children

Some people are up in arms about a recent report that the Viradouro samba school has selected seven-year-old Julia Lira to be their Queen for the huge annual Carnival parade in the Sambodromo. Julia's father, Marco Lira, is the owner of the samba school and her mother, Monica Lira, is a police official. Both parents think it is totally acceptable for their daughter to take on the role, even though it is normally reserved for women in their late teens and twenties.

Día de los Muertos is just around the corner and we talked to Gail Dosik, confectionery artist extraordinaire and owner of One Tough Cookie NYC to find out the secrets behind her spooktacular cookies! Here she fills us in on how to create some scary beautiful cookies for the special day. Check out the recipe below:

FOR COOKIES

After a year of fundraising, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden broke ground on a new playground for children at Beyond Shelter’s Broadway Village II in downtown Los Angeles. The new apartment complex, which is located in a neighborhood with one of the highest concentrations of crime and poverty in the city, is home to 50 homeless families. The children of these families are limited to playing inside all day or on a concrete slab outdoors.

Jose Enrique Sanchez, 11, traveled more than 600 miles alone with only 200 pesos (the equivalent of 15 U.S. dollars) in his pocket in an attempt to be reunited with his mother.

"My papa said that my mother is in Laredo, so I came to find her," said Sanchez, who hasn’t seen his mother in more than 18 months.

Summer is in full swing, and if you've been spending quality time with the kids, right about now is when even the most devoted parents could probably use a little break. Luckily for you, there’s still time to sign your child up for day camp, and some resident camps are even still accepting kids! Even though we're sure you love hanging with the little ones, surely you can let go for a few weeks—or even just a couple of hours a day? Plus, camp is a great way for kids to share new and exciting experiences with other children their age. So go for it!