Are you sick of battling your children in hopes they will happily do their chores while beds remain unmade and toys seem to rule your living room floor? Have those midnight walks to the kitchen become treacherous journeys complete with landmines and hidden traps? If so, I’m here to help. I have created, with time [...]

What are America’s favorite baby names? Not the top names on the Social Security list, not even Nameberry’s own favorites, but the most well-liked names chosen by popular opinion. Recently we collaborated with Huffington Post Parents to create a brackets challenge, asking readers to vote for America’s favorite baby name. We picked the 16 contenders [...]

APTOS, CALIF. – Cece Pinheiro, who runs the Special Parents Information Network, was ecstatic. “This is the largest donation SPIN has ever received,” she said, beaming over a $10,000 gift. Devon Dabbs, co-founder of Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition, got the same gift: $10,000. So did Ann Carney Pomper, who runs Hospice of Santa [...]

An early symptom of autism might be found in a baby’s gaze, researchers reported Thursday. Diagnosing autism as early as possible is of critical importance. Studies show the earlier therapy begins, the more likely the child can overcome the deficits linked to the brain disorder. The new study, published online in the journal Current Biology, [...]

A month after Anabella and Matteus Potter were born in 2009, their parents, Adriana and Robert, agreed to disagree on what to do with two other embryos created in the same petri dish as their twins. Grateful for the in vitro fertilization that enabled the Elmhurst, Ill., couple to become parents, Adriana Potter, 38, believed [...]

Children’s health advocates are calling on state legislatures to ban flame retardants in baby’s products after testing found the toxic chemicals in 85 percent of items it tested. The toxic retardants were found in nursing pillows, car seats and other popular baby products, according to a report released Monday by Maryland PIRG and Washington Toxics [...]

The recent news of three Chicago-area children fatally crushed by falling TVs has rippled far beyond their communities to help reignite the debate on TV safety. The head of a national children’s safety institution declared he will launch a specialized study on the topic, and the Northbrook, Ill.-based agency that sets TV safety standards is [...]

Homework is a nightly power struggle: When to start, how to stay focused, striving for some accuracy. Is there a trick to ease the battles? Parent advice (from our panel of staff contributors): I think the best thing a parent can do is provide a routine schedule, as much as possible; quiet space for study; [...]

Dear Mr. Dad: We’ve tried to stress the importance of study habits to our 12-year-old son. But no matter what we do or say, he seems to end up playing video games instead of doing his homework. What can we do to make him start taking studying seriously? A: Whoa. Before we get to the [...]