From the Editor’s Desk

At Savvy HQ this week, there was plenty of buzz about everything from important new research to Fifty Shades of Grey.

1. The case for letting kids choose what they read
When we came across a Washington Post story called ‘If we stop telling kids what to read, they might start reading again,’ we were intrigued. It reported on a survey released by Scholastic that found a distinct connection between students who called themselves frequent readers and having choice about what to read. Kyle Good, a spokeswoman for Scholastic, told the Post, ‘When you let kids choose the books they want to read, they’ll be voracious readers.’

2. Cindy Crawford’s Unretouched photo
Moms rejoiced when an unedited photo of Cindy Crawford, one of the original supermodels, surfaced this week. The image, apparently set to appear in an entirely un-photoshopped April issue of Marie Claire, reveals that Crawford is a regular(ish) mortal with a bit of loose skin on her tummy and upper thighs as a result of pregnancy. You can see what Kelli Catana of KelliDaisy.com had to say about it here.

3. New autism research
Parents with kids on the autism spectrum paid careful attention to groundbreaking new Canadian research findings that appeared in JAMA Psychiatry this week. The study concluded that outcomes varied widely for the preschoolers followed in the longitudinal study from the time of diagnosis around between ages two and four until the age of six. Essentially, two preschoolers placed in the same area of the autism spectrum at the time of diagnosis can respond entirely differently to treatment than the other. This proves what many parents of kids with ASD have known instinctually for years, making the case for personalized medicine, or as the study concludes, ‘a flexible suite of interventions.’

4. Fifty Shades of Grey
The book series and movie everyone loves to love or hate had moms talking after it’s blockbuster opening weekend. Was it better or worse than the books? Did Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan do a good job of depicting Ana and Christian? And most importantly, does the story reflect a healthy intimate relationship? Savvy Storyteller Mara Shapiro of Be Nice or Leave says an emphatic ‘yes!’ in her post ‘Why I Don’t Think Fifty Shades of Grey Glamourizes Domestic Abuse.’ What do you think?

And then there’s that thing none of us wants to talk about at all…

5. Filing our %$@ Income Taxes
Luckily, the Savvy Experts from Golden Girl Finance are on top of it with these ‘Five Tax Breaks You May Not Know About.’

We’ll look into that. Just as soon as we’re back from the movies. We’ve got Oscar winners to see.

Image of A.S.D. and taxes from Shutterstock.