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

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Dan Fagin, Director of the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at NYU, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation

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." In The Informed Parent, Emily Willingham and Tara Haelle, two widely respected science writers (and parents), explore key questions about child health, beginning with fetal development and continuing into toddlerhood. The result is engaging, conversational, deeply researched, and smart, a book that should be considered a necessary resource for all 21st century parents.”The Informed Parentis a beacon of science-based sanity for new parents caught in a blizzard of dubious child rearing advice. Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham are sure-handed guides, distilling the most up-to-date, reliable research into sensible advice that neither patronizes nor terrorizes. Circumcision? Television? Nipple confusion? Relax, Tara and Emily have got you covered." 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. Home birth; Labour induction; Vaginal birth vs. C-section; Circumcision; Postpartum depression; Breastfeeding; Vaccines; Sleep training; Pacifiers; SIDS; Bed-sharing; Potty training; Weaning; Childhood Obesity; Screen time; Food sensitivies and allergies; BPA and plastics; GMOs vs. organic foods; The Hygiene Hypothesis; Spanking; Daycare vs. other childcare options. 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.The book shines with clear explanations of the reasoning behind common hospital practices such as labor induction, vitamin K shots, and taking Apgar scores, including up-to-date summaries of the sometimes overwhelming-data surrounding giving birth and infant care choices. Subjects of controversy, such as allergies and sleep training, receive in-depth, scientifically minded treatment.” The book shines with clear explanations of the reasoning behind common hospital practices such as labor induction, vitamin K shots, and taking Apgar scores, including up-to-date summaries of the sometimes overwhelming-data surrounding giving birth and infant care choices. Subjects of controversy, such as allergies and sleep training, receive in-depth, scientifically minded treatment."

Journalists Haelle and Willingham have made an ambitious but uneven attempt to build a comprehensive Seth Mnookin, Associate Director of MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, and author of The Panic Virus The Informed Parentis a beacon of science-based sanity for new parents caught in a blizzard of dubious child rearing advice. Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham are sure-handed guides, distilling the most up-to-date, reliable research into sensible advice that neither patronizes nor terrorizes. Circumcision? Television? Nipple confusion? Relax, Tara and Emily have got you covered.” 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." The other problem is the authors' confirmation bias. They talk about biases in the book, but they don't seem to follow their own advice. In the first half of the book they have a section where they discuss what they did. You can almost always predict what will be in that section based on the tone of the previous "objective" section. For example, in the bed sharing section, they state, "The majority of published research investigating bed sharing and SIDS (and SUID) risk shows an increased risk of death with bed sharing, but none of the studies finding that association controlled for every other possible risk factor, including prenatal smoking, mother's use of alcohol or drugs (legal or prescription), prenatal smoke exposure, premature or low birth weight, breastfeeding, and others." Well... okay. Guess what the authors did? They both bed shared. Which is fine, but there are other parts of the book where the studies also don't always control for all other possible risk factors for something (because controlling every other variable is generally impossible), and the authors seem happy to accept those studies.

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The ultimate resource for today's science-minded generation, The Informed Parent was written for readers who prefer facts to 'friendly advice,' and who prefer to make up their own minds, based on the latest findings as well as their own personal preferences. The Informed Parent is a beacon of science-based sanity for new parents caught in a blizzard of dubious child rearing advice. Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham are sure-handed guides, distilling the most up-to-date, reliable research into sensible advice that neither patronizes nor terrorizes. Circumcision? Television? Nipple confusion? Relax, Tara and Emily have got you covered." Finally, a book that presents the latest scientific research on home birth, breastfeeding, sleep training, vaccines, and other key topics so that parents and parents-to-be can make their own best-informed decisions. About the Book The latest scientific research on home birth, breastfeeding, sleep training, vaccines, and other key topics—to help parents make their own best-informed decisions. Clear, comprehensive, and resolutely evidence-based, The Informed Parent is a fabulous resource for science-minded parents. Haelle and Willingham have tirelessly compiled the evidence on so many questions that cause parents to worry and wonder, and with all of this science at their fingertips, they'll be able to make confident and informed choices for their families. From pre-conception to preschool, you'll find yourself returning to this book again and again."

In The Informed Parent, journalists Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham manage to answer everything a parent could possibly be worried about during pregnancy, birth, infancy, and toddlerhood. What makes this book different from every other book on this subject (and there are many) is that the authors take on not only the science of what concerns us, but encourage us to think along with them—giving us the tools to answer other questions in the future. It was like reading the answer sheet before the test." 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: Seth Mnookin, Associate Director ofMIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and author of The Panic Virus The ultimate resource for today’s science-minded generation, The Informed Parent was written for readers who prefer facts to “friendly advice,” and who prefer to make up their own minds, based on the latest findings as well as their own personal preferences. Science writers and parents themselves, authors Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham have sifted through thousands of research studies on dozens of essential topics, and distill them in this essential and engaging book. Topics include: Home birth * Labor induction * Vaginal birth vs. Cesarean birth * Circumcision * Postpartum depression * Breastfeeding * Vaccines * Sleep training * Pacifiers * SIDS * Bed-sharing * Potty training * Childhood obesity * Food sensitivities and allergies * BPA and plastics * GMOs vs. organic foods * The hygiene hypothesis * Spanking * Daycare vs. other childcare optionsMuch of what's covered may already be well known to a moderately informed parents. E.g., you're probably already vaccinating your child. So the discussion on that topic probably won't directly change how you parent, but can be helpful when talking with nimwi... er, people not sure if they're going to vaccinate. 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.”