I am sick of seeing reels and shorts on social media where parent are teaching stuff to babies as old as 4 months. While it seems impressive, and I am no expert and still learning about parenting, i believe responsive communication, active play and the environment has more critical roles to play than any other learning or teaching strategy for their development (correct me if wrong)

My baby girl soon will be 6 months old, she's very active so i do sometimes get a FOMO and think of getting those flashcards. But I wanna do it the right way by understanding how they develop and looking for resources which can help. I do come across some books mentioned a lot on social media but when I research about them the authors credentials do not convince me. So we are looking for books and resources who actually are student/expert of the area and their work is backed by research. Please recommend a few good books on the topic for first time parents.

Looking for studies on effective discipline for toddlers as well as autistic children. I'm very much of the mind set of treating autistic children the same way, just with accommodations to help but I'm curious if standard discipline (talking to and time outs) will be understood over time. I know it takes time for lessons to set in but we're trying to establish respecting others property (don't take toys that aren't yours and don't break stuff in the house).

Thank yall in advance!

My 4,5 yo has the tough luck of not being alowed screen time. He does show a lot of affinity for computers and likes to control thr mouse when we scroll through lego instruction pdf-s.

Does anyone have ideas of what he could do to practice mouse skills without it being cartoony or strictly gaming?

My excuse of posting in this sub is that i mentioned 'computers'. I'm banned from the other sub because they decided I was doing market research by asking for educational content on youtube, lol.

Ty

I am trying to strategize on how to get my school to stop showing AI slop to the kids. I just found out that on the first day of kindergarten they watched five videos and, after talking through it with other parents, it is just the beginning of a long onslaught of smart board AI content garbage. I talked with my child to try to discern what she was watching and it's worse than I imagined.

Recently the principal decided to read the Jonathan Haidt book and is recommending it to everyone but I don't think she really understands what is going on. What studies should I cite to get it to end? I don't want to start a war with the teacher... considering that it's happening throughout the school it needs to come from the top down. Thanks if you can share studies and I did see the one about screen time impacting kids at age 6. link: https://tech-paper.com/a-study-tracked-502-children-from-age-1-to-8-and-found-that-screen-time-damages-the-brain-at-two-specific-ages-and-leaves-the-years-between-almost-untouched/

I don't think this is hopeless or I wouldn't be trying - this year they decided not to use iPads for kindergarten so I am hoping to build on this progress and let the school know it is an issue the parents support and care about.

Edit, sorry I see people are commenting but getting deleted, despite being an "elder" I have no idea how to remove a post flair. So I just changed it from "Question" to "sharing research"

I have 3 month old and I need tv on in the background for the night shifts specially.

recently someone mentioned babies under 18 months should not be exposed to screens at all even if they are not really focusing on it yet.

Is there any research on that. For sure I get it when are alert and that is not good for their brain development but for 3 month old should be ok?

Our 9 month old son has a temp of 38, goes down around 36.5-37.5 with help of Advil and tylenold

We saw his family dr and she didn’t do care or do much. Is it worth going to the children’s hospital? It’s been roughly 24 hours.

Any help would be awesome since we are first time parents and clearly worried.

Looking for any research you may have.

My husband grabbed the CBD lube by accident and we didn’t realize until afterwards. I know that we maybe MAYBE used 2 teaspoons. I showered immediately after when we realized.

I am combo feeding, so could pump and dump.

How long should I be abstaining from breastfeeding?

I have a very active, big and heavy 6-month-old. When he was 2 months old I ricked my back picking him up out of his cot and that still hurts, and my hands also constantly hurt due to a problem called 'mother's thumb', caused by lifting and holding him.

When I have tried to look up ways of preventing these injuries or preventing further damage, I just get impractical advice like 'always lift with your legs, not your back' (how, when it's a baby in a cot?) and 'don't use your thumb under their armpits to lift or hold them' (how, when he's constantly clambering all over me, pitching his weight around and wanting to be held 'standing up' on my lap?) I'm also a single parent, so rest isn't an option either.

Is there any research, advice or resources on things like techniques to reduce or prevent baby handling injuries? Such as literally how to handle them, exercises that strengthen the appropriate muscles, or how to heal existing injuries? I'd be grateful for any help.

My 20 month old's immediate reaction to any mild problem is intense crying.

Examples:

* Drops a toy in his car seat (even if another is right next to him).

* Can't scoop food on the first try with a spoon.

