This weekend, I lined up with several hundred people for The Hunger Games movie.  It was everything I expected after reading the book--exciting, well cast, and extremely fun to watch with an engaged crowd.

I am an avid reader and have found a new genre thanks to my children.  The Hunger Games is in this new genre and I read the entire series in about 7 days in order to finish it before the movie was released. 

In my library, the books are marked "YA" for "young adult".  I have to admit, not only do I like the section, but I love the name.  Checking out a book with a "young adult" categorization appeals to my inner child.  Of course, I need to throw in the caveat that I do try to alternate young adult books with something that has a little more substance. 

Another bonus with the young adult genre is many are made into movies.  Not only do I enjoy that there are often several books in a series, but I also get caught up in the movie hype. 

If you have a young adult in your household, it is also a sharing moment and gives you topics to relate to your children about.  I have had many conversations with my two girls about the strength of Katniss, the main character in The Hunger Games.  My daughters are happy to talk about books they enjoy with me and we have some of our best conversations when discussing characters from their favorite books. 

This trend started as soon as they were old enough to read.  I have always read the books that interest them and I am happy they are reading more sophisticated books than The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  If you are still reading the early books, just wait, they will progress!

Young adult books also appeal to our au pairs.  Ask your au pair if she has read any good books lately.  I have a French au pair in my group that re-read all the Harry Potter books in English.  She enjoyed the books even more in English and was thrilled to see the movies in English.

So, enjoy the young adult book genre and go see the movies.  It is all fun and maybe we can recapture some of our inner youth while standing in line with the rest of The Hunger Games fans.

So, you normally go to your mom’s small house for Christmas where all the extended relatives gather, get a little tipsy, have an extended lunch,  play monopoly,  watch The Sound of Music and have a snooze… This year however,  you have a new baby! You rock up with your 3 suitcases,  gargantuan stroller,  playpen,  baby chair,  can’t drink because you're breastfeeding,  and can’t shush the little one who has colic and is out of her routine, and who proceeds to do an explosive poo while sitting on Uncle Jeff’s lap and projectile vomits on your mom’s new sofa! Talk about throwing a spanner in the works!

Maybe your holidays don’t look anything like this,  maybe you are even adventurous enough to be hosting yourself this year,  but you get the picture:  Life with a new baby is different,  and as such your new addition will affect your family gatherings this year and years to come,  however you celebrate them.  

Regardless of whose house you are going to,  or if others are coming to you,  it might be wise to set some expectations before the holidays to help alleviate any tensions or miscommunications.  For example,  if you will be staying over at a friend or relative’s,  warn that you do now come with quite a lot of stuff,  and do they have room for that? Also, warn if baby tends to wake up with a squawk every three hours through the night (or day). If you are breastfeeding,  gauge if family are comfortable with you nursing in public, or if there is somewhere private you can easily go to do so.  While it may be stressful to worry about what others may think of the new situation,  prior communication is always helpful. Most people do understand what it is like having a new baby and will get over the squawking and relish in the wonder of having a cute little baby to coo over!

Here’s to a happy and peaceful holiday for all!

Amy Chua might be cold and demanding, but the Tiger Mom looks like a house cat compared to the Wolf Dad, Xiao Baiyou, whose new book on parenting was originally called Beat Them into Peking University. Eventually amended to the less provocative, So, Brothers and Sisters of Peking University, Baiyou describes how his tyrannical style of parenting succeeded in getting three out of his four kids into China's prestigious Peking University.  (Baiyou's wife is from Hong Kong, so they were not limited by China's one child policy.)

Baiyou created thousands of rules from how to hold chopsticks to how to cover yourself with a quilt.  Step out of line, and you were beaten until there were welts on your skin.  He began when his kids were three and stopped when they were twelve.  Claiming children under twelve are basically animals in need of training, Baiyou forced his kids to watch as their siblings were beaten.  He also beat the older ones for the younger kids' infractions -- because if they were better role models, their siblings would behave better.  He regards his method as successful and effective because his children are smart and obedient, and now he would like you to buy his book on how well it worked.  Nevermind that he was almost forced to quit his job because he spent so much time beating his kids that his work performance suffered.

It's not a huge surprise that Baiyou's kids don't have much of a relationship with him, or that his son says he completely missed out on having a childhood.  It's hard to trust someone who beats you, and it's difficult to make friends in college when you were never allowed to have them as a child.

What you're willing to sacrifice to get the results you want in your kids depends largely on the value system you start with.  Learning to respect each other's difference while acknowledging those unique systems can be a challenge.  Baiyou's methods have attracted significant criticism not only from his homeland, but around the world.  It might be news to him, that there are plenty of students at Harvard, Stanford, and certainly Peking University, whose parents may have been strict, but they didn't beat them into academic excellence.

What defines successful parenting? Admission into a prestigious university?  Maybe.  An olympic athlete?  It's possible.  An intelligent, resilient, compassionate adult?  Of course.  By any means necessary? Never.      

This is a big, competitive world.  Many of us didn't get into that ivy league university, but hopefully we have parents who don't define themselves by our success.  If we can be parents who combine discipline with encouragement, and teaching with compassion, perhaps we can prepare our kids to negotiate their lives effectively -- even successfully, without the Big Bad Wolf.    

Hello! My name is Mark Turner and I've been asked to be a guest writer to provide the male perspective and some guidance for all you new dads out there. I don't claim to be the world's best baby expert, but with an 8-year-old boy and now a new baby girl, I have had time to digest some of the errors from the first try. (Let's call them "lessons".)

You're guaranteed a lot of advice and opinions from people, but in the long run you're best off taking it all with a grain of salt. Being a parent is one of the most important and stressful things you'll ever do, but unfortunately there is no manual for your child. There are plenty of books, but in the end every child is different and you'll need to figure out what works best for yours through trial and error.

Here are some dad-focused tips which may help with those first 90 days:

• Don't Stress - The first few months are a blessing and a curse. Admittedly you get little sleep and the baby sucks all the attention (especially from your partner!), but on the bright side, it's still pretty simple at this point. You just feed, change, put them to sleep - rinse and repeat.

• Don't be a Lemon - If your wife is breastfeeding, as mine is, it can feel like there's not much you can do to help. However, your hormonally charged partner will probably appreciate you bringing her the baby, changing diapers between feeds, swaddling, cleaning up, and keeping supplies and stocks ready. It's crucial to go in organized, stay focused on the end goal, push through the sleepless nights, be strong and, most importantly, remember that it's temporary. The reward of that first smile about 6 weeks in is worth it.

• Be the Manager - The other important role that new dads can play is that of social manager. New moms are vulnerable and can be susceptible to welcoming every friend and family visitor. You may need to be the strong one and step in from time to time. Babies (up to toddler age) thrive when kept on a strict routine. Feeling obliged to pass baby around for cuddles to every person who drops by can get baby and mom all out of whack. I had my mother-in-law stay with us for 7 weeks when our baby was just born and, to be honest, it was more relaxing and calm around the house when she had left!

• Don't Forget to be a Dad - It is easy to miss out on bonding time with your new baby. Make sure you build daddy time into the daily schedule - the late-night feeding, bath time, or strapping the baby into the carrier and going for a long walk. In my house, my wife usually feeds the baby and I'm called in for bouncing, swaddling (a definite man skill around here), and getting her to sleep. It's the perfect balance.

There are no right answers, but being a father is great fun and the most rewarding job you'll ever have!