Why moms react differently to dads when babies cry

Plus: the great recess debate |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

SUBSCRIBE to TIME Magazine Salutations to those who are endeavoring to raise others, Nearly all parenting experts recommend taking all digital communication devices out of a kids' room at night. This works really well up to a point. Nearly all parents get to a stage where unless they wish to engage in an unseemly wrestling match, phone removal becomes very difficult. Recently it has occurred to me that somebody could make a lot of money by making a little electronic device that charged a kid's phone overnight, could be set as an alarm clock for the morning and, this is the crucial part, SHUT IT OFF IN THE INTERVENING PERIOD. (a little alarm that went off if it were unplugged, might also be handy. Could someone pls get on that? Or if it already exists, let me know. We use and like the Circle, but it's still not perfect. I'm at belinda.luscombe@time.com or @luscombeland on Twitter. Feel free to follow me, but not necessarily my parenting philosophy. P.S. If you like this newsletter, please pass it on to a friend. And if you got it from a friend, sign up here for email delivery each Friday. You know, more or less. roundup Ever noticed how much more quickly moms get out of beds than dads when babies cry in the middle of the night? It's almost as if they're on their feet before the guys can quite get their eyes open. This is not because dads are lousy parents; it's because of how quickly mother's brains change after they have a baby. A new global study looked at mothers' reactions to a baby's cry and then looked at what was happening in the brain. The researchers found structural changes that suggested moms' reactions very quickly become instinctual. TIME A new report came out which suggested that unsafe ingredients may be accumulating on toothbrushes, including children's toothbrushes. But it may not be time to freak out just yet. Our trusty health writers got to the bottom of it. TIME Sit back and let the perfectly modulated dulcet tones of British philosopher Alain de Botton nag you gently in a this video about why nagging will simply not work, whether it's of spouses or children. The School Of Life Believe it or not, there's a debate over recess. Recess! The most favorite time in any child's day. The only thing that makes school even tolerable for most of them. Children will grow up and get jobs and have families and work plenty. Let them play. Also, not incidentally, playing is a key part of learning. Now, some states are mandating that all schools give their kids some recess.  Here's a summary of the debate: TIME Even more hotly debated than recess, however, is homework. If schools ban it, many parents feel their kids will fall behind. But often, it makes family life unbelievably onerous. What's the solution? Here's an interesting suggestion: don't ban homework. Fix it. Pacific Standard Loved this interview with two fathers in two different cities with two different family structures on how they were raised, how they're doing it differently and their particular challenges. Huffington Post PFFT: Parenting from Famous Types Drew Barrymore, actress and mother of two, on parenting after a split "[Y]ou can talk until you're blue in the face, but kids watch what you do every single day of your life, all day long, and that behavior and that example and that love and community and honesty is just, I think, what's making everything feel safe for my kids and that's really the intention I had as a parent." To Unsubscribe You have received this e-mail because you are subscribed to this newsletter from TIME.com. Unsubscribe here. Update Email Click here to update your email address. Privacy Policy Please read our Privacy Policy, or copy and paste this link into your browser: http://timeinc.net/subs/privacy/td/policy.html TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For Further Communication Please contact parents@time.com TIME Customer Service 3000 University Center Drive Tampa, FL 33612-6408 Connect with TIME Find TIME on Facebook Follow TIME on Twitter Subscribe to more TIME Newsletters Get TIME on your Mobile Device Get TIME on your iPad Subscribe to RSS Feed