How to Make Storytelling a Fun and Engaging Family Affair

Storytelling is portable and requires no gadgets, batteries, or anything else to weigh down your diaper bag and can bring your family closer, too.

6 Surprising Lessons I Learned by Taking the Time to Play

For adults, playing isn't always easy, but if you channel your inner actor and begin to share the joy, you just might learn something.

4 Montessori Strategies to Help Prevent a Toddler Meltdown

We’ve all seen the toddler meltdown. It’s that end-of-the-world sobbing tantrum over something so small you may not have even known what it was.

Solving The Puzzle of Infant Sleep

In my practice of taking care of children and parents, there’s a common struggle in the first two years: sleep. “How can my family get enough?"

11 Lovely Children’s Books on Love

Valentine’s Day is the perfect kid holiday. You’re not old enough to be jaded by the “most romantic day of the year.” You get piles of candy and great books. 

5 Things You Don’t Have to do to Be a Good Parent This Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s Day skip obsessing about what you “should” do and keep it simple by crossing these chores off the list.

5 Steps to Giving (Good) Advice to New Parents

Here are five easy steps to giving your new-parent loved ones the advice they are looking for without looking like an idiot. (Often times, just listen!)

What Quality Time With My Kids Really Looks Like

What constitutes quality time “with” your kids? How is that different from quality time “around” your kids?

25 Missions for Your Fall Bucket List

Do these awesome things with your family before the crunchy leaves are covered in snow.

The Challenge of Parenting Through Chronic Pain

Parenting is hard enough as it is. But add to that the debilitating experience of frequent migraines or pain, and it's nearly impossible. Here's how to cope.

How Music Education Helps Teach Kids Empathy

Several studies have determined that kids exposed to music, particularly in groups or in correlation with rhythmic movement, have higher levels of empathy.

5 Halloween Crafts You Can Do With Your Kids

Adults and children love Halloween. Here are five fun, easy and most importantly safe decorating ideas you can create together at home for spooky fun.

6 Reasons You Should Consider A Doula

Doulas are non-medical birth guides that help women and their partners achieve the kinds of births and first weeks they desire. Here's why you might want one.

5 Ways to Meaningfully Support a Friend Through a Miscarriage

You can support a friend during one of the most difficult things she’ll ever have to go through. She needs you. Here's how to show up in a way that matters.

5 Great Halloween Movies With Girl Protagonists

Despite making up half the population, women and girls are often under represented in film. Watch girls take the lead in these female focused Halloween movies.

The First 90 Days of Parenting: How to Crush Your One Job

You have one job for the first 90 days of parenthood: Keep baby alive. So let's strategize. Here are essential things that make life easier, from swaddles to seats.

A Minimalist Parent’s Guide to the Holiday Gift Overload 

You don't always see eye to eye with gift-giving family members, especially when you've got a less is more mentality. Here's how to handle a mountain of gifts.

What Makes a Great Hannukah Gift?

I propose that the best Hannukah gifts reference the values of the holiday and contemporary Jewish culture: sacrifice, self-deprecation, humor, and food.

Small Connections Are Big Brain Builders

During the critical first years of life babies need love in the form of consistent care, shared exchanges, and cognitive stimulation.

Why I Take My Kids to the Library and You Should, Too

In the age of one-day Prime shipping and the instant gratification of eBooks, do people even go to the library to get books anymore? Here's why it's a great idea.

Let Simplicity Rule When Helping Your Kids Learn

You can pin whatever elaborate projects you want onto your Pinterest boards, but there's no need to be an overachiever when it comes to teaching your kids.

Why You Should Cheer on Your Daredevil

Well, that or cover your eyes. Your call.

How a Positive Relationship With Grandparents Can Shift Views of Aging

The benefits extend beyond your child when they have a positive relationship with their grandparents. It's a love that touches the whole family for the good.

Why Social-Emotional Learning Works

Things that happen socially cause an emotional impact and can influence learning in children. Here's what social-emotional learning is, and why it works.

How to Make Art With Little Kids - Even if You Aren't Arty

At a young age I decided art wasn't for me. My coloring didn't stay inside the lines. Then I became a parent. I wanted to foster my kids' skills and creativity.

