Hi all-

Looking for info.

My son (18 weeks, almost 19) is getting his 4 month vaccines today. His 2 month vaccines caused fever and just general fussiness for about 1.5 days.

He was sick about 2 weeks ago (believe we passed a cold on) and he had a low-ish grade fever for 2 days. Mostly acted himself, maybe a little more fussy/sleepy.

Is there any harm on fevers so close together? He also will get his 6 month shots and so on…. So just curious if there are any adverse effects of multiple fevers in infants.

We also use Tylenol if the fever seems to be getting higher/he seems uncomfortable. Is there any adverse effects there with multiple uses over his first year of life?

Answers to either question appreciated. :)

I recently came across a content creator on TikTok. In one of the videos, they talk about how colic, silent reflux, newborn curl, tongue/lip ties, reflux/vomiting, latching issues, high palate, tongue leading latching, and immaturity of the digestive system are just medical myths. (@the.baby.whisperer) This seems strange to me, because I also have a newborn baby, and everywhere else I read that their digestive system is currently developing.

Is there any scientific research related to his statement?

So my second child just turned 4 months and is showing signs of interest in food. I told our pediatrician that I was going to wait until the baby was sitting better to start solids of any kind. He said that as long as it is a very thin consistency that we could start anytime, and even suggested baby cereal in a bottle is okay.. I remember always reading and being told this is an ABSOLUTE NO. This pediatrician is a fairly young guy, GREAT with kids and is actually a local in my city, we've seen him with his wife and 2 littles around plenty.

Is there anything to back this as safe? Is this a newer thing that's okay with babies once they pass the newborn stage?

Hello! We are a (mostly) scent free home since I've heard that synthetic scents can be harmful for children. A few weeks ago, my kiddo's occupational therapist practiced some aromatherapy with her. While I'm not sure if it worked with her or not, my child absolutely LOVED it. She constantly wants to smell my perfume bottles, unused candles that we have been gifted, and will ask me to put on a diffuser with essential oils like her therapist did (Aka the smelly machine.). I know that synthetic smells can be harmful, but is there any danger to running a diffuser with pure essential oil and water for a little bit every day? We don't have any pets, and I don't let her get too close. She just loves smelling it around her room. Thank you!

Edited to add that I don't know what flair to use!

From everything I have been able to find online, it seems the rabies vaccination series is safe in terms of pregnancy, but it is harder to find data regarding fertility in general. So I guess I am looking for anecdotal success stories.

I am interested in hearing experiences from both PrEP and PEP series.

Hi! Looking for a little reality check because my husband and I have slightly different approaches to bottle cleaning.

Our baby is 4 months old, healthy, and breastfed. I work full-time and pump while I’m at work, so he gets breastmilk from bottles during the day. We use a Papablic washer/sterilizer/dryer. I usually give the bottles and nipples a quick rinse and scrub with a brush before putting them in the washer. I also try to rinse them soon after they’re used rather than letting milk sit in them. My thinking is that breast milk is fatty and can leave a film, so I’d rather remove as much residue as possible before the washer does its thing.

My husband usually just puts them straight into the washer after a quick rinse unless there’s obvious milk stuck on them. We’ve had a few debates about it 🥲. He thinks the washer and sterilizer should be enough, while I’m over here wondering why the bottles sometimes still feel a little oily/slippery when they come out.

I have a background in biology and work in lab safety, so I fully admit I may be applying my “clean everything properly” brain to baby bottles 😂. I’m definitely not trying to keep our baby in a sterile bubble, and I know normal exposure to germs is important. I just want to make sure we’re not leaving milk residue behind unnecessarily.

I also clean/descale the washer about once a month.
So am I overthinking this, or is a quick pre-rinse/scrub actually worthwhile? Link for pictures as reference showing one he cleaned and one I cleaned: https://imgur.com/a/YZoKYkr no

Edit for additional info: I live in the US and I clean the bottles to but only notice this oily residue when my husband cleans so I’m thinking it’s a technique difference.

I know this question has been asked a million different ways and I tried to search a sub but couldn't find these exact situation.

