Parenting
How Moral Development Begins in Early Childhood
When does morality begin? Many parents assume their infant or toddler has no moral understanding and therefore no moral responsibility. But research s...
6 min read
11 articles found
Parenting
How to Model Kindness in Everyday Life
You want your child to be kind. So you teach lessons about kindness, praise kind acts, and read books about compassion. But the most powerful teaching...
6 min read
Parenting
How to Introduce Books and Stories to Build Empathy
When your child watches a character struggle, fear, hope, or feel disappointed—and you talk about what that character might be experiencing—something...
6 min read
Parenting
The Role of Empathy in Effective Parenting
Some parents worry that showing empathy to their child will spoil them or make them less willing to comply. In reality, empathy is foundational to sec...
5 min read
Family Life
The Benefits of Growing Up With Animals
Children who grow up with pets experience unique developmental benefits that extend far beyond entertainment. Pets teach fundamental life lessons abou...
5 min read
Emotions
How to Respond to Tantrums Without Punishment
The instinct to punish a tantrum — to send the child to their room, to take away privileges, to issue warnings about consequences — is understandable...
3 min read
Emotions
The Development of Empathy in Toddlers
A 14-month-old who brings their toy to a crying parent is showing something that looks very much like empathy. But developmental psychologists disting...
3 min read
Emotions
Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood
Emotional intelligence has attracted significant research and popular attention for its role in predicting life outcomes — sometimes more strongly tha...
3 min read
Emotions
Emotional Development in Children Aged 24–36 Months
Parents who have survived the worst of the two-year period often describe a noticeable shift around the third birthday — a child who is still passiona...
3 min read
Emotions
Emotional Intelligence in Toddlers: Building Awareness from the Start
The phrase "emotional intelligence" has been used so broadly in popular culture that it has almost lost meaning. But the underlying research is solid:...
4 min read
Emotions
How Empathy Develops in Young Children
Empathy is often talked about as though it arrives fully formed in adolescence or adulthood, or as though it is either present or absent as a personal...
5 min read