You’ve sailed through colic, diaper rash, teething and on to separation anxiety, runny noses and homework frustrations. Think you’ve become an expert in the parenting department? Well, the truth is, when it comes to caring for kids, there’s always something new to learn. So while you’re relaxing on your back porch or lounging at the beach this summer, try your hand at this parenting quiz we’ve put together. The answers may surprise you!

The Questions

1. Your child has skinned his knee. You’ve gently cleaned the wound and applied a Band-Aid®. Should you remove the Band-Aid® when he goes to bed so that the injury can get some air and heal faster?

2. A letter comes home from camp or school announcing several cases of head lice. Soon afterward, you receive a call from the nurse telling you that nits have been discovered on your child’s head. Do you need to thoroughly vacuum the house and launder all of her clothing and bedding?

3. You discover your child reading on the floor away from a direct source of light, or find him looking at a book under the covers with a flashlight after “lights-out.” Should you warn him about the dangers this poses to his eyesight?

4. Your family is heading out to the beach, and you grab the sunscreen. How much should you slather on your child?

5. To keep your young child quiet and happy on car trips, you plan to bring along a few snacks. Which would be a better choice for her? A cracker or a caramel?

6. You take your 3-year-old child swimming for some father-son time. He’s timid, putting just his toe in the water. You want to show him that it’s safe, so you toss him, against his will, into the water. Is this a good idea?

The Answers

1. No. Wounds don’t heal more quickly if exposed to fresh air at night, so leave that band-aid on. Studies show that a covered wound heals more quickly and is less likely to scar. This is because bandages hold in moisture and prevent formation of scabs, which actually put a barrier between healthy cells and the damaged cells that need repair, delaying healing.

2. No. Head lice and their eggs live exclusively on the human scalp, are very sensitive to temperature and humidity, and cannot feed, travel, or survive elsewhere. Serious household cleaning is required for body lice, a far more dangerous pest which lives in clothing and bedding. To find head lice, check your kids’ scalps for nits, (use a magnifying glass) which look like tiny iridescent seeds, and remove them with a fine-toothed comb. Special shampoos may or may not help. You can try this remedy recommended by Helen Hadley, a professional nit picker from Needham: Before bed, massage ½ cup of olive oil, hair conditioner, or a gentle skin cleanser into your child’s hair, sectioning it the way a hairdresser would to apply color; cover the child’s pillow with a towel; in the morning wash the hair and comb it out thoroughly.

3. No. Be thrilled that he’s reading! Reading in the dark won’t cause vision or eye problems later in life. While it can cause a person’s eyes to become tired, there is no medical evidence that it does permanent damage. However, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA), 1 in 10 children in the United States has an undiagnosed eye problem. Since about 80 percent of what kids learn is through vision, it’s a good idea to have their eyes checked periodically. The AOA recommends comprehensive eye exams at 6 months of age, again at 3 years, and annually upon entering elementary school.

4. A shot glass full. Although you probably aren’t in the habit of bringing a shot glass on your family outings, it provides an accurate way to judge how much sunscreen each family member needs: one-ounce (or a shot glass full) for adults; three-quarters of an ounce (or three-quarters of a shot glass) for kids. Pediatrician, mom and Baby Silk skincare products co-founder Diane Truong, M.D., says parents often mistakenly skimp on the sun screen. “Whatever you have in your palm, double or triple it,” she advises. For small children and babies, she recommends physical blockers such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which stay on top of the skin to block the sun’s rays, pose less of a chance of irritation, and don’t require the 30-minute soak-in wait of other products.

5. A caramel. While a cracker has nutritional benefits over a piece of candy, it can be more damaging to a young child’s teeth than a piece of candy. But you’re in good company if you didn’t know that. According to a study commissioned by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists (AAPD), 96 percent of U.S. adults with children under age 12 thought a cracker was better for children’s teeth than a piece of caramel. The truth is that starches can lead to cavities just as sugars can. Caramels dissolve more quickly in the mouth than crackers. Since the longer children’s teeth are exposed to the food, the more damage is done, a cracker is not a tooth-friendly snack. It’s better eaten as a prelude to a meal, when more saliva is produced to wash away starches and sugars.

6. No. Psychologist Michael Thompson has worked with school-age boys for 30 years and has co-authored a number of books about boys. “I do object to fathers who believe that little boys, who are acutely sensitive to their fathers’ opinions of them, need to be toughened up with harsh discipline or tough lessons,” he notes. “Life will toughen up all boys. … If a father tries to toughen up a preschooler, either by frightening him or by humiliating him, the fear of the father that results may last for a long time.”

Sources: Baby Facts, by Andrew Adesman, M.D. (Wiley, 2009), Nitwits, a professional lice and nitpicking service, online at liceinfo.net; It’s a Boy! Understanding Your Son’s Development from Birth to Age 18, by Michael Thompson (Ballantine Books, 2008.).