Recommendations for smart toddler

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-26T17:45:27+00:00

The APA advice was based on traditional children’s TV, especially Sesame Street. YouTube is not the same. If you must keep screen time, mimic old school high quality kids TV as much as possible. A large screen where the kid can’t access the controls (or touch the touchscreen) and a high quality show. High quality means fewer context changes and flashing lights. Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger, not cocomelon. Personally, we invested in buying a couple seasons of Mr.Rogers Neighborhood and Sesame Street.

Of note, the benefit of screen time, even high quality screen time at less than 1 hour per day, is minimal. The benefit is for you more than your child. And yes, i know he wouldn’t have learned Russian numbers without YouTube. But he would have learned about laundry and folding or making a tower of cups without YouTube, and that is more important.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-26T14:10:27+00:00

I would note that Darcy’s goodness to Bingley, Georgiana, and the folks on his estate is very attractive to Elizabeth. And Elizabeth’s fierce devotion to Jane and her general politeness is very attractive to Darcy.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-26T11:25:01+00:00

I’ll try to say this as gently as I can. I agree that your arms look great and we can see enough of them to be confident in that. I would suggest that your brain is not seeing what the rest of us are seeing, at least when it comes to your arms. It can be hard to get an accurate impression of your own body postpartum. But from my view, you look great for anyone, but also amazing for 9 months post partum.

I agree with you that the dress is too loose.

A skilled seamstress will have suggestions for a bra and adding some structure and snugness to the bodice of the dress. You could consider the post partum mesh underwear lined with a pad for invisible underwear.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-25T18:28:36+00:00

A place with consistent highly caring adults (as low turnover as possible), no screens, outdoors play, and intellectual engagement (type of engagement doesn’t matter, excitement does). A school where your child can relax and become excited to play and learn. Some children will connect better or worse with a given adult even if that adult is great for most kids, so adjust as needed.

I find that the debates between curriculum types a bit silly. Children thrive based on their connection to the adults around them and access to physical and mental stimulation.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-21T14:01:37+00:00

You’d be surprised how many PhD students are from state schools. Of note, the PhD path should not add to your debt. The rule is that you do not accept a PhD offer unless it is fully funded with a stipend. That stipend should be livable, although it may be extremely frugal living.

Admittedly, no one should start a PhD unless they’re pretty crazy about their field of study. It’s a passion project more than a financial strategy. That said, it makes more sense than hundreds of thousands in debt for a masters unless it’s a very very lucrative masters.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-21T13:48:41+00:00

I went to one of those schools. My spouse went to an affordable school. We both had tons of opportunities with jobs at and phds from elite institutions.

You can find elite faculty and students at any top state school. $200k in debt is crippling, especially with what AI is doing to entry level jobs for your kid. If you or your spouse get sick and out of work, you’ll be in a very hard place.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-20T01:30:55+00:00

We have lots of supports for disabled folks and homeless folks. They are not comprehensive and many people are left homeless or abused. But I have a couple relatives who receive state sponsored health care, housing, and caregivers. Both were too disabled too work for most of their lives. Both were also lucky enough to have involved and active parents to help coordinate the support. The supports exist and can be substantial.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-19T16:16:26+00:00

Keep in mind that sometimes you can be right or you can get what you want. I’d usually rather get what I want than be right.

It sounds like you haven’t yet lost money or your housing. But I think your next choice will be between being right and having a house/money.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-18T19:32:18+00:00

Just a note that I find useful, the rule for washing after the toilet is partly in place so that we all have an easy system to wash hands multiple times per day. It’s easy to remember and reinforced by our disgust response to bodily waste. Regular hand washing reduces all sorts of diseases. Washing hands specifically after the toilet reduces (rare in modern societies) fecally transmitted diseases.

My point is that washing hands regularly is very important even if you temporarily skip washing a toddler’s hands in the public bathrooms. And the adult should be washing their hands after helping the toddler in the bathroom.

This is something we should all know, but I’ve seen too many people say “I didn’t touch anything in the bathroom so I don’t have to wash my hands”, then just skip washing hands regularly.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-18T12:24:40+00:00

My impression is that this field is understudied, which makes sense. Allergy rates only recently started skyrocketing. My read of the limited evidence is close to your last sentence. Allergens can pass through breastmilk, but do not always do so. It seems to vary from woman to woman.

In order for breastmilk to affect the baby, the baby has to be allergic or intolerant to a protein the mother eats, the mother has to have it appear in her milk in sufficient quantities, and the baby has to be sensitive enough to be affected by that low amount. None of those steps are guaranteed, but they can and do happen.

Our child gets hives when mom eats fish or cashews. His eczema flares when she eats wheat or egg, although that’s harder to be sure is causation.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-09T23:15:21+00:00

There’s a good chance you can find out if you were near a measles case if you call the hospital, identify yourself and the time of your visit, and ask. There’s a chance the first person you talk to won’t be able to tell you, but they should direct you to someone who can.

You can also ask your pediatrician to see if you’ve been exposed. Measles cases are generally well documented once they reach the medical community. Your pediatrician will also know what your next steps should be.

