Parenting Tips

Families planning next year’s summer are running into a problem most didn’t see coming until it was too late: the good camps are already filling. More than 30 percent of parents nationwide now lock in structured summer childcare before the calendar year is even over, and in places like Wisconsin, camp operators who expanded capacity […]

Standing on the sideline, it’s easy to slip into coaching mode, calling out corrections, replaying mistakes on the drive home, or quietly hoping this is the season a scholarship starts looking possible. None of that comes from a bad place. But youth sports researchers keep finding the same thing: the parents kids actually want on

Somewhere between “make your bed” and “do your own laundry,” most parents lose track of what a 12-year-old can actually handle. Too little responsibility and kids miss the chance to build real skills. Too much, too fast, and chores turn into a daily fight nobody wins. The short answer: by 12, most kids are ready

More than 2,200 measles cases have been confirmed in the United States so far in 2026, and federal health officials say summer travel is likely to push that number higher before the season ends. If your family has a flight, a road trip, or a summer camp on the calendar, this is the moment to

Half of all sports medicine visits for kids now involve overuse injuries, not the dramatic ankle-twist or collision you’d expect. The culprit isn’t a bad landing. It’s a shoulder, hip, or knee that never gets a break, as a child plays the same sport twelve months a year. New reporting from doctors and athletic trainers

Quick takeaways: Start with 3 to 5 chores total, not a long list. Short and consistent beats ambitious and abandoned by week two. Assign points by effort, not by how much you personally dislike the task, and let kids “spend” points on rewards they actually want. Reserve a few daily chores (making the bed, feeding

Quick takeaways: By 24 months, most kids say at least 50 words and start putting two together, like “more milk” or “go outside.” A toddler who understands everything you say but isn’t talking much likely has an expressive language delay, one of the most common and most treatable speech patterns. Call your pediatrician or ask

Your kid spikes a fever at 11pm, and instead of waiting for the pediatrician’s office to open, you type the symptoms into ChatGPT. A new study says there’s roughly a coin-flip chance the answer you get back is wrong. Researchers testing five of the most popular AI chatbots on common health questions found that about

A wooden busy board sold on Amazon for toddlers to spin, flip, and explore turned out to have a hidden danger: magnets that can detach and cause deadly internal injuries if swallowed. It’s one of four separate children’s product recalls the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued in the past few weeks, spanning a toy, a

Yes, a baby can sleep with a pacifier for naps and overnight, and the American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends it as one tool to lower the risk of SIDS. Offer the pacifier at the start of every sleep period. If it falls out once your baby is asleep, leave it out. Never clip, tie,

Toddlers hit or bang their heads when angry mainly for one reason: they feel a huge emotion and have no words big enough to hold it. This shows up between 6 months and 3 years old, hits its peak around age 2, and fades on its own for the vast majority of kids. Stay calm,

Between 2 and 10 percent of newborns do not pass their first hearing screening, and most of them turn out to hear just fine. Fluid or debris in the ear canal, or a baby who cried or moved through testing, causes most failed screenings. A missed pass still calls for fast follow-up: pediatric audiologists want

Green tea has caffeine, and pediatricians say children under 12 should not have any. A curious sip your toddler steals from your mug will not cause lasting harm, but a regular habit is not worth starting. Caffeine-free options like chamomile, ginger, or rooibos give toddlers the same warm cup without any of the risk. Your

Turning 8 sits in a sweet spot. Your child is old enough to have real opinions about their birthday and young enough that a backyard scavenger hunt still counts as the best day of their life. If you are wondering what to do for your 8 year old’s birthday this year, the short answer is

Scrape solid waste into the toilet, then seal the diaper and toss it in a lined, lidded bin. Never flush the diaper itself. A diaper pail helps most with heavy diaper volume, small spaces, or hot climates. A lidded trash can works fine for lighter use. Empty the bin often and control odor at the

Rub the ankle, run a warm bath, and cut back on jumping and running for a few days to ease most flare-ups. Ankle growing pains hit both legs at different times, show up in the evening, and clear up completely by morning. One-sided pain, swelling, a lasting limp, or morning stiffness means it is time

You’ve asked three times. You’ve bargained, you’ve counted to five, you’ve raised your voice a little more than you meant to, and your child still hasn’t moved. It’s not one task, either. Getting dressed, brushing teeth, packing a backpack, coming to dinner. Everything turns into a standoff. The short version: a child who refuses almost

Your neighbor’s five-year-old is already flying down the sidewalk without training wheels, and your child still won’t get near the pedals. It’s easy to wonder if you’re behind schedule. You’re not. Most kids ride independently somewhere between age 3 and 8, with the average landing around 5 to 7. What predicts success has less to

Nine sits right in the sweet spot of childhood. Your kid is old enough to have real opinions about what makes a birthday great and young enough that a party still feels like magic instead of an obligation. If you’re staring at a blank calendar wondering what to do for a 9 year old birthday,

Your teenager rolled their eyes at your feelings again. They talked over you at dinner, took credit for their sibling’s science project, and stormed off when you asked them to unload the dishwasher. Somewhere between the slammed door and the silence, you found yourself typing the question into your phone: can a teenager be a