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.

A new AAP clinical report names something that has long shaped our approach at the Mount Sinai Parenting Center. In Pedi...
05/18/2026

A new AAP clinical report names something that has long shaped our approach at the Mount Sinai Parenting Center. In Pediatrics (May 2026), the AAP offered a reframe for how pediatrics should approach mental and emotional development:

→ It's a developmental necessity, not a condition to be treated.
→ It exists on a spectrum — from thriving, to concerning, to significantly stressful.
→ A strengths-based lens ("what is strong") matters as much as a problem-based one ("what is wrong").
→ The pediatrician's longitudinal relationship with the family is one of the most powerful tools we have.

This is the framework behind every tool we've built — from Keystones of Development, to Sparks, to our parent handouts and speaker series. Mental and emotional development isn't a separate track. It should be woven into everyday pediatric care, every well-visit, and every conversation with families.

Looking for ready-to-use resources that bring this approach into your practice? Visit our provider portal at the link in our bio.

05/15/2026

When a parent answers every question during a teen visit, it can be hard to create space for the adolescent to speak for themselves.

Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart recently shared a simple, non-confrontational method in our speaker series that providers can use to shift the dynamic, called the "parent containment line." In your next visit, try this script:

👉 "I always like to spend a few minutes one-on-one with teens — it helps them practice speaking for themselves."

Clear. Normalized. Developmentally supportive.

Small shifts like this help build:
✔️ Autonomy
✔️ Stronger communication skills
✔️ Trust within the clinical relationship

🎥 Watch the full session on our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/480Cufh

Mental health concerns don’t always “look” like mental health concerns — especially across different stages of developme...
05/14/2026

Mental health concerns don’t always “look” like mental health concerns — especially across different stages of development.

In our recent speaker series, Dr. Dave Anderson discussed how the same underlying struggle can present very differently depending on a child’s age:

👶 A young child may show anxiety through tantrums, sleep struggles, or separation difficulties
🧒 A school-age child may present with avoidance, perfectionism, or attention concerns
🧑 An adolescent may show withdrawal, irritability, risk-taking, or mood changes

One key takeaway:
👉 Development shapes how distress gets expressed.

Understanding that lens can help providers recognize concerns earlier — and avoid missing what may be happening underneath the behavior.

🎥 Watch the full recording on our YouTube channel here: https://bit.ly/4tplac8

Parents are surrounded by discipline advice — from family, social media, parenting blogs. Most of it is well-intentioned...
05/12/2026

Parents are surrounded by discipline advice — from family, social media, parenting blogs. Most of it is well-intentioned. Not all of it is backed by research. That's where we come in.

A few myths worth gently reframing in the room:
→ "I put them on time-out to teach them not to do it again." For a dysregulated child, isolation usually does not teach the lesson adults hope it will. What helps more is support from a calm adult nearby. The exception is physical aggression, where removal may be needed for safety — not punishment. Try: "Staying close and calm is usually more effective than sending them away."
→ "If I explain my reasoning clearly enough, they'll calm down." When a child is mid-meltdown, the thinking brain is offline — logic and reasoning won't land until they're calm again. Try: "Save the conversation for after. During a tantrum, their brain isn't able to take it in."
→ "They know better." Self-control doesn't start developing until 3-4 years old — and takes two more decades to become consistent. Try: "Most of the time, it's not that they won't — it's that they can't. Yet."

For more tips like these, check out our provider module on discipline: https://youtu.be/pRRKPVulVcc

What babies actually need can't be added to a cart. New parents may come to you with questions about their registry - or...
05/11/2026

What babies actually need can't be added to a cart. New parents may come to you with questions about their registry - or worried they don't have enough.

As their provider, you can reassure them: babies don't need much. What they need most is responsive caregivers, not more gear. Eye contact, talking, holding, and serve-and-return interaction are what actually build language, attachment, and self-regulation in the first year

Try responding with something like this: "The most important thing you give your baby is you — your face, your voice, your smile, your touch. You are your baby's favorite toy! These are the things that actually support development and that help you build a strong, secure, loving relationship with your baby."

Save this script for your next newborn visit!

1 in 8 mothers experience postpartum depression. 1 in 6 experience postpartum anxiety. About half go untreated — and rat...
05/08/2026

1 in 8 mothers experience postpartum depression. 1 in 6 experience postpartum anxiety. About half go untreated — and rates are even higher among Black, Hispanic, and lower-income mothers.

