PARENTING FOR THE SCIENCE-MINDED -- by Gwen Dewar, Ph.D
Founded by an evolutionary anthropologist, this parenting resource is for critical thinkers -- people who want to understand child development from the perspectives of psychology, anthropology, evolution, and cognitive neuroscience.
I’ve got opinions. But who cares? You might be a scientist, physician, or teacher. Maybe you're an educated, skeptical layperson who loves science. Whatever the case, you don't need a sermon. You need evidence. You can draw your own conclusions.
So here it is: No folk theories. No preachy advice. No authoritarian pronouncements or pseudoscientific political dogma. Instead, you’ll find my analysis of the research, fully-referenced so you know where to go if you want to dig deeper yourself.
Recent highlights
-
Finding the right infant sleep aid: Which ones work?
Jun 13, 18 04:25 PM
It seems like everyone wants to sell you a device or technique that will make your baby sleep. What does the research tell us? Here's a look at infant sleep aids: The promising, the not-so-promising…
-
Dream feeding: An evidence-based guide to helping babies sleep longer
Jun 05, 18 04:47 PM
The goal of dream feeding is get your baby to eat a large meal immediately before you yourself fall asleep. Will it help? There's reason to think so. But it probably won't have a big impact on its own…
-
The Mozart effect, Shmozart effect: Fact or fiction?
May 23, 18 05:15 PM
Claims about Mozart's music have fueled a mini-industry of "smart baby" products and developmental toys. Is there strong evidence to back these claims up? It looks as if listening to certain kinds of…
Praise for Parenting Science
"[A] welcome antidote to the opinion dressed up as science that parents are constantly fed. Tear up your parenting books and get yourselves over there..."
- Charles Fernyhough, Ph.D., developmental psychologist and author of A Thousand Days of Wonder: A Scientist’s Chronicle of his Daughter’s Developing Mind
"...[O]ne of the most awesome websites I’ve seen in a long time…In addition to being helpful to academic parents, I see this site being useful in anthropology courses on human sexuality, life history, parenting, evolutionary medicine, evolutionary psychology, etc. Please check it out!"
- Julienne Rutherford, Ph.D., University of Illinois biological anthropologist and founder of the Biological Anthropology Developing Investigators Troop (BANDIT)
"I came across a great website run by Gwen Dewar, one I wish it had been available to me when my children were young. I hope everyone interested in math and kids will look at In search of the smart preschool board game and other pages on this site."
- Bill Marsh, Ph.D., in mathematics and author of MathInking, a blog about teaching math
