Jarrod Partridge

Nearly 4 in 10 parents now expect to go into debt just to cover this year’s back-to-school shopping list. Not vacations, not holidays: pencils, backpacks, and clothes. A new survey of 2,000 U.S. parents found that 70 percent feel pressure to buy their kids the same clothes and tech as other families, and most say […]

Large studies of thousands of twin pairs find no real academic advantage to separating twins in the classroom. Younger twins who get separated show slightly more anxiety than twins kept together, but that gap fades by around age 12. There is no single right answer. The best choice depends on your specific children, not a

Most one-year-olds say between one and three clear words on their first birthday, and that number climbs fast over the next six months. Understanding always shows up before speaking. A child who says almost nothing at 12 months can still understand dozens of words. Call your pediatrician if your child says no words, doesn’t respond

Federal regulators have blocked more than 355,000 fake squeeze toys at U.S. ports this year, and they are now warning parents about a second, separate danger: kids putting these toys in the microwave on purpose to watch them expand and burst on camera. Burn centers around the country say they are treating real patients from

Quick takeaways: The best grandkid activities are usually the ones with no set plan: cooking, a walk, or a shared project that lets the child lead. Low-mobility and long-distance grandparents have just as many strong options as anyone else; the format changes, not the closeness. Kids remember the routine more than the outing itself, so

Quick takeaways: Storybooks work best for toddlers and preschoolers when you read them before a hard goodbye, not in the middle of one. Look for books that name the feeling, show a return, and give the child something small to do while waiting. For kids past age 6 who still struggle every day, pair the

Police departments in at least eight states spent the first week of August sending out the same warning: the “first day of school” photo you’re about to post could hand a stranger everything they need to find your child. The sign your kid is holding, with their name, grade, teacher, and school, reads to a

Most early waking traces back to overtiredness, hunger, or light in the room, not a habit your child can’t unlearn. An earlier, not later, bedtime is often the fix. Overtired kids wake earlier, not later, than well-rested ones. An “ok to wake” clock and blackout curtains solve early rising for a large share of toddlers

Confidence as a parent isn’t about having every answer. It’s about trusting that you know your child better than any book, app, or relative does. Small, repeated wins build confidence faster than big overhauls. Pick one decision a day to make and stick with, without asking five people first. Kids don’t need a perfect parent.

Researchers tracked nearly 3,800 kids from age five to age fifteen, checking in on their screen habits at three separate points along the way. Then they looked for a link between all that screen time and the kids’ emotional, behavioral, and social difficulties a decade later. For most kids, that link barely showed up at

Give each child regular one-on-one time. Rivalry drops fast when kids stop competing for your attention. Coach instead of referee. Name what each child needs rather than deciding who was right. Skip comparisons entirely, including “your sister never acted like this.” Kids remember these lines for years. Two kids yelling over the same toy for

Get close, get eye level, and say your child’s name before you give an instruction. Talking from another room rarely works. Give one instruction at a time, in plain words, and ask your child to repeat it back so you know it landed. Praise the specific thing they did right (“You put your shoes on

New Study Finds a Kindness Curriculum Boosts Grades, Behavior, and Happiness in Kids A classroom program built entirely around teaching kids to be kind just moved a full letter grade on the trait researchers were tracking, from a C to a B, in one school term. That’s the headline finding from a new randomized controlled

Can You Put Medicine in Your Toddler’s Milk? What Pediatricians Say Don’t mix medicine into a full bottle or cup of milk. If your toddler doesn’t finish it, you have no way to know how much of the dose they actually got. Some medications, especially certain antibiotics, bind to the calcium in milk and become

When Can a Toddler Sit Front-Facing? What Car Seat Experts Say Keep your child rear-facing until they hit their car seat’s own height or pound limit, not a birthday. Most convertible seats allow rear-facing well past age two. The switch to forward-facing depends on the numbers printed on the seat itself, usually somewhere near 40

Eight in ten parents call themselves their own harshest critic, and more than half feel guilty for the relief they feel when school starts back up. A new survey of 2,000 parents of school-aged kids puts numbers on a feeling a lot of families already know: back-to-school season carries an emotional load of its own,

Coach specific scripts, not just “be nice”: teach your child exact lines for joining a game, introducing themselves, and handling a no. Set up small, repeated hangouts with the same one or two kids instead of big group events. Familiarity builds comfort faster than variety. Praise effort over outcome. A child who tries and gets

Hitting at five is almost always about a skill gap, not a character flaw. Your child’s brain has not yet built the impulse control it needs, so their body reacts before their words catch up. Stay calm and set the limit in the moment: “I won’t let you hit. Hitting hurts.” Then help your child

Parents have heard “limit screen time” so many times it barely registers anymore. A new study gives the advice something it never had before: an actual age. Researchers tracking children for nearly a decade found that screen viewing at age one and again at age six carries the strongest links to weaker memory and lower

Hitting at age four is common and developmentally normal. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that manages impulse control, is still years from mature, so big feelings often come out as a swing before words catch up. The trigger is almost always frustration, jealousy, fear, or overwhelm paired with a language gap. Your