Kids Are Keeping Up with the Joneses Too
They just learned it from watching us. What the research says about materialism, values, and emotional health.
Development Decoded
Welcome! I decode the science of child development so you don’t have to.
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Latest posts
Believing In Yourself: Does It Actually Help Kids Learn?
A famous study said yes. A fake brain scan on young kids says otherwise.
Well-Supported Parents Raise Kinder Kids
New research on what happens to kids’ prosocial skills when both parents have real backup and why that support matters more than we thought.
Whose Version of Events Matters?
Why your teen's experience of parenting shapes their development more than you think.
When Kids’ Brains Fill in the Blanks
What anxiety teaches us about uncertainty, threat, and the stories children tell themselves.
Is Your Phone Competing With Your Child?
What happens when children’s bids for attention compete with a device designed to capture ours?
Why Your Child Loves the Box More Than the Toy
The science behind open-ended play, imagination, and why simpler toys often do more.
Your Child Doesn't Need an Optimized Childhood
The difference between experiences the brain expects and experiences that simply help it grow.
Why Parenting Advice Doesn’t Work for Every Family
The hidden question behind child development research is simpler than most people realize: Who was actually studied?
Same Family. Same Stress. Different Child.
The developmental science behind why children respond differently to the same stress