Mount Sinai Parenting Center

Mount Sinai Parenting Center We’re enhancing pediatric care by promoting early (0-5) childhood development and parent-child relationships in routine primary care.

Our free, evidence-based resources empower providers and families—because every interaction can support a child’s growth. At The Mount Sinai Parenting Center, we recognize the vital role healthcare providers play in supporting families—and the many challenges that come with it. While the science is clear on the importance of the early parenting environment from birth to age five, routine pediatric care often lacks the guidance and information parents need to foster their child's social, emotional, and cognitive development. That’s why, in 2014, we created Keystones of Development to address a gap we, as providers, experienced firsthand. We built the tools we wished we had and made them available to providers—for free. Developed by our unique interdisciplinary team of physicians, developmental psychologists, educators, and social workers, our comprehensive library equips providers with practical, effective, and evidence-based resources – empowering them to strengthen parent-child relationships and guide parents through their child’s early development at every stage.

Ping pong isn’t just a sport — it’s also a model for language development. Think about a moment you observed in the exam...
02/23/2026

Ping pong isn’t just a sport — it’s also a model for language development. Think about a moment you observed in the exam room:

Baby babbles…Parent leans in: “Tell me more!”
Baby squeals…Parent smiles and responds back.

That back-and-forth rally of conversation is how babies learn best. Every coo, smile, and sound is a serve. When caregivers return it, they’re building neural connections for communication, connection, and future learning.

Encourage families to keep the rally going — respond, imitate, expand. That simple exchange is doing more than they realize. 🏓

02/20/2026

Behind every Olympic moment is years of practice, coaching, and support. 🥇 If your families are watching the Winter Games, it’s a powerful opportunity to talk about noticing effort over outcomes.

We often hear that Olympians have dreamed of this day their whole lives. But what’s even more important to notice? They’ve worked their whole lives for this day.

Whether they win a medal — or not — every athlete on that stage got there through repetition, setbacks, discipline, and the steady support of people who believed in them.

Encourage parents to talk with their kids about:
✨ The years of practice behind the moment
✨ The mistakes and setbacks along the way
✨ The coaches and supporters who helped them grow
✨ The courage it takes just to show up

When we help families focus on effort — not just outcomes — we strengthen resilience, confidence, and connection.

📱In a 2025 national poll of parents, 75% of parents rated social media and too much screen time as big problems for chil...
02/18/2026

📱In a 2025 national poll of parents, 75% of parents rated social media and too much screen time as big problems for children and teens. The good news? As pediatric providers, we’re uniquely positioned to support families.

In your visits, you can start nonjudgmental conversations with families that help them navigate the digital ecosystem. Help families set clear time boundaries that fit their routine—like no screens at meals, before bedtime, on school nights, etc. If parents are looking for specifics, offer ranges:
• Toddlers/preschoolers: • School-age kids & teens: ~1–2 hrs/day
• Recommend sites like commonsensemedia.org for families to check content quality/age recommendations

Remind families that screens shouldn’t crowd out sleep, play, movement, or reading.

02/13/2026

Talk about the power of love this Valentine's day!

When caregivers spend time looking at, responding to, and snuggling with their children, the brain releases oxytocin, which produces feelings of comfort, safety, and warmth in themselves and their babies.

This Valentine's day, try prescribing snuggling, laughing, singing, and spending time together in your visits!

02/12/2026

When parents bring in a dysregulated 2-year-old, before jumping to behavior charts or discipline strategies, zoom out and try these two questions. First: How’s sleep? Nap transitions alone can wreak havoc on regulation. Second: Is this happening everywhere—or just at home? A daycare rockstar that melts down at home often points us toward looking at routines and developmental expectations rather than a global behavior concern.

These quick questions can completely reframe the conversation and help families feel understood, not blamed.

Research shows parents and children are only “in sync” about 20-30% of the time. It’s not about being perfect all the ti...
02/11/2026

Research shows parents and children are only “in sync” about 20-30% of the time. It’s not about being perfect all the time. What’s most important is to get back in step together.

You can try modeling repair by getting back in step with families. Here are a few ideas:
• “I think I went too fast and didn’t understand your question, let me try that again.”
• “I’m sorry I didn’t get back in here as fast as I had hoped, it is a very busy day here and I know that is frustrating.”
• “It sounds like what I recommended last time didn’t work. Let’s try something new today and we will keep working on it.”

💗 Valentine’s Day is a reminder: connection matters — for parents, too.When visits are filled with biting, boundary-test...
02/10/2026

💗 Valentine’s Day is a reminder: connection matters — for parents, too.

When visits are filled with biting, boundary-testing, and bedtime struggles, even loving parents can feel worn down and disconnected from what makes parenting feel joyful.

One simple question you can ask — right in the visit: ✨ “What’s one thing about your child that brings you joy?”

Then follow up with: ✨ “How could you create more moments like that?”

It takes under a minute — and helps shift the visit from fixing problems to strengthening relationships.

Swipe for simple tips you can share with parents to help them reconnect — and fall back in love with their child 👇

Primary care providers are often the first to hear parents’ concerns about their child’s behavior, mood, or attention. 🧠...
02/09/2026

Primary care providers are often the first to hear parents’ concerns about their child’s behavior, mood, or attention. 🧠

Knowing what to screen for—and how to support families when specialty mental health care isn’t readily available—can make all the difference.🩺

In our upcoming free webinar, Dr. Dave Anderson from the Child Mind Institute will share practical strategies for identifying common childhood mental health concerns like anxiety, ADHD, and depression, along with preventative and light-touch interventions you can use in primary care settings. We’ll also explore best practices for talking with families about what to look for, what to expect, and how to navigate referrals with confidence and clarity.

Register today: https://bit.ly/3MnFsTf

02/06/2026

When we meet kids where they are — even for a few seconds — the whole visit flows more easily ✨

In stressful moments, we don’t always need to push through fear.
Sometimes we can soften it.

Turning something uncomfortable — like eye drops for pink eye 👀💧 — into something magical through guided imagination can help kids feel safer, more in control, and ready to cooperate. 🪄

These playful moments aren’t distractions.
They’re tools for regulation, trust, and emotional safety — right in the exam room.

💾 Save this for an easy, visualization strategy you can use in moments when a little magic can make care easier.

We are so excited that our latest article was published in Paediatrics & Child Health! Congratulations to all the author...
02/05/2026

We are so excited that our latest article was published in Paediatrics & Child Health! Congratulations to all the authors!

Keystones of Development exists to meet the needs of residents in training today. Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/4abo4ce

In rushed teen visits, it can be easy to default to the basics: talking to the parent, skimming the psychosocial screen,...
02/04/2026

In rushed teen visits, it can be easy to default to the basics: talking to the parent, skimming the psychosocial screen, labeling “resistance” as noncompliance. But teens notice.

Common traps we fall into 👇
• Rushing through psychosocial screens
• Talking to parents instead of with them
• Not giving teens 1:1 time
• Focusing only on physical complaints

Simple shifts, like slowing down, inviting autonomy, and asking better questions, can completely change what teens share with us.

In case you missed it, check out the full speaker series session from Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, A New Day Pediatric Psychology to learn how to avoid these pitfalls in your next teen visit: https://youtu.be/6RVCy05wHeE

Address

New York, NY
10029

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12122412772

Website

https://linktr.ee/mountsinaiparentingcenter

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