Family and parenting
Everything we have published on Family and parenting, newest first. Background, research and plain explanation — not only the headline of the day.
Why Relationships Fail: It's Rarely the Reason You Think
The complaint that ends a relationship is almost never the reason it ended — here's how to find the one underneath it.
When Chinese parents outsource control over their adult children
China's rebranded “internet addiction” industry now helps families confine legally independent adult children, exposing how parental coercion survives through private institutions and weak enforcement
What is emotional regulation? A child psychologist explains
The aim isn’t to get rid of difficult feelings, but to find ways of managing them effectively.
What a western Pennsylvania ’90s-style Pizza Hut reveals about nostalgia
A Carnegie Mellon University marketing researcher explains why the love of a retro Pizza Hut has more to do with the relationships attached to it than pizza.
The moral paradox of extreme wealth: Why people oppose it yet are reluctant to take steps to reduce it
Extreme inequality is commonplace, so why do people accept it?
The anatomy of erasure: Indigenous Assyrian women and forgotten genocide
Indigenous Assyrian women were erased three times: first as Assyrians, then through sexual violence, finally by history itself. The machinery that made them disappear is still running.
Students are anxious – and it’s no surprise, since we are teaching them to be that way
Whether students feel pressure to get good grades or keep up with classmates, the anxiety this effort produces can have long-term effects on their brains.
Schools are rethinking whether every student needs a laptop
Rather than considering how much time students spend on screens, the more useful question is whether they are asking questions and solving problems with the help of technology.
Play is essential for young children, including when it comes to their learning
Play-based early childhood programs can help young kids develop emotional regulation and problem-solving skills, traits that can serve them well throughout childhood.
Parents putting screens in front of their kids is more about their own stress than other factors
Most research on kids’ screen time has focused on a child’s behavior. Far less attention has gone to parents and their role in their children’s media use.
Identity beyond citizenship: What remains when the state refuses to recognise you?
Documents can confirm a legal relationship with a state, but they cannot create or erase a person’s existence, history, family, or sense of belonging.
Better call mom: Schools still see mothers as the default parent to contact
When both parents appeared equally available, schools were 40% more likely to call students’ moms, rather than their dads.