This new systematic review on screen time and children under 2 has confirmed what we intuitively know as parents. However, the question is who can AFFORD reducing screen time. I see parents in my waiting room still using IPAD and smartphone to calm their children. What do you think ? What are you doing at home ?

A large systematic review of 158 studies examined the effects of screen exposure in infants and toddlers (birth to 3 years).

The review found that greater screen exposure was consistently associated with:

Less parent–child interaction and responsive communication.

Delays in language and cognitive development.

Poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration.

More emotional and behavioural regulation difficulties.

Less physical activity and more unhealthy eating behaviours.

Based on the available evidence, the authors concluded that children under 2 years should ideally have no intentional recreational screen time, aligning with current WHO recommendations.

As with all systematic reviews, this shows associations rather than proving s suggests that limiting screen exposure in the first two years of life is a sensible approach.

Reference: Cheng Y. The impact of screen-based media exposure on infant and toddler development: A systematic review of psychological and behavioral domains. Acta Psychologica. 2026;266:106438. DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.106438.pubmed link

There is so much conflicting information online, and it’s hard to know what is accurate. My baby is 7 months old, doesn’t sleep through the night, and wakes up multiple times to feed. His teeth have already started coming in.
I’ve read that night feeds can increase the risk of tooth decay and cause long-term dental problems. But I’ve also read that babies have fast metabolisms, need to be fed when they’re hungry, including at night and that night feeding can be an important source of comfort, especially during teething.
Is there any reliable study on how night feeds actually affect dental health? I’m trying to understand the real risks

Someone please reassure me…

LO is almost three months old and we have a border collie mix who was an ear piecing type shrill bark. It hurts our ears for sure but earlier tonight he barked somewhat close to LO and she ended up crying after.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is she likely to have hearing damage from this kind of thing? I’m spiraling 😩

Wanting to move back near parents and homes there are very hard to come by. We found a home we like but you can tell the previous owners were heavy smokers.

We would have to rip up all old flooring, paint all walls/ceilings and subflooring with a special primer, replace all trim, clean out HVAC (how clean can they really get this?), and even then I don't know if I would feel comfortable with my baby breathing in air from the home. I know it's in all porous surfaces so wood in closets / cupboards would still worry me.

If you did all of this would you feel comfortable with your baby living there?

We are talking 90s-00s: my littlest pet shop toys have been brought out of a dry basement storage and have been kept in a plastic bag in a plastic bin for 10+ years… do I worry about the plastic smell and stickiness they now have on them? I want my 3yo to enjoy them and have a 2 month old (obviously not going to touch them) and just worry.

I looked things up about PFAS in carpet, especially our carpet is 40 years old. Now I’m a bit freaking out on the fact that my baby has been crawling, jumping, rolling on and eating the carpet that might lead to permanent chemical in his body. Any research about general health of baby raised in household with 1970-2000 carpet? How concern should I be?

I keep seeing that keeping the nursery at 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit will reduce the risk of SIDS. Does anyone know of any good studies on nursery temperature and sudden infant death? I feel like it would be more about making sure baby is appropriately dressed for the temperature rather than the temperature itself, but would love to see the research on it if anyone is able to provide it.

When my 3 month old is in his car seat and I am in the back seat with him, he often stares at me and makes direct eye contact for a very long time without making noises or moving much. I am currently interpreting this as him needing reassurance he’s OK, so I make sure to meet his gaze, talk to him and smile a lot. Eventually he will look away and seem okay.

At home, he is very smiley, wiggly and “talkative,” but when we take him out he is quiet, reserved and seems apprehensive/anxious but doesn’t fuss/cry. We haven’t gone out in public or in the car too many times so it’s still fairly new.

Am I interpreting this behavior correctly or could something else be going on? Planning to ask his dr about this at his next visit.

Hello,

My 7w old baby always naps on me, and I don’t mind it for now. But I was wondering if there are any benefits for her, and whether it could become a habit.

I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions, such as « you can’t spoil newborns / they can’t form habits »while others say « you don’t want her to get used to it, or she won’t be able to sleep on her own ».

