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Parentology
Everything You Wanted to Know about the Science of Raising Children but Were Too Exhausted to Ask
Table of Contents
About The Book
An award-winning scientist offers his unorthodox approach to childrearing: “Parentology is brilliant, jaw-droppingly funny, and full of wisdom…bound to change your thinking about parenting and its conventions” (Amy Chua, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother).
If you’re like many parents, you might ask family and friends for advice when faced with important choices about how to raise your kids. You might turn to parenting books or simply rely on timeworn religious or cultural traditions. But when Dalton Conley, a dual-doctorate scientist and full-blown nerd, needed childrearing advice, he turned to scientific research to make the big decisions.
In Parentology, Conley hilariously reports the results of those experiments, from bribing his kids to do math (since studies show conditional cash transfers improved educational and health outcomes for kids) to teaching them impulse control by giving them weird names (because evidence shows kids with unique names learn not to react when their peers tease them) to getting a vasectomy (because fewer kids in a family mean smarter kids). Conley encourages parents to draw on the latest data to rear children, if only because that level of engagement with kids will produce solid and happy ones.
Ultimately these experiments are very loving, and the outcomes are redemptive—even when Conley’s sassy kids show him the limits of his profession. Parentology teaches you everything you need to know about the latest literature on parenting—with lessons that go down easy. You’ll be laughing and learning at the same time.
If you’re like many parents, you might ask family and friends for advice when faced with important choices about how to raise your kids. You might turn to parenting books or simply rely on timeworn religious or cultural traditions. But when Dalton Conley, a dual-doctorate scientist and full-blown nerd, needed childrearing advice, he turned to scientific research to make the big decisions.
In Parentology, Conley hilariously reports the results of those experiments, from bribing his kids to do math (since studies show conditional cash transfers improved educational and health outcomes for kids) to teaching them impulse control by giving them weird names (because evidence shows kids with unique names learn not to react when their peers tease them) to getting a vasectomy (because fewer kids in a family mean smarter kids). Conley encourages parents to draw on the latest data to rear children, if only because that level of engagement with kids will produce solid and happy ones.
Ultimately these experiments are very loving, and the outcomes are redemptive—even when Conley’s sassy kids show him the limits of his profession. Parentology teaches you everything you need to know about the latest literature on parenting—with lessons that go down easy. You’ll be laughing and learning at the same time.
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 18, 2014)
- Length: 256 pages
- ISBN13: 9781476712673
Raves and Reviews
“Parentology is brilliant, jaw-droppingly funny, and full of wisdom—backed up by the latest scientific studies. Dalton Conley is one of the most talented writers of his generation, and this mesmerizing book is bound to change your thinking about parenting and its conventions.”
– Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
“Honest, smart, and strange….In this half-memoir, half-experiment, Dalton Conley rattles the data, and some surprising things fall out.”
– Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bébé
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Parentology eBook 9781476712673
- Author Photo (jpg): Dalton Conley Photograph by Stephen P. Hudner(0.1 MB)
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