The bun has been in the oven for nine months, and now it's toasted golden brown. Time to get it out!

When I was a kid, my dad taught me how certain chess pieces move by having me analyse the shapes of the pieces themselves. The rook, a castle made of horizontal and vertical lines, moves horizontally and vertically. The bishop, which has slanted lines, moves diagonally.

I was never much good at the game, but I vividly remember sitting there at our dining room table, watching the man explain all of this with glee (he even added eyes to the bishop with a marker and nicknamed it "Joey Bishop" - what a dad). Now as a parent myself, I'm convinced that playing chess is a wonderful way to bond with your child.

Jolie Kerr is a cleaning expert, advice columnist, and author of the New York Times bestselling book, My Boyfriend Barfed In My Handbag ... And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha. Her flagship column, "Ask a Clean Person", debuted in 2011. Here on Lifehacker, we've launched a new iteration of it, focusing on parenting and all the messes it brings. 

If there's a person who knows a thing or two about falling, it's Jessie Graff. But for the American Ninja Warrior phenom, the important part is getting back up. Through a new video series called Stunt Sitter, Graff teaches self-described "helicopter" parents how to let kids take risks and even - gasp - fail. We asked Graff what mums and dads can do to raise children who are resilient, confident and tough, both physically and mentally.

Between news reports of kids being poisoned by garden hose water to getting heat stroke in jumping castles to almost certainly being the targets of human trafficking at IKEA, it is crucial for parents to be on guard at all times, protecting their delicate children from the many dangers that may be lurking at any given moment.

You probably use machine-learning systems every day without even knowing it. The technology gives us spam filters, our Facebook News Feeds, digital assistants, search engines, Netflix picks, Amazon recommendations, fraud detection systems, chatbots and more. And it's only going to become more pervasive. For forward-looking parents, it's time to get your kids on it.

If your baby has a nappy leak in the middle of the night, the traditional options have been to 1) replace the crib sheet with a clean one in the rare case your sleep-deprived brain has remembered to keep a spare, or 2) do laundry and sob. (You can't just drape any old blanket on the bare mattress and say "see ya in the morning" - it could be a choking hazard.)

Jolie Kerr is a cleaning expert, advice columnist, and author of the New York Times bestselling book, My Boyfriend Barfed In My Handbag... And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha. Her flagship column, "Ask a Clean Person", debuted in 2011. Here on Lifehacker, we've launched a new iteration of it, focusing on parenting and all the messes it brings.

Whether you're trying to coerce an energetic toddler into the bath or a less-than-energetic preteen into taking their (much-needed) daily shower, you may be facing what feels like an uphill battle to get your kids clean.

Jolie Kerr is a cleaning expert, advice columnist and author of the New York Times bestselling book, My Boyfriend Barfed In My Handbag... And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha. Her flagship column, "Ask a Clean Person", debuted in 2011. Here on Lifehacker, we've launched a new iteration of it, focusing on parenting and all the messes it brings. 

When I was a little kid, I remember riding in the backseat of our family car and drifting off into a deep sleep on the nighttime drive home. There was nothing worse than hearing the garage door open and the keys dangling out of the ignition.

You missed your kid's soccer game again because you've been working on that big client report, the one you're still behind on. Oh, and didn't you promise to bring muffins to the school bake sale tomorrow? And there's that meeting at 10am, and the pediatrician appointment at 11:30, and ugh, you should probably buy toilet paper at some point. Everything seems to be hanging by a thread - your job, your family life, your sanity. And your refrigerator smells.

It's a long weekend, you guys! That means family visits, winter hikes and traffic headaches. Now, in my family we generally we decide to pack up right after Friday breakfast, but because we have two small kids and are fairly disorganised, we inevitably end up leaving at pretty much the worst possible time for long-weekend travel: After lunch on Friday.

Video: When riding in a car with little kids for an extended amount of time, you quickly learn three things.

Kids and parents know the routine. Heck, it's even ingrained in Daniel Tiger's "Morning Song", a catchy tune that my husband and I used to sing to help my five-year-old get ready for her day: "Clothes on. Eat breakfast. Brush teeth. Put on shoes. And off to school!"

An anonymous mother wrote a piece for Today titled "How to Imagine the Unimaginable". It's the type of story that as a parent, you can't bear to read, which means that you must (though do be warned that it deals with sexual abuse).

Does your kid love video games? Does he or she need some reading material that doesn't conjure up visions of school? Then check this out: Right now, you can get 12 free digital issues of Little Player, a video game magazine made just for kids.

Every parent has offered incentives: "If you're patient while I get the tyres rotated, we'll get ice cream afterwards." Or, "if you play nicely with your cousin, you can use the iPad before dinner." Teachers certainly have used behaviour rewards for time out of mind - but offering incentives for behaviour isn't necessarily the best way to build character and increase motivation.

I was three and a half months pregnant when my partner and I separated, and I suddenly had to rearrange my life around something I'd never anticipated: single parenthood. In operatic moments, I made mental ledgers of all the things I'd likely have to give up as a sole caretaker: my demanding career, my exercise routine, my friends, reading, going out to dinner, going out to movies, going out at all. I was terrified to parent alone.