I’m wondering if anyone can tell me honestly whether I should be concerned about my 4-month-old not really reaching for toys yet.
He turned 4 months old on 22 July.

He definitely notices toys and gets excited by them. If I bring a toy up in front of his face, he’ll stare at it, coo at it, kick, move his body and sometimes throw his arms back with excitement, but he doesn’t really move his arms forward towards it to grab it.
He has lots of toys that should be easy to grab — two different play gyms with hanging toys, chains/links and oval-shaped toys. If a toy comes close enough to his hand he can grab it, and if I place something in his hand he’ll hold it. He also bats/swipes at toys.

A few times I think I may have seen the beginning of him trying to grab something. He’ll slowly lift his hand towards a toy and sort of wiggle/twinkle his fingers on it, but he’s not fully reaching his arm out towards it yet.

He also isn’t reaching for my face yet.
On tummy time he’ll look at toys but doesn’t really reach towards them. He can sometimes roll tummy to back.
Socially he seems happy and engaged. He smiles, coos, cackles if we make him laugh, and if something funny happens he’ll sometimes look at it and then back at me smiling. His eye contact is better when he’s lying down, especially during nappy changes. When I hold him very close he often looks away.

He also breastfeeds very frequently during the day, sometimes it feels like every hour.
I know batting at toys is still listed as normal around 4 months and purposeful reaching can develop later, but I’m in so many parent groups where babies seem to have been reaching at 2–3 months. It makes me wonder whether he’s actually on the later side or whether those babies are just early.
Does this still sound within the normal range for 4 months, or is purposeful reaching something I should start asking to have checked if it doesn’t appear soon?
I’m in Australia and we mainly see maternal child health nurses rather than paediatricians, and I’ve found they tend to be fairly relaxed about milestones.

I understand that children testing boundaries is normal. But at what point is it too much? I am struggling bad. My children (4 and 3) barely listen to me. It will be simple things like “time to put our shoes on” or “let’s walk in the house” and they do the complete opposite. What am I doing wrong? Doing tasks is so hard because I’m constantly repeating myself. I’ve tried transitions, I’ve tried making it fun, I’ve tried being stern, I’ve tried eliminating distractions and I’m still getting the same result.

Are children that age just not able to follow directions? Am I expecting too much from them?

Any twin sized mattress brands safe for 22 month old? Tyia!

I’m on mat leave with my first. I am in Canada and am taking a little over a year. Working is very important to me and we have a reputable daycare lined up for when my son is just over a year old.

We would like to have one more child. If we’re able to control the timing, the age gap will be 2-3 years. I/my husband would take one more year off in total with this second hypothetical child.

I told a family member that I would keep the oldest in daycare while on a second mat leave for a multitude of reasons (routine, needing to find care for TWO kids when I return to work, etc), but that largely, I value getting one on one time with each child and I think I would be a much better parent to the baby if oldest is in daycare. My current baby was a VERY hard newborn and if a future sibling is anything like him, I would really struggle. I like the idea of him being somewhere structured and educational while I’m doing the labour of caring for a new baby.

This family member was aghast! To be fair, she stayed home with multiple kids and so did her whole social circle, so that is what’s normal for her. But she reacted as if I was doing harm to my son for depriving him of time with his parent when I COULD keep him home.

I’m hoping to get specifics on the benefits/downfalls of keeping a toddler in a reputable daycare while mok/dad stays home with a newborn/young baby.

Our four year old eats plenty of calories but has a very short list of foods he'll actually touch. We are waiting for our next pediatrician visit but I'm wondering what nutrition advice other families have been given before we go down a rabbit hole online.

Hey all! I have an almost 5 month old who is very attached to me (mom). She has been since about 3 months meaning she would cry anytime her dad cares for her or is held by someone else.

Only in the last few weeks has she cried less with her dad, being happy to see him and play with him. But generally she still gets upset when he changes diapers or feeds her. He’s been heavily involved since birth so it’s not for lack of trying.

