Researchers found that the quality of the relationship in the first 18 months of life predicted the way in which the brain regulates experiences of positive emotion in young adulthood, 21 years later.

The cutest new study shows that cuddling preemie babies when they're still in the hospital and beyond helps them thrive throughout the rest of their lives. The research, which was conducted by Ruth Feldman, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Bar-Ilan university in Tel Aviv, compared premature babies later on in life who were cuddled in the NICU with those who weren't, and the results were astounding.

The experience of warmth and affection from mothers may be a protective factor for boys exposed to maternal depression by affecting brain regions associated with how children plan for, anticipate, and enjoy rewards, a feature associated with depression. That’s the finding from a report by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

A tantrum is an uncontrollable outburst of anger mixed with sadness and once the peaks of anger are over, sadness remains. How best to respond to this powerful expression of emotion?

[VIDEO AND PETITION] Prisoners in the United States are protected from corporal punishment, but all of our school children are not? In fact, striking another person is also banned in the military and mental hospitals. But it's completely legal in public schools in 19 states.

The effects of corporal punishment in schools are alarming. It perpetuates child abuse and teaches children to solve problems through physical violence. Students have sustained bruises and broken bones at school, and some have even died.

Parents who spank believe it's an effective way to discipline children. But extensive research has linked spanking to short- and long-term child behavior problems. New studies found that brief exposure to the research significantly altered parents' positive views toward spanking. "If we can educate people about corporal punishment, these studies show that we can in a very quick way begin changing attitudes."

With implications for all children, a new study has found that parenting affects the academic and social performance of African-American boys as they move from preschool to kindergarten. In fact, parent-child interactions influence whether or not a high-achieving African American boy stays on course.

"Many ask 'What is wrong with time-out? What do you do instead?!' Here is my answer."

A doctoral dissertation by a Professor at the Catholic University of Valencia "San Vicente Mártir" (UCV) finds that every cigarette a mother smokes a day during the third quarter of pregnancy reduces the baby's birth weight in 20 grams. Professor Rafael Vila, Faculty of Nursing, received his PhD with the distinction Cum Laude for his dissertation entitled "Anthropometric, haematological, obstetric and toxic variables that influence birth weight: a predictive model."

A new study co-authored by Boston University Assistant Professor of Psychology Peter Blake finds that young children endorse fairness norms related to sharing, but often act in contradiction to those norms when given a chance to share.

Raising a 'goal-digger' requires three things: Time, attention and listening. We can give children too many things, but we can never give them too much love. When we give them too many things too easily, they become gold-diggers. When they are loved by their parents, they learn to love themselves. When they have these qualities in place, they learn to work hard, love themselves, interact with others and live goal-filled lives. They will not be entitled looking for the easy way out.

Drawn from many AP theories and the work of Dr. Laura Markham, Amy Wright Glenn produced a 13-minute webinar on responding to tantrums.

"In the UK, it was understood that babies cry. In Kenya, it was quite the opposite. The understanding is that babies don’t cry. If they do – something is horribly wrong and something must be done to rectify it immediately. My English sister-in-law summarized it well. 'People here,' she said, 'really don’t like babies crying, do they?'

The Harvard School of Public Health's "What About Dads?" team would like your assistance with a research study on fathers and child health. 

Children who were breastfed for more than six months scored the highest on cognitive, language and motor development tests as toddlers, in a new study from Greece.