Even if you, as a child, weren’t taught to “look for the helpers” in times of trouble, you probably have encouraged your own children to do so. 

Diwali is the holiday that feels like it belongs to me. “My Diwali Light” tells the story of Devi, named after my grandmother, as she gets ready to celebrate Diwali her way. Like so many major holidays, different families and communities have their own way of marking the season.

From the huge family Christmas parties my parents hosted when I was growing up to the icing cookies that have been THE holiday cookie of choice since I can remember to the glow of Christmas lights and decorations, I love the Christmas holiday season.

In this episode of the "Dear Highlights" podcast, Christine French Cully, Editor-in-Chief, and Hillary Bates, Director of Purpose and Impact, are joined by Highlights CEO Kent Johnson.

Kate Swenson is the owner of the blog, "Finding Cooper's Voice." In this very personal essay, Kate shares the advice that she wants every parent of a special needs child to know. 

Kids write to Highlights to tell us how they feel about their bodies. And the news is not good. When most adults are also unhappy with their bodies, how can we help kids to relate to their bodies, and to food, in a positive way?

Preparing to add another child to your family can leave you tired and full of emotions as you prepare to welcome your second baby.

Hanh Bui fled her homeland of Vietnam as a child. She remembers the challenges of arriving in a new country, with new customs, language and expectations.

These 5 tips will help you feel at ease when cooking with kids, while also helping your child feel at ease shopping for and chopping veggies, measuring ingredients and helping you cook and serve dinner. 

It is, most likely, inevitable: One day your 2-year-old cutie is quietly sharing her favorite stuffed animal with her 4-year-old brother, when out of nowhere you hear her shout, “Let go!” in the most assertive tone ever.

No matter the kid, late toilet trained or early, older child or youngest sib, most preschoolers delight in potty talk. They pontificate on poop and blab about butts anytime and anywhere. There are three big reasons why:

Kids are proud of what they can do. 

It may be hard to fathom, but children as young as age 8 can have suicidal thoughts, and many parents don’t know when their children are in crisis. In this week’s “Dear Highlights” podcast, our host Christine French Cully, talks with Dr.

Playing with a pal is not just board games, backyard soccer, slime, bikes and lemonade stands. It’s actually shoring up your child’s mental health, banking trust and developing security that can be drawn on for years to come.

Stop the antics before they start—or stop them in their tracks.

Much that is mundane to adults is new and exciting for toddlers. No wonder it’s so easy for them to slip over the edge into overexcited territory! Here’s how, when and why to step in. You’ll be glad you did.

While there’s no single childhood trait that guarantees a happy, healthy adulthood, scientists increasingly believe that kids who possess self-control may have a leg up on the competition.

Kids need time to prepare emotionally and physically for the first day of school. This back-to-school guide provides 5 tips to help promote school readiness, as well as fun and engaging Highlights products that will set kids up for back-to-school success.

Each year, thousands of kids write to Highlights magazine to share their creativity, make suggestions for a new feature or puzzle or seek guidance on a problem they are experiencing.

As you can imagine, Judy Burke keeps pretty busy as the editor of 

The internet was made for posts about cats and kids. But it’s also a massive network storing information about all of us, including kids. How should we think about kids’ privacy online?

For many parents, a child talking back or being rude is met with immediate anger or sternness—perhaps an instinctual response from their own upbringing or beliefs about respecting our elders.

From homework to open houses and everything in between, keeping up with your child’s school year can often feel like a full-time job. 

One of the most memorable parts of raising a child is recounting all the hilarious things they say when they’re little. Whether it’s pronouncing “blueberry” as “boodiddy,” or giving you advice on how to do your job, kids come up with some pretty funny stuff.

The air is full of colorless gas. So what makes a sunny sky so blue?

On a beautiful summer day, puffy white clouds drift in a sky that’s very blue. It looks like an ocean you could dive into. 

I love sharing the traditions of Hanukkah with my children and extended family because it’s important to me to pass down the rituals of Judaism that my ancestors have been following for thousands of years.

Christine French Cully, Highlights Editor-in-Chief, and Hillary Bates, Director of Purpose and Impact, sit down with Dr. Emily Oster, an economist at Brown University, to discuss how to understand data to improve decision making for parents.  

When school lets out, a whole new world opens. For some kids, that means splashy pool days, sidewalk chalk and stacks of library books. For others, it means quiet days at home, skipped lunches and fewer chances to learn or play. That gap isn't fair.

Here are simple ways to boost kids’ interest in food, desire for adventure and appreciation for what goes on in the kitchen.

Browsing the colorful aisles of a toy store or pages of an ecommerce site, you could easily think that vibrant hues, flashing lights and lots of noise are required for every baby toy.

