Across living rooms and group chats, parents are quietly bracing for the same holiday standoff: a shy kid, an eager grandparent, and a chorus of adults urging a hug. What used to be treated as basic ...

The girl scouts have taken a stance to empower girls. The stance is that parents shouldn't force their daughters to give holiday hugs. It's well-meaning, but can send the wrong message as some kids ...

Picture this. You're at a family gathering, and as you prepare to leave, your aunt leans down expectantly toward your child. The scene is familiar to most parents. Your kid shifts uncomfortably, looks ...

For many of us, the holiday season involves gatherings with extended family. Ideally, such get-togethers are fun and easy, but for some of us they can be stressful. As a pediatrician, I’d like to ...

Each morning, I watch my children climb onto the bus with their backpacks bouncing, and I whisper the same prayer every parent knows: bring them home safely. In America, that prayer feels too fragile, ...

In my culture, children are expected to greet everyone in the room with a hug and a kiss. My daughter didn't like to and often screamed when relatives tried to hug and kiss her. I teach my kid that ...