> A 20-year study of 400,000 students found that children who attended public school pre-K earned better grades and test scores through high school than those in other childcare settings. Better-trained teachers and earlier exposure to structured classrooms may help explain why the advantage lasted so long.

Is there anything you do that helps summer go smoothly or feel happier and calmer?

I am M41. I have a son who is 5, almost 6. The little guy is quite sensitive and cries relatively easily: * He hates having to wash his hands. Mom and I wash our hands right away when we come home from outside, and often after touching dirty things or before meals. He hates it. He often cries when asked to wash his hands, sometimes for 10 minutes or more. Saying "we also do it" does not help. Washing his hands for him does not help. I asked him what are the worst things about washing hands, but he could not elaborate. * One day recently, when I took him home from daycare (it was around 16 in the afternoon), he asked me to play with him. I said: "I need to empty the dishwasher first; then I will come play with you." He broke down and cried until I finished my housework and came to play with him. * He wants Mom to put him to sleep every night. If my wife is out and he has to go to sleep with me, he sometimes cries himself to sleep. I have not found anything I can do that helps. Whenever he cries or is otherwise in the grip of negative emotions, I try to be as supportive as I can _without encouraging it_. I talk softly to him, hug him if he wants it, stay close to him if he wants it, and go away if he wants that. I try to praise him when he DOES manage to calm himself down, and NOT reward him for throwing tantrums. When he cries he often asks to watch TV. I try to avoid letting him watch TV to calm down, but once in a while I cave in and give him TV. All these things have always been problems, but it seems to me that these behaviours have grown worse this last half year. Do you have any advice? Thanks in advance!

What tools would you like to see to keep your kids safe online? I have a bunch of different apps/services that I need to configure and monitor for my kids. Each has their own controls, terminology, login, etc. It sucks. I'm technically inclined, so I feel like I'm better positioned than most parents to deal with it. Let's pretend you could mandate standards. What tools would make online safety easier for you to manage?

When your (very white) 3 year old son asks for afro puffs like his (very black) sister. Buddy, I don't know how to explain the difference between textured and untextured hair to you, but let's see if a couple pigtails do it for you.

I've got a (9 yr old) kid that loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. But it's terrible. The main character is a terrible friend, and a poor role model. The character frequently calls people stupid or morons, makes fun of kids outside the norm, and has weird 90s views of how boys and girls interact. Can anyone suggest a series that their kid enjoyed for a similar audience? Even better if there are lots of them.

One of those kinda-subtle policy things that seems to slip by communities.

The OG Linda Belcher (he's really the voice)

On behalf of all the dads, sons, or daughters; if you are a mom, thank you! Moms are a miracle. My kids remind of that. I just spent an hour wrestling with the kids at the dinner table because they wouldn’t eat the Mother’s Day lunch I prepared them. Thank you to all the moms who put up with us as kids because we are getting it back now. And thank you to the wives’ who this is their daily reality.

I am M41 and have a 5-year-old son. Recently I asked in another parenting forum: *"At what age can I teach a child to speak nicely even when in a bad mood?"* A couple of people told me that it is important to model emotion handling so that the child can see how the parent handles difficult emotions. This makes me ponder: How do I do this in a visible manner? How can my son tell the difference between "Dad acts calm while experiencing a difficult emotion" and "Dad acts calm while experiencing no emotions"? I strongly suspect that the distiction is not easily visible. I have done Buddhist-inspired self-improvement practices these last 3 years, and in my own opinion my emotion regulation has improved vastly. But my wife does not seem to notice or appreciate this; it appears that she mostly only sees those rare occasions where I lose my temper and not the many occasions where I remain calm in spite of emotions. If my emotion handling is invisible to her, how can I expect the little guy to pick up on it and learn to emulate it?

Apparently making her stop playing to get ready for bed (15 minutes past the normal time I might add) is worth loathing of the highest degree. Threenagers.

How did you find each other? Do you think it makes parenting better? What keeps you together?

Self portrait made by a 5 yr old and we are all the person in red on this blessed day.

Article Authors: - Colin King | Director, Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic, Western University - Amy Rzezniczek | Ph.D. Candidate, School and Applied Child Psychology, Western University - Rachel Krahn | Master's student, School and Applied Child Psychology, Western University

As an American parent, I'm probably not going to stay up for mine lol. Celebrating the UTC new year. Woo!

I have a 14 year old Maine Coon that is terminally ill and has a few weeks at best. Our son recently turned 4 years old and loves animals. We taught him to be kind to all animals, even bugs. He is not particularly attached to the cat, but he likes it well enough (the cat is not a cuddler). In a few weeks we'll have to go to the vet and have the cat put down. We're wondering how we should approach this with our son. Do we take him with us? Do we let him be present when the cat is put to sleep? Or make him stay in the waiting area? Or do we go when he's in school? What's appropriate for a 4 year old? On the one hand I think that death is a part of life. And I don't mind that he sees us crying over the cat. But I also don't want to traumatize him or make it bigger than it is. Any tips?

