Library

The first WHO guideline to look at movement, sitting and sleep together for young children. It gives daily numbers for each age group.

The international framework for early childhood. It names five components of nurturing care - good health, adequate nutrition, safety and security, responsive caregiving and opportunities for early learning.

An online tool from the American Academy of Pediatrics for agreeing screen and device rules as a family.

Under 18 months, avoid screen media other than video chatting. From 18 to 24 months, choose high-quality programmes and watch together. From 2 to 5 years, limit to 1 hour a day of high-quality programmes.

Place babies on their back, on a firm flat surface of their own, with no soft objects, to lower the risk of sleep-related infant death.

The AAP advises against spanking, hitting, slapping, threatening, insulting or shaming children, and recommends teaching good behaviour through healthy forms of discipline instead.

Explains how babies and young children learn about people, objects and language by experimenting, much like small scientists.

A university explainer about the back-and-forth between a young child and a caring adult: notice a look, sound or gesture, respond, and leave room for the child to respond again.

WHO guidance brings together responsive caregiving, early learning, nutrition services and support for maternal mental health during the first three years of life.

Guidance on structured parenting interventions to reduce maltreatment and harsh parenting, strengthen parent–child relationships, and prevent emotional and behavioural problems.

Free activity tips that fit into meals, getting dressed, travel and other shared moments, with brief explanations of the ideas behind them.

Checklists of what most children can do at 12 ages from 2 months to 5 years, covering social, language, thinking and movement skills.

Expert panel recommendations for sleep per 24 hours: 12–16 hours at 4–12 months, 11–14 at 1–2 years, 10–13 at 3–5, 9–12 at 6–12 and 8–10 at 13–18.

Guidance on starting solid foods, a varied diet, and foods and drinks to limit, for children aged 6 to 23 months.

An age-grouped collection of games and activities for practising working memory, inhibitory control and flexible thinking, with adults gradually adjusting their help.

Explains, in terms children can understand, how the developing brain works, with twelve strategies for handling big feelings.

A collection of parenting programmes and materials, including resources for families with children aged 2–9 and young people aged 10–17. It focuses on relationships and preventing violence.

A long-running practical guide to everyday conversations with children - acknowledging feelings, inviting cooperation and alternatives to punishment.

Introduces the idea of a growth mindset and why praising effort and strategy differs from praising ability.

A classic work about education in the home, with an emphasis on habits, judgement, character and the example set by adults. Read it as a historical argument rather than a modern childcare manual.

Recommends an average of 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity for ages 5–17, and limiting sedentary time, especially recreational screen time.

A classic reflection on education that challenges “inert ideas”: knowledge received but never used, tested or connected with experience. This introduction draws on a scholarly account of the book.

An essay in Montaigne’s Essays that asks education to develop judgement through conversation, experience and examining ideas, rather than reward the repetition of other people’s words.

Reviews what is known and not yet known about social media and youth mental health, and asks families, companies and policymakers to act.

What physical changes to expect in girls during puberty and roughly when they happen.

What physical changes to expect in boys during puberty and roughly when they happen.

Ten recommendations based on the research to date, including adult monitoring in early adolescence, protecting sleep and physical activity, and social media literacy training before use begins.

Key facts on mental health conditions in 10- to 19-year-olds, the factors that protect or put them at risk, and what helps.

The same practical approach as the classic, adapted to the conversations parents have with teenagers.

Presents teenage intensity, risk-taking and the push for independence as part of healthy brain development, and how parents can stay connected.