I’ve studied over 200 kids—there’s a new parenting style that ‘works better than the rest’

There are endless ways to approach parenting. Many parents choose “authoritative parenting,” a widely respected style that balances firm boundaries with nurture and support. Others lean into “authoritarian parenting,” a stricter model that emphasizes rules and consequences.

More recently, I’ve seen lots of “gentle parenting,” which prioritizes empathy and emotional validation.

But what if raising successful kids isn’t about being strict or soft? What if the answer is to create a safe place? After years of studying over 200 parent-child relationships, and from practicing healthy habits with my own child, I’ve seen firsthand what helps kids thrive … and what quietly shuts them down.

That’s why I’ve developed a new parenting framework — one that I believe works better than the rest — rooted in what kids need most but rarely receive: emotional safety.

What is ‘emotionally safe parenting?’

With emotionally safe parenting, the goal is to be deeply attuned to your child’s emotional needs. I teach parents not just how to manage their children’s behaviors, but also to help them build emotional resilience, trust and connection through open and honest conversations.

Like authoritative parenting, emotionally safe parenting sets clear boundaries and encourages independence. What’s different is that it encourages parents to focus on emotional attunement, self-awareness and inner healing.

Some common traits of emotionally safe parents:

They accept their child’s emotions without rushing to fix or dismiss them.
They respond without shaming their child — avoiding phrases that belittle, guilt or embarrass — even if those were the responses they grew up with.
They view “bad” behavior (i.e., screaming, yelling back, hitting another sibling) as stress signals, not defiance.
They take responsibility after conflicts by apologizing and reconnecting, rather than punishing or withdrawing.
They do the internal work — through journaling, therapy, or mindfulness — not to stay calm in the moment, but to become less reactive in the first place.
They create an environment where their child feels safe expressing big emotions, asking questions and showing up as their full, authentic self.
They embrace the whole child, showing consistent acceptance of both easy and difficult traits, not just the “well-behaved” version.
They lead with calm, steady authority — holding boundaries without fear, while welcoming even the biggest emotions with compassion and clarity.

How do you practice emotionally safe parenting?

Emotional safety is the missing piece in so many homes — not because parents don’t care, but because most were never taught how to create a steady, safe place during emotional storms.

Here’s how to practice emotionally safe parenting:

1. Do the inner work first

Emotionally safe parenting begins with the adult, not the child. Get into the habit of reflecting on how your own childhood and emotional triggers shape their reactions today.

When you’re in the heat of the moment, bring awareness to what you’re feeling — not to control it, but to understand it.
Before correcting your child, ask yourself: “What part of me feels threatened right now?”
If you notice yourself repeating something your parents said, consider: “Is this how I want to show up for my child?”

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2. See behavior as a signal, not a threat

Instead of viewing misbehavior as disrespect, emotionally safe parents see it as communication — a request for support, not punishment.

If a child slams a door, see it as “they might feel overwhelmed,” rather than “they’re being rude.”
Ask, “What is their behavior trying to tell me?” instead of, “How do I stop this?”
Respond with curiosity instead of jumping to consequences, asking things like, “Can you help me understand what happened?” or, “What were you feeling when that happened?”

3. Set boundaries with empathy, not control

Limits are necessary, but you don’t need to set them with fear or shame. Emotionally safe parents hold firm boundaries while staying emotionally connected.

They might say things like:

To stay consistent while still offering empathy: “I understand you’re upset, but the answer is still no.”
To offer support, not just corrections: “This is hard. I’m here to help you figure it out.”
To validate feelings without changing the limit: “You’re frustrated this isn’t going your way.”

4. Prevent shame from taking place

Emotionally safe parenting isn’t about being perfect — it’s about modeling what healthy repair looks like. Instead of blaming or withdrawing, reconnect after hard moments and show your child that conflict doesn’t have to lead to shame or disconnection.

This could look like:

Owning your part and not blaming your child for their reaction: “I shouldn’t have yelled. That wasn’t okay, and I’m sorry.”
Validating feelings even during correction: “It’s okay to feel angry, but we need to find a safer way to show it than hitting.”
Restoring connection before problem-solving: “Let’s take a few deep breaths together, then we can talk about what happened.”

In emotionally safe parenting, communication is everything

The way you speak to your child becomes how they speak to themselves. Emotionally safe parents are mindful that their tone, words and reactions shape how their child sees themselves, especially in hard moments.

I always try to use a calm, respectful tone with my child, even when setting limits. And I let him know that his feelings are valid: “It’s okay to be upset,” or, “I’d feel that way, too.” Most importantly, I want him to know that I’ll always be there for him: “Even when things get hard, I’m still here.”

Remember, you want to give your child something deeper than discipline: the sense that they are safe, supported and unconditionally loved. I always tell parents that the child who feels emotionally safe grows up to be the adult who can regulate their emotions, build healthy relationships, trust themselves and live with confidence.

