Women by nature are very competitive. Among themselves, there’s great camaraderie but there’s also damning competition, hence the term Mean Girls is so apt to describe.

But it seems as though this situation has risen to alarming levels. You can witness it in many social networking sites. The catfight has moved on from actual catfights to cyber catfights. What seems to have changed this or have made it worse? Especially with younger women.

Is it because of what our young girls are exposed to in the media? We see so many programs that seem to condone the diva mentality with kids as young as two year old, vying for beauty titles and crowns. We see it in countless of gossip sites and lifestyle sites. We see it on programs like Jersey Shore or Real Housewives. We see it in many forum. Bullying among women is rampant.

It has become alarming because the young kids have easy access to all of these. Not every parent can be there to monitor their kids and picking up on this culture can be so damaging.

How do you, as parents, make sure that your girls are guided by what they see or witness? How do you tell them that such a behavior can be appalling and that it is wrong to pick on other people?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The latest news on the batches of recalled Children’s Tylenol is being looked into, and one of the latest discoveries is that the plant where the batches originated was lacking adequate quality-control procedures and was dirty, in addition to producing the bacteria-contaminated Children’s Tylenol.

According to the company:

The company is conducting a comprehensive quality assessment across its manufacturing operations and has identified corrective actions that will be implemented before new manufacturing is initiated at the plant where the recalled products were made.

The recall also effects other Johnson & Johnson’s brands (Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl) and the lots in question can be found here: FDA Press Release about the recalled products.  The recall itself was voluntary and was stated to be based on a few different issues, the primary ones listed were based on overall quality issues.  There have been no reported injuries related to the recall so far, but if you have any of the contaminated products you should discontinue their use immediately.

I love kids. They are sweet and fun, but they can also be impulsive and wild, especially when they’re not in the mood. They easily get upset when things don’t go their way. Sometimes, their tantrums provoke us to get mad at them. So how should you handle this kind of situation? If you learn to speak your toddler’s language, you’ll be able to resolve his flare-up with love and respect.

If they’re in a good mood, it’s fine to speak to them in a normal way. But when your child is upset, angry, frustrated, or sad, words mean less to him. His ways to communicate by that time are whining, shrieking or grunting. So here are the few things that you can do to talk your child out of a tantrum.

• Long sentences are hard for stressed-out toddlers to understand.  Try using very short phrases that will catch their attention.
• Repeat those phrases over and over to maintain your toddler’s attention.
• Finally, to show your little one that you strongly understand how he feels, match your tone of voice, facial expression, and body gestures to him.

It is important that you connect with your child. It helps him to mature emotionally when you’re there to guide him. Getting mad at him when he’s upset would only worsen the scenario. So learn to listen and understand because that means a lot to your precious little one.  It’s also an opportunity for you to bond with your child.  A parent’s job is truly an ordeal, but it is truly the best job in the world.

Great recommended reads from around our network?

Surviving a tantrum

Loving without spoiling