You may be excited to send your kid back to school, but your wallet might not be.

To help you out, we're offering three "bag to school" backpacks fully stocked with an assortment of Zebra Pen's most stylish products including mechanical pencils, pens, and smooth gel inks.

Enter to win by leaving us a comment telling us how you prepare for the first day of school.

CONTEST RULES

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment below telling us how you prepare for the first day of school.
• The comment must be left before 5 pm ET on Friday, September 3, 2010.
• You may enter only once.
• Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Three winners will receive a prizepack including a Zebra Pen backpack, Z-grip Daises, Cadoozles mechanical pencils, Zebra #2 mechanical pencils, a Regal Rollerball, and the Sarasa smooth gel inks . Retail value of each prize is $100.
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• Click here for complete Official Rules. Winners will be notified by email, so be sure to provide a valid address!

"Rock star" and "family man" usually aren't used to describe the same person, but Chris Daughtry doesn't exactly conform to stereotypes.

The "American Idol" alum chatted about his two kids and his wife's pregnancy (they're expecting twins!) with our friends at PopEater, and Daughtry admits that his daddy duties have influenced his song writing.

"Certainly you feel that you don't want to put anything in your music that you wouldn't want your kids listening to," he tells PopEater. "That's always in the back of my mind. Not only do we have a lot of kid fans, but more importantly, we want to be an example to our own kids."

Click here to read more and watch PopEater's exclusive footage.

When it comes to healthy lunch ideas for kids, stick to the basics. Because, while the Internet may be full of lunch box suggestions, says Melinda Johnson, a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, "simple is usually better."

Johnson says you should get kids involved in the lunch-making process early on.

"Make a list of acceptable 'entrees,' 'veggies,' etc.," she says. At least three food groups should make the list and parents should keep any treats to a minimum. Remind your child to eat the entrees and vegetables before any candy or cookie treat.

Keep the healthy lunch list lively by adding new foods as your child learns about them or expresses interest in trying something new. Spend some time reviewing the list of foods together when meals seem to be getting old, boring or not eaten. Try introducing unusual vegetables such as jicama or edamame.

When you talk to your child about nutrition, Johnson suggests using the time to motivate them to make healthy choices.

From Doritos pitchwoman to designing mom, Ali Landry's career -- and life -- is all about perseverance.

The former Miss USA 1996 is happily married to director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde and mother to their 3-year-old daughter, Estela. She's also celebrating the one-year anniversary of her children's clothing line Belle Parish, which will be featured for the first time at New York Fashion Week next month.

Landry, 38, has worked hard and endured public heartache to get to this place. In 2004, she wed longtime boyfriend Mario Lopez, but the pair split after two weeks of marriage. But, as Ali tells ParentDish, "That horrific ending got me to where I am today."

ParentDish: How has becoming a mother changed your outlook on Hollywood?
Ali Landry: Before I was going about my business and now it is all about Estela. Now I make more conscious choices since my work is an extension of me. I think about my legacy and think: Will Estela be proud of me and what can I teach her?

PD: You have been quoted as saying motherhood is a humbling experience. How so?
AL: With a child you deal with so much stuff. I remember when we were in public and she was in her hitting phase or when she was teething and she took a good chunk out of my shoulder. There was even the time she threw up on my clothes. You have to just let it go and live.

PD: How has Estela changed you as a person?
AL: Everything in my life changed once I became a mom. When you have a child, the focus has (to) become all about them. Estela has also taught me how to embrace my insecurities. For example, I enjoyed putting on weight when I got pregnant and letting my body do what it needed to do in order to have a healthy child. I actually cracked jokes about it, looking at myself in the mirror. I also didn't push myself to quickly lose the weight because I was more focused on enjoying her.

PD: Insecurities? You have insecurities?
AL: I go to bed every night thinking about a million things, the same things as everyone else does, so, yes, we all have them. I think about the fact I am getting older and does my skin look OK? I know I can't eat ice cream and cupcakes in bed anymore because I have to put my diet in check. But because of Estela I have gained a whole new level of confidence.

PD: You were briefly married to Mario Lopez and, unfortunately, that relationship had a horrible ending. How did that have an impact on you?
AL: That was a terrible situation and it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I have never been betrayed by someone like that. But, I will say, even though I never got an apology from him, it was the absolute the best thing that happened to me because now I have a great husband who has the same values and the same morals as me. We walk on the same path and, as an added bonus, we have a beautiful daughter.

