Here's a tip for you -- if you have to call your wife to come pick you up from the bar, your best bet is to let her drive home too, especially if the kids are in the car. Or even halfway in the car. Dustin Purscell learned that (hopefully) the hard way recently. He's in jail, charged with two counts of child endangerment as well as a few other offenses.

He wanted a lift home after an evening drinking with his buddies, but when his wife Ashley arrived, she decided he was too drunk and too angry -- he couldn't find his lighter -- to ride with her and her two children. He apparently disagreed, jumped in the driver's seat, and started the car. Ashley tried to get her kids out of the vehicle, but was only able to extract her five-year-old daughter before Dustin took off. Her seven-year-old son was still in the car with his legs hanging out of the door.

Folks, I've got nothing against alcohol or even getting wasted once in a while, so long as you do it responsibly, but the first time someone pulled something like this would be the last. As far as I'm concerned, if you want to be around my kids, you need to put their welfare ahead of your own -- if you can't do that, you won't be getting near them. I certainly hope Mrs. Purscell feels the same way and dumps this guy like last week's trash.

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I've never liked the smell of incense and actually find it rather discomforting. When I was in high school, however, a lot of kids I knew liked burning it -- quite possibly as a means to cover up certain other odors they didn't want noticed by their parental units. It turns out, though, that they may have been better off taking their chances on getting caught.

According to a new study, burning incense is linked to a "statistically significant higher risk of cancers of the upper respiratory tract." In fact, those who burned incense continuously during the day were eighty percent more likely to develop cancer in the respiratory tract. These findings remained even after taking other factors into consideration, such as tobacco use, diet, and alcohol intake.

"This association is consistent with a large number of studies identifying carcinogens in incense smoke," the researchers note, "and given the widespread and sometimes involuntary exposure to smoke from burning incense, these findings carry significant public health implications." I would say that if you've got a teen who likes to burn incense, you might want to let them know about this study.

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Red Bull, the popular energy drink may give you wings in more ways than one -- according to an Australian study, they might get you a harp as well and a new, fluffy home in the clouds. Researchers found that even one can of sugar-free Red Bull appears to make blood more "sticky," increasing the risk of blood clots.

"After one can it seemed to turn the young individual into one with more of the type of profile you would expect to see with someone with cardiovascular disease," said Scott Willoughby, of the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide University. "People who already have existing cardiovascular disease may want to talk to their physician before they drink Red Bull in future."

"The study does not show effects which would go beyond that of drinking a cup of coffee," says Red Bull spokeswoman Linda Rychter. "Therefore, the reported results were to be expected and lie within the normal physiological range." Some of students that participated in the study said they drink as many as eight cans of Red Bull a night when they want to stay awake to study; the cans already warn customers not to drink more than two a day.

Although the study was done with college students, I know that a lot of high school students -- and kids even younger -- drink Red Bull. It might be worthwhile to talk to them to make sure they don't drink too much.

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Returning home from my company picnic yesterday, with my two thirteen-year-old nieces with me, I jokingly asked if either of them had their driver's license so that they could drive at least some of the way home and I could take a nap. (Neither one did, of course, and, really, I was just kidding.) In Texas, though, that's not something they kid about.

Police officers in the East Texas town of Longview noticed a minivan turn into a driveway and bump into the house.

Baby born 15x over legal limit DARE program increases drug and alcohol use Man consumes liter of vodka in the airport Teen buys booze, mom sells his car 'Cindy Brady' teaches son about hangovers, nearly barfs during radio interview

Investigating, they found a twelve-year-old girl behind the wheel. She told the officers that she had just driven her mother to a bar. Upon checking at the pub, they indeed found thirty-five-year-old Jennifer Lynn Rosenberg who admitted to having her daughter drive her there.

On the one hand, you have to give Rosenberg credit for not wanting to risk drinking and driving, but on the other hand... Perhaps it would be best if she just stayed away from the bars altogether. In the meantime, Child Protective Services is looking into the situation.

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In what shouldn't surprise anyone who has thought even the least bit about these sorts of issues, a lack of positive role models in their lives is leading to gang membership for many British kids, according to the Prince's Trust, an organization that works with young adults. According to a survey, the group found that kids were turning to their peers for support because they felt there were no adults they could turn to.

"All the threads that hold a community together -- a common identity, role models, a sense of safety -- were given by young people as motivations to join gangs," said Martina Milburn, chief executive of The Trust. A third of the youth surveyed said they did not have a parent they considered a role model and nearly a quarter of kids in gangs joined in order to find a role model.