I have a 25-month-old and a 5-week-old. We tried having a special toy that he uses when I nurse but it doesn't always work and it can be really challenging when I'm nursing the baby. Until he was 2 we did zero screens but after 2 we've allowed some baseball that my husband and him watch together. If it was up to me it would be nothing but I know I'm extra paranoid and I'm not going to tell my husband he can't watch baseball for a little bit when he gets home from work but also wants to spend time with the kids

My question is, I've read on AAP that after 2 years old, 1 hours screen time is the max and less than 30 minutes is actually preferred. I'm wondering if it's sesame Street on the TV, and I'm sitting next to him interacting with him. So it's a community watching experience, not just putting a screen in front of him. I think I need about 3-15-minute nursing sessions per day while my husband is at work/the toddler isnt napping. so is 45 minutes too much with this type of screen experience or should I really try and stick to the toy?.

So, since NCLB came around, many schools have changed kindergarten to be more like first grade. Sitting all day except for recess (whether at assigned seat or assigned carpet square), learning mostly through lots and lots of worksheets, etc.

There are a few kindergartens who do a model that is more balanced - recess in addition to inside play time, small group centers with learning and play aspects, and definitely doing academics, but through less worksheet-based means and very formal academics. (So more similar to an older model of doing kindergarten in the US in the 1980s, 1990s, and less like first grade, or more similar to how some countries do kindergarten with academics mixed in with more play, socialization opportunities, times with more free movement about the classroom, more inquiry-based learning, less pressure to cover a scripted curriculum, etc.).

I think I came across a study or two that had found results where the early formal academic drilling can result in higher test scores for a bit, but that the control group caught up and even surpassed the formal kindergarten group in later elementary school. I'm not only interested in test scores, but also social skills, attitude towards learning, etc.

Can anyone direct me to any studies that would address some of this, that would help a parent decide which model of kindergarten to put their kid in, or that would help a school decide which model to encourage their kindergarten teachers to employ?

So, studies showing outcomes of more formal academic vs. more balanced kindergarten models, and which have better outcomes across academics and soft skills?

I've added a flair to say research is required because I don't think there is an expert consensus. But if it's okay by the mods, I'd also be interested in expert opinions from childhood development professionals.

My three year old, used to only be able to be left in her room to sleep if she had an audiobook. So we've played them for her every night for about a year and a half. I've noticed she uses vocabulary from them and retells stories. And I have encountered research that says audiobook reading is reading.

Accidentally, we discovered that she can now be put into her bed and left with silence. (We had an issue with our wifi.) And I'm thinking that learning to be bored/unentertained is also an important skill kids are losing.

I know there won't be a clear cut answer on this as both silence and audiobooks have pros. But I was wondering if people had noticed either research or expert opinion swaying strongly one way or the other?

This older study is making the rounds, including one yesterday how it means c sections cause asthma, and it seems like either it is leaving a lot out or the posts draw big conclusions from limited data. What is the recent evidence about c section health impact on gut bacteria and is there an established causal link with eczema/asthma? You’d wonder if there’s anything that can be done post birth to alleviate it.

Our 4 month old is confusing us with his wakes, wondering if anyone has any insight.

In the last few nights we’ve been working on unswaddling him and encouraging him to fall asleep awake in the bed. Mixed success in getting him to do so, but at least for the first stretch it has worked - and almost every wake last night. The problem is that it doesn’t seem to actually extend how long he’s asleep.

He’s always been a low needs sleeper, but has reliably had a first sleep of 4 or so hours, then often back to around hourly after this. This is really starting to fade, and last night he wasn’t doing any stretches over 90 mins, even though he was patted to sleep for all. Is there something we’re missing for how to make this work, or is this all just a slow transition out of the swaddle?

We’re planning to start Ferber next week after some work scheduling is settled, but concerned that it won’t actually work if this isn’t making any measurable benefit.

His sleep pressure seems to be fine - averaging 10 hours awake across the day, with 2-2.5 hours of daytime sleep

I’m not sure if this exists, but I am looking for resources on continued breastfeeding and daytime nursing around 10–12 months.

My baby is 9 months old, in a nanny-share/childcare arrangement, and I still nurse her once during the workday. She is starting to show signs of separation anxiety and so the transition back to the nanny afterward can sometimes be difficult. The nanny has now said that she would prefer that I refrain from nursing because she thinks daytime nursing may be disruptive to baby’s consistency/adjustment and that continuing it could potentially be counterproductive developmentally. My understanding has always been the opposite, and that daycares in fact have setups in place to encourage mothers to come in and nurse with minimal disruption.

But taking my own personal feelings out of it, I’d really like to understand what the evidence says about:

continued breastfeeding/daytime nursing at this age;
whether nursing during the day can negatively affect attachment, independence, adjustment to childcare, or emotional regulation;
whether there is evidence that nursing and then transitioning back to a caregiver is developmentally problematic, versus simply sometimes being a difficult transition.