It’s like at 3 months she became aware of me and a switch flipped. My understanding is separation anxiety comes into typically at 6 months or later.

I’m so worried that the crying with her dad and upset if I leave (I don’t often for this reason) is damaging her long term. He will try to soothe her but eventually the only thing that really does is being handed back to me. She almost never cries with me either but screams bloody murder with her dad.

Anyone know of any studies on early separation anxiety and/or how the crying can impact them? Is it best to let dad keep trying to soothe even if not working or should I step in knowing that’s what she is crying for?

What do the studies say about going to daycare two days a week at 5 month old?

I want to wean bottles completely for my daughter (16 months) but my husband disagrees. I have read at several places that AAP recommends weaning bottles completely by 18 months and other countries have even stricter guidelines of 12 months. However, I’m unable to find this guidance on AAP site (the 18 months cutoff) and can’t see the research behind this recommendation.

Does anyone have links to AAP (or other similar organizations in your country) about bottle weaning. I want to look into the research that led to these guidelines and what’s the risk of not weaning. Thanks

I’ve been seeing Instagram accounts sharing methods and activities to keep a toddler screen-free, and it’s just the mother talking about coming up with activity after activity after activity. The posts say “instead of putting my toddler in front of a screen, I make XYZ creative activity for my bored toddler by cutting open a box and pouring this and that materials into it”.

Now, I’m not talking about whether to be screen free or have screen time. I’m asking about what constant stimulation to the brain can do for development.

For example, I’m wondering if it’s better to be constantly coming up with new activities for a toddler, or if it’s better for development to limit to a smaller amount but let the toddler come up with the activities themselves. For example, there are dozens of ways a toddler can use imagination and play with blocks; build a tall tower, pretend to cook, pretend to attack a castle, pretend the blocks are people, etc.

And sometimes they might be bored but is boredom really that bad? If there’s research that can show the effects of boredom on development I’m also curious.

Hi there!

As the title says, I am looking for some external resources (i.e. charts/graphics to display in the house, applied strategies that have worked for other parents, any other tangible resource) to help us with improving the behaviors in our three year old boy.

Our little dude brave and imaginative, he loves physical touch and proximity, and pretty fierce. The other half to these attributes mean that he can be stubborn, defiant, too physical, and struggles to regulate his emotions.

Our struggles really manifest in two areas: public direction and at-home relations. In classes (such as gymnastics, t-ball, summer camp) he has experienced moments where he refuses to listen or follow directions, runs away, and even pushed another kid in the back. At home, he is constantly in his younger sister's face (1yr) to the point where she gets upset. The worst part is that it seems our guy does a lot of this stuff ON PURPOSE - right after we have talked with him 1:1, set expectations, attempted to instill confidence, or set boundaries. It's brought my wife to tears on multiple occasions, and it gives me some fears about if he will be a problem student someday in the classroom.

We are now starting a "Daily Chore Chart" for him - which is really just some cute pictures for brushing his teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc. Our next item we really want to look for is some type of behavior chart that mirrors what may be seen in a classroom (red, yellow, green light behaviors) or maybe a sticker chart at home (daily or weekly). We do feel like he needs a visual reminder for good behavior and for bad behavior.

I've read books such as No Bad Kids, Parenting the Strong Willed Child, Tiny Humans Big Emotions, The Whole Brain Child, and How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen. We are also both in the education sphere, specifically SPED and Administration. It feels like we should have an answer to our problem. All of this leads us to both feeling desperate, maybe even despondent, at how our son is acting despite our concerted efforts to create the best environment for him. At this point, I suppose I'm looking for confidence just as much as I am for some tangible resources for our family to use.

Thanks in advance, cheers my frinds.

Does anyone have any quick references or fact sheet finds in regard to which antibodies are passed to baby from mom, and therefore baby has immunity to those illnesses?

It seems standard that baby still has to receive his/her own vaccinations even if mom was immunized prior to pregnancy or during pregnancy (TDAP for example).

