Author
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
1 reading card from 1 book · 2016.
1 card
Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8 · 2016
Six levers, measured by the week, not by the day.
The report read what has been measured on children from zero to eight and gathered the evidence into a handful of practices that recur in almost every study. This guide uses them as six levers. One, the rhythm of the day: bedtime, meals, leaving the house — repetition does half the emotional regulation of a small child without a word being said. Two, words: how much is spoken to them, but above all how much they are listened to and answered. Three, limits: firm and warm at the same time, meaning the rule holds and the tone does not break. Four, unstructured time: play, boredom, presence without a phone in hand. Five, screens: how much, when, and above all with whom. Six, the surrounding environment, the only one you choose indirectly — friends, school, the street, relatives. The measuring rule matters as much as the list: you look at the week, not the day. A missed day breaks nothing, a good day repairs nothing, and what counts is whatever repeats at least five times out of seven.
“Specific parental knowledge, attitudes and practices are consistently associated with better child outcomes — and unlike income or the parent's own schooling, they can be learned.”