Author: Chien Liu
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How to Prepare Your Toddler for a New Baby: What the Research Says
The arrival of a new baby is one of themost significant transitions a toddlerwill face — and one that parents oftenapproach with more anxiety than necessary,or less preparation than would help. The research on toddlers and new siblingsis specific and actionable. This articlecovers what the evidence shows abouthow toddlers understand and respondto a new baby,…
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What Is Serve and Return? The Most Important Thing You Do With Your Baby
Serve and return is one of the most importantconcepts in early childhood development —and one of the least known outside ofprofessional circles. It describes somethingthat loving, attuned parents do naturallyin their best moments — and something thatthe research identifies as the primarymechanism through which infant brainsare built. This article covers what serve and returnactually is,…
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How to Handle Toddler Tantrums: What the Research Says
Toddler tantrums are one of the mostuniversal — and most exhausting —experiences of early parenting.The child who was happily playingone moment is on the floor screamingthe next. The parent who was calmlygoing about their day is suddenlymanaging a full emotional stormin the middle of the supermarket. The research on toddler tantrumstells a story that is…
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Birth Order and Siblings: What the Research Actually Shows
Birth order is one of the most populartopics in popular psychology — and oneof the most misrepresented. The ideathat firstborns are responsible andachievement-oriented, middle childrenare overlooked and people-pleasing,and youngest children are charmingand rebellious has become so embeddedin popular culture that many peopleaccept it as established fact. The research tells a more complicatedand more honest story.…
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How to Help Children Cope With Change: What the Research Says
Change is one of the most constant featuresof childhood — and one of the most challengingfor children to navigate. A new sibling,a house move, a school change, a familyseparation, the loss of a grandparent,a parent’s new job — children facesignificant transitions throughouttheir development, often withoutthe cognitive or emotional toolsto fully process what is happening. The…
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What Is Co-Parenting? A Research-Backed Guide for Separated Parents
Co-parenting — the ongoing collaborationbetween separated or divorced parentsin raising their shared children — isone of the most important and mostchallenging tasks that follows theend of a relationship. How well orpoorly separated parents co-parenttogether is one of the strongestpredictors of children’s long-termadjustment to family separation —more predictive than the separation itself. This article covers what…
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How to Talk to Your Child About Divorce: What the Research Says
Telling a child that their parents areseparating is one of the hardest conversationsa parent will ever have. Most parents approachit with the best intentions and very littleguidance about what actually helps — andwhat inadvertently makes things harderfor children. The research on children and divorce isextensive and specific. This article coverswhat children need to hear, when…
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What Is Authoritative Parenting? What the Research Actually Shows
Authoritative parenting is the most extensivelyresearched parenting style in developmentalpsychology — and the one with the strongest,most consistent evidence base across cultures,ages, and outcomes. It is also one of themost frequently confused with authoritarianparenting, which is something quite differentand produces significantly different outcomes. This article covers what authoritative parentingactually is, what the decades of researchbehind…
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How to Help a Child With Separation Anxiety: What the Research Says
Separation anxiety is one of the most commonconcerns parents bring to pediatricians —and one of the most frequently misunderstood.The child who clings at the school gate,who cannot sleep without a parent present,who becomes distressed at the thoughtof a parent leaving — these experiencesare common, developmentally normal atcertain ages, and genuinely distressingfor both child and parent.…
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How to Raise a Resilient Child: What the Research Says
Resilience — the capacity to adapt successfullyin the face of adversity, challenge, andsignificant stress — is one of the qualitiesparents most want for their children. It isalso one of the most misunderstood in termsof how it actually develops. The popular image of resilience as a fixedtrait — something children either have ordo not have, something…