Parenting Made Complicated

Screen time. Daycare. Praise. Sleep training. Spanking and time-outs. Helicopter versus "old school" parenting. There are a lot of questions facing parents of young children but consistent and reliable science-based answers can be hard to find. Parenting Made Complicated, written by child psychiatrist Dr. David Rettew, tackles many of the biggest controversies facing new parents today and examines the science behind these issues with writing that is lively, personal, non-preachy, and even funny. This book doesn't assume that the "correct" answer for each parenting dilemma is the same for each child. Instead it describes how different approaches may be required based on a child's unique temperament or other important factors. Practical, informed, and entertaining, Parenting Made Complicated is a complete resource for parents and professionals alike who are looking for dependable information about today's parenting controversies.

David Rettew, MD is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine and serves as Medical Director of the Child, Adolescent, and Family Division of the Vermont Department of Mental Health. He has been in practice for nearly 20 years, dividing his time between clinical, teaching, public policy, and research activities. Dr. Rettew has published over 100 journal articles, chapters, and scientific abstracts on a variety of child mental health topics, including the 2013 book Child Temperament: New Thinking About the Boundary Between Traits and Illness. He writes a blog for Psychology Today called "The ABCs of Child Psychiatry." You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook @PediPsych.

Part 1: General Principles
1. It Depends
Unpacking the Most Boring Answer in Science
2. Child Temperment
A Primer on Personality Differences in Children
3. Tiger/Attatchment/Helicopter Parenting
Searching for Truth Among the Books and the Blogs
Part 2: Infancy
4. Pick Them Up or Let Them Cry (For a While)?
The Passionate Debate over Sleep Training
5. Working
Making Peace with the Childcare Wars
6. Got Milk?
The Case for Breastfeeding Leading to Smarter and Happier Kids
7. Blue, Pink or Yellow?
How Parents Can Affect Gender Development
Part 3. Toddlers and Preschoolers
8. Yucky
Finding Solutions for Picky Eaters
9. For the Sake of the Kids
Considerations on Separation and Divorce
10. Sparing the Rod (and the Chair?)
Spanking, Time-Outs, and Other Disciplinary Techniques
11. IToddler
The Effects of Early Media and Technology Use
12. Good Job!
Science Examines Praising and Overpraising
13. The Next Steps
Putting Knowledge Into Action
14. References