Author: Chien Liu

The death of a parent is the mostdevastating loss a child can experience —and one that research finds has significantand lasting effects on development,mental health, and wellbeing. At thesame time, research consistently findsthat children can and do move througheven this most profound loss — giventhe right support. How surviving parents,family members, and professionals respondin the…

The death of a grandparent is frequentlya child’s first experience of significantloss — and one that parents oftenfeel unprepared to support effectively.Research on childhood bereavement findsthat grandparent loss is genuinelysignificant for children — not a minorloss to be quickly moved past — andthat how parents support childrenthrough this loss significantly affectsboth immediate coping and long-termresilience.…

Emotional regulation difficulties areamong the most common reasons childrenare referred for professional support —and among the most commonly missedby parents who attribute the signsto temperament, behavior, or simply“going through a phase.” Understandingwhat emotional regulation difficultiesactually look like — and distinguishingthem from typical developmental behavior —is the essential first step towardgetting a child the support they…

Loss is one of the most universaland most challenging human experiences —and children face many forms of lossthroughout childhood. The death ofa loved one is the most significant —but children also experience the lossof relationships through divorce,the loss of friendships, the lossof a beloved pet, the loss of a homethrough moving, and the loss of…

Grief is one of the most challengingexperiences a child can face — andone of the experiences where parentalresponse matters most. Research consistentlyfinds that children can and do grievegenuinely — even very young children —and that how the adults around themrespond significantly affects whetherchildren move through grief in healthyways or whether grief becomes complicatedand lasting. This…

A child who cannot sleep is one ofthe most exhausting and most worryingparenting experiences — exhaustingbecause sleep deprivation affectsthe whole family, and worrying becausea child who consistently cannot sleepis a child whose development, health,and wellbeing are being compromisedevery night. Research on pediatricsleep provides specific, evidence-basedguidance about what genuinely helps —and what makes sleep difficulties worse.…

Sleep problems are among the mostcommon concerns parents bring to pediatricians —and among the most significantly undertreated.Research consistently finds that inadequatesleep affects virtually every aspectof child development — cognitive functioning,emotional regulation, physical health,and behavioral wellbeing. Understandingwhat drives sleep problems in children —and what the research shows aboutaddressing them — is practically importantfor every parent. This…

One of the most challenging aspectsof social media and child mental healthis that the effects are frequentlyinvisible to parents — occurring inprivate digital spaces, expressed insubtle behavioral changes, and oftennot disclosed by children who fearlosing device access or who do notconnect their distress to their socialmedia use. Research on social media and childmental health provides…

Social media is now an unavoidablepart of teenage social life — andfor most parents, the question isnot whether their teenager will usesocial media but how to help themuse it in ways that protect ratherthan damage their mental health. Researchon social media and adolescent wellbeingprovides specific, evidence-based guidanceabout what actually works. This article covers what the…

Depression among teenagers has increasedsignificantly in the past decade —and research increasingly points tosocial media as one of the most significantenvironmental contributors to thistrend. Understanding the specific wayssocial media contributes to teenagedepression — and what parents canspecifically do — is one of the mostimportant parenting challenges of the digital age. This article covers what the…