Key takeaways for caregivers Effective parenting involves being responsive to the child as well as exerting appropriate guidance. Achieving a balance between these two behavioral dimensions can be challenging and changes with the child’s development. Introduction to Authoritative Parenting One of the most important and enduring concepts in research on raising...
© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_9b6098fb86bae8ab54c9f1af5bcd649d .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Toy blocks, also called “building blocks,” are solid shapes used for construction play. Some are simple planks made of wood. Others are fancier, like the interlocking bricks of plastic made by LEGO...
Key takeaways for parents A brief, online program can help parents promote their children’s resilience following separation and divorce. Not all online programs for divorced and separated parents are the same. Evidence from research can help parents and practitioners identify online programs that work rather than ones that are just...
© 2018 GWEN DEWAR, PH.D., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Positive parenting lowers a child’s risk of behavioral and emotional problems, and it helps protect kids against the effects of toxic stress. But what, exactly, is positive parenting, and how should parents get started? Positive parenting means slightly different things to different...
Key takeaways for caregivers Children are eager to figure out social norms, which are informal rules that reflect what groups of people do or should do. Caregivers can intentionally shift the way they communicate norms to children by using the generic pronouns “you” and “we,” which frame information as applying...
© 2009 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_18ed2ce1baec50c478e4618257e239db .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Are you struggling with a picky eater? If so, you are in good company. Throughout the world, it’s common for young children to reject new foods (a phenomenon called “neophobia”). It’s...
© 2009 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_c874a1c926533a42c18fb4f902a0e43e .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Picky eaters can drive us crazy, but their quirks and preferences aren’t entirely arbitrary. Read about the biological differences that turn some kids into fussy, selective eaters. Does your child insist...
© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_51b7790e1b894c7d48bf74f22b81dd0a .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Like adults, babies cycle through a series of different sleep stages at night, and understanding these stages can help us cope. Here’s a quick guide to some of the concepts, and how baby...
© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_e01166bbd1169e15ac1bb665b8cff7a5 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } According to researchers, most infant sleep problems are caused by behavioral factors (France and Blampied 1999), and there’s a great deal that parents can do to remedy such problems. For help,...
© 2006 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_e01c845517840df4c644739937efe930 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } In Western countries today, many pediatricians recommend a child-oriented approach to toilet training. Children set the pace. Parents delay training until children demonstrate certain skills, abilities and interests. The goal of...
© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_b513b1d27a1e04b575920c23f6775217 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Doing research on potty training techniques? This article describes the major methods and (where such information is available) reviews the scientific evidence in favor of each one. As you’ll see below,...
© 2010 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_5b8555d478ee52fd43a0c7b6ae4cc520 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Permissive parenting seems to be the “no discipline” approach to discipline. Does it damage kids? Threaten to destroy civilization? The research suggests that permissiveness isn’t the best approach to parenting —...
© 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...
