Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [parenting]

The process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood.

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Is allowing an infant to cry harmful to its development?

Possible Duplicate: Is sleep training a form of neglect or harmful? One of the most popular schools of thought regarding modern parenting is that not immediately responding to an infant's (typically age 6 months to 1 year) crying will result in…
Beofett
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Did the single motherhood rate among black Americans jump from 20% to 70% since the 1960s?

In conservative responses to racial disparities involving wealth and other things a lack of fatherhood figures within the black community is often cited as causative. For example, Ben Shapiro said about 4 years ago: [If racial disparities are not…
user11643
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Is spanking an effective form of discipline for children?

I have heard many claims that spanking is ineffective for disciplining kids? Is there any research to confirm or deny this?
Casebash
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Is "co-sleeping" (infant sleeps in bed with parents) safe?

Among some circles, co-sleeping is highly advocated for newborns/infants due to ease of breastfeeding and potential developmental bonding to the mother (for more examples, read about proposed advantages here). The immediate and obvious red flag that…
Hendy
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Do teddy bears help people go to sleep better?

There are so many kids in this world who go to sleep with teddy bears and dolls. It seems like they need these toys to go off to Dreamland. I just recently realised this because my own child, about 5 yrs. old, told me he couldn't go to sleep…
Thursagen
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Does shaking breastmilk damage it?

My wife just came back from a breastfeeding clinic where the health visitor admonished mothers for shaking their breastmilk rather than stirring it when preparing a bottle. Apparently it "denatures the proteins". This reeks of pseudoscience, but a…
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Can't spoil a young baby with attention?

Your Baby's First Year by the American Academy of Pediatrics[1], in a chapter about very young babies, includes the following paragraph: The best way to handle crying is to respond promptly to your infant whenever he cries during his first few…
msh210
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Does playing popular video games improve a child's IQ?

This article claims a study shows that the cognitive abilities of 60-77 year olds can be helped by playing two weeks of World of Warcraft. This article quotes a navy researcher as saying adults generally can get similar benefits: "We have…
user4951
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Are second children more likely to be troublemakers?

I saw this on Facebook, it is a repeat of something I've heard all my life. People believe that second children are more likely to be "troublemakers" (or insubordinate) than the other children of the same couple. Furthermore, it claims there's a…
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Does Elimination communication work and can it be practiced in a modern society?

Is the method of Elimination communication to bring up a baby without using diapers real and working? And since it was "taken" from primitive tribes where the mother is with the baby 24/7 for a long period, can the same be achieved with a modern day…
SIMEL
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Does religious influence at young age affect later development of general critical faculties?

Does anybody know if there is any study of a link between being religiously influenced at a young age and later general ability for critical thinking? I mean ASIDE from the context of the specific religion to which the child was exposed. Many…
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Is waiting until 6 months to introduce solids to babies better?

Lately I've been hearing a lot of people saying that the advice to start solids between 4-6 months is out of date. For example, KellyMom, a usually fairly respected parenting resource says: Health experts and breastfeeding experts agree that it’s…
Jessica Brown
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Are children raised in single parent households more prone to sexual abuse?

This article in the Catholic Education Resource Center claims In the United States, the media and opinion makers have finally come to recognize that unwed pregnancy is a major source of social chaos in our culture. Every few weeks, some columnist…
Sam I Am
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Is exclusive breastfeeding better than breast milk+formula, in developed countries?

I would like to know whether exclusive breastfeeding is shown to be better than a combination of breast milk and formula, in developed countries. The current advice of the World Health Organization (WHO) is that six months of exclusive breastfeeding…
Ana
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How necessary is crawling for proper childhood development?

I thought about posting this at parenting.SE and might cross-link to it, but for now I see it as somewhat of a claim that's tossed around and in the same bucket as some others (like not standing too close to a microwave). In any case, my parents…
Hendy
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