It was a short chapter in the history of American linguistics, but worth revisiting. In 1994, Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe, the three female leads on the Friends cast, were scripted to use the term “so” to modify nearly half of their adjectives. The women of the Friends cast were so glad, so jealous, and so sorry. Nobody told women to adopt the intensifier and nobody told men avoid it, but that’s nonetheless what happened....

The most likely reason more than one kid will be disciplined is kid-on-kid conflict—aggressive toy tussles, shoving match, and the like. These are instances where both parties are culpable, but that doesn’t have to mean punishments for all the people. In fact, family counselor Jaime Malone recommends punishing the toy (so to speak). “By removing the object, this naturally leads to a focus and behavior change among the children,” she explains “With their focus shifting to find something else to do, it gives an opportunity for the fighting to also stop....

“It can become a cycle as kids get backed up and then it may be harder to go,” says Dr. Alison Mitzner, a board-certified pediatrician. “If it hurt and they had pain with a prior bowel movement, the child may fear the pain again and start holding it in.” READ MORE: The Fatherly Guide to Poop, Diapers, and Potty Training Constipation doesn’t only affect toilet habits – it can affect appetite, hydration, and even lead to bedwetting....

Nightmares are more terrifying for children because they have a hard time distinguishing reality from dreams and therefore are more likely to feel like nightmares truly happened. Nightmares are more common for young children, and because a child’s mental sleep-wake switch is still under development, they wake more often from unsettling dreams, says Abhinav Singh, M.D. Medical Director for the Indiana Sleep Center. What’s more, nightmares can be exacerbated by changes to sleep routines, general life changes, and traumatic experiences that bring on stress, anxiety, or other such emotions....

And in this day and age, it’s also essential, per Bryan Robinson. Robinson is a licensed psychotherapist in Asheville, North Carolina, and the author of the new book #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn On Your Life which offers mindfulness exercises for every day of the year. His chill goes far beyond the Netflix-ism and has a much larger meaning “[Chill is] not passive, it’s active,” he says. “It’s a place we go inside....

It’s the often-repeated advice we mutter to ourselves when making decisions. But when it comes to picking a daycare, buying a house, or deciding whether or not to have more kids, it’s not exactly that easy. Life has always been full of tough decisions, but the stakes feel so much higher when you’re responsible for more than just yourself — and you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed, or even paralyzed, when faced with everyday choices....

“There are just some very basic and obvious things parents need talk about, but just because they are basic and obvious doesn’t mean we always remember to do them,” advises David Hill, M.D., author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro, an official spokesperson of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Having a clear conversation with the host family if you’re visiting – or the visiting family, if you’re the host – should establish what their expectations are....

Decades worth of scientific and sociological studies prove that kids are mimics. They watch adults and emulate their behavior. When adults are patient, the kids they are patient with inherit that forbearance. When adults are kind to kids, they inherit that generosity. So the question for adults is this: What are the best ways to consciously model moral behavior. Well, there are clear answers. Over the course of nine interviews with child development experts, researchers, pediatricians and psychologists, Fatherly asked for examples of ways in which parents can create behavioral rubrics for their kids....

Grief is individual. It looks different for different people, and there’s no roadmap or timeline for how people will respond. How someone grieves depends on a lot of things, including their personality, their relationship with the person that passed away, whether they have a strong support network, and whether the death was sudden or a long time coming. People’s approach to grief also might be shaped by their religious or cultural views about death....

It’s difficult to talk about race, diversity, and privilege with anyone, let alone children. Such topics can often breed discomfort and lead to the brushing aside of curiosities or the idea that children are too young to be exposed to such things. But it is imperative to talk to kids early and often about them and also to learn how to engage in the discussions to the best of your abilities....

First off, having a reduced income can often strike at one’s role as a provider. For young dads, who have been on a steady climb of career, spouse, and kids, the economic woes brought on by COVID-19 have upended that. And if you missed the 2008 economic crisis, this might be your first setback. But the uncertainty of our ongoing crisis makes it all the more difficult for everyone. Marilyn Wechter, a St....

It’s important to note there is a growing body of research that suggests children have a basic moral understanding by the time they turn one. This understanding can be demonstrated using a fairly standard experiment. Babies are asked to make a choice between a helper character or a hinderer character after watching both assist or impede the progress of someone trying to get up a hill. Overwhelmingly, babies choose the helper....

Like many other less-than-desirable emotions, envy isn’t exactly easy to avoid. Society doles out gold stars for people with more, better, nicer things, so it’s easy to see nothing but striking contrast in your neighbor’s big, renovated house or your friend’s easier, better-paying job. And even if you don’t go out looking for them, the shiny parts of other people’s lives just happen to show up on social media. Parenthood is especially ripe with opportunities for envy — there’s no official metric for deciding who’s a good parent and who’s not, so we’re forced to use meaningless things like fancy strollers and parenting strategies to decide who’s good enough....

Shaved skin, untreated, is bound to fall apart. Frequent shaving can disturb the top layer of the epidermis (responsible for retaining skin’s moisture). This can expose skin to dryness, irritation, and chemicals. The post-shave tonic is meant to act as a barrier, minimizing redness, itchiness, and aid in reducing and preventing ingrown hairs. It also helps close pores, keeping breakout-causing dirt and bacteria away. Everyday Tonic comes in a spray bottle and is applied in a mist....

When was the last time you yelled? Last week. Last Friday, to be exact. Who’d you yell at. My wife. What happened? Well, she bought a pool. Can you explain a bit more? Ha, yes. She bought a pool for our backyard. A big above-ground one for the kids to use this summer. This monstrous thing got delivered the other day and was sitting in my garage. I pull in and nearly ran into it....

The year was 2001. I was 39 years old. Our day started out quietly enough, with a family drive. We were all singing to the radio, and carrying on as if in celebration of family life. Then, when I hesitantly offered one of my favorite jokes, about what happens when you play Country Western songs backwards (you get your old dog back, your ex-wife, etc.), even the kids doubled over in laughter....

Now, she’s co-starring opposite Kaley Cuoco in The Flight Attendant, playing Miranda Croft, a stalker with rage issues. She’s also wrapping up her stint on the Netflix The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, as Madam Satan. Gomez talks to Fatherly about her fond Doctor Who memories, finding out about her green thumb and going back to work mid-pandemic. The Flight Attendant is pretty damn addictive. You play opposite Kaley Cuoco; how did the role come about?...

Boudin, who hails from a long line of leftist activists, historians, theoreticians, and attorneys, not only had progressive politics in his lineage, but also in the work he had done for over a decade. He graduated law school and by 2015, was working as a deputy public defender in San Francisco, and argued, that year, that cash bail was an unconstitutional system that kept the poor trapped in prison while the rich could buy their way out of it....

According to childhood development expert Maureen Healy, it’s the show’s predictability that makes kids feel safe and supported. “There’s a little repetition, which is what drives parents crazy, but that’s also what’s really beneficial for children,” she told Romper. “In the plot, there’s always a conflict, a problem, and then it’s solved, and that helps us feel better and certainly helps children feel better.” Healy went on to explain that the show, which is geared towards preschool-aged kids who are just beginning to learn how the world works, helps them realize that there are people who they can trust and who will take care of them....

Bridges, who studies gender identity and co-authored the book Exploring Masculinities: Identity, Inequality, Continuity and Change, was surprised by his findings. Although some research has found that gender-nonconforming behavior in kids may mean they’re more likely to grow up gay or trans, it’s not quite that simple. Any findings on the subject invariably come with the caveat that this data represents averages and isn’t ultimately applicable on the individual level....