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New here? Start with one idea: children do best when they have a secure base, a calm adult they can leave to explore and come back to when things go wrong. Almost every lesson on this site is that idea applied to a specific age or problem.

Read What a secure base looks like on an ordinary Tuesday first. Then how to repair after a blowup, because every parent loses it sometimes and repair matters more than perfection. After that, pick your child's age below.

If your child is 1–3 (toddler)

• Toddler tantrums: what is going on inside, and what actually helps: Tantrums follow a surprisingly predictable pattern. Knowing the shape of one makes it far easier to stay calm and get through it.
• Serve and return: the everyday back-and-forth that builds a baby's brain: Your toddler points, you look and name it, they babble back. That tiny exchange, repeated thousands of times, is one of the most important things you'll ever do for their brain.
• How to help your toddler talk: what works, and when to check in: Talk with them, not at them. Name things, wait for answers, read together, and keep an eye on the CDC milestones so a delay doesn't slip by unnoticed.
• When your toddler bites or hits: what to do in the moment and after: Stop it calmly, comfort the child who got hurt, and teach what to do instead. Hitting back, biting back or yelling usually makes it worse.
• Screen time for toddlers and preschoolers: what the guidelines say: Pediatricians suggest skipping screens before 18 to 24 months except video chat, and about an hour a day of high-quality shows for ages 2 to 5, watched with you when you can.

All toddler lessons

If your child is 3–5 (preschool)

• Why play matters so much for young kids, and how to join in: Play isn't a break from learning. For young children it is learning, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says doctors should prescribe it. Here's how to make room for it.
• Picky eating: how to stop the dinner battles without giving up on vegetables: You decide what, when and where food is served. Your child decides whether and how much to eat. That split, plus lots of no-pressure exposure, ends most food fights.
• Potty training: signs your child is ready, and how to start without a fight: Most children are ready somewhere between about 18 months and 3 years. Watch for the signs, keep it low-key, and expect accidents. Pressure tends to slow things down.
• Daycare and preschool drop-off tears: how to say goodbye so it gets easier: Keep goodbyes short, warm and predictable, never sneak out, and always come back when you said you would. Tears at drop-off are normal, and usually a sign of a strong bond.
• Reading aloud to your child: why it matters and how to make it stick: Read together every day, starting in infancy, and talk about the book as you go. It builds vocabulary, closeness and a love of stories, and you can keep doing it long after they can read.

All preschool lessons

If your child is 6–9 (school-age)

• Sibling rivalry: how to handle the fighting without becoming the referee: Stop the hurting, skip the verdict, and coach them to solve it. Kids fight less when they don't have to compete for you, and when nobody is cast as the good one.
• How to praise kids so it builds effort, not pressure: "You're so smart" can backfire. Praising effort, strategy and progress helps kids take on challenges and bounce back from mistakes. Here's the research and what to say instead.
• Why kids lie, and how to raise a child who tells you the truth: Lying is a normal developmental step, not a character flaw. Kids tell the truth more when honesty feels safe, and research suggests harsh punishment makes lying more likely.
• Homework without the nightly war: Research on homework and on praise gives parents a clear playbook. Hover less, praise effort precisely, and protect the child's ownership of the work.
• Teaching kids about money: allowance, saving and spending by age: Kids learn money by handling it. Start with coins and choices in preschool, an allowance with saving jars in the school years, and real budgets and a bank account by the teen years.

All school-age lessons

If your child is 10–12 (tween)

• The first phone talk, and a family agreement that actually holds up: Handing over a first phone is less about the device and more about the deal around it. Here's how to set one up together, what the research says about social media, and a printable agreement to start from.
• The puberty talk: what to say, and when to start: Start earlier than feels comfortable, around 8 or 9, and treat it as a series of short talks, not one big one. Kids who know what's coming handle the changes with far less fear.
• Back talk and eye-rolling: how to respond without starting a war: Back talk is annoying, but it's also a normal part of kids testing independence. Stay calm, set a clear line on disrespect, and listen for what's underneath.
• Perfectionism in kids: how to ease the pressure without lowering the bar: Perfectionism has risen among young people, and kids' sense of their parents' expectations has risen with it. Here's how to help a child care about doing well without fearing every mistake.
• Bullying and cyberbullying: what to do when your kid is the target, or the bully: Bullying peaks in middle school and follows kids onto their phones. Here's how to help when your child is being picked on, and what to do if you find out your child is the one doing it.

All tween lessons

If your child is 13–18 (teen)

• Staying close to a teenager who seems to want distance: Teens pull away for good developmental reasons. The research suggests the parents who stay most connected are the ones teens trust to stay calm.
• The car keys talk: how to raise a teen who owns the wheel: Phones, drinking, weed, tired drives, speeding, a car full of friends. The driving talk works best as a long series of calm conversations, plus one promise: call me, and I'll come, no questions.
• Mental health warning signs in teens, and how to ask about suicide: Moodiness is normal. Some changes aren't. Here's how to tell the difference, how to ask your teen directly if they're thinking about suicide, and where to get help, including 988.
• Why teenagers stay up late, and how to help them get enough sleep: Teens need 8 to 10 hours, but puberty shifts their body clock later while school starts early. It's biology, not laziness. Here's what parents can actually do about it.
• How to talk to your teen about sex (without either of you dying of embarrassment): Talk early, often and honestly. Teens whose parents talk with them about sex tend to make safer choices. Your values belong in the conversation, and so do the facts.

All teen lessons

Browse by topic

• Secure Base: Attachment, repair and connection: the foundation under everything else.
• Discipline Without Fear: Warm, firm limits that teach instead of scare.
• Communication: Listening, scripts and the hard conversations.
• Emotional Development: Big feelings, anxiety, resilience, and your own calm.
• School Years: Homework, friendships, screens and motivation.
• Teens: Independence, risk and staying close.
• Co-parenting & Family: Two homes, blended families, and the adults in the room.
• Toddler & Preschool: Tantrums, routines and the early years.

Not sure what a term means?

The glossary explains words like attachment, co-regulation and emotion coaching in plain language. And our editorial standards explain how we choose sources.