Parenting Tips

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

Most floor peeing from an already potty trained child isn’t defiance. The usual causes are a full bladder ignored while playing, constipation pressing on the bladder, a urinary tract infection, or stress tied to a change at home. Look for a pattern first. Accidents that started after a new sibling, a school switch, or a

Strict parenting is supposed to raise honest kids who follow the rules. Two new long-term studies out of the National University of Singapore found close to the opposite: children raised by stricter, more controlling parents were more likely to lie and cheat, not less. The reason isn’t defiance. Researchers traced it to something quieter and

There’s no single best schedule. Psychologist Richard Warshak’s research and the American Psychological Association both point to shared parenting time as the strongest outcome for most kids, but the right split should reflect your child’s age and your family’s logistics. Babies and toddlers generally do best anchored in one main home with frequent, shorter visits

Match what you say to your child’s age. A three-year-old needs a short story about a kind man named Jesus. A ten-year-old can handle real questions about death, forgiveness, and why bad things happen. Keep the first conversation short and honest. One clear idea, delivered warmly, lands better than a full theology lesson. Let your

Somewhere around 2 a.m., you’re staring at the ceiling. It isn’t the baby crying or a work deadline keeping you up. It’s wondering whether your 12-year-old’s group chat is still active, or whether the phone you know is charging in the next room somehow made its way under a pillow. A new survey of 2,000

Most babies point to at least one body part between 12 and 18 months, and to five or more by 24 months. Pointing to body parts shows a baby’s language understanding, not just an early motor skill. If your child is past 18 months and doesn’t respond to “show me your nose,” mention it at

Occasional friction after nonstop togetherness is normal, not a sign your family is broken. Kids build resilience and identity in unstructured alone time, so total togetherness can backfire. Build short blocks of solo time into your week alongside your family rituals, not instead of them. Summer break, a long weekend, or a week of family

Ten British fathers took a stretch of solo parental leave to care for a newborn on their own. Five years later, researchers went back to check on those same families, and found something that held up over time: the fathers who cared for a baby alone were still doing the school runs, the meal planning,

Name the feeling out loud instead of shutting it down. “You sound jealous of your sister’s grades” opens a conversation; “don’t be jealous” just teaches your teen to hide it. Skip the comparisons entirely, even the flattering ones. Praise your teen for their own effort, not for beating or matching a sibling or friend. Watch

Talk to your child calmly, believe what they tell you, and get a pediatrician to document any marks or injuries within 24 hours. Call 911 if your child is in immediate danger, and report to your state’s Child Protective Services or local police for anything short of an emergency. Keep dated notes of everything your

A child’s brain does most of its architecture work before their first birthday, and a new study suggests the temperature around them in that stretch can leave a lasting mark. Researchers tracking more than 3,200 children for over a decade found that heat exposure from conception through early infancy was tied to slower growth in

Throwing food is a normal stage, not a defiance problem. Most toddlers do it between 12 and 18 months, and it tapers off on its own around age two as language catches up. Keep meals short (roughly one to two minutes per year of age) and stay neutral when food lands on the floor. A

Comparing one sibling to another rarely motivates the child you’re comparing them to. It usually just teaches both kids where they stand in your eyes, and that ranking sticks. Research out of Brigham Young University found that when parents believed one child was more capable, that child’s grades actually improved over time while the other

A growing group of mothers on TikTok are telling millions of viewers that smoking or vaping cannabis makes them calmer, more patient parents. The hashtag #gardenmom has racked up tens of thousands of videos, and doctors are now speaking up in response, warning that the science doesn’t back the claim that marijuana makes anyone a

Rule out constipation first. A full bowel presses on the bladder and can cause floor accidents even in a toddler who has been fully trained for months. Look for a recent change: a new sibling, a move, a daycare switch, or a big shift in routine. Regression almost always traces back to one of these.

Stay calm and get down to your child’s level instead of matching their volume. A big reaction often teaches a 4-year-old that hitting is the fastest way to pull your attention. Give your child a physical outlet before the next blow-up: a pillow to punch, a stomp-and-shout routine, or a squeeze ball kept in the

The fastest way to explain “overwhelmed” to a child is to give them an image, not a definition: a cup that’s too full, a bucket about to spill over, or a scale from calm to furious they can point to. Skip the abstract word. Use a concrete image like a full jar or an overflowing

Yes, toddlers commonly act differently when their mom is pregnant, and the change often starts long before the baby arrives. Clinginess, tantrums, and “baby talk” in pregnancy are a stress response, not a discipline problem. Extra one-on-one time helps more than correction does. Regressions like thumb-sucking or potty accidents usually peak in the weeks around