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29 Parenting Charts That Are Ridiculously Informative

Reading this is like taking a parenting course in five minutes.

Babies don't see right away...which is definitely something I didn't know until I was a dad! This chart shows you what their vision is like at first and how it progresses from there:

"How an Infant Views the World" chart, showing a small headshot that is blank at 3 days and is much clearer but still blurry at 1 year; "vision is normally developed by age 3"

1. Speaking of babies, this photo shows just how big a mother's cervix can get during childbirth:

A round, flat, wooden plate with increasingly larger circular holes

2. Ever wonder if your baby's poop is normal? This chart explains all:

A guide to babies' poops by color (from greenish-black to bright green) and when to call the doctor (red, black, chalk white), and info about diarrhea and constipation

3. This chart shows you how to recognize your baby's cues that they're hungry:

Illustrations showing early (stirring, mouth opening), middle (stretching, hand to mouth), and late (crying, turning red) cues that the baby is hungry

4. And this chart breaks down all things diapers:

Size and diapers-per-day chart from N (less than 10 pounds, 8 diapers) to 6 (more than 35 pounds, 4 diapers)

5. This chart explains how parents/partners can model disagreeing in a healthy way...and set their kids up to positively deal with their own disagreements:

"6 Ways Kids Need to See Disagreements Modeled by Their Parents," with illustrations showing how parents explain different disagreements

6. This chart explains where childcare is the least — and most — expensive in the US (tl;dr: New York, Massachusetts, and California are the priciest, while the South is the cheapest):

Chart with factoids (cost of childcare has increased 800% since 1985) and lists of most and least expensive counties (New Orleans, Nashville, Tennessee, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, are the three cheapest)

7. This fun chart has wise and inspirational quotes from 50 favorite parents and guardians from film and TV:

Illustrations of different characters with quotes, including Ned Stark from Game of Thrones ("When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives") and Hana from Wolf Children ("Live your life!")

8. This chart explains the development of your kid's teeth from ages 0–3:

Illustrations showing a seven-step process from tender gums and teething to a toothy grin (by their third birthday)

9. And this one shows you what to watch out for from ages 6 to 8 to mitigate the hit your wallet could take at the orthodontist's office:

Tooth photos showing "Problems to Watch for in Children Ages 6 to 8": excessive spacing, crowding, an open bite, overbite, crossbite, underbite, overjet, and abnormal eruption

10. This chart breaks down into undeniable terms how important it is for kids to read at night:

"Why Your Child Can't Skip Their 20 Minutes of Reading  Tonight" chart showing the progress of "James," who reads 20 minutes a night, 5 times a week, and "Travis," who reads only 4 minutes a night or not at all

11. And this chart is great for teaching your kid what to do should they ever get lost in public:

6 Things Your Child Needs to Know in Case They Get Lost: Their name and yours, their phone number, a meeting spot, to stay put, it's okay to yell, and find a mom

12. Here's a funny but actually practical one — alternative cusswords to help you avoid dropping f-bombs left and right in front of your kids:

A long list of choices, like shucks, rats, good gravy, fiddlesticks, great googley moogley, kiss my grits, dag nabbit, son of a biscuit, horse hockey, and for heaven's sake

13. Speaking of language, here are some wonderful alternatives to saying "Be careful!":

Help your child foster awareness (such as "Are you feeling scared or tired?" and "Do you feel the heat from the fire?" and problem solve (including "What's your plan if you climb that boulder?" and "How will you get down?"

14. And this chart shows you how to speak to your kids in a more positive way (even when you are mad as @#$%&!):

Examples: "Instead of "Be quiet," try "Can you use a softer voice?" and rather than "You're OK," try "How are you feeling?"

15. This chart demonstrates genetics...and could help you predict what color your baby's eyes might be:

Parents' different eye-color combos and likely results, from two sets of brown eyes = brown eyes 75% of the time, green 18.75%, and blue 6.25%; set of blue and of brown = 50% brown and 50% blue; and two sets of blue = brown 0%, green 1%, and blue 99%

16. And this cool chart is basically genetics for dummies (dummies like me, that is):

Different-colored gummy bears showing the different combinations of a family tree, using red, yellow, and green candies

17. This chart bills itself as a baby-shoes cheat sheet (and it is):

A chart showing US sizes, Euro sizes, foot length in inches, and approximate age, from US/Euro 1/16, foot length 3 1/3 inches, and 0–3 months to US/Euro 11/28, foot length 6 2/3 inches, and age 4 1/2 years

18. And if your kid likes to play outside without shoes on, never forget this:

How hot can it get? If the air temp is 90, the surface temp of grass is 97; concrete, 115; and asphalt, 140 degrees

19. This chart explains how to do CPR for infants, kids ages 1–8, and everyone else:

Illustrated chart showing hand placement and position: both hands interlocked between nipples for adults, one hand between nipples for children, two fingers just below nipple line for infants, plus number of chest compressions: 100–120/minute

20. And this chart outlines five very important ways you could save your baby's life:

What to do if your baby is choking, is unconscious, has stopped breathing, has a seizure, and how to hold a baby in the recovery position

21. Here's a terrific guide for successfully communicating with your child at any age:

How to talk to children at 0–2 years (touch, tone, body language), 3–5 (give child attention, watch your tone, help child use words), 6–11 (make time to talk, speak to child respectfully), and 12–18 (talk with your child, not at them, show respect)

22. And here's a good one about how and when to praise your kids ("You're doing amazing, sweetie!"):

List of dos (do process praise) and don'ts (don't person praise or use praise as reward), praise more than just achievements, and alternatives to praise (say "thank you," acknowledge goals)

23. This chart explains how to make your child emotionally resilient:

Spend quality time with kids, talk about feelings, give kids time to work things out themselves, praise their efforts and encourage them, acknowledge your own mistakes, use gentle questioning, and ensure they're eating well and getting sleep and exercise

24. This chart will help parents recognize different bug bites on their kids:

Photos of different bites on a child's arm: spider, mosquito, tick, bedbug, and bee

25. And this chart will help you figure out how your kiddo is related to the rest of your family:

A "Cousin Explainer," from great-great-grandparents to first, second, and third cousins twice removed

26. This chart lays out the ages your kid will likely learn different consonants:

Color-coded chart showing consonants learned earlier, 1–3 (such as p, m, b, and w) and those earned later, 3–8 (such as l, r, and s), and how the sounds are formed

27. This chart shows an awesome trick that will teach kids how many days there are in each month:

A chart with the color-coded days of each month (all 31 days are yellow, 30 is blue, 28 is red) on a horizontal graph

28. And lastly, "fishes" CAN be the plural form of "fish," so little kids everywhere are vindicated!

A "Did you know?" chart showing illustrations of fish, from one "fish" to plural "fish" (same kind) or "fishes" (showing three different types): "The plural of fish is fish. When referring to more than one species, you can use fishes as plural"