Reem Raouda is a leading voice in conscious parenting and the creator of FOUNDATIONS — the transformative healing journal for parents ready to break cycles, do the inner work, and become the emotionally safe parent their child needs. She is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work in children’s emotional safety and strengthening the parent-child bond. Follow her on Instagram.

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I’m a neurologist—to keep my ‘brain healthy and memory sharp,’ I avoid 4 things people do all the time

Don’t smoke. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t do drugs. Exercise frequently. Eat a healthy diet. Get good sleep.

You’ve probably heard all of this before. It’s the standard advice given by doctors and health advocates. And for good reason: This guidance is solid and forms the foundation for long-term health and quality of life.

But there are a few other things many people do all the time that, as a neurologist, I try to avoid to keep my brain healthy and memory sharp.

1. Always relying on GPS for navigation

GPS has made our lives much more convenient. Before its invention, people had to rely on foldout paper maps, spatial reasoning, and environmental cues to navigate. These days, that’s become a lost art.

Over time, relying too much on GPS can weaken your spatial memory. One study showed that the hippocampi — the memory centers of the brain — are larger in taxi drivers because they need to memorize complex street layouts.

Another recent study found that taxi and ambulance drivers were less likely to die from Alzheimer’s disease than people in other professions. One possible explanation is that these jobs require frequent, real-time use of spatial and navigational skills, which may help maintain or even improve hippocampal health.

This isn’t to say people shouldn’t use GPS for traffic updates, but there are ways to actively engage your spatial memory without it. For example, try planning a route to a new café or exploring a different way home from work.

2. Drinking too many energy drinks

Many of us work long days and feel like we never have enough energy to get through them. But relying on energy drinks isn’t the solution. These beverages often contain high levels of caffeine, taurine, and B vitamins. Consuming large amounts can lead to cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure, palpitations, and even arrhythmias.

Neurologically, excessive energy drink consumption can cause insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, and, in more severe cases, seizures.

A lesser-known risk is long-term buildup of B vitamins in the body. Normally, excess B vitamins are flushed out naturally since they’re water-soluble. However, a notable exception is vitamin B6, often consumed in sports and energy drinks. Excess B6 can accumulate over time, leading to toxicity and potentially causing peripheral neuropathy.

3. Overusing over-the-counter medications

Just because something is available over the counter (OTC) doesn’t mean it’s harmless. Always follow your doctor’s instructions and the medication label, and don’t exceed the recommended dosage.

For instance, common side effects of overusing aspirin, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs (or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) include peptic ulcers, GI bleeding, acute kidney injury, and even chronic kidney disease. Tylenol (acetaminophen) is often seen as safer for the stomach and kidneys, but acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S.

Some lesser-known OTC products can cause surprising side effects. I’ve seen bismuth toxicity from excessive Pepto-Bismol use lead to dementia-like symptoms. I’ve also seen patients who, after following advice from online wellness influencers, consumed too much zinc, resulting in spinal cord injuries.

4. Enjoying nature without protecting yourself

I love hiking and spending time outdoors. But when I venture into nature, I always:

Know my environment and surroundings
Use bug spray and wear long sleeves when appropriate
Check for ticks afterward

Each year, especially during the summer, I see previously healthy people come into the hospital with fever, confusion, and sometimes seizures or coma, due to mosquito-borne or tick-borne illnesses. Some of these infections, like Lyme disease, are treatable if caught early. Others can leave lasting damage to the brain and nervous system.

Taking small preventive steps to avoid bug bites can potentially save you from life-altering infections.

Baibing Chen is a double-boarded certified neurologist and epileptologist practicing at the University of Michigan. Find him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

The most—and least—expensive U.S. states based on the median monthly costs of household bills

In May, bill pay service doxo released its 2025 Cost of Bills Index, which breaks down comparative household costs across the country.

The report focused on the 13 most common household bill categories:

Mortgage
Rent
Auto Loan
Gas
Electric
Water and sewer
Waste and recycling
Auto insurance
Cable, Internet and phone
Health insurance
Mobile phone
Alarm and security
Life insurance

To determine the ranking, doxo compared the median cost of the most common household bills across the United States. They used the number 100 to represent the national average in the index. Then, states were assigned a number either above or below 100 based on how they compared to the national average.

doxo’s index found that the average U.S. household spends $24,695 annually on the 13 essential household bills. The median mortgage is $1,775, while the median rent is $1,453.

“We’ve got a different economic environment than we had two or three years ago, most acutely in the categories that impact consumer debt because interest rates are different,” Steve Shivers, Founder and CEO at doxo, tells CNBC Make It.

“The cost of mobility is much higher. People have to be a lot more careful and thoughtful about discretionary spending. The debt categories have shifted so dramatically that starting a new significant purchase is something that most consumers, especially right now, with a lot more uncertainty, are going to be much more conservative about,” he adds.

