Parenting Science

Parenting Science is a digital platform that offers research-backed insights on parenting and child growth.

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Families unite - we have strength in numbers

2 weeks ago | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

Families unite! We need to speak up to protect our children! We have strength in numbers!On April 5th, find a “Hand’s Off” rally near you, and lend your voice to express the will of the people. Tell those in power that we aren’t going to let extremists, billionaires, and corruption take away our democratic rights and economic livelihoods.
American health care and ancient family values

Dec 16, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

Who should decide whether a child gets access to life-saving care? Or if the child’s family should receive a crippling financial blow – one that might permanently and negatively alter the course of their lives? In traditional cultures throughout the world, folks share similar values about this: Some things should not be determined by the whims of profiteers. You’ve rushed your child to the local hospital. The doctors determine that your child has a severe, or even life-threatening condition.
Do children believe in souls?

Dec 8, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

In many cultures, people believe in an afterlife, where “personhood” continues to exist in the absence of a physical body. Does this spiritual stance reflect an innate bias of human psychology? To find out, researchers have examined whether children believe in souls. Imagine your body vanishes in a puff of smoke. You’re dead, or maybe you’ve been transformed, magically, into a rock or a tree. Would you feel sad about it?
When does peer pressure start? Early. Very early in life.

Nov 17, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

Peer pressure and social conformity starts long before adolescence. When faced with a choice between telling the truth and backing a popular falsehood, even 4-year-old children will buckle. Yet kids also possess the ability to question — and even reject — majority opinion. What can we do to encourage children to think for themselves? Image this situation. You and three other people are sitting in adjacent booths, and you’ve each got a copy of the same book. You open to the first page.
What happens when adults lie to children?

Nov 10, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

Researchers call it “parenting by lying” — making verbal statements to children with an intent to deceive and influence influence them (Setoh et al 2024). Studies suggest that the vast majority of parents engage in this behavior at least sometimes. So is it harmful? What happens when adults lie to children?
15 baby sleep tips: A guide for the science-minded parent

Oct 31, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

Baby sleep habits can be baffling, and they can turn our lives upside down. Whether it’s the crazy-making, nocturnal schedule of the newborn, or an older baby who won’t get settled, the results are the same: A parent who is sleep-deprived and desperate for relief. What’s a parent to do? Learning about the science of infant sleep can help. Once you understand how, why, and when babies sleep, it will be easier for you to decide on the best sleep strategies for your family.
Why we should favor process-based praise

Oct 25, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

If we tell kids they’re smart and capable, won’t that inspire them to strive and learn? Studies suggest otherwise. If kids sense that we’re exaggerating or insincere, our efforts will backfire. And if we make them feel they have a reputation to defend, they may end up shrinking from challenges — holding back because they don’t want to risk failure and the loss of that reputation. Can we avoid these pitfalls by focusing on “process-based” praise?
Infant toilet training: The scientific evidence

Oct 10, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

Widely practiced in traditional cultures, infant toilet training is becoming more popular in Western countries. But what are the pros and cons of early training? How do you actually do it? And what does science tell us about the development of bladder control? If you grew up in a culture that uses diapers, infant toilet training might seem unconventional and exotic.
Authoritarian parenting outcomes: What happens to the kids?

Sep 5, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

The authoritarian parenting style is about being strict and stern. Authoritarian parents insist on unquestioning obedience, and enforce rules through psychological control — threats, shaming, and other punishments. As defined by psychologists, it’s also a style associated with relatively little parental warmth and responsiveness (Baumrind 1991). That doesn’t bode well for children’s health outcomes, especially in stressful environments.
Babies use smell to connect with their parents

Aug 15, 2024 | parentingscience.com | Gwen Dewar

Do babies recognize their mothers’ smell? Yes! In fact, body odor is one of the most powerful cues that newborns use to identify their mothers, and – as babies get older – the mere whiff of mother can make them feel safer, and more eager to socialize. When and how do these effects emerge, and how can we use olfactory cues to improve our lives?