10 Years of Study Data Finds African American Girls Benefit When They Eat Breakfast

The pathway to better health for teenage girls starts with the first meal of the day and when they make a good-for-me choice their odds of having a healthier body weight and lower cholesterol improve. Based on analysis of the girls’ food diaries, breakfast cereal eaters tended to have lower waist-to-height ratios, an indicator of healthy body weight, lower total cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol.

 One of the healthiest breakfast choices in the 10-year study was fortified ready-to-eat cereal, which helped boost the nutrient content in the girls’ diets. Analyses of the study results found that ’tween and teen girls who regularly ate cereal for breakfast relative to 24 other reported breakfast foods were less likely to be overweight, had healthier body weights and lower cholesterol. A recent report indicates that 24 percent of African-American girls aged 12 to 17 are overweight, compared to 15 percent of white girls.

“Starting the day right with a bowl of cereal topped with fruit, milk and a glass of orange juice is a smart choice and one that more girls need to make,” Palmer said. “I’m asking girls to pledge on Facebook to eat breakfast so they can help themselves and someone in need, too.” Palmer is encouraging girls aged 14 to 17, to visit www.facebook.com/IHEARTBKFST as a step toward better health and to lend a helping hand to girls in need.

 I<3BKFST, translated as I HEART BREAKFAST, is designed to appeal to and help educate teens and their parents and guardians and it borrows its name from the popular text symbol for love <3. Teens may visit Facebook.com/IHEARTBKFST, where they will first like the IHEARTBKFST page and then pledge to eat breakfast

TMI Online?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What you say on Facebook and Twitter may be too much. Even though you may set your privacy settings up to the highest standard, pictures and posts are never 100% private. Make sure you think twice before you post something that may come back to haunt you 5 or 10 years down the road.

15-year-old goes to Harvard after being accepted to 13 colleges

Saheela Ibraheem wasn't sure any college would want to admit a 15-year-old. So the Piscataway teen hedged her bets and filled out applications to 14 schools from New Jersey to California.

"It's the age thing. I wanted to make sure I had options," said Saheela, a senior at the Wardlaw-Hartridge School. In the end, 13 colleges accepted her -- including six of the eight Ivy League schools.

After weeks of debate, Saheela settled on Harvard. She will be among the youngest members of the school's freshman class.

Remembering 9/11...A View from Harlem

As I curled up on my couch last week, flipping through television channels and eager to find something to watch for some sort of Thursday-night entertainment, I realized that I was out of luck. The Office was a repeat, I'm not a big fan of Wipeout and I had stopped watching Degrassi: The Next Generation by the time I was 15. I continued my quest to try and find something worth watching when I came across a documentary about Sept. 11. With the flip of a channel, I was instantly taken back to the most devastating day in my lifetime.

 Ten years ago, on that Tuesday morning, I sat in my sixth-grade homeroom class on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, waiting for my father to pick me up and unsure about what exactly was going on. There was a rumor spreading around school that the World Trade Center had been hit by planes. At first I was skeptical, but the faces of utter disbelief and sadness among my peers and teachers confirmed it for me. We sat in the classroom in silence, listening to the radio, waiting for what would happen next. When my father arrived, I ran into his arms -- an embrace that some of my classmates would never have with their parents again. The car ride back to Harlem was filled with questions. What exactly happened, Daddy? What is a terrorist? Were they going to start hitting random buildings? Would the

Adam Clayton Powell building on 125th Street, located a few blocks from my house, be next? Were we safe? It wasn't until I arrived home and turned on the television that it really hit me. Right before my eyes was footage of the twin towers -- a place where I had once gone for a fourth-grade school trip -- crumbling as soot-covered civilians ran for safety. I saw damage from the plane that crashed into a section of the Pentagon and witnessed a billowing cloud of smoke rising from a field after Flight 93 went down near Shanksville, Pa. To continue please click here:

China Anne McClain Talks About Her New Disney Series A.N.T. FARM

I know I'm not the only one excited to see a brown girl on Disney! In the Disney series A.N.T. FARM, China Anne McClain plays a musical genius who must navigate high school with a bunch of other gifted youngsters as they pursue their passions.

