All about ME

Girl power: If you have a girl age 7-12 in your family, help her celebrate her special age by enrolling her in a new, national seminar for girls. The "beMe! FUNshop" will take place from 1-6 p.m. Sunday at Lazarus/Macy's Tri-County Mall Ecotage Salon and Day Spa.

Girls will learn about social graces, skin and nail care, fashion, posture and poise. They'll even learn how to write thank-you notes.

Cost is $50; to sign up, 484-9495 or www.bemegirls.com. Hurry, registration is limited to 100 girls.

Tummy time

Turn baby over: Research indicates that babies who spend extra time on their tummies roll, sit, crawl and walk earlier than babies who don't. But most babies don't start "tummy time" soon enough.

If a parent waits even six weeks to start putting a baby on his tummy, he likely will fuss because he's not used to it, said Julie Grassfield, a child life specialist at Children's Medical Center in Dallas.

She suggests starting with three-minute sessions with newborns, who usually can lift their head 45 degrees. Work up to three 20-minute sessions per day, but always supervise babies for safety reasons and to avoid overstimulation.

Family pet

The truth about cats and dogs: Adding a pet to your family can be the start of something beautiful or a disaster, especially if there are children in the mix. Parenting magazine offers this age-by-age guide to giving kids responsibility for a pet:

• 3 years and up: With parental supervision, they can fill up a water or food dish and keep up regular play periods with a pet, including throwing a ball for a dog or dragging a toy for a cat.

• 5 and up: School-age children can be more actively involved in pet training: teaching a dog to sit, talking to a bird.

• 8 and up: As children get older, they can exercise a dog by walking it or tossing it a Frisbee. They can help clean cages and litter boxes and bathe pets.

Spare the rod

Back by popular demand: Ruth Peters, who led a workshop on disciplining children during For the Love of Kids seminar last month, will present that same lecture March 27 at Channel 48's studios, 1223 Central Parkway.

"Effective Discipline for Your Young Child" will be given in two sessions; the first, targeted to preschool through first grade, is 10 a.m.-noon, a session aimed at youngsters in second through eighth grades is 2-4 p.m. Each workshop is $35. Register online at www.beechacres.org or call (513) 231-7205, Ext. 284.

Green shelf

St. Patrick's Day lesson: A new book about kindness, courage, a leprechaun's generosity and a touch of Irish music is available in The Leprechaun's Gold (HarperCollins; $15.99) by Pamela Duncan Edwards.