To Help Your Kids, Help Yourselves

Kids stress us out—but we still find them rewarding

(NEWSER) - Ask parents if their children make them happy and they’ll likely say yes. So why does almost every study on the subject show that having children tends to make people less happy—and that, in fact, many parents love their kids but hate parenting? In an extensive New York article , Jennifer Senior explores how parenting, and Americans’ reasons for having children, have changed over the decades. More»

Sufferers of Williams syndrome trust everyone

(NEWSER) - Imagine if your child trusted everyone, unconditionally. It sounds like fiction, but for parents of children with Williams syndrome, it can be a nightmare that demands eternal vigilance against a dangerous world. NPR profiles one family with a 9-year-old daughter, Isabelle, who has Williams and consequently feels no social fear. In a typical episode, Isabelle got into another family's car and buckled up after hearing the mother say they were going to Dairy Queen. More»

Forget about the Ramones education and teach manners instead

(NEWSER) - David Hochman tackles the question surely foremost on every parent’s mind: “Am I raising a douchebag?” Sure, you want your kid to be hip, and you might think it’s cute when your offspring “can tell which Ramone is Dee Dee and which one is Joey.” But beware: The signs of impending jerkishness may start small. An assessment of an 8th birthday party as “unbelievably lame,” for example, or a declaration that “these taquitos taste like turd,” he writes in Details . More»

(NEWSER) - The latest trend in nomenclature rings false to at least one person who recently realized that "Mom" has become "the now generic name for every female parent in our country." Thinking it over, Anne Albeck dates the phenomenon to the early '90s, but familiarity—and overfamiliarity—really does breed contempt. "Being called Mom by everyone from the shoe store clerk to the pediatrician is a little too intimate for me," Albeck writes for the Chicago Tribune. More»

Nearly 80% of parents acknowledged fibbing to kids

(NEWSER) - Parents lie to their children, even while telling them that lying is wrong, so often it surprised researchers, a new study reveals. Presented with a list of seven hypothetical lies—such as “the police will come if you don't stop crying now” or “you did a good job at cleaning up your room”—nearly 80% of parents said they had told at least one similar falsehood. More»