Child

Last week we learned that adult children of divorce will almost always revert to childish behaviors. Case in point, Briana, the daughter previously known as The Most Reasonable Person in Orange County, dissolved into a impertinent, recalcitrant, petulant brat upon meeting her mother's boyfriend. This week Briana grows up and fights like a big girl … but we'll get there soon enough. Elsewhere in the O.C., there are tiaras to be worn and bling to be bought as Alexis goes all out for her little princesses, and Slade decides to declare Gretchen his queen.

Ever have one of those nagging thoughts about yourself as a parent that kind of ricochets around in your skull like a bouncy ball whenever you try to corner it and figure it out? I'd been having this strange feeling that I wasn't really willing to address until I saw this post from Gina Crosley-Corcora, aka The Feminist Breeder . In it, she wrote about whether she loved her baby girl more than her older boys, after her husband commented on their seemingly extra special connection: Not only does Jolene allow me to slobber all over her, she welcomes it with the cheesiest grin you've ever seen.

I hope everyone has taken a few moments to collect themselves after that spectacular finale. Midway through, I was a bit worried as the episode was beginning to seem more like a series finale than a season finale. However, the last 15 minutes provided everything a good finale should: suspense, murder, a love triangle (quadrangle!), a drug overdose, break-ups (bonus points for calling off an engagement), a conniving friend, heart break, a parent finding their child unconscious, unplanned pregnancy, a declaration of “never speak to me again” followed by a quick hang up, an engagement, a serious accident (plane instead of car, way to go big!

A pit bull attacked a 9-year-old child Wednesday night in Pasadena as the boy played on his bike, police said. The child was with his mother who was visiting a neighbor in the 200 block of Armstrong Lane around 8:18 p.m. when the dog bit the boy on his lower leg. The child was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police said the dog's owner was able to get the animal away from the child. Animal Control officers took the dog into custody. An investigation continues.

A 21-year-old Baltimore man was arrested and charged Thursday with possessing and distributing child pornography, according to Maryland State Police. Jason Barron, of the 300 block of South Baylis Street, now faces 30 years in prison and $55,000 in fines, police said. Barron was identified after a state trooper on the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force identified a computer offering pornographic videos of children to others on the Internet, and then linked the computer to him, police said.

THERE IS A reason that the repulsive crazed-killer murder stories, the type that is flooding the November airwaves, make such attractive television, and "In a Child's Name" reminds us of what that is.When properly made, these are compelling, dramatic tales that, in shining their raking light across the psyche of an individual and a community, can reveal the strengths and flaws of the human condition.But most of the movies that have trod this well-worn path this month have not done that. They have instead been nothing more than exploitative, voyeuristic excursions into the weirdness.

Teachers are not like the rest of us. They choose to be in the company of children who are not their own.Teachers not only like teaching children, but teachers also like listening to what they think, answering their endless questions, hearing about their troubles.And teachers like touching children, too. Enter any school in the morning before the first bell rings, and you will see youngsters returning to last year's teacher for a reassuring hug. It is part of the way teachers communicate with children.

Q: I don't believe in spanking my children, but I do find that I yell at them a lot when I get frustrated. The result is that now my children yell, too -- at me, at each other, at the dog. I don't like this pattern, but I don't know how to stop it. Any suggestions?-- T.L., Phoenix, Ariz.A: As we discussed last week, this problem has plagued families for generations. Strategies such as humor, incentive charts and a family reminder system are helping parents change their ways.Another strategy that may help is a new way of looking at your relationship with your children based on a counseling technique called reality therapy.

A pit bull attacked a 9-year-old child Wednesday night in Pasadena as the boy played on his bike, police said. The child was with his mother who was visiting a neighbor in the 200 block of Armstrong Lane around 8:18 p.m. when the dog bit the boy on his lower leg. The child was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police said the dog's owner was able to get the animal away from the child. Animal Control officers took the dog into custody. An investigation continues.

Editor: Kudos to Anne M. Brown of Bel Air (Open Forum, 27 Jan 12). Her letter said it all. For 16 years, Robert C. Richardson III's life has been swept under the rug and now our judicial system wants to do the same with his future! Are there so few of us who cannot feel compassion for this child? Yes, child, albeit a troubled one. He did not get that way overnight nor did he get there by himself. He needs help and support - not more abuse and disappointment. He needs love and understanding - every human's birthright!