“That obviously has broader economic implications because if consumer spending slows, it ripples through a lot of things.”

California is the most expensive U.S. state based on monthly costs

California dethroned Hawaii as the most expensive state based on the cost of monthly household bills. Residents spend $2,854 — 39% above the national average.

The doxo report found California’s household bills are $9,588 per year higher than the U.S. median. In the Golden State, household bills account for 33% of California residents’ annual household income of $104,029.

“California is sort of a double-edged sword. You’ve got the high housing costs, and on top of that, every single category of bills in California is higher than the national median,” Shivers says.

Top 5 most expensive U.S. states based on monthly costs

California
Hawaii
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Maryland

West Virginia is the least expensive U.S. based on monthly costs

For the third year in a row, West Virginia ranked as the least expensive state based on monthly costs.

The average cost of bills in West Virginia is $1,149 per month — 44% lower than the U.S. median. The report also found that household bills make up 23% of the annual household income of $59,859 in the state.

“West Virginia is remarkable because the cost of bills is still lower than any other state and it’s no surprise. It’s a state where the cost of living is lower but its economy is still struggling. It suffers from trying to create diversity beyond some traditional industries,” Shivers says.

“You don’t want to move into a state and just sort of exploit the fact that it has a living wage. You want to move into a state where you can say we’re going to provide new jobs and where we know we can be confident that our employees can have a living wage and a reasonable quality of life,” he adds.

The Mountain State also ranked as the cheapest state to live in for 2024, according to CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business Study.

Top 5 least U.S. states based on monthly costs

West Virginia
Mississippi
Oklahoma
Arkansas
New Mexico

I’m a psychologist who studies couples—5 things people in the happiest relationships do on weekends

If you work full-time, you already know how much time and effort it takes to master work-life balance. Add to that a relationship, and it becomes even harder.

As a psychologist who studies couples — and who has a working wife — I’ve faced these challenges firsthand. Thankfully, my job as both a researcher and husband has taught me how important it is to be intentional about how my wife and I spend our time, specifically on weekends.

Here’s how people in the happiest, most successful relationships spend their free time:

1. They put their phones away

A couple who spends a lot of time together, but is constantly distracted by texts, emails or social media, probably isn’t as happy as a couple who spends less time together, but without their phones.

That’s why carving out one-on-one time without any interference from technology is so important. And how you spend that time is actually irrelevant. It doesn’t need to be extravagant or planned down to the minute. What matters is presence.

It could be a quiet morning coffee where you exchange unfiltered thoughts, a slow walk to fill the silence, or a good old wining-and-dining — as long as the phones and laptops are put away.

2. They engage in ‘parallel play’

After a draining week of work, it’s normal and even healthy to crave solitude. But it can be hard to choose between “me time” and “we time.”

Luckily, there’s a way to satiate the need for both alone time and bonding simultaneously. “Parallel play,” a concept derived from child psychology, is when two people engage in their preferred activity separately, but alongside each other.

For couples, this might look like one partner reading on the couch, while the other plays their favorite video game next to them. They might not be engaging directly with one another, but they’re still intentionally sharing space and de-stressing with an activity they each enjoy.

It’s basically a way of saying: “I love you, but I also need to love me for an hour or two. Let’s do it together.”

3. They create a ritual

Relationships thrive on ritual. Coming home to your partner and knowing that the weekend will bring something familiar — something reliably yours — can be comforting.

In fact, research shows that rituals can help couples organize their lives in a way that allows for both change and stability to coexist. Individuals can merge into a shared identity that feels distinct from either person alone. You can ground yourselves together, no matter what chaos surrounds you.

What those rituals look like is completely up to you. Don’t shy away from cheesy. It could be Sunday morning pancakes, or board game night with a goofy scoreboard on the fridge. If you’re more practical, maybe it’s a weekly sit-down over a glass of wine to plan out the week, or tackling one nagging chore together with your shared playlist in the background.

4. They put sex on the schedule

Studies show that couples who have a satisfying sex life are more likely to be happier in their relationships.

But with endless chores and errands, weekends can start to feel like a second workweek — with little time left over for intimacy. Sex quickly starts to feel like less of a priority.

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That’s why structured intimacy can be a good thing. Many people think it can diminish spontaneity, but if anything, it actually removes the mental fatigue of trying to make intimacy happen.

It’s also a great way for couples to engage without distraction, all while combating the emotional strain of work. So, make it intentional and set a time.

5. They laugh on purpose

Playfulness, according to research, is one of the most reliable tools couples can use to strengthen their relationship. It can boost relationship satisfaction, ease conflict and break up the sense of monotony that partners can start to resent.

