Kinder-spa?

Grown-ups aren’t the only ones buckling under the financial strain of the recession. Health-care professionals in Germany say even toddlers can get stressed out as their parents cut household budgets, fret about job security, and lose their temper. And that’s on top of the pressure already placed on today’s little ones as they are shuttled from music class to dance lessons to sports. What’s the solution? 

A school for kids as young as 3 that offers massages and other stress-relievers, of course

(Source: theweek.com)

Once parents were supposed to take care of their kids until they left home. Now Mom and Dad are subsidizing their offspring well into their adult years. A new study says these days, leaving home is optional, and the money flows to most young adults even if they do make their way into the big, wide world.

Just how much are parents supporting their grown children? Here, a by the numbers look:

65 Percent of young adults (age 19-22) who live at home for a significant part of each year 

42 Percent of all young adults who get help paying their bills (average $1,741 a year)

22 Percent who get help with their rent (average $3,937 a year)

82 Percent of high-income parents (earning $99,910 or more a year) who dole out help

$15,449 Average annual assistance from the high-earners 

47 Percent of low-income parents (earning less than $37,274 a year) who provide assistance

$2,113 Average annual assistance from low-income parents

More numbers

(Source: theweek.com)

GOOD DAY FOR:

George Stephanopoulos’ ego
After the final numbers from last week are tallied, Good Morning America officially breaks theToday show’s 16-year streak of morning-show ratings dominance. [Huffington Post]

Sluggish sugar addicts
Amazon starts selling boxes of caffeinated marshmallows for $25 each. [Death & Taxes]

Nerdy boozehounds
Fans of HBO’s fantasy epic Game of Thrones delight in a drinking game that urges viewers to take a shot every time “dragons spit fire” or “someone breaks a vow or oath.” [Warming Glow]

BAD DAY FOR:

The sanctity of your newsfeed
A new study reveals that 61 percent of U.S. parents log into their teens’ Facebook accounts without telling them. [PC Mag]

Burger King’s loyal subjects
American fast food is found to have more salt per gram than fast food from any other country. [Consumerist]

Slowpokes
Delaware considers a law that would slap a fine of up to $230 on lackadaisical motorists hogging the left lane. [Newser]

(Source: theweek.com)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed 82 deaths between 1995 and 2007 to the choking game.

Cutting off the brain’s oxygen supply induces a warm, fuzzy feeling, perceived by some kids as a legal way to get high. The game has been around for years, but it now seems to be increasing in popularity, possibly because kids who have done it are encouraging others to try it on YouTube.

The disturbing rise of the deadly childhood ‘choking game’

What’s living in a household of 21 like? Just ask the Duggar family, stars of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting. Here’s a typical month in the life:

140 — Loads of laundry

$3,000 — Grocery bill

48 — Boxes of cereal eaten

1080 — Eggs gone through

150 — Pounds of turkey bacon consumed

More numbers

npr:

Many Women Underestimate Fertility Clock’s Clang

A new survey finds many women dramatically underestimate how much fertility declines with age.

Photo courtesy of Kate Donnellon Nail

One of the biggest surprises of this week’s off-year elections was the failure of Mississippi’s controversial ‘personhood’ amendment, which would have defined a fertilized human egg as a person. Polls suggested the measure would pass easily in the strongly anti-abortion state. Instead, it lost 57 percent to 43 percent.

Some lessons from the amendment’s failure