© 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_bb6eea05aa95936b6fee4fe925afb1d9 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Is your child afraid of the dark? Is your child’s fear severe enough to be considered a phobia? Here’s what research tells us about the signs and causes…and how to help kids to...
© 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_fe8409d616072aadbc26011da97ba94d .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Observational fear learning, sometimes called “observational threat learning,” is what happens when we use social cues to identify something as threatening or dangerous. Can children learn in this way? Absolutely. In fact, it’s...
© 2009 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_fde4b284c2605d937cc752f3a99a9794 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } By definition, colicky babies cry excessively and inconsolably. But why? Sometimes it’s because babies are suffering from a physical ailment — like allergies, migraine, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. In these cases, symptoms of...
© 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...
© 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%...
© 2021 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved A mother’s voice has special power. It can provide comfort — and improve outcomes — for babies hospitalized in the NICU. It can shape the way infants process language in the brain. And it can help children cope with pain and stress....
© 2021 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved As disciplinary tactics go, spanking is ineffective, and it may be harmful, too. A new study suggests that spanking alters the brain, making kids more reactive to potential threats, and more at risk for developing behavior problems. Over the years, I’ve followed...