During the week, we unknowingly train ourselves to look for things to stress over. But on weekends, we need to take those goggles off. The act of being silly — and being met with silliness in return — helps us reconnect with the childlike wonder we carry inside that gets buried beneath our responsibilities.

So, look for joy on purpose. Maybe you pull out a trivia game with nonsense rules or challenge each other to a dance battle.

There’s no right or wrong way to be playful, and chances are, you already know how to make your partner laugh. You just have to remember to do it.

Mark Travers, PhD, is a psychologist who specializes in relationships. He holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, a telehealth company that provides online psychotherapy, counseling and coaching. He is also the curator of the popular mental health and wellness website, Therapytips.org.

33-year-old American bought an apartment in Dubai for $350,000: Living here is ‘so easy’

With a base salary of $240,000 and an expected total income of $400,000 in 2025, Fares Ksebati could be living quite well in his hometown outside of Detroit.

The median household income in Wayne County, Michigan — where Detroit is located — is just under $60,000 a year, according to Census Bureau data. Homes there sold for a median of just $100,000 in April 2025, according to RedFin.

But the 33-year-old founder and CEO of MySwimPro recently bought an apartment in Dubai, where he has lived for six months out of the year since 2024.

“I first came to Dubai in 2021, and for the last four years I’ve spent more and more time here,” Ksebati tells CNBC Make It. “Every single year I just fell [more] in love with the energy.”

He’s not alone. Dubai’s population has exploded in recent years, adding 300,000 residents between 2019 and 2023. A 2023 survey by Remitly found that Dubai is the most-desired destination for people who want to move to a new country, and the emirate ranked No. 3 on TripAdvisor’s top global destinations in 2025, based on user reviews. It previously held the No. 1 spot on that list since 2022.

Ksebati’s Dubai apartment cost around $350,000, and his monthly mortgage and utilities costs come to about $1,750 a month. While it’s feasible Ksebati could have bought an entire house in Detroit for a fraction of that cost, Dubai has several advantages that made him want to buy property there first.

Here are three of Ksebati’s favorite aspects of living in Dubai.

1. ‘It really is a city of innovation’

As an entrepreneur, Ksebati has been inspired by the energy in Dubai that’s ripe with fellow founders along with high net worth individuals.

“It really is a city of innovation and from the people who come here to the government initiatives, everyone is just focused on improving themselves,” Ksebati says. “When you come to a place like that, it just feels so inspiring. And you feel empowered to bring your best to the world.”

Ksebati started his company, a swim training app, several years before he came to Dubai. He says a lot of the entrepreneurs there have done the same, or they start businesses there. That kind of community inspires him to keep growing his business and pursuing bigger goals.

“As someone who’s already been in the entrepreneurial game, it’s really an opportunity for me to level up and to be surrounded by people who are executing at a very high level,” he says. “I’ve traveled to a few dozen countries, hundreds of cities, and really nowhere makes me feel the way that Dubai feels. It’s like this magnetic energy.”

2. ‘Amazing culinary experiences’

Dubai is home to an estimated 13,000 restaurants, The New York Times reports, giving it more eatery options per capita than New York. And Ksebati says those “amazing culinary experiences” are some of the biggest benefits to being in Dubai.

“There is so much good food from all over the world, and as someone who doesn’t really cook outside of the occasional cooking, eggs in the morning for myself, I do order a lot of food,” he says.

The prices for food are also pretty reasonable, Ksebati says. In March 2025, he spent about $2,000 on dining out, but his bills were higher that month because he was celebrating Ramadan. Typically he spends about half of that, he says. Access to great Arabic cuisine is another benefit of the Dubai food scene.

“I think it’s so cool to live in an area where I can walk outside and be footsteps away from the best shawarma, hummus and Arabic food,” he says. As the child of Syrian immigrants, he grew up with his mom cooking Middle Eastern meals. Now when he’s in Dubai, he has unmitigated access to a lot of the same foods: “Nothing will replace Mom’s cooking, but this is pretty close,” he says.

3. Convenience and affordability

On the surface, Dubai may look like a luxury city with its futuristic-looking skyline and high-end shopping opportunities. But Ksebati says there’s a wide spectrum of incomes that can afford you a beautiful life there.

“Dubai has a bad rap, I think, when it comes to how everyone’s like, ‘Oh, it’s so expensive there, you must be loaded,’ or whatever,” he says. “Everything is less than if you go to New York or Miami. I mean, those places, you actually need to have real money to actually experience anything.”

The city offers numerous low-cost or free activities like sightseeing or visiting free public beaches. And if you want a more luxurious or adrenaline-inducing attraction like jet-skiing, you “can still do that and it’s still not a ridiculous amount of money,” Ksebati says.

He adds that getting around and accessing these attractions and amenities is simple.

“Dubai has all the conveniences that make living here so easy,” he says. “Along with the fact that it’s a really safe environment, you always feel like you’re just one person away or one walk away from something amazing.”