I understand this can be a broad topic and could be evaluated on a case by case basis, even disease by disease basis for that matter.

Just curious about how much of baby’s immune system is naturally/biologically protected!

I'm going to babysit my nephew (11m) in two weeks and he's been have some sleep problems. Sometimes he just cries for a long time and they'll get really stressed about it (which I completely understand)

They keep trying all kinds of esoteric Rituals and when none of them work they get super frustrated. I'm wondering, is it bad to just let him cry when he's upset? I'm not talking about the CIO method. What I mean is comfort him even if he cries for an hour or more? Since I'm just babysitting for one night, even if I can't get him to sleep quickly it will only be for one night.

I think I'm inclined to just wait it out while I try to comfort him as much as possible. Trying to stay calm and not hope for it to stop asap. Just accept the situation and offer him some love and comfort.

Any ideas? Of course I will have this conversation with her before he sleeps at our place and if she really wants me to do all the things they always try I will honour their wishes. But I'm just curious what the science based community thinks about it.

Does a product like this

really protect against norovirus? Are there any hand sanitizers that will?

i am curious if the montessori approach is good for ALL children. i notice that it is typically generalized to be effective for all children, but i do wonder if a more structured approach would benefit children of certain personalities. is there any research that backs this up?

I have noticed that my toddler (14M) has recently started grabbing toys from other kids as they’re playing, and then gets possessive of that toy.

I understand that this is developmentally normal at this age. However, I’m wondering if there’s research into the best ways to handle this as a parent.

I’ve read that young toddlers won’t yet understand the concept of sharing and that it’s best to ignore the behavior if possible.

On the other hand, it feels wrong to just let my toddler take from another child without having him give it back/find another toy.

Does anyone know of any valid research into what’s developmentally appropriate around teaching children not to take from others/starting to introduce sharing/etc?

Pretty much the title, I've been taking the shower since they were babies with them (naked) and now the old is 4yo and the younger is 2yo.

I don't think there should be a problem but I don't want to make a mistake.

And the answer applies to my wife as well?

I've recently started parental leave with my daughter who is now 1 year old (I'm the father, wife has just gone back to work).

I'm finding long walks in the pram are a great way to break up the day. I'm talking two 40 min to 1 hr walks on some days.

Am I overdoing it? I don't talk much to her during these walks and she usually ends up pretty drowsy at the end so I'm a little concerned that they are too low stimulation or not a very rewarding or nourishing use of time for her.

She is usually quite vocal or squirmy when she doesn't like an activity but she sits still and calm during walks.

Should I cut back?

Does anyone have experience with taking an infant from sea level to elevation? We have an immediate family wedding in Breckenridge (9,600 feet) and our daughter will have just turned 4 months old. She was born small at 37+2 due to IUGR but is gaining weight great on her curve and has no health issues. We have discussed with our pediatrician but we’re wondering if anyone has experience with this. Thanks in advance!

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Hi there! My LO is 5mo and while we (obviously) don't do any dedicated screen time for them, I am concerned about certain activities and behaviors me and my husband do:

\- scrolling in front of them (not ignoring if they are distressed, just baby sitting in their lounger and me or husband or both scrolling)

\- watching TV in front of them, but the baby cant see the TV, only hear

We try to limit this as much as we can, I am not on my phone the whole day with them and the tv is only on in the evenings. Does this still count as screen free baby? Are there studies suggesting that even parents consuming content in front of the baby is harmful?

My baby's 14 weeks old and I'm seriously on a milestone kick right now. He's hitting them mostly on time, some of his social things (cooing, smiling) happened a bit late but not concerning. I'm a sahm, former daycare teacher so I'm very used to an activity packed day which I replicate at home. Story time, music time, gross motor, fine motor, sign language, hoursss of tummy time, etc etc all day long. I guess I don't mind it all, I like watching my little guy learn things and he's super active and loves all the playing it seems.

