During their first year, babies’ brains are programmed to learn language. They absorb it naturally and quickly – just like a bird learns to fly or a fish, to swim. In fact, speech and language development begins in utero, as early as 

I am chumming. I knew the night before, when the cramping and pain began, that it was coming. Actually, I knew even sooner, because I mark the dates in my mind and on my wall calendar. Still, there’s no way 

Every other week, Sonali Gupta draws on more than 10 years of experience as a clinical psychologist to give advice to readers with questions about parenting, family dynamics, relationships, mental health, and more.   Soft-Spoken Son: My 2-year-old son does not speak at all. He 

Parents are all-too familiar with the competitive undertone of milestone stories. “She was reading at 3!” is subtly countered by, “He was walking at 1!” While parents may differ in how they choose to celebrate these milestones, what is universally true is 

A few weeks ago, my 8-year-old son and I sat down for a game of chess. I’ll grant that I am not a very good chess player, but I do have considerably more experience than my son, who began learning 

Education starts from birth, but in order for it to be effective, it must mirror the developmental maturity of the child. By way of illustration: One can easily see how the learning capacity of a 40-year-old is not markedly different 

The latest and, unfortunately, smelliest battleground in our house is potty training. On one side, frayed and broken parents. On the other, a two-foot-tall fortress, aged three years. Actually, it’s not exactly fair to call her a three-year-old, because she’s 

The first one to two years of a child’s life can be mystifying to parents — so many baby development stages passing by so quickly. But most children follow the same pattern of development, and knowing what that pattern is 

Not all babies need a quiet hush to fall asleep. I definitely didn’t. Music boomed across our home grandly from a vintage Grundig player in the living room. The volume at which my father enjoyed listening to his beloved composers 

Becoming proud parents is often one of the key highlights of a couple’s life. While parents set their own milestones in this voyage of ups and downs, their children are on their way to learning and grasping something little each 

When I became pregnant I suddenly became a very… diligent person. (I use “diligent” as a kind way of describing some rather obsessive behavior.) I read all those books that outline in detail what could go wrong at any given