8 School Day Hacks That Will Transform Your Mornings

Mornings aren't easy for anyone, really. So get your game face on and tackle them like you mean it with these shortcuts that will make life just a little smoother.

How to Balance Household Work When One Parent Stays Home

A division of labor where one person does all the work outside of the home and one person does all the work inside of it would be fairly unbalanced.

8 Ways to Prep for Fall for Kids With Special Needs

Now that fall draws near, the bucket lists on Pinterest pages are filling up. But parenting a kid with special needs adds another layer of consideration.

Here, Take My Kid: A Guide to Raising Resilient Children

A recent study found that links outside the home can improve kid’s resilience, in particular by providing some protection from adverse events in childhood.

Forget the Summer Bucket List, Play Summer Bingo Instead!

By mid-July, people begin freaking out about their summer bucket lists. But since this season is supposed all about fun, we created this summer bingo game.

5 Expert Tips for Emotionally Healthy Sibling Relationships

A sibling means having a companion, confidant, and advocate. It also means having someone who is always around when you’d rather have them somewhere else.

5 Questions to Consider When Signing up Your Child for an Afterschool Program

Over the course of a typical school year, there are around 525 hours between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. How can you make sure your kids needs are met?

Daycare's 15-Minute Goodbye Rule Did Me an Enormous Favor

Prolonging the goodbye is often more about the parent than the kid. And who knows that better than anyone? Daycare providers.

5 Things I Won’t Skimp on With the Second Baby

First-time-mom-me was way too hard on herself in so many ways. This time, I vow to do just that, and promise myself that I will not skimp on the following.

How Did I Become That Anxious Dad?

It’s normal to worry about your children’s safety, but you also need trust in their growing self-preservation instincts. Here are some tips for anxious dads.

How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Helped Me Potty Train My Kids

The goal of potty training seems insurmountable, until you introduce a little bribery. In one family, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Little People" did the trick.

The 10 Worst Things About Being Pregnant in the Summer

It's never easy being super pregnant. Add sky high temps and enough humidity make you wonder if you're living inside a horse's mouth and it gets worse.

Worried Those Early Extracurriculars Are a Waste of Money? Maybe Not.

New research shows extracurriculars are promising for kids and their development in numerous ways, even during early childhood. Here's what makes a difference.

How to Use Your Philosophy on Life to Pick Swim Lessons

Maybe there's something to using your philosophical approach to life as a means to teach swimming. These five types of lessons might follow your groove.

How Summer Travel Helps Promote Outdoor Play

The benefits of outdoor play are endless. But sometimes being stuck in our routine makes it less of a priority. Traveling can bump it back to the top.

Dining Out with Baby: An Eight-Step Survival Guide

Anyone who has ever had a baby (I'm guessing that's you!) knows that when you take the little tyke to dinner, it's a race against the clock. Here are tips.

5 Tips for Getting Your Kids to Bed in the Heyday of Summer

Summer is one long endless day – and it is exhausting. But that doesn't always mean your kids want to go to bed. Here's how to get some essential sleep.

Easy Ways to Build Water Confidence With Your Child

If your child is water-shy, try these tips for boosting their confidence and maximizing productive lesson time. And yes, there's plenty you can do at home.

4 Things That Matter on Family Vacation, and 4 Things That Totally Don’t

When it comes to vacation, pick the things to care about and let the rest go before we lose it, National Lampoon-style.

3 Simple Ways Water Can Calm Your Children

As one of our most important natural resources, water provides so many benefits including improving our health and happiness.

A Guide to Summer Screen-Time Rules

Set reasonable limits that allow for family time and other important activities, and incorporate media and tech in ways that bring the family together.

10 Creative Ways to Beat Summer Boredom

There's plenty of summer left to get creative with your kids. Go learn, create, and have fun! Here are ways to conquer that unpleasant feeling of boredom.

5 Tips to Teach Kids the Subtle Art of Graciousness

In an effort to improve both manners and self-esteem, here are five easy tips to practice when accepting a compliment. You'll help raise a gracious kid.

