© 2018 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_4225c754736f614aee38585050f499a8 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } How do children learn the secret of good communication? It can’t be too easy, because the world is rife with misunderstandings and crossed signals. Too often, people go through the motions...
© 2008 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_74de783b4312e7f533d0c00c9213a11e .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Babies learn to communicate through eye contact, gestures, and affectionate touch. But when it comes to grabbing a baby’s attention — and helping a baby “crack the code” of spoken language...
© 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_6b3d96797f05567e66fc58bf3bca74af .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Naps help babies learn and remember. In fact, babies may require timely naps to transfer new information and skills into long-term memory. Does this mean we should be forcing our babies to take...
© 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...
© 2008 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_d8193d29f900a2915d58969c45bfc250 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } As every parent knows, the world of newborn sleep is exotic and strange. Babies rack up lots of sleep overall, averaging 16-18 hours a day during the first two weeks. Yet...
© 2019 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_ee4376fe2fbe3901f1fcb44c7dfbbc1e .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } When do babies crawl for the first time? Studies suggest that approximately 50% of babies begin crawling by 8 months. But some babies may start before 6 months, and others may...
© 2012 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_ee9c9722bcb302343ba6bfeb8a16fbe9 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } A baby sleep chart can’t tell you exactly how long your baby needs to sleep. Researchers don’t fully understand baby sleep patterns, let alone baby sleep requirements. But researchers have collected information from parents...
© 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,...
© 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,...
© 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...
© 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...
© 2020-2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_62e1edf1d72ed .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Most babies start walking independently within 2-3 months of learning to stand up by themselves. But there are other signs, and there is no single developmental timeline that all babies follow. In fact,...
© 2018 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_622add0ccc576 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Dream feeding has been defined as the practice of feeding a sleeping infant, with the aim of encouraging the baby to sleep longer. The term has also been used to describe...
© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_62cdf9a685246 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } When we hear about infant sleep training, we often think of babies left alone in their cribs to cry themselves to sleep. But there are alternatives to such an approach. Parents...
© 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%...
© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_62a9170e126ce .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Babies possess amazing learning abilities. But to master language, they need our help. Studies suggest we can support language development by engaging babies in conversation, and by providing them with a variety of...
© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_629ffc4006161 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } If you think about it, music and spoken language have a lot in common. They both use tones and rhythms. And studies indicate that there is some overlap in the ways that the...
© 2018 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_628e8d310b009 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Babies make lots of communicative noises, but coos, gurgles, and cries aren’t true speech. When do babies say their first words? Most babies can say at least one or two words...
