How do you stay current on the latest scientific research on parenting and child development?

Question

I considered subscribing to _Child Development_, a scholarly journal that publishes a lot of the leading research articles on parenting and child outcomes, but it's subscription fee is horrendous. (Set for university libraries, not parents, I guess.)

Most magazines seem to give very short shrift to research. They interview so-called experts for ideas from time to time, but you can tell that these folks are rarely research scientists.

So have any of you found any good methods of doing this?

Answer 1

It depends upon how research oriented you want to be. I like simplicity for most parents and journals aren't simple. For parents who have a background in research you could go with the journals but instead you might read some parenting books that have become well established and look for their research references. Then you have the practical application with some validation.
It is true that we have a lot of parenting frustration going on right now but it seems to be more related to the difficulty of transitioning from physical to mental management. We know that punishment does not work but it can be very difficult to take the time and be smart enough to discipline and rear children with love and good modeling. (bicksmom: Spanking children has short term results when we are looking for a lifetime answer.) Don't get too complicated or the confusion might make you feel incompetent. Try Love and Logic and the 1,2,3 Magic series.

Answer 2

i don't bother with the experts. nothing works as well as experience. so many experts, so many opinions.it can get to be to much. they do a study on something and immediatley people are running around fretting about it. half of the so called experts don't have children anyway. somehow,we all survived without them.trust your instincts. you know whats good for your kids and what they need to stay away from. do any of us really need someone else to tell us that smoking or drinking is bad? that bullying can cause trauma?i don't think so.

Answer 3

i don't. Life experience can teach you more about child rearing than any scientific study. Has anybody else noticed that society's only gone down hill since spanking became and no-no and talking and time outs became the "scientifically" proven form of discipline. Out with books I say!