It says, “Eight-to 12-year-olds in this country already spend more than $40 million a month on beauty products, and teens spend another $100 million.” $40 million a MONTH on lip gloss, hairspray and glittery nail polish? These girls aren’t even old enough for Clearasil. This is nuts.

But, make up? No. Not yet. One day, there will be mascara on those lashes and shadow on those lids. That day is a long way in the future. I’m not going to commit to a particular birthday just yet. We’ll see.

So, what is the appropriate age to glam up (beyond dress-up play, I mean)?

Over at CNN.com, John D. Sutter is talking about how experts’ observation that the “sex talk” is easier than the money talk for most families.

Really?

Really?!?!

Is it easier to impart basic wisdom to our kids about where babies come from than it is to explain basic concepts of finance?

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At our house, we’re really big fans of consignment shops. Nearly half of my kids’ closets are filled with threads I’ve picked up at places like Kid to Kid and Children’s Orchard. A new law (the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) apparently may push these shops out of businesses by forcing all used clothes and toys to be tested for lead and other chemicals. Trent over at The Simple Dollar has a great recap and analysis on the issue.

Don’t get me wrong, I think some government regulations make sense. After all, without them we probably wouldn’t have car seats, kids would have limbs stuck in cribs and clothing with drawstrings may still be choking our little ones.

This time, I think Congress has jerked their knees and thrown some good babies out with the bathwater. It appears that the relative risk from used clothing and toys is fairly minimal for the amount of work required to test for it. Not only will this new law effect consignment store owners and those who buy from and sell to them, it also hits your local thrift shops and the nonprofits that rely on them for income to support community services. It appears there may be ramifications for garage sales and home crafters who sell their wares.

Be sure to check out The Simple Dollar for more details. If you’re concerned, you may want to hit your local consignment shop to buy and sell before it goes into effect on Feb. 10.

Many of us are really starting to feel the pinch of the bad economy, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get much better any time soon. So certainly at a time like this, watching every penny coming in and going out is on our minds. But after reading this story about a mom who almost killed her baby feeding him diluted infant formula, I realized that for us parents there are some considerations when deciding what areas to cut back on — there are just some things that doing on the cheap put our children at risk.

Coincidentally enough, the next day I came across an article on frugal parenting by the Pediatrics expert at About.com. Dr. Vincent Iannelli put together a helpful list of reminders when watching our budget, such as not using the aforementioned diluted formula, thinking twice about buying a used car seat or crib, and avoiding the cheap junk food trap. So if you’re one of those seeing their household income trending downward, be sure to read the whole thing.

Look, I don’t want to alarm anyone, but Thanksgiving is past? How did that happen?

What this insidious passing of time says is that Christmas is less than four weeks away. Last night, I sat down to write out a list of what I’ll be getting everybody. This lasted until I eventually used up enough paper to deforest Canada and now I’m completely at a loss.

I love the holidays. I love everything about them. What I don’t love is gifting decisions.

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