I went pretty dark this morning, thanks to the news. I knew I had to get it together before my kids woke up (hello, working from home), but it’s getting harder to attempt anything close to rational parenting in 2025.

While I had the pleasure of editing Dr. Dana Suskind’s guidelines for AI in Mattel toys, this section nearly made me cry. Ok, fine: I cried. So much so that I summarized it for the article and pulled the rest over here.

I want you–parents, caretakers, educators, nannies, babysitters, uncles, aunts, nuncles– I want you to take some quiet moments to read or listen these special encouragements on parenting from trusted mental health professionals.

Dana Suskind, MD, is Founder and Co-Director of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, Founding Director of the Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program, and Professor of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Public Policy (affiliated) at the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

How do parents know who to trust online for information?

Dr. Suskind: “I would tell parents two things:

1) There is no such thing as a silver bullet or one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to parenting. You know your child, yourself, and your family best. It’s perfectly okay to take the advice that resonates with you, that serves your family, and leave the rest.

And 2) Even more importantly, there is no such thing as perfect parenting. And that is actually a GOOD thing! Resilience, creativity, and adaptability—the very qualities that define us as humans—emerge not in spite of imperfection, but because of it.

The infant brain has evolved to learn from the imperfect, emotionally rich dance of human interaction—the second delays in response, the slight mismatches that require repair, the complex layering of emotional and verbal communication that occurs in even the simplest parent-child exchange. These seemingly inefficient elements of human interaction aren’t bugs in the system of child development—they’re essential features, like the rough edges of a key that allow it to fit perfectly into its lock, building our capacity for deep human connection.

When parents and children experience missteps, mismatches, and repairs, they create the friction needed to build flexible thinking and emotional regulation. Resilience is built in the cracks, not in perfection. These imperfect moments aren’t flaws to fix—they’re opportunities to grow. Just as our ancestors thrived by adapting, children flourish when they learn to navigate an imperfect but responsive world.

In other words: “Good enough” parenting isn’t settling—it’s evolutionarily advantageous.

This has implications for parents who may be burning themselves out trying to be perfect—it gives them permission and even encouragement to go easy on themselves. It also has implications when it comes to new AI tools and toys that are designed to provide algorithmically perfected interactions. If we allow those interactions to replace imperfect but authentic human interactions, children will miss the crucial learning that happens in the space between expectation and reality—in those precious, messy moments.”

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