I gently pulled my kid’s glistening, golden booger-topped finger away from his mouth. Grimacing, I pleaded for him to stop. He giggled , but the second my hand left his arm, he popped the snot-crowned finger between his lips.“Gross, dude!” I exclaimed, exasperated.I told him he had to stop, but had a realization as the words passed my lips: I didn’t know if that was true in a medical sense. The truth was that I wanted him to stop because every time I caught the two placidly munching mucus, I was flooded with a wave of disgust and anxiety. However, I had to admit I lacked a scientific reason to be concerned by this behavior — aside from its potential to...
Keeping a toddler safe on the playground is more of an art than science. Some parents hover and chase, others have rules, others let them “build character” with a few scrapes and falls. In other words, principles of parenting on the playground are usually arbitrary, based on gut feeling rather than sound science. So what does the science say about kids falling? The science is clear on one thing: It happens. Some 2.8 million emergency room visits due to kids falling every year and 38 percent, or more than a third of all fall-related injuries, happen to those ages 4 and under, with some 45 percent of the visits being for serious stuff like fractures and dislocations. Dig into these...
Thanks to our guide sponsors: Superpower of the Song, Inspire’s Call of the Wild Camp, Le Camp D’Été from Ecole Bilingue, and KidzToPros STEM, Arts & Sports Summer Camps. If you’ve been trying to find an in-person summer camp option for July 2022, our sponsors are some wonderful and diverse options to consider. Superpower of the Song: Intro to Piano, Songwriting, & Video Game Composing for grades 2 to 12 throughout July in Oakland. Inspire’s Call of the Wild Camp: Weeklong sessions of nature-based camp for grades K to 5 throughout July in Berkeley and Oakland. Le Camp D’Été from Ecole Bilingue: Two-week sessions of French immersion camp for grades 1 to 6 throughout July in South Berkeley. No prior...
It’s normal to be afraid of dangers that have long plagued humankind, from heights and falling to snakes and spiders. Evolution would suggest that perhaps babies are born with fear to urge extra caution around these threats. After all, you don’t want a baby playing with potentially poisonous spiders or leaping off a changing table. But recent research in this classic nature vs. nurture debate suggests that it’s actually more likely that babies are born fearless. Instead of popping out with terror already hardwired into their brains, they quickly learn when to be scared, says David Rakison, an associate professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University who researches early infant development.Evolution has primed babies to learn certain fears very quickly...
The best pacifiers can be sanity savers for parents, helping babies learn to self-soothe and fall asleep faster. But the decision on whether or not to give your baby a pacifier is often hotly debated (sometimes even within the same family). But we’re assuming if you’re reading this, you’ve landed on Team Paci, which by the way, isn’t a bad place to be (some experts think they may even decrease SIDS risk). But it’s important to know how and when to introduce a pacifier — and how to choose the best, safest pacifiers for children of different ages. To prevent a baby from getting the whole pacifier into her mouth, choose a style that has at least an inch and...
