I woke up to this sentence in my inbox last Tuesday:

Next week we will dance in the stripper shoes if you are ready to go there.

No, I haven’t ditched my day job—a few weeks ago I embarked upon my S Factor journey, slipping into a dark dance studio with seven other women to discover our “erotic creatures” under the glow of the red light (check out my first post here). A few classes in and we’re upping our game—literally. About six inches or so.

We have not been able to stop talking about The Wall Street Journal essay by Amy Chua, Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior -- an excerpt from her recently published book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Penguin Press 2011). "Can a regimen of no playdates, no TV, no computer games and hours of music practice create happy kids? And what happens when they fight back?" Check out Suzzane's fabulous post on the topic as well, and join the conversation!

Lissa -- At what price?

When I read Amy Chua’s article, my blood started to boil. Now given, my five year-old daughter goes to a Waldorf school, which is arguably the diametrically opposed opposite of growing up with a Chinese mother, so I'm probably not her target audience. Kids in my daughter's school are nurtured, hugged, coddled even. But they also love school and work hard to earn the faith, love and trust they are given unconditionally by their teachers and their parents. Will the Waldorf method work for my child? I don't know. I know a lot of Western kids grow up entitled, spoiled, lazy, fat, and unfocused. And I know Chinese kids tend to be better at math, science, and music. But at what price?

I’ve always been a please and thank you kinda gal. I’ll interrupt the dinner conversation to genuinely thank the busser for refilling my water glass, and make eye contact when expressing gratitude that a stranger held the elevator for me. But I’ve never been one to truly examine what I’m grateful for in my, you know, life. In fact, I kind of have an upchuck reaction when I hear things like “gratitude journal” or “gratitude practice” – it puts the woo in woo-woo, and the rebellious teenager in me wants to roll my eyes and scoff. Psh, whatevs.

But I come to you today a fully blown convert. A changed woman. Two woos just aren’t enough – my life calls for woo cubed. And what better week than that of Thanksgiving to finally own this facet of my life?

My name is Lauren Nagel, and I’m a gratitude-a-holic.

Welcome to the Owning Pink Roundtable, where we pose the same question to several of our bloggers and let 'em have at it. This week, following the festivities of Halloween, we went to the OP staff to find out how they connect with their inner child. Whoopie cushions, anyone? Enjoy!

Halloween celebrations (and the consequent sugar overload) are enough to make anyone dress up, get silly, and have a little fun. But how do you get in touch with your inner child on a daily basis? Do you make time for playtime?