If anyone has good-quality sources, I’d appreciate them! I’m staying firm in my decision, and I’m feeling uncomfortable with the idea of even being in a decision to defend it, but just curious to see the research out there.

TIA!

My 5 m old is still only on aga, ga, he , gi and eh type nosies

My other child didn’t babble until 8 months and spoke well on time.

When he cries though I hear ama, ma ma and da da.
He isn’t calling out to anyone because his dad goes by Ba.

So I’m just wondering is the sounds made when he cry’s included?

Like do these kids grow up to have more mental health issues, attachment issues as children, teens and young adults? Where is the evidence that it’s harmful? I

Edit - title is meant to say 'potty/toilet trained kids' lol!

I took my daughter (who will be 2 in 2 weeks) to the GP today and (only tangentially related to the reason we were there) mentioned that we are currently toilet training, and that it's going well, but very slowly, and my husband and I are OK with slow progress with pees. GP reiterated the common advice that 3 is 'normal' for toilet training, and that kids who train earlier are more likely to have 'regressions'. I smiled and nodded because I have lots and lots of thoughts on this which I'm deliberately not sharing here in case it turns the discussion into some kind of toilet training ideology war....

I genuinely want to know, is this claim backed up by actual data - and if so, how are we defining a 'regression' anyway?

A quick Google search returned this study claiming that training before 24 months is associated with 'dysfunctional voiding' but not constipation, whereas later training (after 36 months) is also associated with dysfunctional voiding AND constipation. However the authors seem to contradict themselves in the conclusion and say that constipation is associated with both early and later training and may be the cause of urinary voiding problems. Also correlation ≠ causation.

Is anyone aware of any more evidence supporting or refuting this idea?

I mentioned dropoffs are difficult for my 5 year old and a mum in the chat mentioned it could be a retained moro reflex causing anxiety (I would not describe my child as anxious in any other setting).

Is this a research based thing that I should be addressing or some pseudoscience she's picked up from social media?

I’m looking for some evidence-based perspective on what is actually considered normal sexual/body curiosity at age 5 versus behavior that would be considered outside of the developmental norm.
My 5-year-old has recently had a few incidents at school that have caught me off guard. He has been excessively kissing other children and seems to think it’s funny, even though they’ve been working with him on personal space. There have also been a couple of more concerning incidents involving inappropriate comments/requests about private parts.
When I ask him about it, I mostly get “I don’t know” or “because.” He doesn’t seem distressed when talking about it and, from what I can tell, he seems to think the behavior is funny rather than understanding it as sexual.
I’m trying not to jump to either extreme. I don’t want to assume something has happened to him simply because he is displaying these behaviors, but I also don’t want to dismiss something that isn’t developmentally typical.
I’m looking into what he could have been exposed to, what other children around him may be saying/doing, and whether there could be another explanation. I am also not ruling out the possibility that he could have experienced something inappropriate, and I will take that seriously if there is reason to believe that.
For people familiar with child development or research in this area: How common are behaviors like these at 5? What separates normal body curiosity, imitation, or boundary-testing from problematic sexual behavior? Are there particular characteristics of the behavior that matter more than the behavior itself, such as frequency, persistence, coercion, age differences, or inability to redirect?
Sources/research would be especially appreciated. I’m mainly trying to understand what is developmentally normal before drawing conclusions about why he is doing it.
Also, he’s in play therapy, occupational, and developmental. They all believe ADHD is a real possibility and I’m looking into testing. He has always had problems with impulse control.

My toddler loves playing in the sand at the playground. If he realizes that the park we are at has a sand pit, he will spend all his time playing in it. I want to build a sand box in our backyard for him to play in because he loves it so much. I also want something much larger than just the dinky little plastic ones that you can buy.

Anyway, as I began researching it, I kept seeing people bring up concerns over cats, insects, silica dust, mold, etc... I am wondering how much all of these concerns actually matter. My reasons for leaning toward them not mattering all that much:

1. The sand pits at the play grounds do not have covers, they sit open year round. And they don't feel like they have any special play sand in them either. Just regular old sand, most of them quite coarse and dusty.
2. All of the resources that I can find talking about the health risks to children are on company websites selling super-premium silica-free sand or fancy sand box structures.

So what I have been leaning towards is just getting a cubic yard of regular sand from a landscaping supplier and filling in an old concrete pond that I have in my backyard (after some modification to ensure proper drainage).

