Today, Marc Brackett is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. But he remembers what it was like to be a kid who struggled with his emotions. “I would sometimes just sit in a room and cry...

Research shows that simple practices—self-hugs, soothing touch and hand-to-heart gestures—can calm the nervous system, supporting caregivers and the children they care for.

The phrase "lonely parent" may sound like a contradiction. Parents are, by definition, connected to at least one other person—their child—and routinely deal with teachers, doctors, coaches, caregivers and other parents, including often a co-parent. Yet it is not surprising...