You can find parenting advice anywhere but there’s no better resource than TODAY.
From parenting experts like Ms. Rachel and Dr. Becky to actor Taraji P. Henson and supermodel Ashley Graham, these parents know their stuff — and they’re happy to share their lessons with everyone else.
Enjoy the best parenting advice that was dished on TODAY in 2024.
Give ‘authentic praise’ to kids
We all believe our children are the best people in the world, right? How we express that matters, according to developmental psychologist Aliza Pressman.
“Confidence does not come from praise — it comes from competence and believing in yourself, so trusting yourself,” Pressman, the author of “The Five Principles of Parenting,” said during an April episode of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, adding, “Praise is a separate thing.”
Pressman said kids need to feel that a caregiver supports and “delights in them,” but this can be done without always raving about their accomplishments or lavishing loose praise like, “You’re brilliant and amazing.” Show “authentic” admiration for who kids are or what’s within their control, said Pressman.
So, when your child paints a picture, instead of calling them “Picasso,” say, “Tell me about that. I love what you did with all those blue lines,’” said Pressman.
Motherhood “is not about you anymore”
Taraji P. Henson’s son is an adult, so she has seen and done it all in parenting.
“My greatest accomplishment is being a mother — it’s not about you anymore, it’s about a whole other being that you have to sculpt and mold and I think I did a good job. He’s a good guy,” the former “Empire” star told TODAY with Hoda & Jenna in November.
Although her son writes his own music, Henson said he’s not interested in being a celebrity.
“I made sure that I kept our world very normal,” said Henson. “I wasn’t ‘Taraji the superstar,’ I was Taraji a mom. I was at the basketball games … that’s all he saw. And I think he felt weird when I would be the celebrity. He’s like, ‘That’s just my mom. Why do you want a picture with her?’ But also, he was very proud.”
Let kids be “exactly who they were meant to be”
“I want for my kids to be exactly who they were meant to be,” Hoda said during a Mother’s Day celebration in May, alongside her TODAY co-hosts.
Hoda added, “It’s like, your kids are perfect seeds — put them in the soil and water them and let them grow. Don’t try to make them grow right or left. They’re here for a reason and I just don’t want to crowd that reason. I want them to go full bloom.”
“No smartphones until high school”
“This should be a national goal: no smartphones until high school,” Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, told TODAY with Hoda & Jenna in March.
“You can say, ‘Oh, the phones are here to say’ but look — cars are here to stay but we don’t let 11 year olds drive them,” added Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.”
Social media affects boys and girls differently, said Haidt.
Girls are more susceptible to social comparison, bullying, perfectionism and “eating disorder content,” said Haidt, adding that for boys, the lure is often pornography.
Haidt suggested flip phones and smartwatches for kids who need to communicate with parents but aren’t ready for a smart phone.
“When you talk well about yourself at home, your kids are going to talk well of themselves, too.”
Supermodel Ashley Graham wants kids to feel beautiful on the inside.
In June, Graham told TODAY with Hoda & Jenna that she dedicated her book “A Kids Book About Beauty,” to her 9-year-old self, explaining, “that’s really when I remember … starting to feel insecure about my body and my looks.”
She added, “I want every 9 year old to remember that it’s not about an exterior. It’s about an interior.”
At home with her sons, twins Malachi and Roman, who turn 3 in January 2025 and Isaac, who turns 5 in January 2025, affirmations are routine.
“We are really big about just screaming kind things around the house,” said Graham, adding, “So I am like, ‘I am kind!’ ‘I am brave!’” Do it often, she said, and “It sticks. It seeps in.”
Graham explained, “When you talk well of yourself at home, your kids are going to talk well of themselves, too.”
Teach kids about money ‘very early”
As a child, finance expert Mellody Hobson calculated the tip on her family’s restaurant bills.
“I knew our light bill, our phone bill, I knew our rent, I knew we paid for water — things that most kids don’t know,” Hobson, who shares 11-year-old daughter Everestwith husband George Lucas, told TODAY in October.
Now, as the Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, Hobson said kids should learn about money “very early.”
“I want this to be like learning a language,” said Hobson. When you become fluent in a language, it’s easier the younger you are.”
Hobson added, “You could say to a small child, ‘Do you want a cupcake or a Barbie doll?’ and they’re assigning value to those things. And that’s the beginning.”
There is always a window to teach — Hobson, the author of “Priceless Facts About Money,” said she explained how taxes work to her daughter, then 10, in the McDonald’s drive-thru line.
“Narrate your day”
Former preschool teacher Ms. Rachel, star of the popular YouTube channel “Songs For the Littles,” said parents of young kids should narrate your day to encourage speech.
“The babies need to hear language,” Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso, told TODAY with Hoda & Jenna in September. “Good morning,’ ‘I’m so happy to see you,’ ‘Let’s walk to the kitchen. Walk, walk, walk. I need some coffee … we’re walking down the street. There’s a tree!”
Accurso’s 6-year-old son Thomas inspired “Songs for the Littles.” He was diagnosed with a speech delay and Accurso couldn’t find the right resources, so she created her own educational channel.
“Do nothing” when kids complain
“Do nothing” when kids complain, said Becky Kennedy, a clinical psychologist and host of the “Good Inside with Dr. Becky” podcast.
By doing “nothing,” Kennedy told TODAY.com in December, you’re choosing to not argue or get into a power struggle) with kids.
Kennedy discovered this when one of her kids grumbled about their breakfast and the other accused her of not washing his sweatshirt.
Instead of saying, “But you love waffles” and “You never asked me to wash it,” Kennedy sighed and said, “You wish the sweatshirt was clean.”
“Here’s the thing about doing nothing,” Kennedy told TODAY.com, adding, “When I am doing ‘nothing’ on the outside — meaning, I’m not taking the bait from my kids — I am actually doing a lot on the inside: I’m breathing, talking to myself … I’m regulating myself on the inside, so I can ‘do nothing’ on the outside.”
Kennedy further explained, “In this state, parents have to choose between being effective over being right. If you want to be right, you might say, ‘You’ve had waffles the last 18 days.’ Being right is a solitary existence — if you’re right, someone is wrong … and you’re adding fuel to their fire.”
Practice ‘benign neglect’
If it’s good enough for Jennifer Garner, it’s good enough for our kids too!
“You don’t try to control everything they do,” Pat Garner, who is Jennifer Garner’s mom, told Hoda and Sheinelle Jones in June, when asked for her parenting advice.
It’s advice that Jennifer took to heart while raising her children Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex-husband Ben Affleck.
“I don’t know that I have some overarching philosophy,” Jennifer Garner told TODAY with Hoda & Jenna in November 2023. “I just think they’re such cool people and I want to hear everything, and I want to be around. But I also think it’s OK if they suffer from a little bit of benign neglect.”