© 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. What happens when a baby Read More »
Yes, newborns spend most of their time sleeping and eating. But babies are more than mere survival machines. At birth, they are primed and ready for social input, and our loving care has profound effects on their development. Generations ago, learning theorists tended to underestimate newborns. They assumed that young infants were empty-headed, passive lumps. Read More »
What is colic? Colicky babies cry excessively and inconsolably. Most cases improve by 4-6 months, but crying can be a sign of illness. So it’s important to consult with your doctor.
Studies report a link between TV and language development in young children. The more time kids spend watching television, the more slowly they learn to talk. What’s going on? Some people conclude that the effects of television on children are direct and negative. According to this view, television is noxious, like cigarette smoke. Cigarettes damage Read More »
Most experts recommend against adopting a strict infant feeding schedule, and with good reason. Babies are better off when they are fed on cue.
© 2021 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved Does the composition of breast milk change over the course of the 24-hour day? Yes. The “drowsy” hormone, melatonin, reaches peak concentrations in breast milk at night. Cortisol — a stress hormone that promotes alertness — is typically at its highest in the morning. So if you feed your Read More »
© 2021 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved Studies suggest that most babies begin to “sleep through the night” (at least 5-6 hours without parental intervention) by 3-6 months of age. But some infants take longer, and the road to progress can be bumpy. Even after babies experience their first, long episodes of nighttime sleep, Read More »
© 2021 Gwen Dewar, all rights reserved In Western countries like the United States, many children begin toilet training sometime between 24 and 36 months. But from an historical and cross-cultural standpoint, this timing is very late, and it comes with a downside. So what’s the right potty training age? It depends on your child, Read More »
Most babies learn to sit up by themselves sometime between 4 and 8 months. But the process is gradual, and some babies make faster progress than others. We can give motor development a boost by helping babies build key muscles. When do babies sit up by themselves? There isn’t any one, universal answer. Around the Read More »
How do newborns perceive the world? Can they see in color? Can they recognize you by scent? Learn more about the newborn senses.
The science of infant toilet training. Potty training techniques, baby bladders, and the potential benefits of early toilet training.
Is there such a thing as “baby sleep deprivation” ? It’s clear that babies can cause sleep deprivation in others. But whether or not babies themselves suffer from sleeplessness is less clear. In my search for published studies about infants with insomnia, I’ve come up with almost nothing. Researchers acknowledge all sorts of infant sleep Read More »