Drat. They figured it out.

Many young people already suspect that parents stay awake all night dreaming up new and sadistic ways of driving their kids feather-plucking insane.

Now some of these junior detectives have discovered the Facebook Ploy: You friend your child on Facebook and bombard him or her with nagging, embarrassing and downright humiliating comments.

Hee hee.

Unfortunately, now that kids are hip to this fiendish plot, they are leaving Facebook and forcing parents to lose more sleep to all-night strategy sessions.

Online gaming site Roiworld commissioned a survey of 600 adolescents last spring and found what has been called Facebook Fatigue, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Almost one in five teens are taking their marbles and goings home, some because they spied another shiny object and others because of annoying parents who insist on being their "friends."

Sick of buying countless brown paper bags and plastic water bottles to get through the school year? Yeah, so is your landfill.

Make the switch to reusable lunch boxes and beverage bottles that are eco-friendly and safer for you and your family. All SIGG products are made of pure aluminum, so they're equipped to weather bumpy bus rides or backpack tosses. And, when you're ready for a replacement, your old SIGG bottles and containers can be recycled.

There are more than 100 styles of SIGG lunch boxes and bottles ranging from solid metallic colors to funky retro designs. Even better, now you can customize your own SIGG with a photo of your choice or a unique graphic that you've created.

Available at mysigg.com.

Didn't catch the summer's most heartwarming documentary, "Babies," while it was in theaters? The film follows four babies from around the world and captures their first year of life. We are giving away three copies of "Babies" on DVD, which is being sold exclusively at Target until it released in other retail locations later next month.

Enter to win by leaving us a comment answering this question: What was your favorite summer movie?

CONTEST RULES

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment below telling us what your favorite summer movie was.
• The comment must be left before 5 pm ET on Friday, September 3, 2010.
• You may enter only once.
• Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Three winners will receive a copy of "Babies" on DVD ($29.99).
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• Click here for complete Official Rules. Winners will be notified by email, so be sure to provide a valid address!

Memo to educators everywhere: There's nothing cute about a kid dressed as Hitler.

Administrators at an Australian school recently were forced to apologize after awarding first prize in a costume contest to a 9-year-old boy who came to school dressed as Adolf Hitler as part of a history project, according to BBC News.

Parents complained, calling the costume distasteful. An apology has been issued, but, according to the BBC, school officials still aren't sure what the big deal is.

The unnamed head teacher defended the school's actions, saying the German dictator "was a fairly famous person." He also claims parents made "a mountain out of a molehill" and that most of the uproar was caused by the fact that the students yelled out "Hitler!" when the boy was on stage.

Selecting a name for a child is one of the most important choices a Hindu parent will make, as Hindus believe baby names help ensure the child will be moral during life and will one day attain immortality.

Babies most often are named after deities, gods, goddesses or holy and revered individuals, or after sacred qualities.

If you are considering a Hindu baby name, either for religious reasons or because the names are simply beautiful, here are the best resources for Hindu baby names lists and ideas:

Indian Hindu Names: This comprehensive website for Hindu baby names includes many sections, including Names of Gods and Goddesses, Indian Baby Names A-Z and Baby Names by Month, Rashi. There also is a page that provides a star chart for parents desiring to name their baby according to the child's birth star. Some examples of names found in this Hindu baby names list are Chandra (moon), Madhuri (sweet) and Sahira (mountain) for girls, and Barindra (ocean), Harit (green) and Padmal (lotus) for boys.

As the new school year begins, more than a few children are struggling with first day jitters. Some may go so far as to dig in their heels, refusing to even get on the bus when the dreaded day arrives, leading to escalating punishments and bribes from Mom and Dad.

One parent may threaten, "If you don't get on the bus this minute, young man, you're going to be grounded for a month!" while another offers cash if their youngster will just cooperate.

Some kids are simply playing their parents, hoping to delay the inevitable or make some pocket money by pitching a fit. But there are others who are genuinely terrified to step back onto the schoolyard after having endured an awful year at the hands of bullies. For children who have been the victims of taunting and teasing in the past, the thought of heading into another school year can be unbearable, regardless of Mom and Dad's well-meaning pep talks, or their promises that this year will be different.