© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_f856841d53831e250e48182603cd1746 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Your baby won’t stop crying, and you ache for some peace and quiet. Is there a way to get your baby to fall asleep – and remain sleeping – even after you’ve set...
Gentle parenting is a parenting philosophy first made popular by Sarah Ockwell-Smith in The Gentle Parenting Book. The term is sometimes used synonymously with mindful parenting, respective parenting, and other positive parenting approaches. Although not identical, these approaches share common features—they emphasize parents’ sensitivity and understanding instead of strict discipline...
© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_632a60f4e95a8 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } When young children are exposed to polluted air – including particulate matter (PM) – they don’t just suffer from respiratory problems. They are also more likely to develop chronic inflammation, and risky health...
© 2009 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_622fe03440d70 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Tangrams for kids: A learning tool for building STEM skills Like building blocks, tangrams can teach kids about spatial relationships. They may help kids learn geometric terms, and develop stronger problem...
Studies suggest the answer is yes…if the game has these particular features. © 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_63179b880f58e .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } You might not expect much from a preschool board game. Players roll dice, or spin a spinner, and move...
The formation of a secure attachment between a caregiver and a child provides the foundation for resiliency and healthy coping strategies during stressful times. Disruptions to these early attachment relationships leave a child vulnerable. A consistent theme in family adaptation is the family’s ability to make sense of their experience....
© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_622afbc083ade .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } The Strange Situation procedure: The original test of the infant-parent bond We hear a lot about “secure attachment relationships.” But what exactly do researchers mean by this term? Psychologist Mary Ainsworth first...
© 2018 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_6230e31129595 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } What is “baby sign language”? The term is a bit misleading, since it doesn’t refer to a genuine language. A true language has syntax, a grammatical structure. It has native speakers...
Want to participate in research? Studies posted here are being conducted by researchers in the behavioral and cognitive sciences. As a rule, each project has been approved by a college or university ethics board. However, before you participate, you should always read the information carefully to make sure you are...
© 2018-2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_6233aaae186c4 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Postpartum depression symptoms overlap with symptoms of the “baby blues,” the mood swings that mothers experience in the first few days after childbirth. But when symptoms persist beyond two weeks — or take a...
© 2020-2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_62e1edf1d72ed .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Most babies start walking independently within 2-3 months of learning to stand up by themselves. But there are other signs, and there is no single developmental timeline that all babies follow. In fact,...
© 2009 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_6230dcd5b3d75 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } What is “the Mozart effect”? In the popular culture, “the Mozart effect” refers to the claim that listening to Mozart’s music can increase your general intelligence, or IQ. In the scientific community,...
© 2018 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_622add0ccc576 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Dream feeding has been defined as the practice of feeding a sleeping infant, with the aim of encouraging the baby to sleep longer. The term has also been used to describe...
© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_62cdf9a685246 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } When we hear about infant sleep training, we often think of babies left alone in their cribs to cry themselves to sleep. But there are alternatives to such an approach. Parents...
© 2010-2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_622e931487c60 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } We often hear claims that video games can have bad effects on a player’s well-being, particularly if gaming becomes excessive or compulsive. But video games have also been linked with positive effects, including...
© 2019 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_622fb3d6db043 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } What are the benefits of outdoor play for a child’s development? Research tells us there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on what kids actually do when they’re outside. It also...
It is amazing to see how many children manage to survive, recover, and even thrive after tumultuous events unfold around them. This might involve getting through natural disasters such as floods or coping with the impacts of poverty or war, be it losing one’s home or enduring precarious shortages of...
© 2007 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_6233aee33a3b4 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } What causes postpartum stress in new mothers? It’s clear that childbirth is stressful. During labor, the hormones associated with psychological stress — epinephrine and cortisol — rise by a whopping 500%...
In the United States, incarceration is widespread. One in 14 children and youth under age 18 has experienced the incarceration of a residential parent at some point during their childhood. However, the risk of parental incarceration is not equally distributed; it happens more where there are already accumulated disadvantages, particularly...
© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_62a9170e126ce .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Babies possess amazing learning abilities. But to master language, they need our help. Studies suggest we can support language development by engaging babies in conversation, and by providing them with a variety of...
