Whether your kiddo arrived by birth, adoption, fostering, or step-parenting — and whether they arrived as a newborn or a teenager — you just joined the oldest club on earth, and the village is glad you're here.
The starter wisdom for the baby years
The one sentence to remember
"You know your child best. Don't wait. If your child is not meeting one or more milestones, has lost skills he or she once had, or you have other concerns, act early."— CDC, Learn the Signs. Act Early.1
Soothing and bonding, per the CDC
The CDC's parenting tips for young infants: "Respond positively to your baby," "Talk, read, and sing to your baby to help her develop and understand language," and "Spend time cuddling and holding your baby. This will help him feel safe and cared for."1
When crying gets overwhelming
The CDC is direct about this, and every villager should hear it: never shake your baby — "Put your baby in a safe place and walk away if you're getting upset."1 Stepping away for a few minutes is good parenting, not bad parenting.
Sleep them safely from night one
According to the AAP: place babies on their backs for every sleep, on a firm, flat surface, in a bare crib — and room-share (baby's own sleep surface in your room) rather than bed-share. See the Sleep tab for the full guidance.13
Is my newborn eating/sleeping enough?
The AAP offers concrete benchmarks for young infants: growing and gaining weight steadily; feeding 8–12 times daily if breastfed (5–8 if bottle-fed); "urinating normally with at least 4 wet diapers a day"; and at least 3 normal bowel movements a day. If those benchmarks aren't being met, check with your pediatrician.8
And the checkups do the worrying for you
Per the AAP, developmental screening happens at the 9-month, 18-month, and 30-month checkups, with autism screening at 18 and 24 months — a built-in safety net, so you don't have to be the expert.7
Welcome to the age of opinions! Your best friends in this library are Potty training, Sleep (crib-to-big-kid-bed), and Milestones. And the CDC publishes Positive Parenting Tips for toddlers — an example, in their words: "Help to develop your toddler's language by talking with them and adding to words they start. For example, if your toddler says 'baba,' you can respond, 'Yes, you are right―that is a bottle.'"21 Their toddler pages cover ages 1–2 and 2–3.21
Welcome! Our library is deepest on the baby-and-toddler years today (the Is this normal? and My kiddo is sick/hurt menus still apply at every age). For stage-specific guidance, the CDC's Positive Parenting Tips series is organized by age — infants through preschoolers, with programs continuing beyond.22 More elementary-age content is coming to the village.
Welcome! Tweens come with big feelings and even bigger opinions — and you're going to do great. Our library is deepest on the baby-and-toddler years today (the Is this normal? and My kiddo is sick/hurt menus still apply at every age). For stage-specific guidance, the CDC's parenting resources index points to "Essentials for Parenting Teens," their program for ages 11–17.22 More tween content is coming to the village.
Welcome! Whether you're brand new to parenting or brand new to parenting a teenager, the village is glad you're here — and yes, they still need you (even when they say otherwise). Our library is deepest on the baby-and-toddler years today (the Is this normal? and My kiddo is sick/hurt menus still apply at every age). For stage-specific guidance, the CDC's parenting resources index points to "Essentials for Parenting Teens," their program for ages 11–17.22 More teen content is coming to the village.