Nurture Shock

Here's a fascinating book I recommend. Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.   Scientific studies on childhood development presented in interesting storytelling that upend many ideas of conventional wisdom of nurturing children.  Or if you're one of us that has a short attention span from reading too many blogs instead of books, read their blogs from Newsweek online:  http://www.nurtureshock.com.

One of the best things to take away from their writing is to critically think about  parenting strategies, look at the research behind such strategies, and don't ignore results you find along your parenting journey.   "The central premise of this book is that many of modern society’s strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring – because key twists in the science have been overlooked."




Here's a sample of topics: 

New Evidence on Whether 5-Year-Olds Should Redshirt Kindergarten
(spoiler alert - the answer is No)

The Neuroscience of Children’s Passions
 (or why Dumb Toys Make Kids Smarter)

What Do Preschools Have in Common with Bridges and Airports?
(Kids in noisy environments learn to tune out noise, but also subtleties of language.)