parenting

by Amy Root When an infant cries, parents frequently wonder whether they should soothe the baby or let the baby calm itself down. If they respond to every sob, won’t the baby cry more? Isn’t that spoiling the baby? I hear these…

by Dr. Ellen Amatea Many parents and educators view homework as an important indicator of classroom rigor. The Back-to-Basic movement, which emphasizes the need for schools to teach basic academic skills in particular, has…

by Nathan Fisk In today’s media-rich world (or media-saturated, depending on your view), one rarely has to look far to find parents concerned about the ways that kids engage with technology. Recently, managing “screen time” seems to be…

by Barbara Milrod, M.D. “Lucy,” a shy, intelligent six-year-old, missed three days of school because she had stomachaches. The symptoms started the day after Lucy witnessed a loud argument while waiting for the bus with her babysitter. A…

by Kevin Shafer In most families, mothers and fathers both work hard. Pew Research recently reported that moms and dads in the U.S. work essentially equal hours when paid work hours are combined with household chores and child care…

by David Roberts RICHARD LOUV IS an anecdote machine. As we milled about awaiting lunch-hour seating, he kept up a constant stream of witty, telling stories — about “no running” signs on playgrounds, clueless environmental leaders,…

by Amanda Whiting WHEN HE WAS nine, he wrote poems that made me weep. When he was ten, I found pornography in his room. When he was twelve, the fistfights began. His grades dropped precipitously. He spent most of his time at school…

By Jason Hill I LOVE KIDS. Honestly. For years I dreamed of adopting one, but my partner has no interest in being a parent and, truth be told, the happier I became with my own life the less I wanted a child. We have a lot of friends with…

by Betsy McMillin Any time you read about youth in America, you are bound to happen upon the obesity epidemic currently sweeping the nation. The overall health of our kids is at risk due to horrible diets, lack of exercise/active life…

by Betsy McMillin If you had told me, in the first twelve years as a parent, that I would be one to partake in the Family Bed (a.k.a. co-sleeping), I would have flatly said that you were without a doubt wrong, wrong, wrong. I remember…