The Parenting Journal

Grandparents are not backup parents. They are full caregivers the moment you pull out of the driveway, and the house they’re caring for your baby in needs to function like one. A dedicated grandparent registry solves a specific problem: it...

Cords are quiet hazards. They don’t look dangerous hanging behind a lamp or trailing from a coffee maker, and that’s exactly why they catch parents off guard. My younger daughter proved this to me when she was about 14 months...

Nearly 1.4 million pediatric door-injury emergency department visits were recorded over a single decade in the U.S. (NEISS, 1999–2008). In my experience, this statistic hit home because my older daughter, at 22 months, got two fingers caught in the hinge...

Most baby shower registries are stacked with swaddles, bouncers, and onesies in five sizes. The outlet covers and cabinet locks? Usually missing entirely. And yet those are the items that will matter most around month eight, when a baby who...

About 93,000 children under 5 are treated in U.S. emergency rooms each year for stair-related injuries, according to a Nationwide Children’s Hospital analysis of CPSC NEISS data. That’s roughly one child every six minutes. A baby gate is the most...

Magnetic locks are more durable in heat and humidity, making them the better choice for kitchens and bathrooms. Adhesive locks cost less upfront but degrade and need replacement every 6–12 months in high-use areas. The magnetic key is a choking...

Most baby registries are 40% gear and 60% wishful thinking. The bouncy seat, the wipe warmer, the seven different swaddle blankets, none of it prevents a single injury. What keeps a baby safe is a much shorter list, and building...

Every home is different. A third-floor apartment with no stairs, no pool, and a single bathroom has a different risk profile than a four-bedroom house with a basement, a garage, and a backyard gate that swings open onto a slope....

Every mealtime is a small engineering problem. You’re strapping a squirming, food-covered child into a chair elevated off the floor, and you’re doing it three times a day, often while distracted. The margin for error is real. CPSC’s 2024 Nursery...