Knife for goodness sakes. I'm all for zero tolerance policies in the proper context -- a kid who knowingly violates the policy, who intends to threaten or do harm. Yes, anything to prevent another Columbine. None of those cases apply here.

This sweet little boy was excited to join the Cub Scouts and wanted to bring in his Swiss Army gadget to eat his lunch with. That's it. His mom should have been more on top of things, but oh well.

Photo by 4timesblessed

Things are moving way too fast. Last night my first grader announces he wants a mohawk (since when did he even care about combing his hair?). Today he tells me that he no longer wants to wear underwear the color red. No particular reason offered. He's fine with white, yellow, blue, green, and even orange -- but no red.

Okay, so he's not demanding more than that. He's still fine with any style, briefs or boxers. He doesn't even realize it yet, but this is the start of the pressure to be "cool" and to "fit in." It's caused by the automatic release of certain enzymes, proteins, or cooties in his bloodstream that triggers this odd behavior in little boys.

It causes him to start making perfectly innocent but puzzling demands that mom can't reasonably refuse, all under the guise of "individuality" and "finding himself."

Photo by 4timesblessed

Does this describe your tween?

They never want to go on family outings OR They always want to bring a friend along.

If they go alone, they are miserable and mope around the whole time. If you let them bring the friend, they spend all their time hanging out with her and ignoring you and other family members.

One mom over in Tween Titans is at the point of frustration with her 12 year old. She has a younger child to think about, too.

"Our outings are ruined or I just don't end up doing as much with her because of the unpleasantness from my other daughter," she says. "When we do bring a friend along, the outing is not as enjoyable for the rest of us either. Why can't my daughter just enjoy outings with me and her sister?! Or understand that she makes things so unpleasant for the rest of us, even though I have sat down and explained things over and over and over again?"

Jennifer Connelly explains to Jimmy Kimmel that she lets her kids (Kai, 12, and Stellan, 6) curse—but not in public. CafeMoms had a similar conversation about whether they let their kids swear in the house...

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The following is a guest post from Genevieve Thiers, CEO of SitterCity.com.

"How was school today?"

"Fine."

"Well, what did you do?"

"Nothin'."

We've all been there. Getting kids to talk about their day can be quite the challenge for parents as well as after-school nannies and babysitters. Add in the chaos of the back-to-school season, the repressed energy from being in a classroom all day long and the same mundane question over and over, and you've got the perfect recipe for one-word answers.

But you don't want one-word answers. You want engagement, excitement and conversation! The good news is that you and your after-school child care provider can achieve this improved communication by following Sittercity.com's five talking tactics to get real responses from your school-age child.

Photo by amaranthleewolf

Big kids feel even more grown up when they get to sit around the table chatting with their parents, aunts, uncles, and family friends. Some CafeMoms prohibit this practice and shoo their kids away to play. They don't feel that tweens or even teens should be allowed into adult conversations, partly because of the potential topics (sex, money troubles, death). They grow up too fast already, they say. Also, it's just not their place.

A conversation going on in the private group Heated Debates (over 100 comments so far) is hashing out the pros and cons of letting adolescents into adult talk circles.

"When I was younger it was a no-no, you were not allowed to sit under adults while they were talking, and you were not allowed to be part of the conversations," says guess_who_wit_6. "I am the same way. My children are not my friends nor are they my equals and they have no place in adult convos unless they are specifically asked a question."

Photo by geminisummerz

Many parents don't want to think about their children engaging in any kind of sexual behavior; however, some sexual expression is really, really normal. For boys and girls alike, most kids masturbate and explore their bodies even when they're as young as two years old. But what's normal sexual behavior and when should we worry?

A new clinical report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and titled "The Evaluation of Sexual Behaviors in Children" (Nancy D. Kellogg, MD, and the Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect) can help parents wade through the worry. Odds are, you probably have nothing to worry about.

Photo by Floridamama-4-2

The following is guest post from Jan Denise, a syndicated newspaper columnist and author of  the new book, Innately Good: Dispelling the Myth that You're Not.

How many  times have you told your ebullient child he's too loud or too active?

How often have you told your contemplative, cautious child not to be a scaredy-cat or so shy?

In subtle ways, you are giving your child, when he's expressing his or her unique  temperament, the message that he's not good enough.

Photo by Cafe Sheri

My two sons teach me valuable lessons every day. About joy. About love. About living.

What important life lessons have your kids taught you? Here are five of the many inspiring lessons I've learned from my kids.