Gwen Dewar , Ph.D. 
Nail-biting is a common behavior among children, with around 50% doing it. While most children stop on their own, some may continue to bite their nails, which can lead to bacterial infections and permanent nail damage. Here are ten tips to help stop your toddler’s nail-biting habit: Trimming your child’s nails regularly can help prevent … Read more about Nail-Biting Toddlers: 10 Tips to Help Break the Habit
Flying with small children can be a daunting experience, especially during peak travel seasons. The thought of being stuck in a confined space with no escape can cause many parents to break out in a cold sweat. However, fear not! With a little preparation, you can keep your kids entertained and avoid major meltdowns. Here … Read more about 19 Expert-Approved Tricks to Keep Kids Calm & Happy During Flights
Congratulations on the birth of your new baby! Whether this is your first baby or your fifth, you will find this a time of recovery, adjustment, sometimes confusion and frustration, but—most wonderfully—of falling in love. Babies younger than four months old have very different sleep needs than older babies. Once you learn your newborn baby’s … Read more about Newborns and Sleep: Understanding Sleeping Patterns
A recent trip to Florida did more than force me back into a bathing suit. Traveling with my five-month-old required me to face an even bigger fear: altering his daily routine. At first I resisted, fearing that the slightest deviation would result in chaos. While our friends sunned themselves by the pool and strolled on … Read more about Real World Routines: How to Balance Routine and Spontaneity
My mother always said that the best parents are “lazy” parents. Her theory, as I understood it, was that these parents don’t jump up every time their kids need something so that children learn to entertain themselves, enjoy themselves, and become more independent. In couples, lazy parents, theoretically, have more time for each other because … Read more about Lazy Parents Have Happier Kids
Becoming a parent is an experience fraught with emotion. It’s common for new parents to be blissfully happy and joyous at the birth of their baby one moment and experience an overwhelming sense of responsibility—and sometimes downright fear to do right by this new life—in the next. Unfortunately, as noble as your intentions undoubtedly are, … Read more about 6 Tips on Dealing with Maternal Separation Anxiety
The most common medical concern for parents of 1-month-old babies. I have to admit, I didn’t enjoy my three children’s early infancies as much as I should have. Colic, gas, neurologic immaturity … there are lots of explanations, but the problem was simple—infant crying. As a new parent, it is easy to feel frustrated, angry, … Read more about Month 1 Worry: Is It OK to Let My Infant Cry?
For a dad-to-be, labor and delivery are unfamiliar territory; yet there are many opportunities for a man to become an important part of his family’s birth experience by coaching the laboring mom and offering support. A few decades ago, the role of the father during childbirth often amounted to smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes and … Read more about Stepping Up: A Man’s Guide to Birth Coaching
Giving birth is a lot like running a race: it takes preparation of mind and body. By eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep, you can tone and prep yourself for the childbirth experience. My husband was a long-distance runner in high school. He spent his teen years training, eating and sleeping well, and teaching … Read more about 7 Tips to Prepare You for the Marathon of Labor
Pregnancy hormones are to blame for myriad physical and emotional pregnancy symptoms, ranging from morning sickness to unexplainable mood swings. Understanding what’s taking place with your body can help you gain the upper hand. Pregnancy is apt to turn any formerly sane and seemingly competent women into a rather unpredictable creature; and with good reason! … Read more about Calming the Storm: Understanding Your Pregnancy Hormones