How can you tell if a book is grounded in science? Look for citations, names of researchers, sources and an index.
If you notice inconsistencies between parenting books, it’s because “ few popular books are grounded in well-documented science.” Psychology researcher and parenting expert Laurence Steinberg writes that scientists have studied parenting for over 75 years, and findings related to effective parenting are among the most consistent and longstanding in social science. Most of these are written by ghostwriters and are primarily designed to sell books or build a brand. Advice from authors who write out of angst about their own upbringing or who failed at parenting should be taken with a grain of salt.įinally, don’t let celebrities’ books fool you. The reason someone wrote a parenting book can also be informative. And studies find that using books independently to improve well-being – what psychologists call bibliotherapy – is somewhat effective for addressing stress, anxiety and depression. Limited research has found that problem-focused self-help books may be helpful to readers – think tips about time management or healthy eating. How effective they are is a matter of debate, especially given the lack of scientific evidence regarding their usefulness. The big question, though, is: Do parenting books help? Parenting books are big business, and there are tens of thousands of titles for sale. Many may seek answers in parenting books. What’s a parent to do when faced with such perplexing offspring? Given the complex interactions of parent, child and surroundings, parents often feel lost. Children are at once joyful, sad, confusing, predictable, generous, selfish, gentle and mean. JGI/Tom Grill/Tetra images via Getty Imagesīabies don’t come with instruction manuals. Evidence-based and easy to read are two important criteria.
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