Mind, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 27, 2015

Money, Not Marriage, Makes Parents Better

When it comes to good parenting, having money matters more than being married, a new study concludes. Whether single, married or divorced, American parents strive to meet common recommendations for good parenting behavior, from eating meals with their kids to setting rules about television time to encouraging extracurricular activities, researchers...

Feb 17, 2015

The Best Genealogy Software

Hand-drawn family trees are so last century. For the modern genealogist, tech is where it's at. A number of companies offer genealogy software to help organize information about ancestors, create reports and ancestry books, and share findings online. The deeper into genealogy you go, the more you might find these...

May 9, 2015

Extreme Moms: 6 Record-Breaking Mothers

Motherhood is an impressive feat under any circumstances. But for some mothers, it's almost miraculous. From the world's youngest mom to the world's oldest, and the most pregnancies to the most babies born in a single pregnancy, here are some of the world's most extreme moms. Most births from one...

Oct 22, 2015

Many Ads in Parenting Magazines Show Unsafe Practices for Kids

The heartwarming images of children — smiling, laughing out loud and snuggling — that fill the pages of parenting magazines actually hold a less-than-obvious problem: Many of these ads show kids doing things that are not safe. In fact, about one in six advertisements in two of the top-selling parenting...

Oct 28, 2015

Marriage Linked to Better Outcomes After Heart Surgery

People who are married may be more likely to survive heart surgery than people who are divorced, separated or widowed, according to a new study. In the study, researchers looked at health and survival rates in 1,576 adults ages 50 or older who underwent cardiac surgery. They found that those...

Nov 1, 2015

No Digital Divide: Mobile Media Plentiful in Low-Income Families

Babies and toddlers are spending plenty of time using mobile media devices at their homes, including children whose families are not well-off financially, a new study reveals. The researchers looked at families with children under age 4 in an urban, low-income, minority community, and found that nearly all the children...

Dec 10, 2015

Traveling for the Holidays with Kids? How to Keep Them Safe

The holiday season is a time of wonder for kids. But it can also be a recipe for meltdowns and safety disasters, as travel, jet lag and disrupted routines are combined with visits to homes that are not set up for babies and toddlers. If you're a parent traveling with...

Dec 22, 2015

Skin-to-Skin 'Kangaroo-Style' Care May Benefit Newborns' Health

Babies born with a low birth weight who are regularly held by their mothers skin-to-skin — or kangaroo style — may have a lower risk of dying prematurely, according to a new analysis of previous research. In the analysis, researchers looked at 124 studies that examined the relationship between so-called...

Feb 9, 2016

'Love Hormone' Could Predict Whether Mom and Dad Stay Together

A hormone known for its role in bonding and caregiving could predict whether new moms and dads stay together in the first years of their child's life. Researchers found a link between low oxytocin levels in the mother during pregnancy and shortly after the baby's birth and the likelihood that...

Mar 16, 2016

Living with Your Partner? No Problem, More Americans Say

Americans are more likely to accept the idea of living together out of wedlock and having children out of wedlock than they were a decade ago, according to a new report of the nation's attitudes toward marriage, childbearing and sexual behavior. Americans are less likely, however, to accept the idea...

Apr 18, 2016

For Love or Money: How Finances Influence Your Search for a Mate

Like it or not, money has a say in whether people get into or stay in romantic relationships. But it's surprisingly hard to know for sure just how much the almighty dollar can influence your decisions about whether to swipe right on Tinder, or even to step out of a...

Apr 28, 2016

Simple Trick May Improve an Infant's Attention Span

Parents can help improve their child's attention span in a very simple way: by paying attention to the toy their child is playing with, a new study suggests. Researchers found that when parents looked at a toy and showed interest in their 1-year-olds as they played with it, the infants...

May 24, 2016

Why Having the 'Ideal' Partner Doesn't Mean You'll Be Happy

In the search for a romantic partner, it seems reasonable to think that finding a man or woman who checks off many of the boxes on your list of ideal mate characteristics would lead to a happier relationship. But a new study finds that may not be the case. Researchers...

May 27, 2016

The Science of Parenting: Who's the Best Judge of Moms and Dads?

What makes a good mom or dad? Not even the people in a single family can agree — but within that disagreement, there is valuable information, new research finds. For instance, a little bit of self-criticism by parents (though not too much!) might be good for kids; coming off as...

Jul 22, 2016

Why Quiet Is Important for Kids' Learning

Toddlers may have a harder time picking up new words if there's background noise around them, like sounds from a TV or a cellphone conversation, a new study suggests. In the study, children ages 22 months to 30 months weren't able to learn new words in a lab experiment if...