What is A.N.T FARM about? 
China: A.N.T. Farm is a show basically about high school and the A.N.T. program, and A.N.T. stands for Advanced Natural Talent. Everyone in the program is very gifted in whatever it is they do. I’m a musical prodigy. You know, mathematics and arts. So the characters are 11 and 12 and the high schoolers don’t want them there. And my character is China Sparks. She is very complicated. She doesn’t care about what the high schoolers think about her. She is just going to make the most of her high school experience.

Are there any similarities between you and your character Chyna? 
China: There are some similarities. I can play some of the instruments she does. But generally not all of them. I guess I am kind of complicated in a way. Not as much as she is. But I really love her. I see some similarities between us.

In your mind, what would be the one word you would describe your character with — what does she embody? 
China: Confidence. She doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her. She is who she is and she’s okay with that. I love that about her. She’s not seeking to be liked. She just doesn’t want to be bullied.

For more of China's interview, click here:

Study shows MTV's show "16 and Pregnant" helped to lower teen pregnancy rate...do you believe it?

According to a new government study that shows the U.S. teen birthrate falling dramatically in 2009 after a five percent increase from 2005 to 2007, experts say the network may have redeemed itself with its gritty "16 and Pregnant" documentary series, which many teens credit with opening their eyes to the consequences of unprotected sex and early parenthood.

A report released Tuesday by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy shows that parental influence is the most-cited factor by teens when it comes to avoiding teen pregnancy.

But the report also specifically cites the popular "16 and Pregnant" series, indicating that 82 percent of teens say the show helps them better understand the challenges of teen pregnancy and parenthood — and why they should avoid it.

"Entertainment media is one of the nation's favorite punching bags, but we have to acknowledge that when we're talking about teen pregnancies media can be and often is a force for good, and that is particularly true when it comes to shows like '16 and Pregnant,' '" says Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign. "Some critics say these shows glamorize teen pregnancy, but our survey data shows that's not the case — that not only do they not glamorize it, but teens who have seen it suggest it makes the realities of teen parenthood more real to them."

Hmmmmmm....what do you think?

Who's That Girl?

It's Willow Smith!!




Willow Smith recently sat for a photoshoot for London Sunday Times and we have behind the scenes photos! Her photoshoot for was shot by Sheryl Nields at Smashbox Studios in Los Angeles, and styled by Brea Stinson. Inside the magazine, mom Jada Pinkett Smith admits that Willow and brother Jaden live rule free saying, “We don’t have rules. We come up with agreements. Kids are little people, and we’re in life to guide them. Trying to rule someone is always an illusion and it’s no different with children.”

Sesame Street teaches black girls to love their hair!

A little Muppet girl has started a sensation. The unnamed puppet with an afro sings a love song to her hair.

Joey Mazzarino, the head writer of Sesame Street, is also a Muppeteer who wrote the song for his daughter. Mazzarino is Italian. He and his wife adopted their 5-year-old daughter, Segi, from Ethiopia when she was a year old.

Mazzarino says he wrote the song after noticing his daughter playing with dolls.

"She wanted to have long blond hair and straight hair, and she wanted to be able to bounce it around," he tells NPR's Melissa Block.

Mazzarino says he began to get worried, but he thought it was only a problem that white parents of African-American children have. Then he realized the problem was much larger.

In writing the song, he wanted to say in song what he says to his daughter: "Your hair is great. You can put it in ponytails. You can put it in cornrows. I wish I had hair like you."

That simple message has caused an outpouring of responses from women. Mazzarino got a call from an African woman who told him the song brought her to tears. "I was amazed, 'cause I sort of wrote this little thing for my daughter, and here this adult woman, it touched her," he says.

Mazzarino says he's happy to report that Segi loves the song — and her hair.

Caressa Cameron ignores skeptics, became Miss America

MISS AMERICA 2010, Caressa Cameron, is more than just pretty, polite and poised. The 23-year-old Virginia native is wise beyond her years. Despite many life challenges, she says she always "looks for the jewels in the journey." For her, giving up is never an option.

Cameron is the eighth African-American woman to win the prestigious title. Amazingly, she competed a dazzling four times before bringing home the Miss Virginia crown. Most less-determined young women would have given up way before then. But Cameron said she took each loss in stride, viewing it as a learning experience. And she had the smarts to apply any cash winnings she received to pay off her college tuition.

