Read

Short, practical pieces drawn from Big Bang Baby: what the science and the data from millions of families say about how children develop, and what to do with it on an ordinary Tuesday.

• The range of normal is enormous: what data from 3.5 million children shows

  Is it normal that your baby isn't walking or talking yet? Walking alone spans 8 to 18 months, and later skills vary even more. What the data shows.

• Is my child behind? A better question to ask

  Worried your child is behind on milestones? Ask what she is ready for now, and know when to talk to your pediatrician. From Big Bang Baby.

• Sensitive vs. critical periods: the window narrows, it doesn't slam shut

  Sensitive periods narrow; they don't slam shut. Is it too late after age 3? What the science and data from millions of children say.

• How motor skills affect language: the areas of child development move as one

  In the first months, motor, language, cognitive and social-emotional development move together. Data from 3.5 million children shows how they pull apart.

• What a developmental assessment can and can't tell you: a photograph, not a prophecy

  A developmental assessment shows where your child stands today. It predicts later standing in part, and her pace of progress almost not at all.

• How to play with your baby: guided play, free play and what the science says

  How to play with your baby: serve-and-return is play and you are the best toy. Guided vs free play, what each builds, and what to do when you're bored.

• You are the buffer: toxic stress, tolerable stress and what to do after you yell

  Not all stress harms children. Positive, tolerable and toxic stress explained without panic, why you are the buffer, and how to repair after you yell.

• Why routines matter for babies and toddlers, and how to keep them without rigidity

  Why routines matter for babies and toddlers: predictability lets a child stop bracing and start learning. What makes a routine work, and why sleep matters.

• Why siblings develop so differently, even twins

  Same home, same parents, very different kids. Why siblings, even twins, develop so differently: temperament, timing and a wide range of normal.

• Bath time is not just bath time: how one ordinary routine builds everything at once

  Why bath time matters for your baby's development: in the first months, one bath is movement, senses, language, cause and effect and bonding, all at once.