Recent highlights
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Toy blocks can help kids develop motor, spatial, and math skills. But for full benefits, kids need to do more than just move blocks around. -
Positive parenting lowers a child's risk of behavioral and emotional problems, and it protects kids from toxic stress. But how does it work?
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Got a picky eater? These research-based insights can help you add healthful new foods to your child's diet. -
Picky eaters may perceive food differently. Read about the biological differences that turn some kids into fussy, selective eaters. -
Like adults, babies cycle through a series of sleep stages, and understanding these stages can help us cope. What is active sleep? -
Most infant sleep problems are caused by behavioral factors, but sometimes there are medical reasons why a baby won't sleep.
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