Our Product Review Guidelines

At Parents, we are by your side for the big life decisions and memory-making moments. Our mission is to lighten the load and provide you with trustworthy advice as you raise the next generation of confident and compassionate kids. When it comes to the many purchasing decisions you make for your family, we’ll do the heavy lifting through our well-developed process for vetting and testing the products and services we recommend.

How We Test and Review Products

Every single product recommendation starts with rigorous research by our team of qualified, experienced writers and editors who are experts in their own right (and most of us are parents with years of stalled bedtimes and public toddler meltdowns under our belts). Before we look at products, we’re digging into what they do, how they should perform, and how parents, caregivers, and children can use them safely. We speak with experts with these questions in mind before we even begin reviewing products. 

From there, we create a methodology for testing and reviewing each product as well as a list of products to test based on market research. We purchase the vast majority of the products we test and ultimately recommend. We aim to test every single product in our New York City-based testing lab, where a team of experts and editors put products through their paces. We’re building obstacle courses for strollers, smearing different foods on high chairs, and testing diapers for their absorbency. By evaluating these products in a lab environment, we’re able to conduct unique head-to-head tests and see exactly how each product compares to one another. 

While the lab is great for immediate, direct comparisons, we also conduct real-world testing to see how durable products are in daily life and how they perform over time. For this reason, we also send products out to parents, caregivers, and kids to test at home. We spend months (and years) testing products to gather insights that can’t be gleaned in a lab. We keep constant logs of how everything performs and continue to update our product recommendations with our latest product insights. 

For products that don’t lend themselves to lab or real-world testing (for instance, prenatal vitamins), we create detailed and thorough research-based methodologies. Experts are involved at every step in the process from reviewing the methodology to using it to individually vet every product in a category. So even when we haven’t tested a product category, you can still rely on us to provide the most trustworthy product recommendations. 

Our Expert Review Board Ensures Accuracy  

Just like our editorial content, all of our product and services recommendations are reviewed by the Parents Expert Review Board,a group of more than 20 leaders in the fields of pediatrics, emergency medicine, public health, gynecology, mental health, dermatology, nutrition, allergy, and sleep. 

These experts review our content for accuracy and safety, ensuring it meets the latest evidence-based research and standards. They share feedback directly with our editorial team so we can make the necessary improvements. Their review of our content does not imply a recommendation of the products or services detailed, but it does mean that the information is accurate and reported with integrity. Once the process is complete, the article is stamped with a byline from both the writer and the expert reviewer.

We Fact-Check Everything

Another reason you can trust our content? After it is written, it is checked for accuracy by a team of experienced fact checkers. They use primary sources, turn to leading parenting experts, and look to peer-reviewed journals, academic sources, government, advocacy organizations, and brand manufacturers to ensure that every statistic, every price, and every product specification is confirmed true and up-to-date. 

Despite our rigorous fact checking process, errors can happen and we will do our best to correct any mistakes in a transparent manner. If you come across any inconsistencies or incorrect information while reading Parents content, please let us know at contact@parents.com.

How We Make Money

While we receive affiliate commission on some of the items purchased through our content, the product recommendations are purely editorial. Parents’ recommendations are curated based on performance, test results, and hands-on experience. 

Safety and Product Recalls

As the parenting space is ever changing, we want to note that all products, including those we review and recommend, may be subject to recalls or revised use recommendations. We, therefore, urge you to monitor any official announcements from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that may be related to items you purchase. We are doing the same and are routinely updating our product recommendations whenever a recall occurs so you can trust that the products you see on our pages are safe.

Meet Our Team

Ashleigh Morley

Commerce Director

Ashleigh is the director of commerce for the Health Group at Dotdash Meredith where she oversees health, fitness, and family content. For more than 10 years, Ashleigh Morley has covered the health and wellness space through a variety of lifestyle lenses. She's also the mother of two energetic young boys who keep her on her toes. Whether she's writing about the latest stroller innovations or potty training seats for stressed parents, she only recommends the most thoroughly vetted (and personally tested) products.

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Sabrina Rojas Weiss

Associate Editorial Director, Parents

Associate editorial director Sabrina Rojas Weiss loves to disappear down a rabbit hole for the greater good, whether that means reading medical journals or shopping for rain boots. She’s written and edited for Verywell Family, People, SheKnows, Yahoo, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan, MTV News, and more.

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Hildara Araya

Senior Commerce Editor

Hildara Araya is an editor, prenatal educator, and mother of three. She has a master’s degree in journalism and over 20 years of experience as a writer and editor focusing primarily on parenting, education, e-commerce, and sustainability.

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Phoebe Sklansky

News & Deals Commerce Editor, Parents

Phoebe Sklansky is the Associate Commerce Editor at Parents, where she reviews and tests baby gear, wellness products, and more to deliver readers the best recommendations on what they should buy for their families. She also covers lifestyle and parenting news and deals across several Dotdash Meredith brands, including Health, People, and Travel + Leisure.

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Katrina Cossey

Commerce Writer, Parents

Katrina has written for Parents and other Dotdash Meredith brands since 2021. She holds a Bachelor's degree in professional media from the University of Central Oklahoma. Following university, Katrina worked at KFOR-TV as a digital content producer for several years before dipping her toes in freelance writing for parenting and health sites.

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Dorian Smith-Garcia

Dorian Smith-Garcia is a commerce, health, and parenting writer at Parents, where she reviews and tests pregnancy and baby gear, wellness products, and provides insider tips on cant-miss deals for trending products. She also provides firsthand knowledge on conscious and present parenting as a Millennial mom. Dorian also covers parenting and lifestyle news and deals across several Dotdash Meredith brands, including Parents, People, and Travel + Leisure. Her bylines include Healthline, Glowsly, Travel + Leisure, Forbes Vetted, GadgetReview, Nylon, Fatherly, ScaryMommy, Bustle, and more.

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Contact Us

We love to hear from our readers! If you have a comment, suggestion, or product recommendation, please reach out at contact@parents.com. Your feedback is key to making sure our community is inclusive and represents the vast range of experiences and perspectives that go into caring for children in today’s world.