Blog Posts by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

Dylan Hayes not only survived the three-story fall, he landed on his feet. (Photo: KCNC-TV)When parents think about child proofing their homes, they're usually focused on keeping cabinets locked and storing sharp objects or dangerous chemicals out of reach. So when Jessica Hayes of Aurora, Colorado, was spring cleaning recently, she says says that she didn't think of the potential for danger when she pushed her couch out of the way, against the wall and under a window in her third-story apartment.

Also on Shine: Child-Proofing Tips to Protect Your Kids in Home Danger Zones

While she was shampooing the carpets and her mom was helping out in the kitchen, her 4-year-old son, Dylan, climbed up on the couch to chat with a downstairs neighbor through the window. As he leaned against the flimsy screen, it gave way and he fell three stories, landing on the rock-covered ground below.

Also on Shine: Danger on the Playground? Riding the Slide with Your Toddler Could Break Her Leg

"My mom was cleaning our fridge out and, all of a sudden, I hear her screaming, 'Dylan just went out the

This picture of Balpreet Kaur sparked bullying -- and then inspiration -- on Reddit. (Photo via Reddit)After someone snapped a photo of her and posted it on online, Balpreet Kaur was ridiculed for following the tenants of her Sikh faith. But instead of hiding or lashing out, she politely posted a reply -- and turned a bullying situation into a inspiring example of tolerance, support, and inspiration.

Related: Teaching our Kids Tolerance After the Sikh Temple Shootings

The photo was taken apparently without Kaur's knowledge while she was waiting in line at the Ohio State University Library. In the photo, Kaur's hair is hidden by a large, black turban. She's wearing a T-shirt and yoga pants, glasses, and is looking down at her cell phone; her sparse facial hair is clearly visible. A Reddit user posted it to the "Funny" forum with the quip, "I'm not sure what to conclude from this."

Comments started pouring in, making fun of her appearance, asking if she was transgendered, and taking her to task for not plucking, waxing, or shaving.

Related: Lessons from "The World's Ugliest Woman': Stop

Buzz Bishop and his son, Zacharie. Bishop has been under fire for calling Zacharie his favorite son. (Photo courtesy of Buzz Bishop)Let's face it: It can be easier to spend time with a sunny kindergartener than a tantruming toddler, and while most parents are quick to say that they love all of their children equally, they're also willing to admit, in private, that there are times when they like one a little more than another. But one dad has come under fire for publicly declaring that his older son is his favorite, sparking a debate about how we feel as parents -- and whether it's OK to say it out loud.

Related: Are parents who hate parenting the latest trend?

"If I were to be absolutely honest, my older son is my favorite of the two," Buzz Bishop wrote at Babble.com, where he blogs as DadCamp. "He and I are adventurous partners in crime, and I can't imagine life without him. He was an accident waiting to happen, and I'm so glad it did."

There were plenty of other things for people to judge about the post -- he also confessed that his girlfriend discovered she was pregnant just two months after they met, while he

Lizzie Velasquez, author of Be Yourself, Be Beautiful.When she was in high school, Lizzie Velasquez was dubbed "The World's Ugliest Woman" in an 8-second-long YouTube video. Born with a medical condition so rare that just two other people in the world are thought to have it, Velasquez has no adipose tissue and cannot create muscle, store energy, or gain weight. She has zero percent body fat and weighs just 60 pounds.

In the comments on YouTube, viewers called her "it" and "monster" and encouraged her to kill herself. Instead, Velasquez set four goals: To become a motivational speaker, to publish a book, to graduate college, and to build a family and a career for herself.

Related: Bullied into plastic surgery?

Now 23 years old, she's been a motivational speaker for seven years and has given more than 200 workshops on embracing uniqueness, dealing with bullies, and overcoming obstacles. She's a senior majoring in Communications at Texas State University in San Marcos, where she lives with her best friend. Her first book, "Lizzie

Malia (far right) and Sasha Obama stand with their parents on stage at the end of the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina this week. The Obama's strict rules usually keep their girls out of the limelight. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images) The public rarely catches a glimpse of President Barack Obama's daughters Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11. Even an appearance onstage at the end of the Democratic National Convention wasn't reason enough to break the "you must go to school" rule; as the president promised in his speech, the girls were at their desks at Sidwell Friends School first thing in the morning. But when you're parenting in the White House, you have to be even more strict than your average mom or dad.

PHOTOS: The Obama girls grow up

How strict? The New York Times' Jodi Kantor listed a few rules that First Lady Michelle Obama has mentioned over the years:

• The girls must write reports about what they've seen on their trips, even if its not required by their school.
• Malia may use her cellphone only on the weekends, and she and her sister cannot watch television or use a computer for anything but homework during the week.
• Malia and Sasha have to pay two sports: one they choose and one selected by their mother.

First Lady Michelle Obama greets participants following a women's online outlet roundtable on Yahoo! Shine senior editor Lylah M. Alphonse and her 7-year-old daughter, Alanna, joined first lady Michelle Obama and a handful of others for a discussion about fitness, friendship, role models and more this week. Given that it was also Bring Your Child to Work Day at the White House, the kids offered up questions of their own, and the conversation yielded some great advice on growing up. Here are the highlights.

Related: Michelle Obama, Ann Romney, Hillary Clinton: In personal popularity, the women rule

Make what you do count

Being the first lady is a surreal experience, she told Alphonse's daughter. "I feel like Michelle, like I've always felt. But now I have this work to do," she said. "So I'm just trying to make sure I do good work. Because you're not First Lady forever, you're First Lady for a short period of time -- so that when we're done, I want to make sure that the time I spent here, I helped some people, so that when it's time for me to move on and be something else, I'm