As I’ve been making the rounds talking to parents about my new book Beyond Smart, I’ve noticed a phenomenon that seems exclusive to today’s parents: Many of us don’t trust our own instincts. We’re so accustomed to taking direction - from teachers, counselors, experts, you name it…that we seldom look to ourselves for the answers.

We want so badly to be good parents - and often second-guess our judgments and opinions. We strive for perfection and don’t tolerate our own mistakes. Failure, for most of us, is not an option.

But parenting is a process. Everyone trips and stumbles once in awhile and no one - not your neighbor next door, not the psychologist on TV, certainly not your own parents - parents flawlessly. Remember that we know our children better than anyone else does. We all posses innate and valuable instincts about our kids; who they are, what they need, how to help them cope with school, with friends, with life. Turns out some of these instincts are actually quite good.

Trust them. It’s worth a shot.

In the era of being able to vote on which non-profit will receive a bank funded endowment, it’s equally refreshing to find companies that want to give back to it’s consumers.  Crate &  Barrel (Land of Nod’s sister company) is doing this in what has become a profound way for many who grew up in the Seattle area.

A friend’s younger sister, Becky Hornsten, had her lovely wedding engagement interrupted by a breast cancer diagnosis. Fingers crossed she’ll kick cancer’s ass! In the meantime, she and her fiance, Greg, need about 700 votes to win a Crate & Barrel wedding contest. Can you vote for them? It took me about 30 seconds.

Entries | Crate and Barrel’s Ultimate Wedding Contest

www.ultimateweddingcontest.com

We had known each other since high school. I always had a crush on him. He hung out with my brother, they played poker at my mother’s house. I learned how to play so I had an excuse to hang out with them. …

OK, I’m super busy, what with April going to press. You know the drill:

To win this here super-fun springtime DVD, click here. (Please enter! I can’t be alone with the purple dinosaur any longer!)

To win a free family 4-pack of tickets to see ‘Bodies: The Exhibition’ before it leaves Seattle, click here.

And to register for Passport - so that you can actually win - click here.

‘Nuff said. I gotta go bother some lemurs to write some copy for y’all.

Look, we know what we look like, my daughter and I, shuffling around in shapeless glorified slippers. But when you hit your shoes at a dead run, it helps if they’re pull-on simple. And, hey, Miley wears ‘em, so they gotta be cool.

Call it caveman chic.

But this morning, I am jolted awake by a news report that - shock! - Ugg boots may be wrecking the skeletel systems of thousands of tween girls (I’m assuming I’m already a lost cause). Seems they just don’t get enough support from Uggs and Ugg knock-offs…and those tween bones are still plastic, still firming up. Too much Ugg usage may equal uggly problems down the line. Read the story from the London Telegraph here.

I especially like Ugg’s no-bull response: uh, yes. These are comfort - not performance! - boots. Maybe we will alternate them with “good” shoes. The kind you can’t hit at a dead run.

Apropos of nothing, this cracked me up. It’s a handy flowchart for family planning (not!)

If you like that, you’ll love graph jam!

Also fun this week: Our headshakingly amazing weekend at the industry awards in Charlotte. The annual convention o’parenting pub people was inspiring, challenging and educational; we got some great new ideas you’ll see in our pages soon.

Hey - not that I’m procrastinating. Our April issue is going to press. Standy by for excellent info on movie ratings…birthmarks…social networking safety…and how to talk so kids will listen - really!

I borrowed your hair dryer.

I was pondering this question myself in anticipation of the pleading campaign sure to be mounted by my 13-year-old (not a Twihard, but definatley into “rom-coms”). The new movie, “Remember Me,” is rated PG-13, so, technically fair game for discussion. Today’s review by Common Sense Media made my decision easy: No way! Thanks, CSM, for clear, quantifiable content deconstruction that makes it very easy to explain to disappointed kids exactly why the answer is “no.” We’ll skip the “dark, disturbing romance” — and keep our $40 — thanks anyway.

Yeah, I got the scoop!

Once, long ago, I was a new mom, but now I am an old, weary mom. Well, OK, not that old; my kids are tweens. Tweens who sleep through the night (yes, it does happen)!

Anyhoo, in the blink of an eye, they’re grown up and borrowing my Uggs, and all the baby gizmos and whatnots have all changed. So we here at PM World Headquarters want to know: What do new moms LOVE these days? Where do they go? What do they covet?

If you’d care to dish, here’s a short little survey. Thank you for your time. We know it’s precious!

Little cuties and budding scientists will love our giveaways this week - for Passport subscribers only!

1. The fascinating “Bodies: The Exhibition” leaves Seattle at the end of this month…and we’ve got a few family 4-packs of tickets to give away! To enter, email (giveaway@parentmap.com) us your name and phone number.

2. Bedtime for Frances on DVD! Jim Henson’s team brings the beloved baby badger to life with cool CGI animation in this sweet disc. To enter, email (giveaway@parentmap.com) us your mailing address.

Good luck! And remember, no e-news, no e-news prizes for you! So sign up already - it’s fun and it’s free!

It’s the ultimate anatomy class! This week’s Hall Pass giveaway is a family 4-pack of tickets to see Bodies: The Exhibition before it leaves Seattle at the end of this month. Take curious kids to see more than 200 real human bodies, preserved and displayed, for an inside look at how bodies work.

To enter: Email us (giveaway@parentmap.com) your name and phone number and be sure to put “bodies” in the subject line.

Must be a Hall Pass subscriber to win! Sign up here - it’s fast and it’s free!

Arts writer Christine Johnson-Duell, who has written about opera for us in the past, has a great article up on the PM site about Seattle Opera’s Falstaff Family Day (tix for kids are $15, and the opera is planning a host of activities for families during intermissions). She takes down the arguments as to why kids shouldn’t be exposed to the opera one by one, and most persuasively.

This past summer, my daughter was a Niebelung in one of the Ring operas, and I took my son to a dress rehearsal to watch her perform. He — a teen whose iPod, if he had one, would be stuffed with the likes of Paramore and Airborne Toxic Event — was blown away by the beauty of the experience. Those sets! That music! Rhinemaidens suspended in mid-air as if they were swimming in the Rhine!

Don’t underestimate the kiddos when it comes to their ability to appreciate an art form they’re not familiar with.