© 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_5cf1c9be599a53be0c168ff7a9a8c531 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Electronic media devices are useful for communication, education, and entertainment. For many parents, they are also tools for keeping the peace — a quick and reliable way to calm down a child who...
Key Takeaways for Caregivers on Talking to Babies Baby girls tend to have bigger vocabularies than baby boys, but that might not be due to gendered parenting practices. Parents talk more to babies after the babies have said their first words, regardless of whether the baby is a boy or...
© 2008 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_fa8928d6cdf63d7d6ad938367ac0d883 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Science supports many of our intuitions about the emotional and cognitive benefits of play. Playful behavior appears to have positive effects on the brain and on a child’s ability to learn. Want specifics?...
© 2019 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_fff5c29951ef49f38e6338a61c224515 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Fantasy has ancient roots, but it gets a bad rap. Some worry that fantasy fiction may confuse young children. Others dismiss fantasy as silly or frivolous. Should kids steer clear of...
© 2008 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_d8193d29f900a2915d58969c45bfc250 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } As every parent knows, the world of newborn sleep is exotic and strange. Babies rack up lots of sleep overall, averaging 16-18 hours a day during the first two weeks. Yet...
© 2010-2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_b4187306e91512f3959b29c621d25340 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Developmental toys and educational games for kids are relatively recent inventions. Do they work? Throughout most of human history, children got little or no formal instruction. Instead, they learned by imitation, and by...
© 2019 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_ee4376fe2fbe3901f1fcb44c7dfbbc1e .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } When do babies crawl for the first time? Studies suggest that approximately 50% of babies begin crawling by 8 months. But some babies may start before 6 months, and others may...
© 2020-2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_a1a5a8b1c48178a6784cf8ca467d244e .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Are little kids hopelessly selfish? Many people assume so. But scientific research suggests otherwise. Like adults, children experience the warm glow of giving. And it’s a motivating force for good. Psychologists call it...
Key takeaways for caregivers Before children enter formal schooling, a good way for parents to help children learn math is through activities such as playing games that involve numbers. Once children enter formal schooling and have homework, these activities become less frequent. Unfortunately, parents often have more negative feelings (e.g.,...
© 2012 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_ee9c9722bcb302343ba6bfeb8a16fbe9 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } A baby sleep chart can’t tell you exactly how long your baby needs to sleep. Researchers don’t fully understand baby sleep patterns, let alone baby sleep requirements. But researchers have collected information from parents...
Key takeaways for caregivers Effective parenting involves being responsive to the child as well as exerting appropriate guidance. Achieving a balance between these two behavioral dimensions can be challenging and changes with the child’s development. Introduction to Authoritative Parenting One of the most important and enduring concepts in research on raising...
© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_9b6098fb86bae8ab54c9f1af5bcd649d .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Toy blocks, also called “building blocks,” are solid shapes used for construction play. Some are simple planks made of wood. Others are fancier, like the interlocking bricks of plastic made by LEGO...
Key takeaways for parents A brief, online program can help parents promote their children’s resilience following separation and divorce. Not all online programs for divorced and separated parents are the same. Evidence from research can help parents and practitioners identify online programs that work rather than ones that are just...
© 2018 GWEN DEWAR, PH.D., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Positive parenting lowers a child’s risk of behavioral and emotional problems, and it helps protect kids against the effects of toxic stress. But what, exactly, is positive parenting, and how should parents get started? Positive parenting means slightly different things to different...
Key takeaways for caregivers Children are eager to figure out social norms, which are informal rules that reflect what groups of people do or should do. Caregivers can intentionally shift the way they communicate norms to children by using the generic pronouns “you” and “we,” which frame information as applying...
© 2009 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_18ed2ce1baec50c478e4618257e239db .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Are you struggling with a picky eater? If so, you are in good company. Throughout the world, it’s common for young children to reject new foods (a phenomenon called “neophobia”). It’s...
© 2009 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_c874a1c926533a42c18fb4f902a0e43e .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Picky eaters can drive us crazy, but their quirks and preferences aren’t entirely arbitrary. Read about the biological differences that turn some kids into fussy, selective eaters. Does your child insist...
© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_51b7790e1b894c7d48bf74f22b81dd0a .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Like adults, babies cycle through a series of different sleep stages at night, and understanding these stages can help us cope. Here’s a quick guide to some of the concepts, and how baby...
© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_e01166bbd1169e15ac1bb665b8cff7a5 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } According to researchers, most infant sleep problems are caused by behavioral factors (France and Blampied 1999), and there’s a great deal that parents can do to remedy such problems. For help,...
© 2006 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_e01c845517840df4c644739937efe930 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } In Western countries today, many pediatricians recommend a child-oriented approach to toilet training. Children set the pace. Parents delay training until children demonstrate certain skills, abilities and interests. The goal of...