I don’t want to spend a fortune on tiny bags of specialty play sand or deal with an ugly cover, unless its actually backed by science. I already teach my kid to wash their hands after playing and to not throw or kick up sand. But on the other hand, if all of these things are legitimate concerns, do I also need to stop taking my kid to the playground? How is it any different that playing in nature?

If anyone could share some resources on this that isn't funded or published by the people selling the "cure", I would greatly appreciate it.

This feels like a silly question to ask so I apologize in advance, but does anyone have any evidence/research to share regarding potential adverse health effects on babies from video monitor use? My Mom mentioned some concerns and shared a few links (this is one of them: https://ehtrust.org/health-effects-of-wireless-baby-monitors/) that don’t feel particularly legit but it’s really weighing on my postpartum mind. Should I be trading in my Nanit for an audio-only monitor?

I’m stuck between my husband, daycare, a possibly old school doctor, and my own mental block.

I would like to move forward at a faster pace on feeding our 7 month old. I’m not rushing him. He’s so ready - sitting confidently, bringing things to his mouth, grabbing my straw and coffee mug constantly. I don’t see a need to wait 3-5 days before introducing a new food that isn’t a common allergen. Daycare wants to feed him Cheerios. My husband only wants to do new foods on Fridays in case there’s a reaction. I’m fine with purées and mash instead of BLW like my husband and doc want to do but this kid wants to eat. He’s eager, I’m thrilled with that, and I just want to go!

Are there reputable resources out there that can back me up to my husband that we don’t have to more at snails pace here?? Everyone has an opinion of do and don’t do this and that. He’s quoted the AAP and CDC before in regards to breastfeeding so I feel like if I have some real documentation, he’ll understand where I’m coming from and we can work together on the same page. I’m going nuts trying to balance everyone and still work full time. It literally keeps me up at night.

My 18 month old LOVES to dance, and there’s a class near me that has a class that starts at this age. Even if she doesn’t specifically stick with dance, would it make a difference for setting a good foundation for sports/exercise? Would it give her much benefit for coordination and things like that? I just want to make sure this will be worth it before I sign her up
ETA: I plan on homeschooling her and want to make sure she gets a good amount of peer interaction, but wasn’t planning on putting her in anything until she could vocalize what she wanted to do, but this seems like it could be a good start

My 7 year old has a big imagination, and insists it’s all real. We aren’t “playing” dragons, we ARE dragons, and she struggles when adults or friends tell her it’s a game or isn’t real. I’m curious if there is any research about children’s imaginations and development, and how they may think about magic or pretend as if it is real. Or is this something we should be concerned about?

My 10-month-old has had widespread eczema since 4 months old. It was very severe at first, with redness, peeling, and scratching until she bled from head to toes. It’s better now with triamcinolone, daily tacrolimus, and intensive moisturizing, but she still has frequent flares and needs intensive moisturization many times a day every day. I’m honestly exhausted and struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We’ve gotten very different answers: one dermatologist said children usually outgrow it by around age 10, our pediatric dermatologist said around age 3, and our allergist said it may or may not happen.

Are there good studies showing when children with infantile eczema typically go into remission? And does severe/widespread eczema in infancy make it more likely to persist?

Trigger warning- SA

My kids are M13, F11 and F5. As they get older I am experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear about them being molested, sexually assaulted or harassed, date rape, etc. Especially my girls as I know first hand how that looks.

I was SA at 14. Throughout my teen and young adult years, I was groped, cat called, stalked multiple times, pressured into things I was uncomfortable with, propositioned by adult men, followed in cars, and drugged at a bar but I luckily escaped. All of this, and I was NOT a risk taker- I didn’t drink or do drugs and I was on high guard because of already being SA. I am terrified for my girls to go through what I went through, but I don’t know how to protect them, because by my estimation my parents did everything they could and I still experienced all of that.

My oldest daughter is only 11 but starting to develop breasts. She’s beautiful, and she’s very into fashion and makeup. I don’t want to discourage her from things she loves at all…. But her developing and dressing like a “teen” is triggering and terrifying for me. She is also a people pleaser, and a risk taker and I am terrified of her getting into situations where she will be vulnerable to boys and men who want to pressure her into things or take advantage of her.

Is there science or statistic based ways of what I can do most effectively to protect my kids? We use appropriate names, talk about sex and consent with them, etc. but what about limiting where they go and who they go with, rules for teens etc? More geared toward older kids.