The Informed Parent: A Science-Based Resource for Your Child's First Four Years

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Seth Mnookin, Associate Director of MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, and author of The Panic Virus Finally! An amazing, informed, evidence-based tour through the most common questions and concerns of parenthood that I can recommend without hesitation. A must for any science minded new parent, or for anyone who thinks Google doesn’t replace expertly curated information." As a mom, I can confidently say that The Informed Parent will be a lifesaver for all moms and dads going through the anxiety and excitement of raising a young child. From autism to organic food, the authors demystify modern parents' most prevalent fears for the first four years, and effectively arm them with a critical thinking cap for years to come. If you're tired of the mommy (and daddy) wars, or simply need help separating the credible wheat from the misinformation chaff on the internet, look no further."

Most parenting books present a philosophy what the author believes readers should do to raise happy, healthy kids. But more and more parents and parents-to-be prefer to make up their own minds, based on the latest findings as well as their own preferences. Science writers and parents themselves, Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham have sifted through research studies on dozens of essential topics, and distill them in this essential and engaging book. Entries include: Accessible and informative...For anyone headed into parenthood, this is a must-read, as it answers so many questions new parents are bound to ask." With The Informed Parent, Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham have gifted today's neurotic parents with fuel - and ultimately antidote - for their obsessive researching. Unlike most parenting books, the authors never preach, condone or praise. Instead, they report the science on all possible parenting controversies in a lay-friendly (and often pithy) style, allowing the reader to come to her/his own conclusions. Well-written, impeccably researched, and brilliantly suited for millennial parents, The Informed Parent should be on the top of everyone's baby shower list."The latest scientific research on home birth, breastfeeding, sleep training, vaccines, and other key topics—to help parents make their own best-informed decisions.

In the era of questionable Internet 'facts' and parental oversharing, it's more important than ever to find credible information on everything from prenatal vitamins to screen time. The good news is that parents and parents-to-be no longer need to rely on an opinionated mother-in-law about whether it's OK to eat sushi in your third trimester, an old college roommate for sleep-training 'rules,' or an online parenting group about how long you should breastfeed (there's a vehement group for every opinion). Credible scientific studies are out there - and they're 'bottom-lined' in this book. Yoni Freedhoff, MD, Assistant Professor, Family Medicine, University of Ottawa and creator of the Weighty Matters blogFinally! An amazing, informed, evidence-based tour through the most common questions and concerns of parenthood that I can recommend without hesitation. A must for any science minded new parent, or for anyone who thinks Google doesn’t replace expertly curated information.” There were some chapters that did help us directly. Specifically the chapter on co-sleeping helped us make an informed decision on how to approach the matter with our second child. Likewise for our toddler, reading out disciplining, preschooling and the like was helpful. Accessible and informative…For anyone headed into parenthood, this is a must-read, as it answers so many questions new parents are bound to ask.” This was very disappointing. I was hoping for something more like Expecting Better, which was a fairly reasonable look at the evidence that does and doesn't exist, but tempered with some general skepticism and at its heart an understanding about the trade-offs that exist. This book is more like a mostly naive summary of the current literature, but it completely ignores the replication crisis. Reading Rigor Mortis will, I hope, give you a lot more skepticism about just believing whatever the extant studies say, since a huge fraction of them are effectively worthless, unfortunately. Not once is it mentioned whether any of the trials mentioned here were pre-registered or that that might be an issue.