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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  1. Preschool Social Skills

    Nov 29, 20 09:25 PM

    How to nurture and improve preschool social skills. Science-based tips on teaching social competence.

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  2. Data-driven tool for making wise decisions about social distancing

    Nov 19, 20 09:01 PM

    Wish you knew the risk of contagion at local venues and events? This online tool -- created by researchers -- can help.

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  3. Parenting stress: 12 evidence-based tips for making life better

    Nov 14, 20 04:31 PM

    Overwhelmed by parenting stress? Try these research-based tips.

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  4. Vote for your child's future: How to persuade people to cast a ballot

    Nov 01, 20 08:13 PM

    Our kids aren't getting the world they deserve. How do we persuade others to vote on their behalf?

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  5. Spaced learning: Why kids benefit from shorter lessons -- with breaks

    Oct 26, 20 04:02 PM

    If you want learning to "stick," a single, long lesson is usually less helpful than multiple, short lessons. Read more about the spaced learning effect.

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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

Copyright © 2006-2020 by Gwen Dewar, Ph.D.; all rights reserved.
For educational purposes only. If you suspect you have a medical problem, please see a physician.

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