Faith Child Development Center's pre-kindergarten class celebrated its graduation ceremony May 16. Colorful graduation hats decorated the bulletin board and graduation streamers hung from the ceiling. But the mood was far from cheerful after the event, as the staff of the school shut its doors to students and their families for the last time. On May 11, Faith Lutheran Church announced that Faith Child Development Center, which has offered classes for ages 2 through pre-k for 12 years, would not reopen next school year.

A 21-year-old Baltimore man was arrested and charged Thursday with possessing and distributing child pornography, according to Maryland State Police. Jason Barron, of the 300 block of South Baylis Street, now faces 30 years in prison and $55,000 in fines, police said. Barron was identified after a state trooper on the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force identified a computer offering pornographic videos of children to others on the Internet, and then linked the computer to him, police said.

A 6-year-old boy was flown to a nearby hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries Wednesday morning after being hit by an SUV in Odenton. Justin Mulcahy, public information officer for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, said police responded to a call at 7:43 at the intersection of Blue Water Boulevard and Roff Point Drive, according to preliminary information. The child had been hit by a Chevrolet Avalanche, Mulcahy said. ywenger@baltsun.com Twitter.com/yvonnewenger

Only people who know where to look would be able to pay respects to Norman Chaney, who is buried in an unmarked grave in Baltimore. But if fans of the chubby "Our Gang" star have their way, he'll soon have the headstone he's done so long without. Chaney, the son of a Baltimore electrical worker, won a national contest in 1929 to become "Chubby," the new "fat kid" in the popular film series, replacing the original Chubby, who had grown out of the role. But with his impossibly round face and impish charm, Chaney eclipsed his predecessor - becoming the fat kid people remembered.

Brenda Brewington, an ecclesiastical administrator at St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Ellicott City who had taught earlier in its preschool, died Thursday in her office in a double shooting that also claimed a pastor's life. She was 59. "Brenda had a big, infectious laugh and was the loudest cheerleader at any track meet in Howard County and a few other counties as well," said her sister-in-law, Lisa Brewington of Centerville, Va. "She was a world-class mom, to her own boys and to so many other young people.

News Roundup •••• CNN published an extensive and interesting piece about the genre of game commentary videos and its most popular producer, “SeaNanners.” I suppose it depends on the game, but it seems this whole “video games as a spectator sport” thing is gaining some traction. We did it, America. [ CNN ] •••• Domain registration clues have lead folks to discern that box office smash “The Avengers” will get a console tie-in game called “Battle for Earth.” With summer blockbuster tie-ins having a dodgy track record, let's hope this is more than just a platform-style runthrough of the film.

As bad as Matt Birk and the Ravens must have felt after Sunday night's 34-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers, it was nothing but joy today for the veteran center. Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed at today's news conference that the center's wife, Adrianna, gave birth to the couple's sixth child, a boy. Tweets between some of Birk's teammates said the name of the boy was Brady. After 11 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Birk, 35, has spent the last three seasons with the Ravens after signing as a free agent in 2009.

A Baltimore lawyer was sentenced Wednesday to two years in federal prison and a year of home detention for possessing child pornography, the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Patrick Joseph Redd, 33, searched the Internet for illegal images of children - some younger than 12 - and downloaded them to his home computer, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in May. He was disbarred from practicing law in Maryland in March. Tricia.bishop@baltsun.com

The Maryland attorney general's office argued in a lengthy legal brief, filed in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, that a convicted child rapist serving four life terms should not be offered a second chance to take a plea deal years after the fact, despite a U.S. district court ruling demanding just that. "The district court erred," Assistant Attorney General Edward Kelley wrote in the 56-page document. He was referring to a finding that the constitutional rights of John Joseph Merzbacher, an English teacher at the South Baltimore Catholic Community middle school in the 1970s, were violated because his attorneys failed to inform him of a plea deal before his 1995 trial on child rape and sexual abuse charges.

Etan Patz, Madeleine McCann, Phylicia Barnes, Jaycee Dugard: four children who were declared missing and whose cases have had different outcomes so far. What knits their families together is that they all experienced loss, though of different types. Etan Patz, missing since 1979, was 6 when he vanished and was declared dead in 2001. A recent search for his remains was started and stopped. Madeleine McCann, presumably abducted at age 3 while on vacation with her parents in Portugal in 2007, may still be alive, according to new police reports.