Parenting Tips

Here is a fact that surprises most parents standing in the drop off line with a knot in their stomach: a child is less likely to be injured at a residential summer camp than playing many common youth sports. The image of camp as a risky place, all open water and tall trees and kids […]

Table of Contents Toggle What the New Poll Found Why So Many Families Do It What Experts Say About the Risks What This Means for Parents How Young Adults See It A Simple Conversation to Have Tracking Is Not a Substitute for Connection The Bigger Picture Your child is 21, lives in a dorm three

Most resistance at age three comes from one of three things: a control battle, fear of pooping on the toilet, or hidden constipation. Spot the real cause before you change your approach. Drop the pressure. Stop asking, stop reminding constantly, and never shame an accident. Calm and boring beats anxious and intense every time. Give

Most babies wear a helmet to treat plagiocephaly, a flat or uneven spot on the skull that forms from steady pressure on one area. It does not mean anything is wrong with the brain. Helmet therapy only works while the skull is still growing quickly, which is why pediatricians act early and usually try repositioning

For decades, American parents could count on one shared childhood vaccine schedule. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published it, pediatricians followed it, and the yellow shot record looked the same whether your family lived in Ohio or Oregon. That shared map has split. For 2026, the CDC pared its routine childhood immunization schedule

Most parents who crack down hard on lying believe they are teaching honesty. New research suggests the opposite can happen. A pair of studies from the National University of Singapore, published in the journal Child Development, found that children raised with strict, controlling discipline were more likely to lie and cheat as they grew, not

Teenagers are most motivated when a goal feels like their own, so the fastest way to kill drive is to take it over with nagging, bribes, or threats. Lasting motivation grows from three things: a sense of choice, a feeling of being capable, and a warm relationship with you. A sudden drop in motivation can

The “terrible twos” describes a normal stage when toddlers start asserting independence but do not yet have the language or self-control to manage big feelings. Meltdowns tend to peak between roughly 18 months and 3 years because the emotional part of a toddler’s brain develops faster than the part that handles impulse control. You can

For most of the past decade, gentle parenting was the default aspiration for a certain kind of modern parent: get down to your child’s eye level, talk through every feeling, swap time-outs for time-ins, and never be the kind of grown-up who barks “because I said so.” Now the mood has shifted. Gentle parenting has

Here is a finding worth holding onto the next time you are deciding whether it is worth the effort to get everyone out the door to the park: the days your preschooler spends playing outside may be quietly protecting their mental health years later. A new study tracking more than 4,000 children found that the

A wiggly baby tooth that loosens on its own and falls out can be within the normal range at 4, especially if your child got their baby teeth early. Most kids lose their first tooth around 6, but anywhere from 4 to 7 can be typical. The bigger question is not the age, it is

A speech delay and behavior problems in 4-year-olds are usually linked. When a child cannot find the words fast enough, the frustration tends to come out as hitting, biting, screaming, or meltdowns. The quickest way to calm the behavior is often to build the communication. An evaluation with a speech-language pathologist is the place to

Here is a finding that should make the nightly book at bedtime feel a little more worthwhile. A 2026 study published in the journal PLOS One found that just two weeks of daily bedtime reading measurably improved both empathy and creativity in young children. Even more surprising, it did not seem to matter whether parents

A large new study has reached a conclusion that reframes how scientists think about what shapes a child’s developing brain. After analyzing brain scans from nearly 12,000 children, researchers found that the single biggest environmental factor linked to brain structure and function was not a child’s IQ, parenting style, or health history. It was the

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no fruit juice at all before age 1, with one narrow exception sometimes used for constipation under a doctor’s guidance. After age 1, 100 percent fruit juice can fit into a balanced diet in small amounts: up to 4 ounces a day for ages 1 to 3, 4 to

Most children make their first letter-like marks between ages 3 and 4, write some recognizable letters around 4 to 5, and form simple words and short sentences by ages 5 to 6. Writing grows out of fine-motor and pre-writing skills, so scribbling, drawing, and copying shapes count as real progress, not just play. You can

Ask 5,472 American parents of young children what they actually want, and the answer that towers over everything else is not a parenting philosophy, a gadget, or a school. It is time. In the 2026 National Parent Survey, the largest nongovernmental survey ever conducted of US parents with children under six, 72 percent of parents

A heat wave does not just make swimming more appealing. It measurably raises the odds that a child drowns. That is the finding drawing fresh attention this month after at least 15 people, most of them children and teenagers, drowned in open water during a recent heat wave in the United Kingdom. Researchers studying nearly

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises moving a child out of the crib once they reach 35 inches tall or start climbing out, whichever comes first. For most kids that lands somewhere between 18 months and 3 years. If your child is safe and content in the crib, there is no rush. Sleep research consistently

Most American children start preschool at age 3 or 4, but readiness depends far more on development than on the calendar. There is no single right age. The signs that matter most: your child can separate from you without prolonged distress, follow simple directions, communicate basic needs, and handle short stretches of group activity. Starting