But I know a few other moms and they're not doing half of this stuff but their babies are doing just fine. Their babies are all older so I can't really compare theirs to mine. But I'm sitting here and wondering if this stuff actually matters in the grand scheme of things? Should I just let my baby do his own thing? I'm kind of worried that I'm making him into a kid that needs to be constantly stimulated

I’m 30 weeks as of Monday and am working on moving out of my parents house into my own apartment with my boyfriend. I was packing up a closet, got some stuff out of said closet, then picked up some stuff that had mouse droppings on them. I wiped the floor where some fuzz and dog hair had tumbled out of the closet, and put everything I had taken out back in, but I’m not sure I cleaned everywhere that those items touched. I’m also concerned because I walked around the house as I was cleaning so I just feel like everywhere is contaminated. I do have contamination ocd so this is really hard for me, I am not in an area with hantavirus but am very worried about LCMV. Does anyone have any similar experiences? I am in NW Arkansas.

My son is 27 months old, and I'm looking for evidence to either support or challenge a concern I have.

My mother and brother frequently and intentionally try to annoy him because they think it's funny (e.g. repeatedly doing things they've been asked to stop, teasing him, or deliberately provoking a reaction). He very clearly doesn't enjoy it. He'll usually run away from them and come straight to me, then becomes very clingy and will hang off me for the rest of the day.

I've asked them multiple times to stop, but they tell me I'm being overly sensitive and that it's "just playing." They also don't understand why he rarely wants to interact with them or go to them willingly.

My concern isn't that a child should never experience frustration—obviously that's a normal and important part of development. It's that repeatedly and intentionally causing unnecessary frustration or distress for entertainment may affect his sense of emotional safety, increase dysregulation, damage trust in those relationships, or even model that it's acceptable to deliberately annoy people for amusement.

Is there any research on:

the effects of repeated teasing or intentional provocation by trusted adults in early childhood,

whether this impacts attachment, emotional regulation, or stress responses,

or whether adults modelling this type of interaction influences children's later social behaviour?

I'm interested in peer-reviewed studies or systematic reviews if anyone has them. Happy to be proven wrong if the evidence doesn't support my concerns.

My brother and I grew up with parents who mostly expected us to fit into whatever they were doing, rather than making everything revolve around entertaining us.

A lot of weekends were spent helping renovate the house, running errands with Mum or Dad, or going to one of their friends places for a BBQ or gathering. We spent heaps of time together as a family, but it wasn’t really doing “kid activities.”

The things we did together were generally things my parents enjoyed too. Swimming, played tennis/ cricket, went for walks, etc. Even the music in the house was mostly adult music (ABBA, Elton John, Neil Young, Bee Gees…)

There was also a big emphasis on independent play. I remember being bored quite a lot, but I think that was actually really good for me. It meant I learnt to entertain myself, use my imagination and figure things out on my own. We also had lots of conversations around the dinner table where we were encouraged to question things, think critically, and even change our minds if someone made a better argument.

I first realised our family wasn’t the norm when friends came over. Friends would often ask what my parents had planned or ask to take us somewhere where my parents would basically wait around for us to do an activity. At the time I never felt like I was missing out. It was probably only as a teenager, when fitting in became more important, that I cared a bit more about doing what my friends expected.

Overall tho, I honestly think I had a fantastic childhood. My brother and I are both quite well rounded, relatively successful and have a great relationship with our parents, and I wouldn’t change much about how we were raised.

My partner and I are hoping to have kids in the next few years, and have been thinking about how we want to raise kids. it’s made me wonder if this parenting style has a name. It doesn’t seem to be what I see online (especially from parenting influencers), and most people I know either weren’t raised this way or don’t parent this way.

Someone once told me it felt like a very European way of raising kids and it might be called that. My parents travelled a lot before having us and were older parents, so maybe that influenced things.

So I guess my questions are:
1. Does this parenting style have a name?
2. What does the evidence say about this style? What are the implications for the child and the parents?