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
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Toilet training techniques: The fast track
May 28, 20 07:45 PM
Toilet training in less than a day? Fast-track toilet training techniques can be effective, but they aren't for everyone. Here's what parents need to know.
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Babies expect fairness, and prefer people who behave with fairness
May 22, 20 02:17 PM
Babies expect us to share resources equally. They prefer people who behave with fairness. But they are also learning about favoritism. Can we nurture fairness?
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The Covid nineTEEN Project offers free, online tutoring during the stay-at-home crisis
May 18, 20 08:44 PM
Do you know a teenager who is interested in volunteer work? Or an elementary school student who could use some online mentorship and tutoring? The Covid Nineteen project brings together high school st…
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Raising helpful kids: Tips for teaching generosity and kindness
May 08, 20 12:54 PM
How do you teach kids to be helpful? Studies suggest we should avoid heavy-handed tactics and bribes. We need to nurture our children's natural inclinations to do good.
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Bullying in children: The road to psychopathology?
May 01, 20 07:09 PM
Children who bully are more likely to develop symptoms of "antisocial personality disorder" -- a condition colloquially known as "sociopathy" or "psychopathy."
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
