Kids

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.

A crowd of "unruly" school kids rushed into a downtown 7-Eleven store about 2 p.m. Wednesday for a free "Slurpee" promotion, and didn't leave until they'd caused a commotion — allegedly shoplifting and getting into a physical altercation with the store owner. According to police, between 20 and 30 middle school students rushed into the store near the intersection of Light and East Pratt streets all at once for the special promotion of the frozen drinks, called "SlurpFREE Day. " The company said the event was to promote its new sugar-free version of the drink, and to "launch the upcoming Slurpee season.

Tom opens calling it the "hardest fought season ever. " I'm not sure about that, but I will say that this is one with a lot of strong competitors, few loathsome personalities, and a satisfying final three. It starts with the pro dancers (the "real" pro dancers, not just the troupe) dancing to a song I would probably know if I were 20 years younger, but I'm not and the only 16-year-old in this house is a cat. At the end of the song, we get the pros walking the floor with their celebrity partners.

Just when you thought the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program for poor, predominantly minority kids was fully protected from politics, here comes the Obama administration with another broadside. The popular program (which falls under congressional jurisdiction) allows impoverished children in the notoriously underperforming D.C. public school system to attend area private schools with vouchers of up to $12,000. Its contentious history includes full-scale support from congressional Republicans and theGeorge W. Bush administration.

The coaches at Easton High School have apparently seen lacrosse players Casey Edsall and Graham Dennis with the lighter and pocket knife that landed the two with suspensions ("A penknife, a lighter — and 2 suspensions," May 10). If anyone should be in trouble, it is the school board for not properly training its employees to be on the lookout for such items and to take appropriate action. If the coaches thought nothing of it, the other students thought nothing of it, and the parents thought nothing of it, the school board should think nothing of it. Anne Cerutti, Chester

To celebrate 40 years of service, Amtrak is letting kids ride free on trips booked before May 6th for travel through June 9th. Click here for all the details. Almost makes me wish I had kids; almost.

Finally, a race without a debauched infield or a horrifying half-man, half-horse mascot. Christ Lutheran Nursery School in Catonsville — full disclosure: I sent my children there and love the place dearly — held a Trike-A-Thon last week. Four-year-olds outfitted with helmets and race numbers rode in circles until they raised $2,200 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The way Susan Reimer writes about spending the summer with kids, it's no wonder that many parents cringe at the thought of it. While reading her column ("Moms fight against summer of chaos," July 1), I was struck by how much my summertime experience with my children differs from the "summer of chaos" that Ms. Reimer depicts. It's all about attitude and if the prevailing attitude is that maintaining a functioning household is a foolhardy goal that will soon be run asunder by the daily rigors of "real" life, then it's no wonder that many parents regard spending two months with their children as a daunting and unpleasant task.

I want to thank Scott Carroll for his commentary and service to the education of children in Baltimore City ("What kids need most," Sept. 1). His conclusion is that money is not the problem but that a lack of a cultural support of education is. I could not agree more with him. No child has the slightest chance of being educated or successful in life without at least one adult being a parent to him or her. Parenting is key, and it's priceless....

First Lady Michelle Obama comes to Baltimore's Camden Yards today to deliver a message to children that is a familiar mom mantra: Go outside and play. The First Lady's "Let's Move" program is, in many ways, a more sophisticated approach to the usual exchange between prodding mothers and inactive children. To combat childhood obesity, "Let's Move" wants healthier food served in schools, wants to eliminate so-called food deserts where nutritious food is hard to buy, wants to improve the stream of nutritional information to parents, and, finally, wants to increase physical education opportunities for kids.

Growing up in Texas, I played softball - fast pitch. After playing in the hot Texas sun, our team, the Sweetpeas, had a snack of oranges and water, in containers brought from home. Today, my husband and I are new Howard County residents, and we have gotten our children, ages 6 and 4, involved in sports activities, beginning with T-ball. We have been struck by the well-groomed baseball fields and the engaged volunteer parents. We were impressed with it all - until the post-game snacks came out. Over the last three weeks, these snacks have included chips, fruit roll-ups, sugary rice treats, chocolate-covered doughnuts with rainbow sprinkles, assorted fruit punch, and sports drinks.