My wife and I are looking to buy our first home and naturally are concerned about schools for our kids. I was looking at one school and it had a "B+" from [Niche](https://www.niche.com/) but a "4" from [GreatSchools](https://www.greatschools.org/) which are kind of contradictory? Does anyone have any advice on which sire is better, third options, or are all these sites actualy useless lol?

**Author:** Codie C. Lavoie - Pediatric Neurologist and Sleep Specialist, University of Southern California > Caregivers often seek a specific age that their child can be left home alone. However, the neuroscience of brain development suggests that readiness depends on much more than a birthday. The article is relatively short, so I didn't bother with a TLDR since I'd lose helpful info. If you want, here is a short checklist 

Not sure if memes are welcome in this comm, if not I can take it down :)

Hidden Brain podcast Episode title: Parents: Keep Out! Publish date: 24/11/2025, 20:00:00 Podcast length: 01:23:04 If you’re a parent or a teacher, you’ve probably wondered how to balance play and safety for the kids in your care. You don’t want to put children in danger, but you also don’t want to rob them of the joy of exploration. This week, we revisit a favorite conversation with psychologist Peter Gray. ...

Awful to see the steady dismantling of the CDC. There are doctors and science advocates coming together to scaffold and build up trustworthy sources of info outside of the CDC. I follow epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina and she has a great newsletter she started up around Covid and has kept going - https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/ She recommends the general public avoid the CDC web site now. She recommends healthychildren.org powered by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Some U.S. states have also partnered together i.e. the West Coast Health Alliance that have pulled away from the CDC recommendations. A friend of mine in health noted it's a big reason why we (I'm in California) can still get our Covid vaccines regardless of age while her sister in Oklahoma was denied. I know there are some North Eastern states that have also partnered up. Going to be very different healthcare messaging to navigate state by state...

I got this dlc for my kids recently. It teaches them about online grooming and the red flags they need to watch out for when playing games online. Minecraft has other free Internet safety dlc for kids, too, but as someone who experienced online grooming as a little kid in the early days of forums and instant messaging, this really caught my attention. [Here's a video of it, too.](https://youtu.be/RncRZtRTKVA)

Hello everyone 👋 I’m a new parent and trying to be more Focused to helping my toddler learn everyday skills — things like talking, understanding emotions, routines, colors. There’s is so many things available online, although those are not looking practical so I wanted to ask real parents here: Please share me your experience with me also for make it simple for me as well. How can I tech to my toddler that works for me? Which routine or activities I follow specific? I am not looking for perfection, just practical experience of the everyone that help is our toddler learn and grow. Thanks so much! 😊

I'm constantly amazed that scouts isn't more popular with families. I'm a huge supporter of the whole worldwide program (particularly Scouting America and the Girl Scouts in the US). Yes, let's all acknowledge that there were past abuses that the Boy Scouts ignored and covered up. But, primarily due to the lawsuits associated with those abuses, Scouting America has instituted a lot of really strong child protection policies that arguably make it the safest youth program anywhere. It's a really great, comparatively cheap, program that offers amazing opportunities to kids and families. If you find yourself having trouble making friends as an adult, I really recommend looking into it.

Does anyone here have any firsthand experience of the pros & cons of home schooling? Whether as a parent, child or friend/family member/neighbour?

Hello everyone! I'm about to become a parent in a few months and I was wondering what books would you recommend reading to get myself prepared. Is there a new parents bible or something like It? The baby won't come with instructions. Thanks!

My wife and I had a miscarriage last week. We were 11 weeks along but our baby only grew to 8 weeks. It's been devastating. I'm hoping to get some advice from anyone who's been through it. - what can I do to help my wife? She's in physical pain which seems to be overriding the emotional pain, but I'm sure it will hit in due time and want to be able to help her the best that I can. - our 15 month old obviously doesn't know what's going on, but it seems like he's noticed a change of energy. Its hard to play with him like I normally do. I love him to bits, I just don't have the energy but I need to make sure he knows he's loved. - we were able to collect the fetus as it passed naturally , we would like to do something to memorialize our unborn child but don't know what. - how can I take care of myself while taking care of my family through these times. Thanks for any advice.

My child just started kindergarten. As far as I can tell, it's wonderful and is the best place for him. We're just... people of means. We've saved _a lot_ of money compared to the private schools we were considering. I just don't want this to be inappropriate. We'll give to all the standard pta / school fundraisers and already do the wishlist and extra school supplies requests. I'm still selfish. I do want plenty of it to benefit my child. Appropriately though. I just also want to make sure that the (kindergarten) teachers can get pizza and beer or whatever without it seeming like bribery. .

My 3 year old just kicked me off the couch so she could invite her dad to come snuggle with her. What are your kids up to?

Every parent’s nightmare 😱 what are your best tips for travelling with small children, to avoid something like that happening?