The 5-foot-4-inch frugal fashionista told me the pageant experience is valuable, win or lose. She also said that "you don't have to go into debt to participate. My swimsuit, for example, came from Target."

The aspiring broadcast journalist and talented singer was at the King of Prussia Mall to spread the news about phytonutrients and their importance in a healthy diet. She's here on behalf of the Amway nutrition supplement line Nutrilite.

Looking at the lovely Cameron, it is difficult to fathom that she was the proverbial ugly ducking in high school, with self-described "sideburns and a dreaded unibrow." She said her teen years were particularly awkward and difficult, and she had to deal with bullies, too.

But a pivotal moment was the day Miss Virginia 2003 and Miss America competitor Nancy Redd came to Cameron's school and gave an impassioned, encouraging speech that sparked something in her. Redd, also a woman of color, is a Harvard graduate and author of the New York Times best-selling book about women and their bodies, "Body Drama."

"She encouraged us to take the negativity and turn it into something positive," Cameron recalled. And that is just what she did. Ignoring all the naysayers, Cameron took Redd's advice to heart and never looked back.

The loving support of her parents and the inspiration she found in books like "The Giving Tree," "All the Places I Will Go" and "The Five Love Languages of Teenagers" also helped shape her into not just another beauty queen, but a responsible young women worthy of her crown.

Cameron is also on a mission to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, whose harsh impact touched her life at age 8, when her uncle died of the disease.

"I saw and experienced the devastation and the stigma associated with the disease and I want to help spread awareness," she told me.

Cameron was told, many times, that she didn't have what it takes. But she kept going anyway, and she wants all young women to know that they, too, can triumph over adversity and make their dreams come true.


Read more: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/kimberly_garrison/20100923_Kimberly_Garrison__Cameron_ignores_skeptics__became_Miss_America.html#ixzz10jFdcjX8

Link Love: Why Are Overweight Black Girls’ Clothes So Doggone Tight?

by Leslie J. Ansley of www.theroot.com:

Time was, if you were too fat for your clothes, you either had to wear something of your mother’s or father’s or skip school – anything but wear something obviously too small and too tight. Back in the day, girls would wear coats in the classroom if seams or buttons tore loose on a blouse or sweater, or if they just didn’t have the means to dress the way they’d like.

The girls who intentionally wore too-tight blouses were widely known as whores.

Schools today have banned bare midriffs, low-cut blouses and similar forms of, well, “advertising.” But today was the second morning this week I’ve been stunned at what I’ve seen standing on street corners waiting for the school buses: Black girls, nearly all overweight, each dressed in blouses so tight every roll of fat appears shrink-wrapped in cotton-poly. With nowhere else to go but up, the chest area is grossly over-emphasized.

The lower half is just as awful. The jeans appear super-tight – I pray, for circulation’s sake, there’s Lycra – and what isn’t stuffed into them spills over the top and just sits there, visible, between the top of the jeans and the bottom of the too-tight blouse.

The same with the skirts, which are unflatteringly short. Thankfully, fashion demands that leggings be worn with short skirts, but if you’re a two-ton Toni, why would you wear a miniskirt, anyway?

Actually, I can answer that: These girls seem to have no shame. No sense of self-worth or decency. I stare as I drive by, making sure my disapproval couldn’t possibly be misconstrued. I don’t know these girls, don’t know their parents. What I do know is that among adolescent girls, African-Americans have the highest obesity rates. That doesn’t mean there aren’t clothes that fit them. Quite the contrary: There are more plus-sized options today than ever before.

A couple of years ago, parents everywhere protested the suggestive teen fashions in department and specialty stores, and there was a “modesty” backlash. Today, fit teens do wear snug tops, but in layers – at least in school. There’s no flesh spilling out, no boobs bursting forth as if gasping for air because their clothes actually fit their shapes – even the most buxom.

So what’s really going on here? And why does it seem to be mostly the black girls?

Modesty is the conscience of the body. ~ Honore de Balzac

Jeggings are hot for this Fall

Last spring we experienced the birth of jeggings (jeans + leggings). With the look of denim and the feel of Spandex, this garment revolutionized the skinny jean. Just when we thought our pants couldn't get any tighter, we were proven wrong. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Beyonce and Sienna Miller embraced this look immediately, and we began lusting after their absurdly high-end versions (like Current/Elliot's shocking $389.40 pair). Now, thanks to a recession-friendly market, there are tons of options (like Walmart's $12 pair).

