I’ve still got babies on the brain as I refresh my memory on how to care for a newborn. By the time they were two months old, my two older children were learning to sleep in their cribs. That meant letting them cry and learn to settle themselves when I knew all of their needs were met. So I was curious to read some recent media reports about the evidence on “crying-it-out.”
The evidence on babies, sleep and crying
August 27, 2013 By 51 Comments
Skin-to-skin is best for newborns
August 12, 2013 By 1 Comment
With only about 9 weeks until our third child is due, I’m starting to think once again about everything that comes along with a new baby. At a recent birth preparation class, the instructor encouraged us to look up the evidence about holding your baby skin-to-skin immediately after he or she is born.
The evidence on music therapy
July 29, 2013 By 5 Comments
We’ve all heard the idiom, “Music is good for the soul.” But, according to the evidence, it’s good for your health as well.
How to identify emotional abuse and neglect in preschoolers
June 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The evidence is clear that developing skills early-on – especially before children enter kindergarten – is essential for success later in life. Unfortunately, children face consequences throughout their lives when they do not get the support they need as babies and preschoolers. Physical and behavioral problems and delays in social and communication skills are just some of the poor outcomes. [Read more…]
The state of preschool
June 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Preschool is important to children’s development – the evidence on that is clear. But since preschool is not required and often not offered by local school systems, not all families have access to quality preschool programs. [Read more…]
Youth smoking prevention works
May 1, 2013 By 1 Comment
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, causing about 500,000 deaths per year and driving up costs in the U.S. health care system. [Read more…]
Pregnancy and alcohol consumption: What we know
April 24, 2013 By 3 Comments
We have some exciting news in my family: We are expecting our third child in mid-October. The upcoming addition to our family has me reviewing the evidence on how to have a healthy pregnancy. So I was intrigued when I saw an article in the New York Times this week about alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
[Read more…]
Evidence on child well-being across the globe
April 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Ensuring children grow up to be healthy, productive and fulfilled adults are major goals of every society. Children across the world today face complex risks and challenges including the wide availability of unhealthy foods, the prevalence of bullying and increases in drug and alcohol abuse. [Read more…]
What we know about custodial grandparents
April 3, 2013 By 1 Comment
About 2 percent of children in the U.S. are being raised by their grandparents with no parent living in the home, according to the U.S. Census bureau. But what do we know about these families? And do grandparents face any particular parenting challenges that differ from more traditional households? [Read more…]
Evaluating programs to promote teen sexual health
March 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Teenagers and young adults represent only 25 percent of the sexually active population in the U.S., but they acquire nearly half of all new sexually transmitted infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. [Read more…]
The serious effects of physical discipline
February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment
There are many factors that influence how parents discipline their children: parents’ own upbringing, family customs and stress levels all factor in. But there is clear evidence that some forms of discipline – specifically physical punishment – have negative effects on children throughout their lives.
A new systematic review reveals a body of evidence demonstrating physical punishment may increase the chances of antisocial behavior and aggression, depression, anxiety, drug abuse and psychological problems later in life.
The review is especially interesting because it discusses intervention programs designed to reduce physical punishment and child abuse. It included a trial of one intervention that taught parents to reduce their use of physical punishment, which led to less difficult behavior by their children.
Another such program – called Triple P – originated in Australia was tested in a study funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The program uses a broad range of strategies to address physical abuse including consultations with parents, public seminars and public service announcements on local media. It led to significantly positive results that are encouraging if replicated in other areas of the U.S. Counties that implemented the program had lower rates of substantiated child abuse cases, fewer instances of children removed from their homes and reductions in hospitalizations and emergency room visits for child injuries.
John Eckenrode, professor of human development and director of Cornell’s Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, is an expert in child abuse and maltreatment. He’s written a chapter about preventing child abuse in the book Violence against women and children, published by the American Psychological Association.
“We know that there are tested and effective ways to support parents so that they can better provide a safe and supportive environment for their children without resorting to physical punishment,” he said. “But we must get the word out, provide those who interact with parents such as teachers and physicians with the tools they need to promote positive parenting strategies, and provide resources to states and localities to scale-up effective programs.”
The take-home message: Physical punishment and child abuse are serious problems that have life-long effects. But there is a growing body of evidence that intervention programs can help guide parents to other methods of discipline.
