By Sarah Vander Schaaff This summer, we’re going to focus on some specific questions parents might have about development and, well, life. Sometimes we’ll turn to some experts for advice, and sometimes we’ll turn to you—experts in your own right. We start with a question on many of our minds as the schedule of the school year gives way to free time: When do you let your child walk to a friend’s house alone? This is a variation on the “when do you let your child walk to school alone,” a question answered extremely well by Gavin de Becker, an expert on the predication and management of violence and author of Protecting the Gift. Mr. de Becker has a “Test… Read More

By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff It was only four months ago that we, as a country, and as parents, were stopped cold, left to wonder how to make some sort of sense out of the events unfolding. While it is too early to know much about the bombings in Boston, we thought the best use of the blog this week was to provide links for parents that might be of use if and when they speak to their children about the tragedy. It was a Bedford, New Hampshire Patch site that lead us to the link on the Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Health Blog. There are some good points there, as well as links, including one at PBS KIDS, called,… Read More