Since, like the skinny jean, jeggings draw serious attention to your curves, it's important to create a balance when styling an outfit around them. Artful layers and flattering proportions are key here. Whether your look is edgy, classic, or girly, we've got you covered in our click-to-buy section below.

Black Teen Users Dominate Conversations on Twitter

Apparently, black folks use Twitter in a way no one else does -- to such an extent that black users establish trending topics on Twitter. Not only do blacks use more descriptive hashtags, but they form tighter clusters on the network, follow one another more readily and retweet each other more often. Plus, more of their posts are @-replies -- posts directed at other users. It's this behavior, intentional or not, that gives black people -- and, in particular, black teenagers -- the means to dominate the conversation on Twitter. We're not surprised. Young black people drive all types of trends, so why should Twitter be any different?

MTV selects its first-ever Twitter jockey

MTV has named 23-year-old Gabi Gregg its first "Twitter Jockey."

Gregg won the position Sunday night after a nationwide vote.

The TJ position is the updated version of the network's VJ job, and Gregg will report on pop culture news using Twitter, Facebook, blogs and MTV's website.

Gregg graduated from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in 2008, where she studied international relations and African-American studies. Gregg is the founder of the fashion blog Young, Fat and Fabulous.

She was raised in Detroit and lives in Chicago.

Fashion Find: Those Flashing Lights

The new 3D Stiletto Police high heels, which were designed by Tim Cooper, look absolutely amazing! The Police Woman Heels have been designed with high detail including the bright and colorful police car lights that can make any person’s heart drop. Moreover, there are also the side mirrors and front bumper that make it even more like the normal, police cars we try to avoid. Furthermore, there are the numbering on the side of the shoe, the “Police” sign that flashes strong, the dual mufflers, and even the back grills that add so much to the detail and coolness of this shoe design.

Letoya Luckett is the new face of Luster

Letoya Luckett is the new face of Luster's Pink Hair Lotion. And Luster's and VIBE magazine hosted a launch party last night for the event. She also addressed her ex Slim Thug's recent controversial comments to www.theYBF.com:

On her former boo Slim Thug's comments about black women...

"Black is beautiful baby. It is what it is. I’m so proud to be a black woman; I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I mean nothing. I’m blessed to be black. I’m thankful that l I have an amazing family, black women that raised me. Wonderful friends, I’m like an international girl all day long. But I love the black women in my life. My grandmother, my mom… Even on Slim like he has a great mother, he has a great grandmother...women that raised him. His sister... who if it wasn’t for her you wouldn’t even know who Slim Thug was. Because of how they took care of him... I mean you know, whatever was said, was said. But on my end, Black is Beautiful! "

African girls undergo "breast ironing" to prevent pregnancy

While most pre-teen girls are giddy over their first training bra, the reality for many girls in rural Cameroon girls is grim. On the rise in the Central West African nation is a practice called "breast ironing," which involves placing hot stones on a young girls breasts to prevent them from the growing.

Responding to the country's staggering teen pregnancy rates, mothers in the country have resorted to the age-old practice in hopes that their daughters won't be seen as sexually attractive and become the next statistic. Girls as young as nine years old have been subjected to the practice.

Women in the country say the procedure can lead to physical issues such as burns and deformities.

Read more: http://www.essence.com/news/hot_topics_4/girls_undergo_breast_ironing.php#ixzz0uu7SGU1a

New Video: Nicki Minaj-"Your Love"

Nicki Minaj - New Music - More Music Videos

Serena Williams opens 2nd school in Africa

New Video: Dondria-"Shawty Wus Up" ft. Johnta Austin and Diamond

Dondria - New Music - More Music Videos

Jada explains Willow's unique hairstyle

Jada Pinkett Smith was on George Lopez recently and responded to critics who have slammed her for allowing Willow to shave the sides of her head. She explained that the cut came about because her daughter wanted “hair like her grandmother’s”.

“She decided, ‘I want hair like my grandmother’s.’ I said ‘Willow, grandma has no hair – you have to have some hair.’ And she said, “Mom I’m really tired of the hair. I just really feel I’d like it to get in the pool. I want it to swim. I just don’t want to be bothered with the hair.’” After discussing it with husband Will, Willow was given permission to shave the sides of her head.

