Smart Families

Education

What Math Toys Should Your Toddler Have?

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on April 23, 2026

Which toys will fuel your preschooler's STEM skills? Spoiler alert: It’s not the latest high-tech kit on the market.

Child Development

More Than Just Counting: The Power of 'Math Talk' at Home

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on April 8, 2026

The words children use play a critical role in their early success with math. Learn how to bring "math words" into your child's daily conversations.

Cognition

Infant Cognition and Crawling at Home

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on July 18, 2024

Real estate, home design, and cognitive development do relate. Let's explore how.

Child Development

Home Design Hacks: Fueling Early Reading

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on April 1, 2024

Discover how simple home design tricks can supercharge early reading skills.

Child Development

How Early Do Infants Understand Humor?

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on February 9, 2024

Pre-verbal infants go quickly from giggling at silly faces to attempting comedy themselves. Laughter is a powerful tool that builds allegiances.

Child Development

What’s the Point of Baby Pointing?

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on September 25, 2023

Baby pointing serves many functions and could be more interesting than you ever knew.

Child Development

The Power of Plants to Help Children Focus

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on June 7, 2023

Plants may have the power to change behavior.

Cognition

What Babies Know About Counting Numbers

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on March 9, 2023

Infants may not fully understand numbers, but as young as 6 months of age, they seem to have an understanding of quantity and counting.

Education

Yucky! How Do Toddlers Learn About Disgust?

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on February 16, 2023

Disgust is an important emotion designed to keep us safe. It's also a hard emotion for children to learn and comprehend.

Attention

How Many Toys Should Your Toddler Have?

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on February 6, 2023

Babies encounter an enormous amount of stimuli around them. How many toys are optimal to help develop your baby's attention span?

Education

Paper Folding and Cognitive Development

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on January 25, 2023

Developing spatial skills is an important part of STEAM education.

Autism

How Name Cues Help Babies Learn

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on November 21, 2022

Name recognition helps us to determine the relevance of vast information all around us.

Play

Putting a Price Tag on Children's Play

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on October 27, 2022

The power of play: Playrooms and outdoor space.

Sleep

Keeping Baby Explorers Safe From Falls

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on October 12, 2022

When are infants most at risk of falling and how can parents keep them safe? Learn how to give babies control while also keeping them safe?

Play

Clutter Is Children’s Creative Play

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on September 26, 2022

Is too much organization killing creativity? Here's what the research says.

Motivation

Babies, Babbles and Beyond: Serve and Volley with Infants

Maithri Sivaraman, Ph.D., and Tricia Striano Skoler Ph.D. on September 20, 2022

How can caregivers promote vocalizations in babies? Serve-and-volley interactions can go a long way.