Recent Articles
Turn off the TV!
It’s 10 p.m. — do you know where your tween or teen is? Perhaps watching TV in his or her bedroom? Not ideal, you know, but you figure a couple of hours a day of TV won’t hurt him or her. Think again. “Kids who spend more time watching TV have lower grades and fewer extracurricular activities,” say
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‘Mommy, I’m sick!’ How to tell if your kid is faking it
In the classic ’80s film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a teenager heats a thermometer to prove to his parents that he’s too sick to go to school. Something you might expect from a devious teen, but could a younger elementary-age child be quite so cunning? Probably not, according to Susan Pease Banitt,
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Helping your child cope with divorce: Part 3
Read part 1 and part 2 of our series. The divorce — intense, demanding and emotionally draining — is finally over. Now you’re picking up the pieces, determined to keep your children on track and in line. Everyone is advising you to “move on.” The truth is, you’re ready to look ahead and face life
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Helping your child cope with divorce: Part 2
Read part 1 of this series. Read about "collaborative divorce." You’d never know that Ginger and Jerry once lived together as a happy, harmonious married couple, simpatico on most matters life tossed their way. Who knew that parenthood could change all that? When Ginger looks back, she realizes sh
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When your teen becomes a vegetarian
What do you do when your teen announces she’s decided to become a vegetarian? A parent’s first reaction may be to consider this newest revelation a phase that will soon pass — like her choice in music or fashion. But there are many reasons teens chose to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle: better health,
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Ten tricks for banishing your child's bad mood
Know this feeling? You’re moving through your busy day, managing the kids like a supermom. Emergency snacks, sippy cups, favorite toys — you’ve thought of it all; what could go wrong? Plenty, when a big bad mood strikes a little kid. Too little sleep and too much junk food can trigger serious mood s
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Is getting sick good for your preschooler?
No parents send their children to day care or preschool just so they can come home with a runny nose, scratchy throat and a fever. But it happens, and in most cases, it's not a bad thing. In the same way preschoolers must learn to play with others, recognize numbers and recite the alphabet, their i
Read More »Where's the manual? Protecting your baby's health in the first year
“Ed, he’s doing it again. What is that?” Our 4-month-old son was making a spontaneous, scary, sucking sound for the third time that day. As first-time parents, we were alarmed. We videotaped the mysterious behavior and dropped it off with our pediatrician. She called to reassure us that
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