Summary: Why is it important for parents to understand child development? Learn how it can open our eyes to wonderful insights about our children and our parenting
Parents should understand child development because it offers research-backed insights beyond individual anecdotal experiences, which are often unreliable. Studies, like those mentioned by Amy Webb, Ph.D., typically analyze hundreds or thousands of individuals to reveal the big picture of what is typical and what strategies are most effective. This broader understanding helps parents discern accurate information from plausible but unverified claims, guiding them toward more informed parenting decisions.
In response to some posts in the past, some readers have made comments along the lines of, “Duh, why do we need research to figure that out?” I personally do not take offense at such comments because I’m not the one doing the research; I’m just reporting it. Besides that, I have at times felt the same way about some of the research I’ve read.
These comments, however, did cause me to think and really consider: why is it important for parents to understand child development? Why bother even glancing at child development research? After all, doesn’t some of the best parenting advice mention that parents know what’s right for their child without reading what academics have to say? Having been trained in a university setting for several years, I often take for granted the value of academic research. This is lesson number one in graduate school: research is valuable. I still firmly believe this. So I thought I’d outline some of the reasons why I think it’s still important to be aware of child development and parenting research.
The Importance of Understanding Child Development
Why is individual experience not enough for understanding child development?
Simply put, anecdotal evidence isn’t reliable. Each of us has our own experience with our children that may be very different from someone else’s experience. Oftentimes, people read research findings and say, “Well, my kid doesn’t do that” or “I tried that strategy with my kid and it didn’t work.” Implicit in those statements is the idea that since it doesn’t apply to me, then it must not be true or valuable.
Related reading: Why We Feel So Guilty as Parents and How to Overcome It
To me, this is where research is very valuable. Research studies usually examine hundreds or thousands of individuals. In a sense, studies combine hundreds of individuals’ stories to uncover the big picture
How does research help discern truth from plausible but false information?
It is human nature to make sense of information; to make it fit in neat little categories in our minds. This means that when we read something that sounds plausible, we often (unknowingly) come up with reasons for why it might be true, especially if it seems like common sense.
This reminds me of an exercise that we did in a psychology class once. The teacher handed out slips of paper that had “research findings” on them. Each student received one slip of paper and could not share it with their classmates. Unknown to the students was that some of the “findings” were real and some were completely made up and false. Each student was asked to say if they thought the “finding” was true and, if so, why they thought so.
With very few exceptions, each student thought the “finding” was true, and they had very coherent reasons why they thought it was a real research finding. This is all to say that just because something sounds like common sense doesn’t mean it really is. This is another reason why parents need to understand child development. Research helps us test out ideas in a logical, scientific way so that we won’t be easily swayed by ideas that sound good.
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3. Kids (and parents) vary, but usually within a range
We all know that each child is an individual and that kids differ quite a bit from one another in their temperaments, personalities, behavior, etc. Any parent of multiple kids will tell you this is true. However, research helps us understand the range of this variation. This is helpful in a couple of ways. First, if my child is doing something I think is odd, I can look to research to know if this behavior is within the “range” of normal/average. If so, then as a parent, I know I don’t have to worry too much; other kids have gone through this too.
On the other hand, it may also be helpful to know if a child’s behavior falls outside the range of “average” so that I, as a parent, can know how to respond or seek out help to understand why my child is behaving this way. This is not to say that every child has to be “typical” or “average,” but it does help to know what the range is so that we have a context for understanding the child.
Related Reading: The Best Parenting Books for Research-Based Guidance
Becoming a parent myself has changed how I read and understand research. I definitely seek out research that has more direct, applicable findings. However, in some ways, becoming a parent has strengthened my belief about why it is important for parents to understand child development. If I have a question about something my child is doing or how to react to a certain behavior, I know someone out there has probably done a study that addresses my question. Although the research may not give me a perfect answer or fail-proof strategy, it does usually offer some insight into the situation and helps me understand my child’s ever-developing mind.
Here at The Thoughtful Parent, my goal is to translate academic research on child development and parenting into a format that busy parents can quickly read and understand. I hope to continue to provide information that is useful and timely.
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