reutavinun.bsky.social
I write about #parenting from a scientific perspective. Working on a book, tentatively called: 'Debunking Parenting Myths'.
PhD in behavioral genetics/child development.
Subscribe to my newsletter - https://theparentingmyth.substack.com/
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9/ If you found this thread interesting please share and subscribe for more evidence-based parenting content that challenges conventional wisdom!
#parenting #parentingtips #breastfeeding #JoinTheConversation #ParentingWithoutPressure
theparentingmyth.substack.com/p/the-myth-o...
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8/ Most breastfeeding studies are correlational – they show things happen together, not why. Like gray hair & disease, or ice cream & shark attacks (spurious links!). We need to be wary of drawing causal conclusions.
#ScienceLiteracy #ResearchBias
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7/ Another sibling study, replicating the mostly null findings of the first, demonstrating that in a Western setting, the differences between breastfed and formula fed infants on various outcomes are very small or non-existent
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#debunkingmyths #breastfeeding
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6/ Sibling studies, comparing breastfed vs. non-breastfed siblings, offer a more rigorous approach. Interestingly, these studies often show far fewer significant benefits attributed to breastfeeding than regular studies.
#EvidenceBasedParenting #MythBusting
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
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5/ Unraveling cause and effect in parenting studies is tough! Genetics, prenatal environment, and a baby's temperament or disease that can affect breastfeeding, all play a role, making it hard to isolate breastfeeding as the sole driver of observed outcomes
#CausationVsCorrelation #ParentingResearch
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4/ "Liquid gold," "nature's vaccine" – breast milk is lauded for everything from IQ boosts to lower cancer risk. But how much of this is solid science vs. exaggerated claims? Let's dig deeper. #BreastfeedingFacts #CriticalParenting
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3/ Even formula websites carry warnings, sometimes bordering on fear-mongering, adding to the immense societal pressure on mothers. #FormulaFeeding #FeedingSupport #fedisbest
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2/ The narrative often uses fear: "Don't deprive your child!" This can leave mothers feeling pressured and unsupported, hindering their mental well-being and the ability to make choices that fit their lives. #MomGuilt #InformedConsent
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8/ If you found this thread interesting please share and subscribe for more evidence-based parenting content that challenges conventional wisdom!
theparentingmyth.substack.com/p/the-myth-o...
#JoinTheConversation #FamilyDiversity #ParentingWithoutPressure
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7/ And if you’re wondering if attention is declining in general—
A recent meta-analysis looked into it.
And, if anything, selective and sustained attention in adults may be improving.
But the results were mixed. So let’s not oversell that either.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#EvidenceBased
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6/ And come on—8 seconds?
We spend more time than that reading a post or watching a Reel.
The myth doesn't just lack evidence.
It contradicts how we actually behave.
Let’s stop repeating catchy but meaningless claims...
#CriticalThinking #DebunkingMyths #AttentionMyth
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5/ Let’s not forget: attention isn’t fixed.
It depends on:
☕ Alertness
🎧 Distractions
🔥 Motivation
🎯 Relevance
Even in one person, it fluctuates. Measuring it is complex.
#ContextMatters #BrainMyths
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4/ Also: There are many types of #attention:
👁 Sustained attention
🎯 Selective attention
🌀 Divided attention
🧠 Executive attention
🔁 Attention switching
So… which one are we supposedly bad at?
There’s a 2019 article titled: “No one knows what attention is.”
link.springer.com/article/10.3...
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3/ The goldfish.
We’ve been told for years they only remember things for 3 seconds.
But it appears that goldfish can remember for days, possibly months.
They can learn (like avoiding shocks) and show quite impressive cognition for fish.
Give goldfish some credit.
#GoldfishJustice #FishAreSmart
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2/ Turns out, Microsoft Canada did publish a 2015 report…
But those “8 seconds” weren’t from their research.
They came from a third-party. When a BBC journalist followed the trail, they hit a dead end.
No study. No method. No researcher knew anything about it.
www.bbc.com/news/health-...
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15/ Read the full article on my Substack: theparentingmyth.substack.com/p/the-myth-o...