As pediatric providers, we're often the most consistent point of contact in that first year. That puts us in a unique position to notice, ask, and connect.

At your next well visit:
→ Screen with the EPDS or PHQ-2/9 at 1, 2, 4, and 6 months (AAP-recommended)
→ Open the door: "A lot of new moms feel overwhelmed or really down — how is that for you?"
→ Have a warm handoff ready: her OB, a behavioral health colleague, or Postpartum Support International (1-800-944-4773)

📌 Save this as your reminder to ask. And if she seems fine? Ask anyway.

05/07/2026

Children's Mental Health Awareness Day is a reminder that pediatric providers are often the first point of contact when a parent has concerns about their child's mental health — before a referral, before an evaluation, before anything else.

Here's a framework for those conversations:
→ Validate first. "I'm really glad you brought this up. That took courage." Stigma is real — for parents, for families, even in our own field. Naming that helps.
→ Let them know that coming to you now, before things escalate, is exactly the right move.
→ Take a collaborative approach. You don't need the answer in the room. "Let's look at this together" is enough.
→ Express confidence in what comes next. Parents need to hear that support exists and that you'll help them find it.
→ De-mystify what treatment looks like.
→ Consider whether to monitor or refer.

For the full conversation, check out our February speaker series session with Dr. Dave Anderson, Vice President of Public Engagement and Education and Senior Psychologist at the Child Mind Institute: https://youtu.be/WNDL2rHEM94

AI may be shaping how kids think—not just supporting it. 🧠 In our recent KODSS session, Rebecca Winthrop (Brookings Ins...
05/05/2026

AI may be shaping how kids think—not just supporting it. 🧠 In our recent KODSS session, Rebecca Winthrop (Brookings Institution) shared a study capturing 8 years of data on idea generation in students.

Each dot represents a unique student idea. Notice the difference?
With AI → ideas cluster/narrow
Without it → ideas spread/broaden

AI polishes words. It doesn't expand thinking. As pediatric providers, we're watching a generation learn to sound more articulate while thinking less divergently with real implications for cognitive development, creativity, and for raising kids to solve problems that don't have a Google answer yet. 💭

Want to dig deeper into what this means for your patients? 📽️ Watch the full session, "Counseling Parents in the Age of AI" on our YouTube: https://bit.ly/4uwgiSV

You may be hearing about the “Jessica” trend from families.At its core, it’s a form of distraction—something that interr...
05/04/2026

You may be hearing about the “Jessica” trend from families.

At its core, it’s a form of distraction—something that interrupts a toddler in the moment by catching their attention off guard. And while that can sometimes pause a tantrum, it doesn’t actually help a child calm down.

So what should you guide parents to do instead? When a child is in a tantrum:
→ Get close (your presence helps regulate)
→ Lower your voice (less stimulation supports calming)
→ Use fewer words (they’re not in a state to process language)
→ Stay with them (don’t rush the moment)
→ Teach afterward (once they’re calm and receptive)

This helps shift the goal from stopping the behavior → to supporting the child through it, because that’s how regulation develops.

📌 Save for your next parent conversation

05/01/2026

Why might two pediatric patients respond completely differently to the same situation?
👉 Temperament.

During our Speaker Series, Lerner Child Development explained how:
Temperament is the lens behind behavior — how a child experiences the world.
It’s not defiance. It’s how they’re wired.

Sharing this lens with parents can shift:
Frustration → understanding
Reaction → support

🎥 Watch the full session at the link in our bio.

Joy. Overwhelm. Guilt. Grief. New parents can feel all of it before breakfast. And these feelings are more common than t...
04/30/2026

Joy. Overwhelm. Guilt. Grief. New parents can feel all of it before breakfast. And these feelings are more common than they might think. Sleep deprivation, identity shifts, and the weight of keeping a tiny human alive can shake even the most prepared families.

One of the most powerful things a provider can do in those early visits isn't clinical — it's relational. Something as simple as: "This is a huge transition. How are you doing?" can change the entire tone of a visit, open up important conversations, and help families feel supported. Remember to let them know you're grateful they shared these feelings with you, and reinforce that many parents feel this way at times. Listening and validating their emotions is part of how you support parents as they care for their newborn.

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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