Learning how to cope with adversity is an important part of healthy child development. When we are threatened, our bodies prepare us to respond by increasing our heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones, such as cortisol. When a young child’s stress response systems are activated within an environment of supportive relationships with adults, these physiological effects are buffered and brought back down to baseline. Read more ›
Teens face numerous challenges to getting consistent, restorative sleep. Recognizing those challenges helps teens and their parents make a plan so that teens get the sleep they need. Read more ›
Though teenagers and their sleep habits may be maddening to parents, they’re partly in response to physical changes that occur during puberty. “Teens experience a natural shift in circadian rhythm,” says Johns Hopkins sleep expert Laura Sterni, M.D. Read more ›
Many families relied on screens a lot during the pandemic. Team up with your kids to create healthier media habits. Read more ›
My two sons always got some screen time daily, but my husband and I tried to set relatively clear limits about what they could play and watch, and for how long. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and like so many other parents and caregivers, we leaned into screens hard. My children have become legitimate screen monsters. Read more ›
Emotional outbursts. Lost sleep. These are signs that your kids are spending too much time with digital devices. Here’s what you can do about it. Read more ›
Many parents feel that their kids are addicted, detached, or distracted because of their digital devices. Devorah Heitner, PhD, however, believes that technology offers huge potential to our children—if parents help them. Read more ›
Parenting a neurodivergent child can be exhausting. The stress, the worry, the ongoing lists of extra things to monitor and manage can seem endless. Often it feels like there’s no spare moment to do anything other than be on constant guard for what is coming or might be coming. Read more ›
The Wall Street Journal revealed last week that researchers at Instagram had studied for years how its photo-sharing app affects young users and found that it can be particularly harmful to teenage girls, news that alarmed parents and lawmakers. Read more ›
