** 51st book of 2020 Science of Newborns Says: It’ll probably be all-right. **
After finishing Expecting Better, it’s natural to read the science of infants and toddlers, by our national economist-mom Emily Oster. The best value I found in this book is the ability to not stress out about a bunch of things that others will inevitably have strong opinions on. Knowing that many cultural norms are not supported by science, and a few studies are the best thing that I’ll have in order to work with my wife and chart a course towards politely declining grandmotherly advice (if it comes to that). As Oster says, “You have choices, not control” and I for one want to understand the science before making choices.
Ideas supported by science:
Infancy
- delaying cord cutting
- skin to skin contact after birth is good
- swaddling is good
After Birth
- Management of Mom’s stress levels is as important as crying
- Kids sleep better in their own room (even young)
- early bedtime = longer sleep
**Long term **
- Quality of childcare leads to better outcomes
- Food- gradually do new things
- screens are bad. Hire people instead.
- hygiene hypothesis has evidence, so “let them eat dirt”
Ideas with less science than I would have expected:
- Rule of colic: 3 hours a day for three days a week for more than a week. Less than that is just normal crying, although it’s an arbitrary cutoff.
- breastfeeding is good short term, no evidence for anything long term
- sleep training def better for parents prolly better for kids Romanian attachment studies prolly don’t apply