In this Dear Highlights podcast, Christine French Cully, Highlights Editor-in-Chief, and Hillary Bates, Director of Purpose and Impact, talk with Dr.

One of the things our early childhood learning team hears most when we speak with preschool educators is that kindergarten readiness is far more than foundational literacy and numeracy skills, as critical as they are.

There are many reasons why the holiday season can hurt. We see ads and movies depicting this time of year as joyful and connected. But some families are experiencing hardships – the loss of a job, or a devastating illness or grief after losing a loved one.

In this “Dear Highlights” episode, Christine French Cully, Editor-in-Chief, and Hillary Bates, Director of Purpose and Impact, talk with Nelba Marquez-Greene, founder of the

The best backyards have a few things in common: they offer kids a place to explore, experiment, run, jump, learn and collaborate in a safe, familiar environment. The best part: it’s easy and inexpensive to create a backyard space that’s exciting and fun for your child.

This Dear Highlights podcast discusses navigating friendships, both the fun and the challenging. Highlights receives more mail about friendship, a vital part of a kid’s social-emotional development, than any other subject. 

While homework in elementary school is usually minimal, your child has many years of studying ahead of them. Teaching study skills to kids now – in age-appropriate ways – can pay dividends later as they progress through middle and high school.

In this “Dear Highlights” podcast, as the war in Ukraine is at the front of many kids’ minds, Editor-in-Chief Christine French Cully and Hillary Bates, Director of Purpose and Impact, talk with Amanda Morgan from Save the Children. 

A great outdoor space for a baby or toddler doesn’t have to be huge or cost a fortune. All you need is a safe, obstruction-free patio, porch or grassy patch with a shady area nearby where your cutie can test new skills, investigate, play and experiment.

Whether you have an hour or a day to devote to getting outside, fresh air and outdoor adventures can lift your whole family’s mood. Entice your kids with fun outdoor activities tied to other interests and they’ll soon be reaping the rewards of muscle-building, stress-relieving, fresh-air fun.

Handwriting is so much more than just being about to write a sentence or your name. Here are 7 reasons why handwriting is key to academic and personal success.

In our "How Do We Celebrate" series, we share the unique and special traditions of all families, particularly with regards to spirituality and religion, but also other traditions that connect to meaning.

Every parent has experienced it. The anticipation of catching up with your child after a long week, the mental planning of questions to keep dialogue going. You begin the conversation with an easy ask, hoping to grease the wheels for a long discussion: “How was school today?” 

Hooray for the holidays! Three cheers for family gatherings and school vacations! Woohoo for … an overpacked schedule and feelings of stress?

A balanced and nutritious diet is crucial for a child’s wellness. What should parents do when their child is a picky eater? How can moms and dads make sure their picky eaters stay healthy and get enough to eat? 

I was born and raised in Mexico City and ironically, as soon as I left my country 17 years ago, I started paying more attention to how I celebrate my Mexican traditions, like Day of The Dead, and magically they got a whole new and powerful meaning.  

In this “Dear Highlights” podcast Editor-in-Chief Christine French Cully and her guest, educational psychologist Michele Borba, EdD, discuss how the pandemic has affected children as thei

Caring for children is a busy job and we could all use little rest and renewal with some stress-relief activities. Even kids could use a little wind-down time every now and again. But downshifting doesn’t mean that enjoying family and making memories together have to stop. 

In this “Dear Highlights” episode, Christine French Cully, Highlight’s Editor in Chief, and Hillary Bates, Director of Purpose and Impact, welcome back parenting educator Jennifer Miller to talk about social aggressi

Teaching your preschooler how to fold clothes is a self-care skill that can lead to long-term independence.

If you think folding laundry is a pain and you would do almost anything to avoid it, you may be missing an opportunity to make your preschool child smarter.

Go ahead. Pump up the volume. We’ve found tunes for all seasons and reasons.

There are few things more adorable than a stack of colorful and engaging board books waiting at home for your baby.

But board books are much more than a design accessory.

Books are a perfect way to broaden your baby’s horizon and vocabulary.

To celebrate Black History Month, we dove into our Highlights archives. From space to sports, these original stories and activities from Highlights magazines will inspire you to learn more about Black history all year long. 

Everyone feels upset at times. It’s OK and natural for your child to feel angry, scared or sad. But those emotions don’t have to rule your child's mood. 

No matter how long your kids have been in school, it always feels the same: One minute you’re stocking your child’s backpack for the first day of class, and the next, you’re already halfway through the school year.

 Dear Highlights,

Some days it seems as if mass shootings, toxic spills and natural disasters are making news with alarming frequency. And chances are your school-age child will learn about these shocking global events and tragedies, whether you discuss them at home or not. 

