I'm sorry you have an early riser, and I know it's exhausting, but 6:30 is when some children wake up. While you can try black-out curtains, an earlier or later bedtime, and even ignoring the crying, it may not make much difference. She's had a full night of sleep and now it is morning and that means playtime! As my son says, "The world is bright. Get up!"

First, if he hasn't seen his pediatrician lately, consider going in for a visit just to make sure he is growing and developing well, and that nothing is causing him discomfort (like an ear infection). Next, you need and deserve a break ASAP, so that you don't end up even more frustrated and exhausted. Enlist your spouse, partner or get a babysitter or mommy-helper so you can have some quiet time to do whatever will help you feel better.

Depending on where you live, you might be able to visit a children's museum with a mock plane so your child can see what the process is like. At a minimum, you might try a trial run to the airport so she can see the hustle and bustle of the security process, the crowds, the lines etc.

Sleepwalking is common, especially in kids ages 4 to 8. We don't know what causes sleepwalking, but it does tend to run in families.

Exposure, exposure, exposure. Kids are outstanding imitators. They imitate whatever they see, whether it's positive, negative or neutral.

Healthy children can catch around 10 infections a year--almost one a month! This is especially true when they are in daycare. During the summer months kids are mostly well, but during the winter, they may get sick every other week. Why? Because children constantly touch things and viruses can live on toys and surfaces for hours.

To quote Kevin Arnold from The Wonder Years, "Who you are in fifth grade is who everybody else in fifth grade says you are." That's a harsh reality of middle childhood, and you are so right when you point out that friendship is critically important to an 8-year-old.

A new baby and a new house -- wow. Your daughter's life was recently turned upside-down. It's not surprising that she's having accidents. That's a normal reaction at this age.

Fear is an intrinsic human emotion -- a vestige of our days as cave people when fear was critical to survival. In many cases, that is still true today: fear protects us from many risks. That said, it's important to differentiate a fear from a phobia.

There is no "right" answer to this question -- only the one that fits your family's needs and beliefs. Many girls will start to experience darkening and coarsening of their hair sometime between the ages of 10 and 13, with lots of cultural variation. In the melting pot that we've become in the U.S., this is now even harder to predict.