According to her hair stylist Marcia Hamilton, the cut represents Willow’s personality:

“Look, it’s 2010. Can’t our little girls move into the future without ruffling feathers? The look is fun, empowering, anti-relaxer and anti-weave. More women need to steer their little girls in this direction. If your child is a forward-thinker, you should guide her instead of smothering her.”


Read more: Jada Pinkett Smith Explains Willow’s Hairstyle | Necole Bitchie.com

It's Official! Welcome to Miami!!!

Lebron's coming to Miami...See you on South Beach!!

Nicki Minaj talks wigs

The Harajuku Barbie who’s been photographed wearing pink, green, blue and purple hair is dishing details on her signature mane.

As previously reported Lil Kim wasn’t too keen on Minaj emulating her extensive wig collection and threw off the faux hair at a concert stating that she was “above this.”

Nicki however has since continued with the colorful hair trend and in an interview with HypeHair she speaks on the multi-colored locks that are making her famous.

She offers advice to readers of HH and suggests that ladies buy human hair wigs. She also adds that her colorful mane, the green bob especially, maker her happy.

“Go for a human hair wig in jet black with a blunt cut China bag…I like the green bob. Everyone seems to like that. People are saying it’s the winner right now…I decided to choose a new look. Color makes me happy. It really excites me. I am a very visual person and when I look in the mirror, and I see green or I see pink, it does something to my attitude. It makes me feel positive.”


Do you girl!!!!

Happy Birthday Malia!

As the nation celebrates Independence Day, one member of the First Family will be celebrating her birthday. Malia Obama turns 12 today! While the country's birthday may overshadow Malia's, the Obama family will surely find time to commemorate her special day. Happy Birthday, Malia!

Dondria: The New Viral Superstar

The music game has changed. You no longer have to pass along your demo tape to everybody who is "somebody" -- fingers crossed -- to get discovered by a label and blow up. Those days are long gone. Just ask the newest R&B ingenue Dondria Fields, 24, who is signed to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. The Oklahoma-born, Texas-bred singer, whose hit single "You're the One for Me" is riding airwaves everywhere, will tell you that all you need is a computer, a mic, and webcam.

That's exactly how Dondria, who previously went by the moniker Phatfffat, broke onto the scene. The singing sensation grabbed the world's attention after having her YouTube video posts earn an extremely large following. Like they say, the rest is history, or more appropriately her-story.

Read more: http://www.essence.com/entertainment/music/emf_dondria_the_viral_superstar.php#ixzz0se4iKwYE

World Cup Style

Hey all you soccer fans! The world cup is getting heated! Arise Magazine has some great style spreads inspired by this great sporting event. Check it out in their 10th issue on newstands now.

Jewelry made of Liberian war bullets designed by a teenager

At 17, Liberian teenager Lovetta Conto is making jewelry worn by Hollywood heavyweights like Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie.

Akawelle (translates to “also known as love”) makes a heck of a statement. Her pieces aren’t made of typical semi-precious stones, Lovetta makes her jewelry from the casings of bullets fired during Liberia’s civil war.

Born in Liberia, Lovetta was only 18 months when she was separated from her mother after she and her father fled Liberia to escape its civil war. At five-years-old, she moved to a Ghanaian refugee camp.

She tells CNN, “I felt alone because I was in another country where I wasn’t really welcome. I always wanted to back to my country. But you have no choice because your country is in a civil war and it’s the only place you have to be.”

At 12, Lovetta was recognized for her talent by Cori Stern, the American founder of the Strongheart Fellowship, an organization dedicated to helping gifted youth who have been displaced or orphaned by conflict.

According to CNN, at 14 Lovetta left her family in Ghana and moved to America as part of the Strongheart program.


When Lovetta was challenged by a Strongheart project to make something that reflected her environment and the people around her, she came up with the idea to design jewelry from a bullet fired during the Liberian civil war.

Happy Father's Day!

Here are some pics of cool dads and their kids...make sure you tell your dad how much they mean to you!!

Today's Inspiration: The Secret

Below is a confidence poem from the book "The Secret". It encourages me everyday to love, live and laugh.

