Stacker-Parenting & Family

Americans love to show off their creativity when it comes to giving their children names. Rather than relying on certain classics they may love the sound of, trends show new parents are opting instead to provide their own unique spellings. Nontraditionally spelled names can give a child a special feeling of uniqueness while having a

  The baby is fed, the sun is going down, and instead of feeling relieved that the day is winding down, you feel a knot forming in your stomach. Another night is coming. How many times will the baby wake up? Will they settle after feeding? Will you be able to fall back asleep? What

  “Mom lets me use my phone at night. Why can’t I here?” If you’re co-parenting, you’ve likely heard some version of this, and it rarely leads to a simple answer. One household allows late-night scrolling. The other says phones get turned off at nine. One parent says yes to social media. The other isn’t

  Every fall brings the same rhythm: new backpacks, first-day-of-school photos, and a fresh round of expenses that seem to grow a little more each year. Whether it’s packing lunches for a kindergartner, writing tuition checks for a college freshman, or somewhere in between, the cost of raising a child in the U.S. has reached

  Although a baby’s “graduation” from the NICU is an exciting milestone, transitioning from a highly controlled newborn intensive care environment, including monitoring and 24/7 nursing care, to a home routine can feel stressful. You may be excited to finally have your baby home while also wondering how you’ll manage without the NICU team right

  A playground is more than just a place where kids come to play. It’s where they build confidence, exercise their imagination, and make friends. Playgrounds are also where communities gather and families create memories that last a lifetime. These and many more reasons establish them as a worthy addition to a community, school, or

  Back-to-school shopping often starts with a familiar list: notebooks, backpacks, clothing and shoes. But for parents, the expenses do not necessarily stop once the first bell rings. Sports, clubs, field trips and other extracurricular activities can add costs throughout the school year. If you’re a parent, those expenses need to fit alongside your regular

  Welcoming a child into the world is a joyous occasion, filled with excitement and a packed to-do list. In between the diaper changes, feedings and trying to get a few precious hours of shut-eye, don’t forget one important task: considering life insurance. Why do new parents need life insurance? As a new parent, you’re

  Family researchers have spent decades taking a look at how far parents end up living from their adult children, yet very little research focuses on the relationship between siblings. Even though they are the ones typically splitting holiday hosting, dividing up a parent’s care as they age, and making calls when things go wrong,

  Common expenses tied to raising a child — including child care, food, medical care, housing and other necessities — can total tens of thousands of dollars annually. While costs are high across major metro areas, the burden varies sharply by location, with families in some places facing annual expenses more than twice as high

  As the summer season comes to a close, families with school-aged children start to think about upcoming back-to-school expenses: laptops, notebooks, clothing and shoes, water bottles, backpacks, and all of the other classics. While most families consider initial purchases, many fail to include the various other costs that usually begin a few months into

  It can be stressful when kids flat-out refuse to go to school. Your child might be complaining about stomachaches every day, begging to stay home. Or they may become increasingly emotional as the school day approaches. You may find yourself wondering: Why is this happening? What if they’re never willing to go back to

  Every May, the Social Security Administration drops one of the most entertaining website updates of all: the names that gained the most in popularity out of over 1,000 common names. The 2025 top baby names, unveiled in May 2026, were full of surprises. A name meaning “fire” jumped more than 1,100 spots, another received

  Nearly one in three American children experiences parental divorce before turning 18, and decades of research show the classroom is where that disruption often shows up first. In this article, Skillern Firm Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers, a Texas family law firm, examines research on how divorce affects children’s academic performance and which factors

  It can start like this. A parent spends five chaotic minutes crafting the perfect text to their tween. It’s short. Thoughtful. Not too cringey. The reply? “kk” There’s a term for this kind of ultra-short response: dry texting. And while these responses can feel like a brush-off, researchers say they’re usually something else entirely,

  Prioritizing play offers a variety of benefits for children, from helping them grow their vocabulary to managing their big feelings with fewer behavioral problems. Play also benefits children’s cognitive and social and emotional development. But play isn’t always a focus in classrooms, even when it comes to very young children. Kelley Mayer White, professor

  Divorce and family court filings do not spread evenly across the calendar. A University of Washington study that reviewed 14 years of filing data found that family-related court actions consistently peak twice a year, in March and in August, a pattern researchers linked to the end of major family holidays and summer vacations. The