A new profession is springing up in the USA - "friendship coaches".

Apparently having "best friends" is now a Bad Thing and children should be encouraged to be friends the "right way". Whatever that means.

According to ParentDishUS, children who become too close are being separated, and at schools kids are being stopped from eating lunch with their best mates.

Sounds crazy? Apparently it's all about children's "emotional health".

Christine Laycob, director of counselling at a couple of private schools in St Louis, Missouri, told the New York Times "Parents sometimes say, 'Johnny needs that one special friend.' We say he doesn't need a best friend.

"We try to ... get them to have big groups of friends and not be so possessive."

According to these coaches, it's too hard on children when their best friends turn on them or reject them.

British children are spending much more money on fatty and salty snacks than American kids and are getting fatter at twice the rate, according to new figures.

The Daily Telegraph reports that more than 2.3 million young people in Britain are obese.

The newspaper says research has found that British kids spend twice as much as American children on unhealthy snacks.

Apparently our children spend an average of £372 every year on sweets and chocolates, while American kids spend just £150 a year.

British kids spend £73.24 per year on savoury snacks such as crisps, compared to £39.51 in the USA, and our children also eat more ice cream, ready meals and sugary breakfast cereals.

The number of British children who are overweight or obese is predicted to rise by 2.1% a year between now and 2014, while in the USA it's predicted to rise by 1.3% a year, according to the Telegraph.

Police say a man tried to sell his six-month-old daughter outside a Walmart store in Salinas, California, this week.

Patrick Fousek, 28, and the child's mother, Samantha Tomasini, 20, have been charged with felony child endangerment, attempting to abandon a child, and being intoxicated on methamphetamine, which is a misdemeanour.

Cmdr. Tracy Molfino, of Salinas Police, said Fousek was carrying the child in the store's parking lot about 7:20 pm on Tuesday when he asked to borrow a mobile phone from two women.

He struck up a conversation with them and then offered to sell his daughter to them for $25 (£17), according to the Mercury News.

Police said the women weren't sure if he was joking, but apparently he persisted with his pleas and put the baby in their arms.

Fortunately the women gave the baby back and called 911, Molfino said.

A health watchdog has suggested that all pregnant women should be breath-tested to find out whether they are smokers.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) says this would just be to allow expectant mothers to get the proper advice for quitting.

They say women would not be penalised for smoking during pregnancy but would be able to discuss the issue with their midwife.

But midwives say pregnant women should not be made to feel guilty and should be encouraged to give up smoking in other ways.

Professor Mike Kelly, Nice director of the Centre of Public Health Excellence, said: "During pregnancy, smoking puts the health of the women and her unborn baby at great risk both in the short and long-term, and small children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer from respiratory problems.

"One of our recommendations is for midwives to encourage all pregnant women to have their carbon monoxide levels tested and discuss the results with them.

"This isn't to penalise them if they have been smoking, but instead will be a useful way to show women that both smoking and passive smoking can lead to having high levels of carbon monoxide in their systems."

The Conservative and Lib Dem coalition government announced its first Budget yesterday - so are families winners or losers?

Well, all families will be affected by child benefit being frozen for three years - it won't even go up with inflation so will mean less in real terms.

Families earning more than £40,000 a year will also lose out, with child tax credits being limited to those families earning less than this.

Everybody will be affected by the increase in VAT, with estimates that this will mean we pay out £500 more a year, and anyone who works in the public sector and earns over £21,000 will get a two-year pay freeze.

However, the Independent reports that a couple earning £25,000 or less with two children are the biggest winners - they will be £17 a month better off due to the changes in this tax year.

Single people earning £20,000 or less with one child will also be better off by £12 a month, according to the Independent's figures.

Campaigners say the "breast is best" slogan is not working and should be abandoned.

The Breastfeeding Network says the slogan is not persuading women to breastfeed their babies.

