The things that children find funny tell us a great deal about their level of development and what is on their minds. There is a connection between the 2-year-old who bursts into a fit of ...  Read more... »

Maybe you've been together for a number of years and moving in together seems like the next logical step. Maybe it's a matter of saving money. After all, why pay rent at two places if ...  Read more... »

"Why can't you be more responsible?" How many times have we said it, thought it, wished it about our own children and heard it coming from the mouths of other parents? We want our ...  Read more... »

I first became aware of "mental illness" when I was eight years old. My mother began spending all of her time sitting in a rocking chair-rocking, crying, very frightened and unbearably sad. No one asked ...  Read more... »

One of the challenges faced by parents who’ve decided to use a childcare program for their infant or toddler is separating the good programs from the bad or even unsafe ones. Sometimes it’s obvious. For ...  Read more... »

Some mornings are like this: “Come on! Get out of there. I’ve got to leave for work in 10 minutes.” My daughter has been trying to get into the bathroom for the last half hour. “Cool your ...  Read more... »

By comparison, little kids are easy. They go where we go and generally do what we tell them to do. If we are excited about a new adventure and approach a move with a positive ...  Read more... »

When I speak to groups of parents, I sometimes get questions about the best way to discipline infants. I begin my answer by saying that discipline is teaching. (In fact, the words "discipline" and "disciple" ...  Read more... »

There’s a sense of magic that occurs when a grandmother snuggles next to her grandchild and reads a book or a grandfather tells his grandchildren the stories of his own youth. While the relationship ...  Read more... »

The conventional wisdom about moving mid-year, or moving at all, when kids are in high school is "don't." But it isn't that simple. Job opportunities don't always happen conveniently in the summer. Elderly parents who ...  Read more... »

It’s been decided. Yours will be among the 1 in 5 American families to move this year. It’s easy to get caught up in the ton of details. It’s inviting to skip right over whatever ...  Read more... »

Unfortunate or not, there is something inherently competitive about being a parent. One of the ways this comes to light is when parents compare how old their children were when they finished a whole bottle, ...  Read more... »

For some children, it's obvious by the time they're in kindergarten that they'll probably never play tennis on the center court at Wimbledon or take the field at Yankee Stadium. Child development professionals describe these ...  Read more... »

It's the time of year when many families take to the road, going home for the holidays. It's the time of year when my inbox is full of letters seeking advice for how to stay ...  Read more... »

Some unscrupulous people try to exploit the natural insecurities and desires of new parents. They'll promise to turn your child into a prodigy if you'll just buy their program or products and do exactly what ...  Read more... »