Still, it's not all bad news for the UK. Less than one in ten kids admitted to having been part of a gang (although one wonders how many serious gang members fill out surveys). Even the nine percent reported, however, seems too high and should serve as a reminder to parents how very important it is not only to be involved with and available to their kids but to set a good and proper example as well. I know that's something at which I certainly need to work harder.

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We've all seen it -- a child says something wildly inappropriate and shocks the adults around her. Her parents shake their heads, "We don't know where she gets this stuff." It's happened to me, and because my kids spend nearly all day, every day with me alone, I can't look much farther than my own behavior.

I think that most, if not all, parents slip now and then -- a curse word slips out, voices get raised, carefully honed parenting techniques fly out the window in the face of fatigue and stress. Kids are resilient, they learn that grown ups make mistakes just like kids do. And we try harder not to make those mistakes the next time.

An Australian organization called ChildFriendly.org recently put out a children's rights video titled "Children See." It depicts parents at their worst -- abusive, violent, careless, angry -- as well as their children following their lead. It's disconcerting, disturbing, startling, but it's also an excellent reminder for even the most thoughtful parent that our children are watching us, every minute of every day.

Watch the video below, then share your thoughts with us in comments.

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Last year, former Family Ties actor Brian Bonsall made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of third degree assault. You may remember Bonsall as Michael J. Fox's little brother, Andy, on the popular 1980's sitcom. After his conviction last year, the now 26-year-old Boulder, Colorado resident was sentenced to two years' probation for pouring a drink on his girlfriend, grabbing her in a choke-hold and throwing her down on the bed when she tried to leave. Nice.

Today, he's back in the headlines for failing to abide by the terms of his probation. He is accused of not paying for his court-ordered domestic-violence classes, missing his daily alcohol checks and testing positive for at least one breathalyzer test that he did take. But it gets worse. He was due in court yesterday to face those charges and failed to show. The judge in the case is expected to issue a warrant for his arrest today.

Sadly, a former child star getting in trouble isn't all that unusual. But what really gets me is the photos that accompany the article. From sweet-faced little boy to rough-looking criminal, it is enough to break any parent's heart.

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For women undergoing IVF, it may be wise to cut out the coffee to increase the chance of getting pregnant. A study suggests that drinking upwards of four cups of coffee leads to being 26% less likely to conceive. The study followed 9,000 women who underwent IVF to see if they subsequently got pregnant naturally. The heavy coffee drinkers were significantly less likely to get pregnant than those who abstained from coffee.

It's not just coffee either. Alcohol, as few as three times a week, had the same effect as coffee. Smoking, even just one cigarette a day, and being overweight reduced the chances of getting pregnant even further. This doesn't necessarily mean, however, that if you want to get pregnant, you need to cut out everything in order to do so. "Whilst the results of this study are interesting," said Fiona Ford, of the Centre for Pregnancy Nutrition, "there are evidently limitations to these findings as post IVF patients are a selective group who have already experienced problems with conception."

Personally, if I were trying to get pregnant, I think I'd do everything I could to maximize my chances. Giving up coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes seems like a good place to start.

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According to Drug Free America, summer can mean more than swimming, sunning and shopping for some teenagers. June, July and August are also the months in which teens are more likely to try marijuana for the first time. And as much as parents might want their kids get a job and do something useful with themselves, working actually increases the chances that they will experiment with drugs. Not only does a summer job expose them to older - but not old enough to know better - coworkers, they also have all that extra cash to spread around.

Now, I would not take that bit of information and decide that my teen isn't leaving the house until September, but any parent of a teen should be aware of the warning signs of drug use. Some are easy to spot (red, glassy eyes), while others are hard to distinguish from regular teen behavior (mood swings). Parents, The Anti Drug has great information with detailed signs and symptoms of drug use.

Perhaps the best advice I ever got for raising a drug-free teen was this: don't take your eyes off of them until they are 21. Seriously, the teen years are not the time to relax and assume your work is done. As grown up as they seem and as ready as you may be for them to actually be grown up, they are still kids. Most teens are far from ready to face the challenges of peer pressure, curiosity and plain old rebellion on their own. Arm yourself with knowledge and stay close at hand.

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A study released Thursday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has news that shouldn't surprise any of us: kids who engage in underage drinking most often get their booze from adults, typically their own parents or their friends' parents.

The study consisted of a random sample of 158,000 kids aged 12 to 20 who were questioned about their drinking behaviors. Researchers found that 40 percent of teens reported receiving alcohol for free from an adult in the past 30 days, and that one in 16 got the drinks from a parent or guardian, while one in four said the provider was an unrelated adult. One in 12 were being served by an adult family member who was not their parent.

And of course, some kids -- about four percent -- reported that they simply helped themselves to alcohol in their homes.