Follow and subscribe for more evidence-based parenting content that challenges conventional wisdom! #JoinTheConversation #FamilyDiversity #ParentingWithoutPressure
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14/ TL;DR: Only children aren't more spoiled, selfish, or maladjusted than anyone else. Early psychologists were wrong. The stereotypes don't hold up. It's time we stopped judging parents for having "just one." #EndTheStigma #ValidatingSingleChildFamilies
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13/ Bonus fact: Some studies show having more children beyond the first can decrease a mother's life satisfaction. Yes, mothers' wellbeing matters too! #MaternalMentalHealth #MomTruths #SelfCareMatters
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12/ A child's development is shaped by their parents' characteristics, environment, biology, and genetics. If parents of only children happen to be older or more educated, certain traits may appear more often—but that reflects family circumstances, not sibling count. #NuancedParenting
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11/ Confounders are crucial. As exemplified by the study showing more siblings = lower divorce risk by 3% per sibling. When they controlled for socioeconomic factors—poof!—the effect disappeared. #ResearchMethods #StatsMatter
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10/ But these differences were TINY—like "3.58 vs 3.46 on a 1-to-7 scale" tiny. This demonstrates why statistical significance without effect sizes can be so misleading. And they didn't adjust for confounders like socioeconomic status or parental personality. #StatisticalLiteracy #EffectSizeMatters
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9/ One massive study with 20,000+ adults found statistically significant differences in personality traits between only children and those with siblings. Sounds damning, right? #BigData #PersonalityPsychology
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8/ People also assumed only children would be less generous or helpful. The data? No significant differences in prosocial behavior between only children and those with siblings. #StereotypeDebunked #RaisingKindKids
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7/ Recent studies tell the same story. One examined whether people think only children are more narcissistic (they do) and if only children agree (they kinda do too). But when researchers measured actual narcissism? Only children scored LOWER. #MythBusting #PsychologyFacts
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6/ The verdict? If anything, only children looked better off on these measures. And when compared specifically to kids from two-child families? No meaningful differences whatsoever. #ScienceFacts #ParentingResearch
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5/ So what does the ACTUAL research say? Are only children really worse off? A comprehensive meta-analysis from 1986 looked at intelligence, sociability, achievement, self-esteem, behavior, leadership, and cooperation. #ResearchMatters #DataOverOpinions
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4/ Fast forward to today and not much has changed. Only children are still stereotyped as spoiled, lonely, socially awkward narcissists. Parents of one child still hear: "When's the next one coming?" #parentingTips #FamilyPlanning
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3/ Alfred Adler joined the party too, using extreme examples of only children who were "sexual perverts" or patricidal to make his point. Very scientific, very objective. 🙄 #PsychHistoryFails
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2/ Did you know? Granville Stanley Hall, a prominent psychologist in the early 1900s, once declared that "being an only child is a disease in itself." Yes, really. And that harmful narrative has persisted for over a century. #PsychologyHistory #ParentingMyths
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3/ Many effects were model-dependent and lacked replication. Therefore, I wasn't able to come out with any strong conclusions from the analyses. If you read the study and I missed something, please let me know.
#PsychScience #EdResearch #CriticalAppraisal
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2/ Key points
💠Adult concentration gains showed up in basic models, but not in robust ones or regional subsamples.
💠Children’s error increases were inconsistent and reversed in one subsample.
💠Processing speed gains were marginal and not supported by robust analyses.
#Reproducibility #openScience
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9/🧵If you found this interesting, subscribe to my newsletter for more. And thank you @jamesmorris24.bsky.social! I came across this paper following our discussion here.
theparentingmyth.substack.com
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8/🧵 It's 2025 and we're still fighting mental health misconceptions. Share this thread to help educate others about the real science behind mental health conditions and parenting. Together we can #EndTheStigma and #SpreadFactsNotFear
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7/🧵 Why does this matter? Because when we blame parents for mental health conditions, we:
- Increase shame, guilt, and stress
- Delay proper treatment
- Ignore scientific evidence
- Perpetuate harmful myths
#MentalHealthLiteracy #TimeForChange
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6/🧵 We need to let go of the "parenting causes everything" myth. Child development is influenced by multiple factors: genetics, environment, friends, culture, economic status, school, random biological processes, and yes, parenting too - but as ONE piece of the puzzle.
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5/🧵 For alcohol addiction, parenting styles (control, warmth) explain only about 1% of differences in addiction patterns. ONE PERCENT! Yet 68% of Americans believe parenting is a major cause.
#AddictionFacts #BreakTheStigma
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
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4/🧵 For depression: Meta-analysis shows parental behavior explains only up to 8% of differences in children's depression levels. And that's just CORRELATION, NOT CAUSATION!
#PsychologyFacts #MentalHealthEducation
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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3/🧵 Here's what SCIENCE actually tells us about schizophrenia: I didn't find any EVIDENCE that parenting contributes to developing this illness. Yet 44% of Americans still blame parents! #StopTheStigma #MentalHealthFacts #ScienceMatters
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2/🧵 The study asked: "How likely is it that the condition was caused by the way he or she was raised?" Look at these percentages of people answering "very" or "somewhat likely":
Schizophrenia: 44% (2018)
Depression: 43% (2018)
Alcohol addiction: 68% (2018)
Daily struggles: 55% (2018)
#FactsMatter
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I was referring to "We use the sib pairs’ molecular genetic data to compute their genetic relatedness π. The technical expression for what we refer to as the pair’s genetic relatedness is their “identity by descent” (IBD)". I was wondering if accurate relatedness can be inferred from SNPs alone