Traveling to Europe soon with my 7 month old and 4 year old. Obviously the baby hasn't had his first MMR dose yet, but we're very pro-vaccines and concerned about exposure while traveling. Are there any (legitimate) documented downsides to the early dose? My understanding is he will still get his normal doses at 12m and 4 years.
I'll also just add that our 4 year old is immunocompromised so vaccines are extra important to us.
TIA!
We are going to have our 1st baby in August, and want to travel to see my grandmother who can't fly due her age, she will be so happy! But most important of all is our baby health
Our baby is adopted since birth, and is currently 5 months old. Baby was never breastfed, so there was never that connection to mom. Both parents are equal partners, 50-50 responsibility with child (feeding, changing diapers, entertaining, etc).
I’m the mom. I’ve noticed our baby doesn’t show any preference towards either parent if she’s happy or just needing regular feeding/ entertaining. But if she’s upset, for whatever reasons (skipping her nap, hungry, itchy teething), I’m the only one that can easily sooth her. Dad tries rocking, feeding, etc but baby keeps crying. But when I take over and do the same things, she calms down almost immediately.
She’s usually a very calm baby, and we don’t need to “fix” anything. I’m just curious to know if there’s any science based research that shows some sort of instinct where babies feel safer with women. I understand it when a mom is the main caregiver, but why is this the case even when parenting is 50-50.
I should also mention that baby does have a nanny during the day, and is a woman. Also, grandma comes over to visit and care for her from time to time, and there is no grandpa in the picture. Could it be that at an earlier age they just notice women as usual main caregivers?
I have saw some research recently, that currently, females (daughters) tend to be closer to their family and see them more as they become adults than males (sons) I.e spend holidays together, see grandkids more etc) curious what people’s thoughts are and if there is any other evidence on this? I have my own amateur opinion that this will change significantly in the future as males are significantly more involved in their childrens lives now then they were in past generations, therefore, sons and daughters will be equally close to their parents as adults.
I have been trying to advance my baby's from pureed foods. He does well with purees and fork smashed food with skin so I'd like to move onto the next step.
We tried to bread and toast but twice he coughed so much he ended up throwing up his whole meal.
What comes next? What is an in between food that might help him work on his chewing reflex? Any meals and tips are appreciated.
For context my baby is 7 months, almost 8. He is healthy and we have not come across any allergies.
I am deciding on when to end my maternity leave - at seven months of after, but no later than nine months.
Is there any research on when would be the best time to leave the baby and go back to working full time? When would it be easier for the baby?
Hi everyone!
Since becoming a parent (my son is now a toddler), I've realized there's an incredible amount of great information about child development out there.
The problem is that, like many busy parents, I rarely have the time to actually look for it.
Between work, family life, and everything else, I don't have the time or energy to spend half an hour researching a topic, reading long articles, and figuring out which sources I can trust. It's not that I don't want to learn more about my child—it's just hard to fit into an already busy day.
That made me wonder: what if learning about parenting became a small daily habit instead of something you only do when you have time?
So I built a small app for myself. Every day it delivers one short summary from evidence-based parenting articles. Each insight takes about a minute to read and includes a link to the original article if you want to dive deeper.
It's still in alpha, and I'd love to get feedback from other parents before I keep building it.
If this sounds like something you'd use, I'd really appreciate a few alpha testers. All I'm looking for is honest feedback—what you like, what you don't, and what you'd change.
If you're interested, leave a comment or send me a DM, and I'll send you the Android testing link.
Thanks so much!
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice, shared experiences, or just a bit of reassurance regarding my 2-month-old baby.
Recently, we noticed that when our baby cries, the lower lip on one side doesn't pull down, resulting in an asymmetrical facial expression. However, when the baby is resting or sleeping, the face is perfectly symmetrical, and both eyes close tightly without any issues when crying. Based on this, it seems to align perfectly with Asymmetric Crying Facies (ACF) caused by congenital missing/hypoplasia of the depressor anguli oris muscle, rather than a facial nerve palsy.
In addition to this, our baby was also diagnosed with Hydronephrosis on ultrasound and is currently on daily prophylactic antibiotics to prevent UTIs.
Because both the facial muscles and the kidneys originate from the mesoderm during embryonic development, I've been reading a lot about potential genetic links. My biggest concern right now is the possibility of 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome (like Cayler cardiofacial syndrome) or other genetic anomalies since these two structural issues are presenting together.
We are planning to discuss genetic testing (like a chromosomal microarray) with our pediatrician soon, but as a parent, the waiting and the "what ifs" are extremely stressful.
My questions for this community:
Has anyone here had a child with both ACF and Hydronephrosis (or other kidney/urinary issues)?
If your child had ACF (isolated or with other anomalies), did you pursue genetic testing? What were the results?
For those whose kids have ACF, how are they doing now as they grow up?
I know that rear facing as long as possible is best. We bought carseats that have extended rear facing support for that reason.
My kids are also both very short, but we're having a 3rd so we moved to a minivan. We didn't consider that it would still be really hard to strap the back row kids in, so we kind of want to switch the 4 year old to forward facing.
How much safer is it to rear face after 4? All the studies I found were up to age 4. Is it so bad if we switch him now?
Is there a developmental change at 5?
My son has always been a highly sensitive boy but man, the last 2 weeks or so have been incredibly hard. He’s suddenly exploding when he doesn’t get his way or if we say no to something. I’m talking screaming, swearing (thanks daycare) and kicking/hitting/throwing things. We always acknowledge his feelings or something along the lines of “I know you’re disappointed you can’t have xyz but you can do this instead”. I’ve tried so many techniques to help him regulate but nothing works. I’m actually ashamed by his behaviour because it feels like we might as well have just let him free rein most of his life with no consequences which is so far from the truth. He’s not doing it at school or daycare, just at home.