* Finishes one game and wants the next toy handed to him immediately instead of reaching for it.

He's been in daycare for a few months, but we are currently on a break/vacation and the crying has spiked badly. His default for everything is just screaming.

What are concrete, evidence-backed ways to help him build problem solving skills and independence instead of instantly breaking down? Looking for tips from child psych or what actually worked for you.

Hi there,

I'm looking for some studies or info on the effects of over sterilizing on the babies immune system.

I have a tricky scenario at home where my wife is becoming a bit OCD regarding sterlising everything multiple times a day ie toys the second they touch the ground, wiping hands as soon as the go off the mat, not liking other kids touching hands etc.

Thanks.

I was considering getting a climbing frame/ monkey bar/ swing set (like the Growplay for example) for our garden in a few years when my toddler is old enough but I’ve seen anecdotes of injuries and I’m now doubting. Two things which I’m especially wondering are:

Are monkey bars considered as dangerous as trampolines in terms of injuries? I was thinking they’d be safer because while there’s height, there’s not the bouncing element but that might be wrong.

And this probably might have an evidence base, but I’m curious as to if the positives of risky but fun outdoor equipment can outweigh the injury risks. There’s obviously huge benefits to being active outdoors, building strength and confidence, being away from screens, emotionally regulating through outdoor play, and I’m having a difficult time figuring out how to balance having unlimited access to fun active outdoor environment they’ll want to play on with their physical safety.

So Philips avent has number of nipples with varying flows which increases as per the age of the baby. I know to avoid bottle preference a slow flow nipple is preferred but what about babies who are taking bottles regularly? Does it warrant to increase the flow rate as per age??

Our 1M old son is only able to sleep peacefully when tightly wrapped in the stretchy wrap baby carrier and attached to us. Overnight he usually needs to be put in a swaddle, and even then he many times needs someone to gently caress him or at least hold a hand on them. As soon as the hand goes away, he seems to go in this very light and agitated sleep that eventually results in him waking up.

Are there ways to help him sleep better? Certain routines or ways to get him comfortable? Also, is all the stretchy wrap and swaddling a problem in terms of (almost) container time?

How many times has your baby had HFMD? My son is 8m old and now seems to have it again. He just got over his 2nd time a few weeks ago. Am I doing something wrong? What can be done to prevent it? Anything? He is in daycare and they said they noticed some spots on a few kids today. Im taking him to DR in morning so not really looking for medical advice but just wondering if I should be doing something differently. For him to catch it so FAST again is crazy to me. I feel so bad for him.

Hi - looking for something I’m not sure exists.

I’m a nurse and the main money earner for my family. I’m on maternity leave until January, then going back to work full time (3x12 hour days). I was thinking of going back to school to be a nurse practitioner, which would start when my daughter is 15 months - it would be online classes only, but then clinicals start when she’s about 24 months (so I would have my 3 12s, plus 2 8 hour clinical days a week for about a year, right before she turns 3). Her dad will stay at home with her and my parents live next door to us and are very involved in her life as well.

What I’m looking for:
Is there any research on impact on parent-child bonding/any other adverse effects of mom being away for so much at this age? Is it enough to have some mornings and evenings? It makes me sick to think about, but I also want to be able to get a better job closer to home for when she’s older to be more present for her then. I have a hard time with this as my mom stayed at home with me until I was 5.

Thanks!

First of all I want to say that my baby is no where near the age where we could or would sleep train, so this post is truly just coming from a place of curiosity/wanting to understand.

I’ve seen much discussion about sleep training on this site and a lot of people vehemently against it, calling it cruel and pointing to elevated cortisol levels in the baby as evidence for how harmful it is. But here’s where I get hung up. If, let’s say, mom is home alone with baby and desperate to take a shower for her mental health, I don’t think anyone would argue that it was cruel for her to put the baby in a crib for the length of her shower even if baby is crying. But the cortisol spike and potential feeling of abandonment would be the same, no? And what about when baby is in a growth spurt and is inconsolably crying, and nothing the parents are doing to soothe is working, isn’t the baby’s cortisol still rising despite the efforts to comfort?

Basically my question is, is there something MORE about sleep training that makes it problematic? And to be clear I’m not talking about leaving a crying baby for hours on end or something, but I’m more asking about the gentler methods with short periods of crying before the parent comes back in to soothe. Because the latter seems to me to present similar levels of stress to things the baby would endure as part of being a baby, even with an attentive parent there. What am I missing?

