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Cribsheet is the logical sequel to Oster's prior book Expecting Better, a data-driven dive into the first few years of a child's life. Having a couple of kids seems to have knocked some of the starch out of Oster's hyper-Type A personality, and this book is a fair summary of the current research.
There are two problems with the current research. First, children are unique little individuals (or perverse little monsters, depending on how well rested you are), and while there are trends, the range bars on them are so wide that it's impossible to aim for specific benchmarks on sleep, breast feeding potty training, walking, talking, etc, except in the widest possible sense.
The other problem is that a lot of this stuff correlates mostly with being white and having a college degree, and that this tends to overwhelm patterns. SIDS is horrific, and not co-sleeping is one of the few specific things that can make a big impact. The 'best parents' (breast feeding, no alcohol, non-smoking) have SIDS incidences of 0.08 in 1000 for not bed sharing and 0.22 for bed sharing, a roughly 3x increase from a low benchmark. For the 'worst parents' (bottle feeding, both smoking, mother drinking), SIDS goes from 1.77 in 1000 to 27.61 in 1000 with co-sleeping. But if you're in that last category, you're probably not reading this book.
One interesting area where the research is shifting is on food allergies and exposure. The conventional wisdom for the past few decades has been to avoid potential allergens, especially tree nuts and peanut butter, in the early stages of life. However, randomized controlled trials show that giving children nut butters (whole nuts are a choking hazard) significantly reduces future allergies. Similarly, diverse exposure to foods, especially vegetables and fruits, may lead to less picky eaters.
There are three areas where Oster has firm recommendations. Vaccinate your kids (I'm not sure why this is still a debate). 'Cry it out' sleep training is fairly effective, has noted beneficial effects for parents who report better and mental health, and no detected long-term effects on children. Attachment theory studies arguing against this tend to be based on bad experiences in Romanian orphanages in the 1960s, and all parents are more affectionate than overburdened communist bloc caretakers. And finally, while no particular pre-school educational philosophy shows better results than others, there are easy checklists of features you want in a preschool in regards to individual space and care.
But the final advice is probably best. Just relax, it'll likely turn out okay. Which is not something Oster would have written at the start of this parenting side project.
And in a cool aside, Oster has been involved in a childhood development side-project her whole life. Her parents were economics professors, and since she was an early sleep talker, she was a toddler research participant in how language develops.
There are two problems with the current research. First, children are unique little individuals (or perverse little monsters, depending on how well rested you are), and while there are trends, the range bars on them are so wide that it's impossible to aim for specific benchmarks on sleep, breast feeding potty training, walking, talking, etc, except in the widest possible sense.
The other problem is that a lot of this stuff correlates mostly with being white and having a college degree, and that this tends to overwhelm patterns. SIDS is horrific, and not co-sleeping is one of the few specific things that can make a big impact. The 'best parents' (breast feeding, no alcohol, non-smoking) have SIDS incidences of 0.08 in 1000 for not bed sharing and 0.22 for bed sharing, a roughly 3x increase from a low benchmark. For the 'worst parents' (bottle feeding, both smoking, mother drinking), SIDS goes from 1.77 in 1000 to 27.61 in 1000 with co-sleeping. But if you're in that last category, you're probably not reading this book.
One interesting area where the research is shifting is on food allergies and exposure. The conventional wisdom for the past few decades has been to avoid potential allergens, especially tree nuts and peanut butter, in the early stages of life. However, randomized controlled trials show that giving children nut butters (whole nuts are a choking hazard) significantly reduces future allergies. Similarly, diverse exposure to foods, especially vegetables and fruits, may lead to less picky eaters.
There are three areas where Oster has firm recommendations. Vaccinate your kids (I'm not sure why this is still a debate). 'Cry it out' sleep training is fairly effective, has noted beneficial effects for parents who report better and mental health, and no detected long-term effects on children. Attachment theory studies arguing against this tend to be based on bad experiences in Romanian orphanages in the 1960s, and all parents are more affectionate than overburdened communist bloc caretakers. And finally, while no particular pre-school educational philosophy shows better results than others, there are easy checklists of features you want in a preschool in regards to individual space and care.
But the final advice is probably best. Just relax, it'll likely turn out okay. Which is not something Oster would have written at the start of this parenting side project.
And in a cool aside, Oster has been involved in a childhood development side-project her whole life. Her parents were economics professors, and since she was an early sleep talker, she was a toddler research participant in how language develops.