32 parenting questions with a clear, evidence-backed answer

Vaccines in pregnancy (flu, COVID-19, whooping cough) pass protection to the baby.

4 options · Well established · During pregnancy

Who will look after you in pregnancy and birth (an obstetrician or a midwife) and whether you will add a doula, a trained person who gives continuous support during labor.

4 options · Well established · During pregnancy

Whether to wait a short time after birth before the umbilical cord is clamped, so more blood passes from the placenta to the baby.

3 options · Well established · During pregnancy

Whether to collect blood from the umbilical cord at birth for possible future medical use: do nothing, donate to a public bank, or pay a private bank to store it.

3 options · Well established · During pregnancy

Knowing the signs of postpartum depression and anxiety (in either of you) and agreeing in advance who will speak up and what support you will arrange.

3 options · Well established · During pregnancy

Whether your newborn gets vitamin K, which helps blood clot, and in what form.

3 options · Well established · Around the birth

Newborn screening is a set of quick tests done in the first days of life to catch rare but treatable conditions: a drop of blood from the baby's heel, a hearing test, and a pulse-oxygen check for heart defects.

2 options · Well established · Around the birth

Whether you feed the baby whenever they show hunger cues, on a loose rhythm, or by the clock.

4 options · Well established · Around the birth

The age at which you begin offering foods other than milk.

3 options · Well established · 0–6 months

Whether and when to give common allergy-causing foods such as peanut and egg to your baby, and how to keep offering them.

3 options · Well established · 0–6 months

What you offer first when starting solids, such as iron-rich foods, fruit and vegetables, or infant cereal.

2 options · Well established · 0–6 months

Whether your child has juice or foods with added sugar in the first two years, and how strictly you hold that line.

3 options · Well established · 6–12 months

The baseline rules for putting a baby to sleep: on their back, on a firm flat surface, with nothing else in the sleep space.

1 options · Well established · Around the birth

Whether to wrap your baby snugly in a blanket for sleep, and when to stop, which is usually when they begin to roll.

3 options · Well established · Around the birth

Whether you use a baby monitor and what kind: none, audio, video, or a wearable device that tracks vital signs.

4 options · Well established · During pregnancy

How firm bedtime is: a fixed early time and routine, a flexible window, or letting the child decide when they are tired.

3 options · Well established · Toddler

How quickly and how you respond when your baby cries: immediately every time, after a pause to observe, or letting them fuss for set periods.

3 options · Well established · Around the birth

Tummy time is placing a baby on their stomach while awake and watched, to strengthen the neck and shoulders.

3 options · Well established · Around the birth

Whether you would ever spank or hit a child as discipline, from never to occasionally to routinely.

4 options · Well established · Toddler

Whether you raise your voice or use harsh words when frustrated, and what you do afterward.

4 options · Well established · Toddler

What your child drinks: only water and milk, juice within limits, soda and sports drinks occasionally, or no rules.

4 options · Well established · Toddler

Whether teens may have coffee, tea or energy drinks, from none until adulthood to a little to no rules.

4 options · Well established · Tween

How you encourage potty training and respond when it goes wrong: whether you use praise, stickers or treats, and what you do about accidents, refusal and steps backward.

5 options · Well established · Toddler

Staying dry overnight is a separate step from daytime potty training and usually comes later.

5 options · Well established · Preschool

What words you use for body parts: the anatomical names, family nicknames, or avoiding the subject.

3 options · Well established · Toddler

How long a child stays in each type of car seat, including rear-facing as long as possible versus switching at the legal minimum.

3 options · Well established · During pregnancy

How you teach water safety and swimming: lessons from a young age, infant survival-swim programs, or lessons later with fencing and supervision.

3 options · Well established · 6–12 months

When your child wears a helmet for biking, scooting and snow sports, and whether you wear one too.

3 options · Well established · Toddler

Whether there are guns in your home and how they are stored, and whether you ask about guns in other homes before playdates.

3 options · Well established · During pregnancy

How reading fits into family life: reading aloud daily from birth, a bedtime story, books available for the child to pick up, or reading targets and rewards.

4 options · Well established · Around the birth

What you tell your teen about sex: abstinence, delaying while knowing about contraception, comprehensive and consent-focused, or a readiness-based approach.

4 options · Well established · Tween

When and how your teen gets a license and the rules for driving, including a written family agreement.

4 options · Well established · Teen