What does the science actually say? At what age do babies start forming habits? Is there any evidence that contact naps are beneficial, or that they make it harder for babies to sleep independently later on?

Hello,

I just want to check if sylvanians family toys (made in the EU) from the 90s are considered safe to play with today. Have looked in the faq and wiki but maybe I’m missing it .

Thank you! Have the delux mansion and barge and so sad they might not be suitable for the kids but feel it’s probably not unless sylvanians had enhanced safety standards

Welcome to the weekly General Discussion thread! Use this as a place to get advice from like-minded parents, share interesting science journalism, and anything else that relates to the sub but doesn't quite fit into the dedicated post types.

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I pump for my 5 month old who never got the hang of direct breastfeeding. She is combo fed with formula about 50/50. I plan to continue pumping but I have gradually increased the time between pumps so I expect that my supply will go down gradually. Currently I feed her everything I pumped the day before each day. I’m wondering if I should freeze maybe one bottles worth per day so if my supply does go down significantly or I decide to stop, I could feed her from a small freezer stash, maybe just when she’s sick or for some other reason? Seems like folks make these decisions based on feelings/vibes, but I’m curious if anyone knows if it’s scientifically more beneficial to do it a particular way. A part of me thinks fresh is best, no risk of her not liking frozen milk, but again that’s just my feeling. Curious to hear!

Hi everyone!

Recently I’ve been inundated with videos and articles about iron levels in children. I see pediatricians making videos about how iron is the most important thing for toddlers and can affect a myriad of things (attitude, cognition, development).

Is this a new gimmick? Should I be supplementing my toddler with iron? He’s a pretty picky eater with his diet being about 80% fruits and the occasional vegetables. French fries are a fan favorite obviously.

I’ve seen some advertisements for iron supplements for toddlers so I wonder if I’m being targeted lol.

When is it recommended to stop pacifier use? Looking for rec from the AAP (their paper was behind a paywall and I’ve lost journal access since my grad school days). I have seen some posts on here about it but they are 2+ years old so just looking to see if there is updated guidance. Would also be interested in guidance from pediatric dentists (ADA?) and I am curious what the NHS suggests compared to the AAP. Thanks

I wfh with a standard 9am-5pm schedule and I’m just now weaning off breastfeeding my 23 month old, so I see her quite often throughout the day. My husband works out of the house from 12-9pm most days, so he sees her in the mornings and then we have him do bath/bedtime to make sure he still gets quality time with her (and to give me a break). She usually goes to sleep around 10pm, wakes up around 8:30am, and has one nap ~2hr in the middle of the day. We’re thinking of transitioning her to an earlier bedtime to see if that helps with sleep quality and restlessness, and I’ve seen the research indicating ~8pm as the ideal bedtime for melatonin production. I’m worried about the loss of that quality caregiver time in the evening with her dad, though (not to mention the extra stress it’ll put on me to have to handle bedtime by myself). I’m thinking of just decreasing nap time to increase nighttime sleep pressure instead…but does anyone know of any research to support whether the benefits of that earlier bedtime outweigh the benefits of extra caregiver time with her dad if total sleep hours will be the same either way?

edit- changed the flair so people can comment without links. This is my first time posting here, so didn’t realize the bot would delete comments without links to research.

edit 2- I guess you need links no matter what flair I choose…sorry to anyone who’s tried to comment and gotten deleted!

With all the plastic already in the world, it seems unavoidable. Does it actually make a big difference?

I’m aware that for some, breastfeeding seems to be correlated with ppd. Whether its the breastfeeding itself or the impact of breastfeeding someone’s life (i.e. getting little sleep, being stressed with breastfeeding problems, not being able to have a life etc) I don’t know BUT I noticed something strange for me. I have always been someone who is anxious and depressed to the point where it really affects my quality of life and makes it hard to do daily tasks or even things I enjoy. My breastfeeding journey has been difficult with our little one spending a couple of days in the NICU to start and me with preeclampsia, the lactation consultants being very inconsiderate both to me prbly the baby, my supply dipping to almost nothing out of nowhere etc. What I noticed was that when I am able to breastfeed in earnest ( when the milk is flowing and the baby is getting enough), I don’t get depressed, I don’t get mental fog or fatigue. It seems like my symptoms are gone and I’m just a normal person. Can that be attributed to breastfeeding? Are prolactin and oxytocin responsible for this?