Breastfeeding should be seen as the norm, campaigners say, whereas the slogan makes it sound like it's something special.

There are many advantages to breastfeeding, with research showing that breast-fed babies enjoy a number of health benefits including a lower risk of becoming obese later in life.

However the BBC reports that Lesley Backhouse, chair of The Breastfeeding Network, wrote to the Department of Health asking for the message "breast is best" to be changed.

"We've got to knock breastfeeding off this pedestal," she told the BBC.

"It implies something special, whereas breastfeeding is the physiological norm, and suggests that formula is the standard way to feed babies.

"Breastfeeding is the only case where the biological norm is expressed as the exception rather than the rule."

Charlotte Garside is two years old but weighs just 7lb 8oz - the size of a newborn baby. At 58cm tall, she's smaller than many of her toys and wears newborn dresses.

She will never grow taller than 2ft, due to a rare type of primordial dwarfism that has delayed her growth and development.

When she was born she weighed 1lb 1oz and her parents had to dress her in clothes made for dolls.

Charlotte's mum Emma Newman, from Withernsea, near Hull, says: "We've had so many tests and so many results, but so far all we know is that she has some type of primordial dwarfism – the Charlotte kind.

"We have spent a long time trying to find out what makes her different and what we can to do help her.

"But all we know is that Charlotte really is one of a kind. She's been through a lot in such a short life.

"So many tests and hospital visits, but she takes it all in her stride. There are no definites so we don't know how long Charlotte will be with us. We hope for as long as anyone else but we just don't know.

"We're just enjoying family life. She might be small but anyone who has ever met her will tell you that she has a big personality. Since the day she was born, she has brought something very special into all of our lives."

Modern fathers are more likely to think being a good dad means "being there, being present, spending time and being accessible," and not being a traditional "breadwinner," according to a new study.

Research by the Boston College Centre for Work and Family shows there has been a change in men's attitudes towards parenting and work.

The authors of the new study write: "Overall, our research found fathers who were deeply committed to care-giving and sharing the work as evenly as possible with their spouses.

"Men seem poised to embrace a new definition of fatherhood and to step up to the challenges and the rewards of parenting in a much fuller sense than was the case in the past."

Most fathers also said that their self-image at work improved when they had children, with their reputation, credibility and career options increasing.

Dads said they weren't prepared for how much hard work looking after a child can be - who is?

But they said they chose to spend time with their children, often instead of spending time on personal activities they previously enjoyed.

New research has found that many mothers are being forced to go back to work after having a baby because they are worried about financial issues.

More than half of those mums who go back to work after their child is born say they do so because of financial constraints.

One in 10 are cutting short their planned maternity leave and going back to work because they find they can't manage.

Only 22% of mums choose to return to the workplace because they want to continue their career, according to the survey.

The research, carried out by comparison website uSwitch, found that the average net household income drops by 34% from £3,431 to £2,266 a month while on statutory maternity pay.

This is at a time when parents are spending more, because they're splashing out on the baby. They spend an average of £2,152 in the months before the birth and another £2,521 after the baby is born.

Just a thought - perhaps if they weren't buying so much rubbish, these mums could stay at home longer if they wanted to...

Peter Andre has been named Celebrity Dad of the Year, beating Gary Barlow, Jeff Brazier, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

The singer, 37, is most famous for being Katie Price's ex-husband.

The pair had two children, Junior and Princess, and Andre is also step-dad to Katie's son Harvey.

On winning the award, presented by Bounty, he said fatherhood was his "most important role".

He said: "This feels so good. It's been a turnaround year for me and the kids and it's an honour to be the subject of the public's support and best wishes.

"This means a huge amount to me as being a dad is my most important role."

Andre said some might say this would be the only award he would ever win. "Even if it is, what a great award to get. I mean, there isn't a better award, there isn't - because it's lifelong," he said.

"Other awards are for there and then, this is for life. My kids are going to know that I have won this."