It reads:
I PROMISE MYSELF
To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.
To make all my friends feel that there is something worth while in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of
others as I am about my own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the
greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile
to every living creature I meet.
To give so much time to improving myself that I
have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud word, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side,
so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

--Christian D. Larson

The Spelman College SpelBots are breaking down barriers

College junior Jazmine Miller showed off a soccer-playing robot to prospective members of the Spelman Robotics, or SpelBots, team.

"His name is Charles, he's very difficult. That's why it's a he," she laughed. "We kind of see him as human; we talk to him, we yell at him."

Creations such as Charles must be programmed to find and kick the ball and prevent an opposing team of robots from scoring in the annual RoboCup World Championship soccer competition. Since 1997 the matches have been held in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Once a competition begins, the robots are on their own. The team's programming skills have to account for every soccer player scenario, from kicking and blocking to getting up after falling down.

Spelman, the historically black women's college here, has been sending robots to the competition since 2005, often beating graduate students from prestigious tech universities from Germany to Japan. They had their best finish last year in Osaka, Japan, when the team tied for first place with Fukuoka Institute of Technology in Japan in the humanoid robot category.

"Around campus people do recognize our faces; they say, 'Oh, you're on the SpelBots, you're doing the robotics thing. I saw you in Jet magazine.' I really see it when I go abroad," said Miller, a computer science and engineering major.

Early Romance with Robotics
Miller's romance with robotics started early. A self-described "world-traveling military kid," she was on the robotics team at her high school in the Netherlands.

Jonecia Keels, from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is Miller's co-captain. She was a little less sure of a computer career.

"For a long time I didn't think I was smart enough to get into computer science. I only saw males in the industry and I just didn't think I had what it took to be a computer programmer," said Keels.

Two things helped change her mind. First, the confidence she gained at this women's college.

"I know a big reason why there's not a lot of women in computer science is because of intimidation. At an all-women's school, they already know your capabilities. So it is easier to take leadership roles and go that step further without added stress," said Keels.

Lack of Role Models
"Looking back at my life, there were a lack of role models for me, being African American and Korean," Williams said.

So he sought out a teaching position at a historically-black college or university. Creating the team was a way to bring a new and creative challenge to his students.

"There's a big emphasis on creativity, collaboration, the social aspects of engineering and computer science. It would do great wonders for our country on a global scale if we maximize that pool of women, and underrepresented students like African Americans, in computer science," Williams said.

"The teams we were competing with were all male, all white," said Miller. "And the first thought that came to me was, we are going to blow their minds!" she laughed.

for more of the story, go to www.womensenews.org

All-girl, All-African American Robotics team is breaking barriers from Mari Fagel on Vimeo.

Why hasn't Brandy's daughter made an appearance on Brandy and Ray J?

In a recent interview with PARADE, Brandy reveals why her daughter hasn’t made an appearance on her new reality show.
That’s strictly because her father and I felt it was best for her to have as much of a normal life as possible. Of course, you’ve seen her on one episode on ‘For the Love of Ray J,’ but it wasn’t every day. You didn’t see her going to school, me combing her hair, or any aspect of our private, intimate moments, which sort of sucks because our relationship is so beautiful. I love being a mom and I’m raising her in a different way than how I was raised. Some things that my mom did with me, I do with my daughter — it’s just a different dynamic. I would love for people to see how I’m doing it because I think I could be a good example of a young, single mom.”

She also reveals that she has a unique mother/daughter relationship with her daughter Sy’Rai

“A lot of mothers feel like they’re the mom first, with that authority. But for me, I’m a friend first. I believe that just being there for my daughter as a friend more than ‘I’m in charge…’ causes her to be more open with me as a person. That’s just what our relationship is. Of course, there are times when I have to discipline her — I’m mom. But there’s still that nurturing and love there that we have. I know I’ll probably get flack for being a friend first, but it really works. She’s really honest with me. I’m just teaching her how to trust herself. I tell her all the time that my life is not your life — you have your own life.

“At the end of the day we’re going to be friends. When she grows up, it’ll be about that friendship that we’ll have. She’ll come to me for any problems that she has. If I have an authoritative wall up, she’s going to rebel and not come to me and I don’t want that.”

My mother and I had the same type of relationship and I could tell her anything. For that reason, I never was a rebel.



Read more: Brandy Attempts To Keep Her Daughter Out of The Limelight | Necole Bitchie.com