Surgeon General Steven K. Galson holds the grown ups responsible for all this underage drinking. "In far too many instances parents directly enable their children's underage drinking -- in essence encouraging them to risk their health and well-being," he says. "Proper parental guidance alone may not be the complete solution to this devastating public health problem -- but it is a critical part."

What makes a few kids swiping some beers from the garage fridge a "devastating public health problem?" How about this: one out of five kids surveyed said that they had taken part in binge drinking during the previous month. A binge is defined as consuming five or more drinks on one occasion. Half of kids participating in the survey reported drinking in someone else's home, while a third said they were drinking in their own houses; a smaller number, less than ten percent, were in a bar or club.

What can you do to keep your kids from becoming a statistic? Model good drinking behavior at home, for starters. Know your children's friends and their parents. And don't be afraid to say no and stick to it.

When you're a parent, the instinct to protect your child is sometimes overwhelming. When my husband stumbled on our concrete porch steps with our older daughter, then just an infant, they both fell... hard. He ended up with scrapes and bruises. She was completely unharmed and even giggled when they landed. I don't know how he did it, but in those short seconds he managed to turn his body just right to keep her safe, even if it meant that he took the brunt of the fall.

Maybe it was her pregnancy that put Amanda Bourque's "mama bear" instincts into overdrive. When a drunk driver narrowly missed hitting her car, Bourque decided that she needed to do something before someone got hurt. So she followed the weaving driver into a convenience store parking lot, where he smashed into a wall and another car before Bourque finally cornered him with her own vehicle.

Bourque's being called a hero and will be nominated for a public service award. Though many people would have called 911 in the same situation, to actually pin down the driver until help arrived definitely took some guts.

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After a recent verdict, many parents in Maui, Hawaii and elsewhere in the US certainly are. Nearly $700,000 was awarded to the parents of Lauren Crossan, an eighteen-year-old who fell to her death from a Maui hotel room. The teen, who was in town with chaperone Susanne Sadler, Susanne's daughter and another teen, was seen drinking alcohol within hours of reaching the hotel.

An arbitrator ordered Sadler to pay $690,000 to Crossan's family after finding the chaperone partially responsible for the girl's death.

Some schools are so concerned over getting into this kind of trouble that they're going so far as to purchase liability insurance. Some parents are considering it as well. Others feel that it's simply the American way to sue rather than accept responsibility for actions. And some fall in between: A lawyer representing the Crossan family, who has represented many such families whose children have been harmed in the care of other parents, basically said that crappy parenting leads to problems.

What do you think? Is it ridiculous for parents to consider purchasing liability insurance to cover themselves when children who are not their own find their way into their care, or is it just a sign of the times?

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Administrators and teachers at a California high school recently announced to their students that several teens had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend. It was devastating news that traumatized students, many of whom had lost good friends.

The problem? It was a big, fat lie.

Administrators came up with the program to discourage teens from drinking and driving.. The plan was to tell students about the accidents in the morning, then reveal the hoax at an assembly in the afternoon.

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There are few greater causes for celebration than a brand new baby, but one Polish mother started her celebrating a bit early, showing up at the delivery room with a blood alcohol level of 0.12, which would be the equivalent of drinking an entire bottle of wine.

At birth, the baby's blood alcohol level was 0.29, a level she should not even be close to attaining until well into her college years. The drunk mother could face up to five years in prison because of the celebration (or self-medication, whichever the case might be) for child endangerment.

I've known several people who drank before they even knew they were pregnant and the guilt over possibly harming the development of fetus they didn't realize was there was crushing. I can't imagine purposely getting drunk knowing full well that the baby is partaking everything you are.

Doctors say so far the baby appears fine and I hope for the child's sake she suffers no ill effects from her mother's poor judgment.

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Music legend Lionel Richie recently had a little fun at his daughter, Nicole Richie's, expense. The singer was speaking at the TV Land Awards where he was being honored with the Icon Award when he had a few words to say about Ms. Richie.

Said Lionel: "Forget about surviving 40 years in the music business. Just surviving 27 and 1/2 years of Nicole Richie has been a struggle and a half." Richie went on to say he was a survivor for all the parents out there.

Nicole got her first shot at fame as Paris Hilton's sidekick in Fox television's The Simple Life. She later made more of a notorious name for herself spending time in jail (all of 82 minutes) after a conviction for driving under the influence of drugs. You may recall she was pulled over after rambling down a one-way street the wrong way. Now Nicole is known more for her three-month-old daughter Harlow than she is for her hard-partying ways. I'm sure Grandpa Lionel is ultimately very proud of her for being able to turn everything around--and giving him what parents always want--a grandbaby!

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