Whether going off to school for the first time or starting another year, experts agree that a child who feels capable and secure is set up for school success. 

Tell us more about the history of Juneteenth.

Kids love Halloween! Scary stuff can be so fun . . . or it can ruin bedtime.

Father’s Day is the perfect holiday to spoil the amazing dads and father figures in our kids’ lives. Instead of just wrapping up a few gifts, why not plan a day full of activities that Dad and the kids will love?

Gratitude is the appreciation of good things in our lives and in the world, accompanied by a sense of thankfulness and a desire to express it. Nurturing gratitude helps children develop empathy, resilience, and a positive outlook—skills that benefit them throughout life.

Kids love to imagine what could be – like traveling to mystical lands or exploring the furthest reaches of our universe. 

Last week in Texas, and this weekend in Ohio, parents received startling emails from their schools informing them of a threat made by someone claiming to be a Russian terrorist organization to plant bombs in U.S. schools, including theirs.

At Highlights, we receive thousands of messages from kids each year. Some are silly. Some are heartbreaking. All are real. And every single one matters.   

Small talk is a big deal. Although we usually dismiss small talk as chatter about topics that seem unimportant, kids need to know how to strike up, and hold, a conversation with you, friends, family and teachers, as well as bosses and colleagues down the road. 

Few parents want to clean up after their children constantly. Sure, kids make messes and need help from adults — but children as young as 18 months old can learn how to do simple chores and contribute to the household. 

Between the sweet baby smell and the sound of your little one cooing with delight, there is so much to be excited about in this new chapter — and, of course, plenty of unsolicited advice.

It’s no surprise preschool kids develop an intense interest in a particular type of play (dress-up), a concept (knock-knock jokes) or an object (insert your kid’s fixation here).

Parents Trent and Carly Shepherd join Christine French Cully, Highlights’ Editor-in-Chief, and Hillary Bates, Director of Purpose and Impact, on the Dear Highlights podcast to share more about a major lifestyle chang

Raising children to be empathetic and kind toward other people — beyond just friends and family members — can feel like a daunting job for many parents. Fortunately, there’s a time-tested way to do it: parents can teach kindness and compassion by setting the right example for their kids.

The new Highlights CoComelon mini magazine combines two childhood favorites into a one-of-a-kind monthly subscription that encourages families to smile, snuggle and sing together.

Kids are exceptionally active thinkers. From an early age, they’re flexing and stretching their mental muscles in order to learn and explore. It’s important to support and challenge them to grow their intellect and to follow their curiosity.

It’s probably not an overstatement to say that kids (and grown-ups) have been infatuated with space since the beginning of time. And, lucky for the current generation, today’s options for engaging in planetary playtime extend well beyond telescopes and Space Invaders.

The truth about parenting is that it isn’t all happy moments and smiling faces. Between feeding, bathing, playing and all the running around in between, being a parent is a full-time job — an exhausting, never-ending and incredibly fulfilling job.

Give your child a chance to boost summer learning and create some excitement when school’s not in session. Encourage your kids to be creative by choosing a weird or out-of-the-box place to read, like in a tub without water or on a seasaw on the ground (yes, really!).

When experts talk about executive function, they’re referring to the set of mental abilities that are essential to kids learning at home and in school. Children aren’t born with these mental abilities, but they are pre-wired to develop them. 

When your sassy child hollers, “Quit it, Mom!” (or worse), your first instinct may be to shut that behavior down immediately. After all, you want your child to develop good manners and to demonstrate respect to those around them. 

As children grow, it’s normal for them to experience ups and downs day-to-day, depending on what’s happening at school and with friends and family.

Last May when we learned that 21 children and teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde were killed in a school shooting and another 17 wounded, we were thrust into a whirling vortex of emotions: disbelief, horror, grief, fear, white-hot anger, and anguish.

The magic of the holidays is here! Or it will be as soon as you can somehow magically summon up ideas for yet. another. list. of gifts for kids.

Holidays are times of joyful gatherings and fun traditions for families all over the world. From special meals to funny characters to celebrating the values that unite us, each culture brings its own flair to the festivities — during the winter holidays and throughout the year.

It all started with a bag of plagues.

Hidden Pictures puzzles have been a beloved feature of Highlights for Children since launching in 1946. Today, there are over 30 varieties of Hidden Pictures puzzles, all created to challenge and delight from infancy through adulthood.

When my son Mickey was in second or third grade, a favorite book of his (and mine) was Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes, a cookbook with instructions for making Lickable Wallpaper, Stink Bugs’ Eggs and Peppermint Pencil Erasers.

Few parents have heard the term “school refusal,” but many families are experiencing it. In fact, since the pandemic, it’s a big problem. Missing a lot of school causes cognitive–academic, social and behavioral deficits for students.