Family

Game tips: 'Splatoon 2': How to choose different hairstyles

Changing up your inkling's hairdo is as simple as can be.

8 great tips for beating boredom

We are always looking for ways to stop the boredom. Here are a few that I like to do:

LI kids meet 'Emoji' star T.J. Miller, director Tony Leondis

"The Emoji Movie" opens Friday, July 28, but we had a chance to see scenes in late May. The movie is directed and co-written by Tony Leondis and stars the voices of T.J. Miller, Jake T. Austin, Patrick Stewart, Maya Rudolph, Sofia Vergara, James Corden, Anna Faris and Christina Aguilera.

Family

Bullies tried to break her. Instead, they helped Jessica McDaniels get a new smile.

Pat McGee noticed her daughter had not returned to the oral surgeon's waiting room shortly before her surgery was supposed to start.

Family

Living with Children: Control the controller, defeat the addiction

Have you ever heard of an addict who was cured of his or her addiction because someone limited, but did not eliminate, their access to the substance or behavior in question? No, you have not. Is an addiction to gambling less harmful if the addict is only allowed to gamble five hours a week? No, it is not. The proposition is absurd.

Family

A peony for Aunt Imogene

My aunt Imogene's recent death signaled the end of an era.

Family

Ex-etiquette: Discuss family traditions before wedding

Question: My husband recently took his son on a backpacking trip. It's a family tradition that I thought was going to stop now that we are married. When they returned, I found out that my husband's ex-wife's father and brother also went along. I feel uncomfortable with my husband continuing to associate with his ex's family. I feel like they are always comparing me to my husband's ex and what they really want is for them to reconcile. This infuriates me! I want my husband to stop! What's good ex-etiquette?

Family

Parental Guidance: A death at sleep-away camp; what parents should do

Dr. Jennifer Shaer of Dix Hills shared the shock of other parents recently when her daughter, Samantha, a counselor at Camp Nah-Jee-Wah in Milford, Pa., texted her that an 11-year-old camper had suddenly died.

Family

Ana Veciana-Suarez: Grade inflation gives many students A's for effort

If you want more evidence of our collective coddling of children, look no further than the time-honored high school report card.

Family

Lori Borgman: It's nonsense what makes sense anymore

A view of the human brain from the top shows that it looks similar to a whole walnut. Although larger. At least I hope mine is.

Family

Chris Erskine: Introducing a newcomer to L.A.

My 26-year-old niece is moving here soon, so I've made a few notes for her about life in Los Angeles:

Family

Ask Mr. Dad: Wanted: Male elementary school teachers

Dear Mr. Dad: My twins (one boy, one girl), are starting fourth grade in the fall and we just found out that their teacher is a woman. That isn't a problem, of course, but when my wife and I started talking about this, we realized that the twins have never had a male teacher, and that our older kids – one in middle school, one in high school – didn't have male teachers until they were in 7th grade. Looking even further back, neither my wife nor I had a male teacher until high school. Why are there so few men teaching in elementary schools? And are our kids being hurt by the lack of adult male role models?

Family

10 good things that come from reading aloud to big kids, too

Every parent knows that it's good to read to kids when they're little. It helps babies, toddlers, and preschoolers develop spoken language, recognize letters and words, and get ready for kindergarten. But it's actually beneficial to read to kids even after they can read on their own. Research shows that continued reading aloud after age 5 (and well beyond) improves reading and listening skills and academic performance (and is also loads of fun!).

Family

Haircuts can challenge children with autism; more salons address their needs

Around midday on a recent hot Sunday afternoon, Lela Forrest, 11, walked into Sharkey's Cuts for Kids in Robinson, Pa., wearing hot-pink noise-canceling headphones over her wild sandy-blond curls.

Family

How to raise an optimistic human in a pessimistic world

If you're raising kids today, it can be easy to focus on the negative. And it's no wonder: Thanks to the 24-hour news cycle, social media, cell phone notifications – and even sources you wouldn't expect, like Instagram and YouTube – kids are immersed in doom and gloom. Consider their world: The suicide rate is up, cyberbullying is rampant, the United States is more divided than ever, and people are now live-streaming murder and suicide. So it's understandable if you don't feel like putting on a happy face every day and keeping your kids optimistic about the future.

Family

Game review: 'Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two,' new and improved sequel

Parents need to know that "Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two" is a narrative-driven adventure set in the world of "Minecraft." Play centers on choosing responses in dialogue, not collecting minerals and crafting items. Combat is infrequent, mild, and cartoonish. Battles see human characters using swords against blocky monsters, but they involve no blood or gore and typically end with enemies disappearing in puffs of smoke. The game's hero, Jesse, can be customized in terms of gender and skin tone. He (or she) is clearly out to do good, helping friends and protecting civilians, but the player's choices in dialogue can alter the tone of responses, making Jesse seem sensitive or uncaring, empathetic or reactionary, playful or a bit mean.

Family

Balancing Act: Surprise, haters! There's already a female Doctor Who (Hu, actually)

When the BBC announced Jodie Whittaker as the next Doctor, some hardcore fans didn't take kindly to a lady headlining their beloved sci-fi series, "Doctor Who." (Political correctness gone mad. It's Doctor Who, not Nurse Who. You know the drill.)

Movie News & Reviews

Movie review: 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,' silly, exuberant sci-fi adventure

Parents need to know that "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" is a sci-fi/action movie based on French comics and directed by Luc Besson. There's plenty of fantasy violence, with futuristic guns, shooting, and fighting (but virtually no blood). An alien character is strapped to a chair and questioned (possibly tortured). The main characters eventually kiss, and one spends the movie asking the other to marry him. There's a "red light" district with flirty characters and a woman doing a sexy dance involving a stripper pole. Language includes one possible use of "s--t" (it's partly obscured by noise) and uses of "ass" and "damn." Though the movie is very long and quite silly, it's also bright and dazzling and fun, with messages about courage, teamwork, environmentalism, and helping the less fortunate. And the main female character (Cara Delevingne) constantly challenges her position as the male's sidekick.

Family

App review: Boost brain power with engaging space-themed, Galactic Genius with Astro Cat games

Parents need to know that Galactic Genius with Astro Cat challenges kids to use their cognitive skills to complete fast-paced games in space-themed setting. Players can choose from six games, each with 50 levels of play that increase in difficulty. Earn points after completing each level and collect fun, colorful stickers to make albums. Though navigation is simple, kids need to be able to read fluently in order to follow the instructions. Read the app's privacy policy to find out about the types of information collected and shared.

Family

Back-to-school shopping: Tips for saving money on supplies, clothing, more

Summer vacation has barely begun, yet the battle for back-to-school dollars already is raging. Who will go to the head of the class on savings? Newsday asked Long Island parents how they get the most for their money when shopping for school supplies and clothing – here are 12 of their A+ tips.

Videos

Famous quadruplets turn 16

Jul 08, 2016

Sisters Anna, Emily, Grace and Mary Claire Mathias are similar in that they’re all sassy, giggly and sharp, which is in contrast to how they initially gained notoriety. The Lexington girls make up a set of identical quadruplets, one of only about 70 sets in the world and even rarer in the fact that they were conceived naturally. The rising high school juniors turned 16 in February and have the wonders and woes of their late teen years to look forward to, from driving to figuring out career pathways and college.

Matt Walsh mwalsh@thestate.com