Evolutionary Parenting Podcast

Mar 03 2023 65 ep. 70 mins 225

Evolutionary Parenting Podcast artwork

The Evolutionary Parenting Podcast with Tracy Cassels, PhD focuses on topics and research relevant to parents today. Using developmental psychology, biology, anthropology, and evolution as a basis for all discussion, the podcast explores parenting issues like sleep (including sleep training, co-sleeping, and bedsharing), breastfeeding and feeding, discipline, and more. Tracy interviews both professionals who are in the parenting world and researchers whose research is relevant to today's parents. For parents who want to understand how our children have evolved to develop, how we as parents can help them thrive, and the role of science in all of this.

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Ep. 64: How Is Breastfeeding Portrayed in Literature in Different Cultures?

Mar 03 2023 72 mins

Normalizing breastfeeding is an ongoing battle in some Western cultures. Even when someone starts out breastfeeding, many report not being able to meet their goals or face various obstacles in trying to nurse their children. One part of the equation is how breastfeeding is represented in these cultures. Is it accessible through various media? How is it perceived? Joining me today t

Ep. 63: How do we reconcile early intervention for Autism with neurodiversity?

Dec 21 2022 52 mins

Our understanding and acceptance of Autism has evolved over the years towards a greater awareness of what we call neurodiversity - broadly, the idea that each brain is unique and what used to be considered "disorders" are not at all, but rather reflections of these uniquenesses with their own strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, we have also learned how valuable early interv

Ep. 62: What do we really know about Crying It Out?

Dec 01 2022 67 mins

As we know, sleep is one of the most talked-about topics for new parents. None of them are getting enough, and everyone is worried about it. In Western cultures, parents are often made to feel that the only way to get sleep is to leave their baby to cry to learn to sleep alone, something called 'crying it out'. This can be modified slightly where parents leave their child for inter

Ep. 61: How does parental presence and contact affect children's stress and sleep?

Oct 14 2022 56 mins

Bedtime. It's one of the biggest struggles parents face. Everyone is tired, we just want our kids to calm and go to sleep. But how does our bedtime affect their sleep? Often we hear that we need our kids to be independent at bedtime, do things on their own, that that will lead to a good sleep. The problem is that there hasn't really been any research on how these actions affect bed

Ep. 60: How can we raise anti-racist children?

Aug 20 2022 69 mins

Raising good humans is hard. We all worry about if we're doing best and we don't always know how to do it. This is especially true when we start touching on topics we may not have experience with, like racism. Many of us may think that we can just try to raise kids who aren't racist and that will be enough. But it's not. We need to actively work to change the ingrained racism in ou

Ep. 59: Does the Sleep Training Research Apply To All?

Jul 25 2022 73 mins

External validity. It's a topic that many of us don't really talk about. It's the idea that certain research findings only apply to certain groups. In sleep training, most people assume the research is applicable to all families, but is this the case? This is the question that Dr. Levita D'Souza and I examine this week as we talk about the research that provides us information on w

Ep. 58: How can we support LGBTQ+ parents?

Jun 30 2022 67 mins

When it comes to parenting, there are thousands of books with myriad bits of advice for soon-to-be-parents and those who are already parents and facing some kind of struggle. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming when we think of all the bits of advice out there. One would think we don't need more, right? But what if you are a parent who just can't see yourself in any of these books o

Ep. 57: What happens to the couple when they become parents?

Jun 23 2022 76 mins

Welcome back after our break and I hope you enjoyed the last few weeks and maybe even used that time to check out some of our older episodes that always stay relevant for families! This week, we're back and talking about the transition to parenthood. In the transition to parenthood, many of us realize that who we are is going to fundamentally change. We don't know how, we don't kn

Ep. 56: What are the long-term outcomes associated with a state-run pre-K program?

May 13 2022 81 mins

For ages, policy makers have been pushing earlier education for children. In many previous studies, these have been found to be very helpful for families that are disadvantaged, but yet the research on them has been short-lived since states of taken on the role of overseeing these programs. Of course, if a program can help a family or child, it should be available, but what if it d

Ep. 55: What do we know about a child's sensitivity to their environment?

May 05 2022 65 mins

Orchid or dandelion? Highly sensitive or relatively robust? These are some of the ways that we have conceptualized the concept of how sensitive a child is to the environment in which they are raised. Through a combination of nature and nurture, some of our kids are just that much more sensitive. But are they sensitive their whole lives? What genetics make this happen? What environm