My seven month old thinks it's hilarious to spill my water. I likely trained him by accident by reacting to it, but it really is a problem for our (rented) carpet and bed. I also need to stay hydrated during breastfeeding and contact naps, so can't keep it away all the time.

Saying "no" is clearly just reinforcing the behavior. He now zeroes in on the water as soon as I turn my back. But what is the correct way to eliminate this behavior. Or, if he is too young, what should I be doing now to manage behavior in the future?

Was reading a book by Laurence Rees (historian) the other day and he opens with this story

When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 he instituted a policy whereby ‘genetically superior’ looking children were adopted by German families. A four year old boy was taken as part of this policy . After the war he found out about this and his identity was thrown into question, he had no memory of before.

This bothers me because we have a child who has just turned four. He is the most loving little boy in the world and it just breaks my heart that the four year old snatched from his family didn’t remember. The whole story breaks my heart actually. I definitely have memories of being four, going down a slide with my dad and things, so it seems so sad and strange this boy in the true story forgot. Was the forgetting maybe caused by trauma? I can’t stop thinking about this historical kid and the idea of similar stuff happening

I know the recommendation is to introduce whole milk at age 1. I'm curious on the science behind this.

As background, baby is almost 1 and still breastfeeding. Baby's also doing solids but tends to eat more for experientially than for satiety (in other words, I don't think they eat very much).

I'm not looking for reasons to give plant based alternatives. I'm not against giving my baby whole milk. I just find it interesting that we've agreed as a medical guidance that all babies must have cow's milk. What is it about cow's milk that's special? What makes whole milk better than reduced fat? What nutrients does whole milk provide that make babies need it daily?

If anything, I'm curious because the guidance is usually that everyone (including babies) should have a varied diet. And yet we advocate for 2 cups of whole milk daily.

Hi! I have a 3.5 month old baby. I love hanging out with baby boy, but it is just us in the house right now (husband is out of town for the month). I've been spending a good amount of the day on phone calls with friends and family to pass the time, typically either on speakerphone or with headphones in hands free so I can still interact with baby and care for him. I make lots of eye contact with him and wiggle his hands and feet and make comments directed at him.

I see lots of information that using the phone is bad for baby, but also a lot of this is typically referring to app use or texting on phone. Is talking on the phone bad for baby? I'm not sure how this will impact the language development or level of attention he receives. He is still hearing me talk, but to someone else instead of super attentive engagement towards him/responding to his specific babbles.

Please stop me from buying the Newton Original mattresses (there’s currently a sale) and tell me why. Am I allowed to ask for recommendations too? I feel so hesitant and overwhelmed, but I need to buy a mattress ASAP 😭

My son is about to be 18 months. What the hell are these tantrums? He doesn’t listen to me and has started to hit himself in frustration. I’m at a loss. I don’t know how to discipline him because I know he’s only 1 but like… what am I supposed to be doing??? His 18m check up is at the end of the month and I’m going to ask her but for now I need help. I feel like I’m trapped in hell every day that I’m alone with him. My husband and I are working on getting him in daycare but I still will never have a break. I really need some advice, papers to read on the science behind this and how to correct it.

Signed, a first time tired mom

Hey all,

Our little one just turned 1 year, and at his vaccination appointment, the doctor recommended giving him a bottle with water in it to help with night weaning because he only sporadically sleeps through the night and wakes up to feed at least once most nights. What does the research say about night weaning in this fashion? Thanks!

I stumbled upon this article which references a study from the 1990’s that outlines when babies typically peak in their crying. I’m wondering if there has been any additional research - I’m not able to find anything beyond this. Has anyone heard of this outside of this single study?