Grandparents are valuable to children’s social networks and well-being. In this post I will discuss scientific findings of a recent study about the level of grandparental support provided to children. [ … ]
Home & Family
Emotional support stimulates cognitive flexibility
The ability to respond flexibly is important for children’s functioning. For example, cognitive flexibility has been related to math and reading performance and social understanding. In this post I will [ … ]
Growing up in different family structures
A variety of family structures exist beyond the traditional two-parent, biological, heterosexual households with children. For example, single parent, step families, same-sex couple households and living apart/together families have increased [ … ]
Positive effects of parent-child book reading
Parent-child book reading has important benefits for children’s development. In this post I will explain the psychological effects of shared book reading on children and parents. Benefits of shared book [ … ]
Music training impacts children’s development
Learning to play a musical instrument can strengthen children’s brains. This post will discuss a recent scientific article about the effects of music training on children’s development. Learning to play [ … ]
Parent-adolescent communication about sex
Talking with teens about sex-related topics can positively affect safer sex behaviors among adolescents. So, let’s talk about sex! Parents as agents of sexual socialization Parents may have an important [ … ]
Social media effects on adolescents
How much time do teenagers spend on social media across their development? And what are the long-term effects of time spent on social media? In this post, I will discuss [ … ]
How to use questions to facilitate your child’s learning
Parents commonly question children from early on in their development. Questions stimulate language learning and general content learning. This study explores what type of questions during parent-child conversations can be [ … ]
How parent mindfulness is related to less problem behaviors in children
Mindfulness means living in the present moment and paying attention to your thoughts and feelings without judging them. This study explored how parental mindfulness is related to children’s problem behavior. [ … ]