A blog about human brains and behavior for students of psychology.
For centuries, parents have been trying to cajole their children into eating broccoli. Now scientists are here to help. Techniques for convincing children to up their fruit and vegetable consumption are sometimes called “nudges.” Researchers have been investigating these techniques
Sometimes it’s temping just to tell children whatever they want to hear. Even for parents who preach the value of honesty, a little lie here or there can seem acceptable if it gets the desired behavior from children. According to
When you were a kid, maybe you read The Little Engine That Could, a story about a modest train locomotive whose persistence pays off. One possible reason for this story’s popularity is that many parents see persistence as a core
How can parents help shy toddlers become more at ease in social situations? A new study suggests that a combination of warmth and gentle prompting to engage socially might be the answer. The study involved 55 toddlers between 21 and
Conversations with adults are a key way that children build cognitive skills. And if you’re looking for something to talk about with the young children in your life, new research suggests a topic of conversation that seems to be especially
When it comes to the basic psychological needs of adolescence, we often talk about things like becoming more independent and developing a sense of identity. A new paper argues that teenagers have another fundamental psychological need we don’t talk about
Will a baby who says their first words at a precocious age go on to have a sharp mind at 50? The idea that signs of future intelligence can be spotted in toddlerhood sounds logical enough, but the strength of
What makes a good parent? That’s a complex question, maybe an impossible one. But warmth doesn’t seem to hurt. A new study from researchers at Harvard University suggests that children who experience more parental warmth go on to flourish in
We think of “parenting” as something that’s done for children, but of course you don’t simply stop being a parent the moment your children reach adulthood. The quality of a parent-child relationship can make a real difference for emerging adults,
Touch can be a powerful means of communication, especially between parents and children. As the authors of a recent study explain it, “the sense of touch develops in utero and enables parent-child communication from the earliest moments of life.” Maybe
