NYT's Friedman: Call Your Mother

Mother's Day survey reveals holiday activities, too

(NEWSER) - In a poll of 10,000 readers ahead of Mother's Day, more would trust their kids to Jennifer Aniston than Brangelina, ParentDish.com reveals. More from the survey

• Most trustworthy babysitter: Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia De Rossi.
• Best mom: Jennifer Garner, followed by a tie between Reese Witherspoon and Michelle Obama.
• Worst moms: Courtney Love, Dina Lohan, Britney Spears, Sarah Palin, and Kate Moss.

Krugman, Friedman, Dowd, Rich, editorial board all pile on prez

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration bore an avalanche of criticism this weekend from the usually friendly New York Times. Influential columnists Paul Krugman, Frank Rich, Thomas Friedman, and Maureen Dowd—plus the paper’s editorial board—all piled on a president who “is increasingly overwhelmed, and not fully appreciative of the building tsunami of populist outrage,” Politico reports. More»

Kids seek comfort in food as mothers worry about money, job

(NEWSER) - Moms stressed out by poverty could be driving millions of US kids younger than 10 to take refuge in food and become overweight, a study finds. The stress may be linked to heavy work schedules and health-insurance troubles, among other issues, Reuters reports. The study argues for better aid to struggling families, including access to food stamps, health insurance, and money-management education. More»

Childless Americans enjoy life more, studies say

(NEWSER) - Little bundles of joy may not be delivering as much pleasure to their moms and dads as they're reputed to, Newsweek reports. Parents are about 7% less happy than the childless, one study says, while another concludes that "no group of parents reported significantly greater emotional well-being than people who never had children." Are today's parents too busy and bleary-eyed to feel the love, Newsweek asks, or have expectations changed? More»

Mother Earth, Marge Simpson make the cut

(NEWSER) - No one's perfect, but some moms get pretty close—even if they do have control issues, out-of-wedlock kids, or a little drug habit. Time picked these winners for going against the grain.

1. Dumbo's mom: for giving her child wings
2. The moms of The Joy Luck Club: for caring a bit too much
3. Gaia, or Mother Earth: for the skies and the fields