Around the globe, the leading cause of death for children under age 5 is pneumonia, according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health . About 18 percent of the deaths are from the infection. That's 1.4 million kids out of 7.6 million who died around the world in 2010. “The numbers are staggering,” said Dr. Robert Black, senior author of the study, published in the May issue of the Lancet . Black, chair in the Department of International Health, said other leading causes of death were pre-term birth complications and diarrhea.

Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis says that her mother would make frittatas, the Italian egg dish, with whatever leftovers she had in the refrigerator. " That was the joke," she tells viewers in segment of her cooking show. "What's in the frittata today, Mama?" What better dish to serve Mom on Mother's Day? A frittata is quick and easy, and the kids can help. As a bonus, Mom wakes to a clean fridge. An omelet without the fold and a quiche without the crust, the frittata has its own selling points: It can be sliced and eaten, hot or cold, with a fork or fingers.

Children in Baltimore County have recently been leaving dangerous homemade "bottle bombs" in mailboxes, on people's lawns and in other outdoor areas around the county, according to Baltimore County police. "They do it as a prank," said Lt. Rob McCullough, a police spokesman, "but once again, it's dangerous. " The so-called bombs are plastic bottles filled with a chemical drain cleaner, a piece of aluminum foil and a little bit of water - three ingredients that, when mixed, cause a gas reaction that fills the bottle until it explodes.

When I was a child growing up in Boston, I remember there was always some place for us to play basketball, baseball and football or to run. The Boy's Club or YMCA was always open, and many of us would go there after school and do our homework, watch TV, play pool or ping pong, swim, play basketball, etc. There where also recreational centers that where open every day, and a lot of kids, practically lived in these places. A fat or obese boy or girl was not something you would see very much of back then.

Baltimore Reads hopes to collect 75,000 titles at its 17th annual Books for Kids Day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday on the parking lot of Poly-Western High School, Falls Road and Cold Spring Lane. The nonprofit organization, dedicated to fostering literacy, will accept new or gently used books and redistribute them through its Book Bank. It collects books for Baltimore-area schools, teachers, Head Start centers, social services agencies, community organizations and needy families.

Even before the ink dried on the six-year contract extension Nick Markakis signed with the Orioles in January 2009, the budding star right fielder vowed that he would make as big an impact off the field as on it. Four months later, Markakis and his wife, Christina, announced the formation of a nonprofit organization called The Right Side Foundation, whose mission was to improve the lives of distressed children throughout Maryland. In just six months, the Markakises have hosted children from the Ronald McDonald House on a trip to the ESPN Zone and aquarium, led a group from the Living Classrooms Foundation on tours of Camden Yards and the Sports Legends Museum, and organized a day at the Ravens practice facility for patients from the Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital.

Register your kids at KidsBowlFree and enjoy cheap bowling excursions until September. In Maryland, three Baltimore-area alleys ( Stoneleigh Lanes on York Road, Glen Burnie Bowl and Greenway Bowl in Odenton) are participating in the promotion, as well as lanes in Frederick and Easton. Sign up with your kids for the lanes nearest you and you'll receive coupons every week that you must print out to redeem for two free games per kid per day. You'll still have to pay for shoe rental at all three of the Baltimore-area lanes, but Stoneleigh also offers an unlimited shoe rental pass option.

The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Mondays. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). We do not accept results by phone. When two Howard County teams play, players from both teams (first and last names) must be mentioned in the write-up. Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Jump rope Kangaroo Kids Twenty-two members of the Kangaroo Kids competition team competed at the USA Jump Rope Region 1 Championship April 28 at the Meadowbrook Athletic Center.

Avicii, Kid Cudi, and the Shins are the last three acts of the Sweetlife Festival on Saturday, with the the DJ and Cudi getting Merriweather all to themselves for the last two hours of the night. They will play after 22 other acts, including Zola Jesus, Fun. , and Twin Shadow, have performed at three different stages throughout the day at the one-day event, according to the just-released official schedule.  Kicking off the one-day festival at noon Saturday is a solo set on the secondary, 'Treehouse, stage by Cut Copy bassist Ben Browning.