If your kid is a runner like mine, you know the tension headache that can result from repeatedly swivelling your head to make sure they’re still by your side and haven’t run off and disappeared into a crowd. Our son Lucas, from the moment it occurred to him his legs could get him places, made it his mission to explore every detail of his environment.

It made no difference if the object of his curiosity was in the direction we were headed or not; if he wanted it, he ran for it. And yes, sometimes he slipped right out of sight.

For as long as kids have been scared of the monster hiding under the bed or deviously waiting in the closet for nighttime, parents have been trying to banish it.

My son asked me last night what I was going to be writing about today. I’d just been reading this piece in the New York Times about how parents can raise empathetic children, and it had struck a chord with me. As a parent, I desperately want to raise my son to be the sort of person who steps up when others are in need, but is that something I can truly influence?

I'm not exactly the most tech-savvy parent, so when I was offered a Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit to check out, I was at first like, "Wait, what's a Labo?" Luckily, my son, Ryan, who had just received a much-coveted Nintendo Switch for his 8th birthday, was like, "It's where you build really cool stuff and then you can play it on TV!"

You might think the best book to read to your young child is one they’ll love. One that, when you close the final page, makes them shout, “Again, again!” One that, before you even say, “Go pick out a bedtime book,” is already in their hand and waving in front of your face, an old and familiar friend.

Parenting through the toddler years can sometimes feel less like a rewarding experience and more like waking up and going into battle every day. We’ve written a lot about toddlers this year, and as we wrap up 2018, it feels like a good time to revisit and collect all our favourite toddler posts into one spot.

As a parent raising a kid in The Time of the Screens, I am often trying to strike that balance between allowing him to explore age-appropriate technology while also determining how much is too much.

Christmas is here, and that means the chance to huddle around the TV and watch Christmas movies with your kid(s)! But there are so many out there. And most of them are terrible.

I admit I was a little sceptical when one of the parents in our Offspring Facebook Group suggested I buy an “indestructible” book for my 9-month-old nephew for Christmas.

Why do your children need “Hamilton” in their lives? It’s true that the musical — a biopic of U.S founding father Alexander Hamilton — is almost three hours long and tackles a variety of adult themes: war, government, sex, deceit, murder. It’s also, however, a great entry point into American history.

While it may not be our history - the music and depth this music has is more than enough to be entertained and indulge in the history.

Giving your kid swimming lessons is a smart move, but you can't just relax the moment he passes all his safety tests. It's one thing for a child to be a proficient swimmer in a pool (and even then, he's not drown-proof), but open water is a whole different beast. A new report from Safe Kids Worldwide gives some alarming findings, which you should take note of if your family will be hanging out near a lake, river or ocean this summer.

I don't remember the moment I stopped believing in Santa, but I remember the utterly perfect way my mum handled it when I finally asked.

My eight-year-old son confided something to me earlier this week: For years, around Christmastime, he’d been looking for his elf.

Around the time my son turned 13, he started spending more time away from our home. School activities kept him busy after school, and he and his buddies would take turns hanging out in basements to play video games on the weekends.

In the last two years, most of his time spent away has been spent supervised by teachers or other parents, but as he crossed over to being a full-fledged teen, he developed a social life right along with a heavy case of acne.

Yesterday I wrote a story about how to help your sons navigate “Mean Boy” relationships. It got me thinking: There are a lot of bullies roaming around out there. How do you make sure your kid isn’t one of them?

When we think about the way our kids might face conflict with their peers, we may have a tendency to assume our sons’ conflict is likely to be physical, whereas our daughters’ conflict will be more mental and emotional.

When I look back on my pictures from year 7, I cringe. Not because my mouth is full of metal and my face is full of acne but because these days, I know just how much braces and orthodontic care cost. Sorry about that, Mum and Dad.

Tia Mowry is an actress who is widely known for her role as Tia Landry in the 1990s sitcom Sister, Sister. She will be staring in an upcoming Netflix series, Family Reunion, as well as a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, A Gingerbread Romance.

Tia has also partnered with the Talking Peanut Allergy campaign to increase awareness about the challenges of living with a peanut allergy.

Getting a cell phone has become something of a childhood rite of passage. Parents often struggle with how soon is too soon, with the average child now receiving their first phone at age 10 and their first social media accounts by age 12.