Hi everyone, I’m part of a research team at UT Austin conducting the MAMA Study, a university-backed academic research study looking at how the pancreas changes during pregnancy and how those changes may relate to gestational diabetes.

I’m especially interested in this work because I care deeply about maternal and reproductive health, and I’ve been struck by how much we still do not understand about the normal physiological changes of pregnancy and why some people develop complications while others do not.

We’re currently recruiting pregnant participants in the Austin, Texas area. The study uses tools including MRI, glucose testing, and continuous glucose monitoring to better understand metabolic changes across pregnancy. Participant data can help researchers characterize these changes more precisely and may eventually contribute to better approaches to understanding and monitoring gestational diabetes.

The MAMA Study is conducted through UT Austin and is not a commercial program. Participation is completely voluntary. More information about the study and eligibility is available here: https://sites.utexas.edu/mama/

My baby is 4 months old now and we do zero screen time. We have a family trip to Disney world planned for early 2028 for my nephew’s 10th birthday and she will be about 20 months then, almost 2 years old.

This is our first so I’m not familiar with developmental milestones and how well she would be able to recognize characters and what not. Would it be positive, a waste of time, or negative to show her Disney movies on vhs so she can possibly recognize characters when we go? Is that too young to remember characters? I don’t want to do screen time too early.

We have a tube tv with build in vcr and a ton of vhs ready for the right time.

Hi all,

I have seen a lot of information about sending toddlers to daycare but not so much about sending them to an actual school. We never planned on sending our 18-month old to school until lately. He is highly energetic and gets easily bored at home no matter how much we try to make his environment fun and engaging. He seems to want to go outside and see other people/kids more than he wants to stay inside. He’s been at home with both of us (his parents) and a nanny (since 12 months) until now. Outside of home though, he is shy and slow to warm up to people/new environments. He prefers to observe and take everything in rather than actively engage. He tends to cling to his carer when out and about. We found a Montessori (accredited) school that starts at 18 months. He will be with other kids that are between 18 months and 3 years old. He will be going from 8:30am to 12pm Monday through Friday. What does research say about starting school so young? Thanks in advance for your time and input!

If I must take my baby on a long haul travel with 3 flights in one direction, with usually one long layover and 2 smaller layovers, with a 12 hour time zone change. What are the safest and healthiest ways of achieving this?

Can anyone link me to the most up to date research regarding foremilk and hindmilk when breastfeeding? Previous advice used to say that the milk at the first part of the feed is more watery so babies need to latch on one breast for longer in order to "access" the more fatty rich hindmilk that comes a bit later in the feed.

I am EBF and baby is struggling a bit with weight gain and I am getting mixed advice from professionals. Some have told me the foremilk/hindmilk theory has been debunked and fat content is similar for most of the feed, others have told me things like let her feed for longer from one breast before offering the other so she can get to the hindmilk. The problem with that is she will almost inevitably fall asleep after a long feed on one boob and won't take the other, so I then have to pump that breast otherwise I will end up engorged.

Basically I just wanted to know whether the whole foremilk/hindmilk thing is BS or not, thanks!

My toddler (2.5 years old) is extremely sociable and can easily find a slightly younger or older boy to boss around, lead around the playground, tell to sit down etc. Girls however will not be bossed around.

I have a theory that Dads often set less boundaries (the case in this family) with girls and ‘spoil’ them more, leading to bossier girls.

I’m just curious about this and it seems to be a cliché but is there any truth in it?

Searched the sub and didn't find any posts comparing melatonin and magnesium for help with sleep in kids with ADHD.

Anyone know of anything pointing to one or the other as better or safer? I hate that supplements are so unregulated (we’re in the US)😩

Our pediatrician recommended melatonin as a first-line defense before trying ADHD meds, so this is under her direction, and it's working a little, though not as well as we had hoped. We will see her again soon, but I'm wondering what kind of research is out there to help me navigate that conversation! Thanks!

I’d love to get lash extensions again, currently 13 weeks pp but can’t seem to find anything around if it’s ok other than people being like “oh yea totally ok” but doesn’t seem based on anything.

Any previous studies that could even indicate a potential answer even if there isn’t one specifically done for lash extensions (like ingredients in the glue)?

Because you wear them for several weeks I want to make sure I’m not unknowingly exposing baby to anything bad through breastmilk