Friday on Today 8/17

Topping Today's third hour was a segment called Just One Of The Boys, which was about tomboys. I don't know why this was a topic of the day but they went as far as to bring in a child Neuropsychologist, Kimberly Williams, and some other child expert, Carole Lapidos. They talked about girls who are tomboys and hypothesized about why it happens. They showed a mom with a tomboy who gets confused for a boy sometimes and the mom wishes she'd like to wear pretty dresses and act like a girl once in a while. This is ridiculous. Tomboys have been around since the dawn of time. I was one up until the age of about twelve--the age when girls usually start taking an interest in boys. There is nothing new here. What the "experts" want you to know is that it's a totally normal phase for many girls. Their advice was to not get hung up on gender roles and let your tomboys know there are plenty of other girls like them--as if they didn't know that. Being a tomboy is a good thing. Don't send mixed messages like telling them it's alright to play with the boys and then asking them to wear a nice dress once in a while. I hated wearing dresses and loved my Red Sox baseball cap. My best friend was a boy up until around age 10 or so. Trust me they will grow out of it and it's not going to ruin yours or your daughter's lives if she never wants to put on a dress.



The iVillage Back To School segment continues with After School Snacks. This whole segment was pretty much a page from the book of the obvious. Give kids healthy snacks after school. Of course they're hungry, so make sure they have something substantial like a bowl of cereal. My son eats crackers and peanut butter when he gets home from school. It has protein to keep him full until his next meal. If they're on the go, fruit and granola bars or fruit and grain bars are good. There are so many bars out there now. The trick is to find some that aren't too high in sugar. Also instead of buying individual sized snacks like chips, you can buy them in the large size and just separate them into Ziploc bags--it's cheaper and makes portion control easier. Don't keep soda at home. Limit sugared drinks and try to get them to drink water instead. And try to limit cookies too. You've heard this all before I'm sure.



Today was Al Roker's birthday, so David Gregory and Natalie Morales sang Happy Birthday and gave him a giant cake.



Today's Home featured Speed Cleaning Your Bathroom with Rosemary Ellis from Good Housekeeping Magazine. This was about cleaning up before you have guests, but she gave some good tips for regular cleaning too. Always carry supplies in a cleaning caddy, so you have everything you need at your fingertips. Begin with the toilet and use bleach or disposable scrubbers. Clear the counter of clutter by putting everything into a basket--then get the basket out of sight while your guests are there. I usually put so much stuff away in boxes that I forget where everything went by the time the guests leave. Use a spray bottle filled with half water and half white vinegar to clean just about everything. Use alcohol for the chrome and anything with hairspray splatter. Use a damp paper towel for the floor and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works to get stains off tub and shower. Those things are great--especially when you have kids who think walls are an extension of their canvas.



High School Musical 2 is the start of something new. The first was a phenomenal success for Disney and I'm sure the next one will be too since 'tweens are in love with it--and Zack Ephron.



Maroon 5 finished off the show with their hit "Harder To Breathe."



Then they did their usual Friday sign off with highlights from America The Beautiful played out to the classical song "Hoedown."



That's a wrap. Have a great weekend.