3 Tips for Traveling With Kids and Family

I’m glad I dared to travel with my baby. Here are the top three lessons I learned that I plan to employ for future adventures.

Why Kids Watch the Strangest Things on YouTube

Why do kids choose such strange videos on YouTube, like unboxing videos, movies of people playing Minecraft, or clips of YouTube celebrities shopping?

5 Present-Day Parenting Styles Inadvertently Favored in the 1970s

Back then, they didn't have fancy names for the different approaches to parenting. Only in the information age do we need to put a label on it.

Science Confirms You Are a Different Person After Giving Birth

You likely knew it already, but once you've carried a person in your body for 9 entire months, you come out the other side a different person.

Sibling play: Games for Toddlers and Preschoolers to Enjoy Together

Playing together is a powerful way for siblings to bond. But for kids at different growth stages, it isn’t always easy to find activities everyone enjoys.

Summer Camp is the Adventure Your Kids Need to Thrive

Dig out that summer camp catalog and take a look at your options. The return on investment definitely seems worth it. We love nature-based free play, too.

9 Things You Should Never Say to Same-Sex Parents

Culturally reinforced naiveté is understandable coming from a small child. But there's no great excuse when it comes from adults.

A Trip to Canada’s National Parks May Be Just the Vacay You Need This Summer

This summer, find out for yourself why Bono, frontman for U2, said “I believe the world needs more Canada.” Here are incredible places to see with your family.

In Difficult Times, A Better Response Than "I Can’t Imagine"

Even if we don’t want to imagine what someone else is going through, we can at least try to ease their passage.

4 Outdoor Excursions to Beat the Summer Heat

The air conditioning is running and the kids are begging for more screen time. But we're going outside. Here are four ideas for when it's scorching outside.

The LGBTQ Community Needs You to Put Down Your Fear

Where there's fear, it's impossible for love and acceptance to thrive. Let me tell you about people like me. Let me tell you a little about what it means to be a member of the LGBTQ community.

5 Budget-Friendly Tips for Hitting the Open Road this Summer

On a family road trip, the good outweighs the bad, and even the bad always makes for a funny memory. Here are five tips for making the most of it.

Father's Day Has Always Been About Ties

The history of Father's Day proves that it is a Hallmark holiday, but not for the reasons you think. Take the chance to tell your dad how you feel about him.

The Real Reason You Should Garden With Your Kids

You can garden with your kids without leaving the house or changing out of your pajamas. Best of all, it will save you at least one trip to the grocery store.

The Evening Ritual That Transformed Our Bedtime Routine

Taking inspiration from "Goodnight Moon," and research on restorative sleep, I created a routine that has put an end to our bedtime battles. Here's what we do.

10 Ways to Ensure Your Next Family Road Trip is a Success

Family road trips don't have to be a National Lampoon-esque disaster. Especially if you keep these tips in mind.

Why Awe Should Be on Your Summer Vacation Checklist

The most powerful way that our children can be transformed by a trip is if they feel a sense of awe during this time. Here's how to bring awe along.

Day Trips: The Perfect Summer Adventure on a Budget

With these eight strategies, you can successfully hit the road with your kids in a way that doesn’t leave you swearing off one-day family fun forever.

10 Tips for Toddler Camping Like a Boss

We usually take our three-year-old camping for a weekend about half a dozen times every summer, so these 10 tips are rooted in our personal experiences.

Why "Work Life Balance" Is Too Simplistic for Modern Dads

There's been a lot of change for dads in a short period of time. Today they work as many hours as previous generations, but do three times the childcare and twice the housework as dads a generation...

How to Dress for Those Weird Early Pregnancy Weeks

For that period of time when your pants are held together with a strategically looped hair tie.

Professional Potty Trainers and Two Other Early Parenting Coaches You Can Totally Hire

Though pricey, these services can make a world of difference for families struggling through early parenting milestones.

How to Help Your Marriage Survive Infertility

Facing the real possibility of never conceiving or giving birth to biological children pushes some couples to their limits.

5 Science-Backed Ways to Spring Clean Your Parenting (Without Going Insane)

This spring season we're going easy on the household cleaning and focusing on simplifying our parent minds. Yes, easier said than done. Here some ideas!