Edit: I successfully navigated the conversation and am changing his bed right now. Many thanks to all of you and sorry that this was not the right group for my question.
My son is 3.5 y/o and 38" tall. He still sleeps in a crib primarily due to my wife's fear that he will wander around at night and unlock the front door which he does know how to do if the baby lock is not on.
He just started using furniture around his crib to crawl out of his crib. For me, this was a clear signal he needed to be transitioned to a bed but my wife instead wanted me to just move the furniture. I thought this made things more dangerous as he would still try to climb out but would have less to use.
Sure enough, during nap today he started crying for us and he was sitting on top of the railing of his crib, trapped without a way down.
Unfortunately, my wife is still not ready to talk about putting him in a toddler bed. I am really upset by this situation and am trying to broach the subject without any doubt that the transition is the move. Ideally, i would use a gate for the door to his room.
Everything I have read says that once they are climbing out then the crib is done, my wife believes it is more about maturity.
Thanks for reading and I would love to hear any thoughts, especially if anyone thinks that I am off base on anything here.
Hi all -
Happy to post in the general thread too if this is too specific of a question but I was looking for information regarding the differences between EU standard and US standard for car seats? We are in the US but traveling to Europe for a month with our (will be) 18 month old.
We want to have the car seat on the plane with us, but we will be using both US based and EU based airlines and I know there are different regulations, as well as mainly using trains with the possibility of a handful of short trips in a car (to and from hotel).
Are the differences in car seat regulations to be concerned about? Is rear facing as regulated in the EU as the US/could she theoretically do front facing if she meets height/weight requirements even if she’s below the recommend age threshold?
Mainly looking for the regulatory guidance of EU standards and/or traveling guidance in Europe since most of it will be trains and planes.
I’m 7 months pregnant and looking for science-based books recommendations on parenting, especially oriented toward newborns and first few years! Any suggestions?
Editing to add some topics I’m specifically interested in learning more about from a science-based/developmental psychology perspective (and I may add to this list if I think of more):
- “Gentle parenting,”
- Montessori methods,
- screen time/social media exposure,
- sleep training,
- letting them believe in Santa,
- age appropriate concepts of consent/sexual safety
- development around gender norms/identity
- microplastics/chemicals exposures
I’m also interested in the the best all-around, general science-based parenting advice for a healthy, happy babe! 🙂
Future first time mom. How concerned should I be about finding a travel system that is flame retardant free? I’m shopping on a budget, but I’m also willing to spend a little bit more/buy a stroller secondhand if flame retardant are a genuine concern
I am overthinking everything atm and would like to ask for some guidance about infections and guidelines and recommendations.
My baby is now 9 weeks old and still not fully vaccinated and I am wondering if we need to avoid certain events or gatherings. Is it ok for other people to hold my baby? Is it ok for my baby to be around other babies? Is it ok for him to be around toddlers who go to a kindergarten? What about diseases that don't have vaccines,? You can see I am overthinking every step and the Internet is full of different advice which confuses me even more so I would appreciate some scientific advice.
I'm a developmental researcher and I just published a framework arguing that "keeping kids safe" and "caring for kids" have quietly come apart — and that the gap explains the anxiety paradox.
Kids are safer than ever by every objective measure and more anxious than ever. The usual suspects (screens, helicopter parenting) get named vaguely. I think the mechanism is specific: shielding a child from difficulty and helping a child through difficulty are different acts, and we've been treating the first as if it were the second.
The evidence points to an interaction, not a main effect. Overprotection predicts anxiety and low distress tolerance; unsupported adversity predicts the ACEs outcomes. But the same hard experience — a death, an exclusion, a failure — lands completely differently depending on whether an attuned adult helps the child process it. Support and exposure are independent, and the interaction is the whole story.
Paper linked in a comment. I'd genuinely rather hear where this fails than where it lands — populations it doesn't fit, mechanisms I'm missing.
edit: I apologize for the paywall after intro, I did not realize it was a limited view. Wish I could afford to have made it open source.
Hi everyone!
My 3 month old has eczema for which I've seen a paed for. I queried whether a food allergy like CMPI may be contributing, and he has told me there is 'no direct link' between food allergies and eczema.
There seems to be some conflicting evidence on this and I wanted to know what others thought on this?
I live in Alberta Canada where we just had an extremely rainy month which has led to a massive rise In mosquito population (swarms of them!). I also have a seven week old baby who I want to be able to take outside for walks. He rides in his bassinet which I have covered with a mosquito net and have a fan blowing across the opening to prevent them from getting him. I usually only walk him when he’s asleep, however he sometimes wakes up mid walk and needs to be held for a bit to settle back down.
My question is: can I wear DEET or Picardin bug spray on my own body and/ or clothes and still pick him up and hold him? To be clear; I would not spray on him or his clothes. I would not spray near him at all. Everything I’ve read about bug spray and kids is about 6+ and I’m worried about exposing him when he’s so young.
Thanks in advance for any responses!
Edited for a typo.
Edited to remove flair bc comments are getting deleted!
So once you start solids you introduce allergens slowly one by one, and once youve introduced them you keep them in babies diet couple times a week so they get continual exposure. Got that bit.
But when can i stop exposing her to them? For baby to still retain the allergen okay-ness?
If by a year she is eating what we eat...we dont eat much fish, we dont eat nuts as my husband is allergic, we dont eat shrimp or lentils... do i cook separate meals forever, or is there a time point when a childs body is like, okay we got this.