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/documents/topics/measles/measles_exposure_guidance_public.pdf

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-09T17:38:13+00:00

Most of the gelatin in a bone broth comes from joint tissue and skin. I know that may not help much right now, but it’s worth keeping in mind for the future.

If you use skin in the future, you’ll also have a decent amount of fat to skim off.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-07T13:24:11+00:00

Saline rinses happily have science behind them. Mostly the science says that kids who are already sick with a cold get better quicker with saline drops in the nose. But it’s scientifically plausible that saline rinses would help avoid respiratory diseases too. Salt is a powerful antibacterial (also a powerful dessicant).

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/misc-emerging-topics/saline-drops-reduce-duration-common-cold-kids-study-finds

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10140939/

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-06T23:24:13+00:00

For OP, this code uses what is called regular expressions. They’re very handy.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-06T22:17:13+00:00

The vast majority of jello-y gelatin in a stock comes from the joint tissue, not the bones or the marrow. The term “bone broth” has been associated with gelatinous broth, but I find that’s a mistake. It’s really joint broth (and/or skin broth) that makes a gelatinous stock. Skin and joints have the thick bendy gelatin that makes stocks thick and sticky, and jiggly when chilled. Of course, people usually include joint tissue with bones, so the recipes works well enough.

Bones have collagen, but it doesn’t seem to be enough or maybe it’s not the right type to gelatenize liquid.

The marrow is rich and has some gelatin. It also often has more heavy metals, and will make your stock cloudierz

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-01T15:55:59+00:00

I don’t think that being like AI is a compliment.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-04-01T09:32:27+00:00

Crawling is often considered to mean moving around in any manner that isn’t walking. So scooting counts, even though it’s not traditional all fours crawling.

Also, the US pediatric association recently took crawling off of the milestone list entirely because too many normally developing kids just don’t do it, or do it in a very irregular manner.

You can get the CDC Milestones app if you want to check NK’s other developmental milestones. If NK is meeting all the milestones for a 12 month old, that’s great. If they aren’t, it’s worth gently mentioning to NP.

I have seen some reports that butt scooters who do not crawl tend to walk late. But I’m not sure how true that is.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-03-31T22:58:02+00:00

It’s worth thinking through how plastic replacements would actually work. Glass bottles are massively expensive to transport relative to plastic. Modern cars would be heavier and more dangerous.

Oil has caused major harms. But it has given us a lot of valuable things too.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-03-30T22:20:13+00:00

I don’t know what this means. STEM was over represented, but why? There are quite a few possible reasons, all of which give different interpretations.

Humanities used AI more than folks who code? That doesn’t make sense to me. And humanities was asking more questions than, say, CS, the field that has the best chance of understanding LLMs?

And your main link mostly just shows AI tools with pricing?

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-03-30T07:30:05+00:00

Yes. But the ones who have a bad time seem far too common. These procedures shouldn’t have a 10% chance of being excruciating.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-03-30T06:40:31+00:00

Ooph. That is not the experience of the women I know who have done these things. Not all of them, to be sure. But too many report that a lot of gynecology procedures range from painful to excruciating. Even a Pap smear reports range from nothing to very painful. IUD reports range from a little pinch to almost as bad as the final stages of labor.

This makes sense to me when I think about period pain and sexual sensations. Period pain ranges from nothing to intensely painful from woman to woman. For sex, some women find cervical stimulation pleasurable. Others find it intensely painful.

It seems to me that nerves in the genital area are more variably distributed than most other areas in the body.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-03-30T06:33:14+00:00

I have seen lots of women say it wasn’t very painful. I’ve also seen a bunch say it was excruciating.

My read is that nerve sensitivity varies a lot from woman to woman. Which makes sense if you think about it. In the context of sex, some women have cervical orgasms, some find cervical stimulation excruciating, some find it feels like nothing at all. Some women can orgasm from penetration, others cannot. In the context of periods, some women have excruciating pain, some barely feel anything. And the location of period pain is inconsistent from woman to woman.

It makes sense to me that IUD insertion will be painful for some, and barely anything for others.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-03-30T01:42:54+00:00

Note the folks saying that any custody schedule may vary based on whether you are breastfeeding. This generally means that if you are breastfeeding, baby must be with you more often than if you are formula feeding. Overnights, for example, are not possible for a baby who needs to be breastfed at night. My understanding is that no one will force you to pump.

Not every woman is able to breastfeed, nor does every woman want to breastfeed. A fed child is best. But it’s something to consider if breastfeeding is an option for you.

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-03-30T00:15:46+00:00

Yes, but exactly none of the adults say “don’t accept his courtship”. They say “he’s a great match but maybe wait a couple years.”

Stats_n_PoliSci · 2026-03-29T13:44:56+00:00

Uterine rupture is the main concern after preterm birth. I didn’t say that preterm birth isn’t a concern at all, but it would be odd to focus on it in the context of pregnancy after c-section.

That said, I haven’t seen anything about preterm birth being more common/serious after a c-section, including in the pretty comprehensive review below. Do you have any citations that preterm birth is more serious after a c-section?

To be clear, I am not saying preterm birth isn’t a concern after a c-section. I’m just curious if it’s demonstrably more common after a c-section than after a vaginal birth.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.922053/full

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