The Parenting Journal

Head to Head
Glass, Plastic or Silicone Baby Bottles: Heat, Microplastics, Breakage and Which to Choose

Glass, Plastic or Silicone Baby Bottles: Heat, Microplastics, Breakage and Which to Choose

What the FDA, AAP and CDC say about BPA, heat, microplastics and breakage, and how to weigh glass, plastic and silicone bottles.

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Proofing Essentials
How to Change a Diaper Step by Step: Newborn Boys and Girls, the Umbilical Cord, and Keeping One Hand on Baby

How to Change a Diaper Step by Step: Newborn Boys and Girls, the Umbilical Cord, and Keeping One Hand on Baby

Every step of a diaper change from AAP and CDC guidance, with diapering around the umbilical cord stump, boys and girls, poopy diapers and one hand on your baby throughout.

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Safety Science
Close-up of a mesh baby gate's hinge pin held in a four-bolt bracket fixed to a wall, with a staircase behind

The Engineering Behind Retractable Baby Gates: How the Mechanism Works

About 93,000 children under 5 are treated in U.S. emergency rooms each year for stair-related injuries, per a Nationwide Children’s Hospital analysis of CPSC NEISS data. That number is why a gate at the top of the stairs is one...

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Buyer’s Guides
A mesh retractable gate screwed to the wall and newel post across the top of a carpeted staircase

Retractable Baby Gate vs Pressure Mount: Which Style Is Safer

About 93,000 children under 5 are treated in U.S. emergency rooms each year for stair-related injuries, according to a Nationwide Children’s Hospital analysis of CPSC NEISS data. That number is why the gate question matters so much. Not "which style...

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Buyer’s Guides
Top Rated Baby Proofing Products: Parent Reviews and Expert Picks

Top Rated Baby Proofing Products: Parent Reviews and Expert Picks

Every parent I know has stood in the baby-proofing aisle at some point, holding two nearly identical cabinet locks and wondering which one their kid will defeat first. My older daughter defeated an adhesive strap lock at 26 months. She...

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Buyer’s Guides
Baby Playpen vs Baby Gate: Which Containment Method Is Best

Baby Playpen vs Baby Gate: Which Containment Method Is Best

Most families buy a gate first. Then their baby figures out how to get everywhere anyway, and they buy a playpen. Then they realize they needed both from the start, just for different things. These two products solve different problems....

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Buyer’s Guides
A bare white crib with a fitted sheet and nothing inside, next to a changing table in a sunlit nursery

Amazon Baby Registry Safety Items: What to Add from BabyProofMe

Every year, parents spend hours curating the perfect baby registry, agonizing over stroller brands and nursery aesthetics. The safety items get added last, almost as an afterthought, usually after someone’s baby shower comment or a pediatrician visit. That’s backwards. The...

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Buyer’s Guides
The Ultimate Safety-Focused Baby Registry: Products That Actually Protect

The Ultimate Safety-Focused Baby Registry: Products That Actually Protect

Every year, parents spend hours agonizing over stroller brands and nursery aesthetics while the items that could prevent a serious injury get added as afterthoughts, if at all. A safety-focused registry flips that priority. It starts with the hazards that...

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Buyer’s Guides
Complete Baby Proofing Kit: What Should Be Included and Our Top Picks

Complete Baby Proofing Kit: What Should Be Included and Our Top Picks

Every year, parents spend hours researching strollers and car seats while the inside of their home stays unaddressed. Then the baby starts pulling up on furniture, and the panic sets in. A complete baby proofing kit solves that problem systematically....

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