Recent highlights
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Can babies sign before they can speak? Signing is stimulating and fun, but there's little evidence that it's easier to master than speech. -
Can playing heroic do-gooders make us more generous or helpful? Read about the possible effects of video games on altruism. -
Does your child have a video game addiction? Learn the signs of pathological gaming, and how we can help kids lead more balanced lives.
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The authoritarian parenting style isn't the best. So why do some parents practice it, and how can you tell if you're one of them? -
For learning to "stick," a long lesson is usually less helpful than multiple, short lessons. Read more about "distributed" or spaced learning -
The effects of praise aren't always good. What can we do to maximize the benefits of praise - and avoid undermining children's motivation?
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