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My Research

What does the research REALLY say

Research is a powerful tool, but you also have to keep a sharp eye on it. I take a critical look at the research and what it says (or, more importantly, doesn't say) about sleep training. I also examine at how the research is translated into parenting advice (spoiler alert: not super well).

My research focuses on the following questions:

  • Is crying it out (extinction) as quick, effective, and without side effects as the experts say
    (especially for babies under six months)?

  • What does the research say about using crying it out with more intense/sensitive children?

  • Is there more to a "difficult" temperament than just the "difficult" traits?

  • How much of what parents are told in books about sleep is supported by research?

Research Little Livewires

I'm working on having quick, easy-to-read summaries of everything below. For some of them, you'll have to settle for the very research-y versions on ResearchGate. Click each "Read more" link to be taken there.

little livewires research

Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Baltimore, Maryland. March 22-24, 2019

Difficult or gifted? A qualitative investigation of parents’ experiences of their gifted children as infants.

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Paper presented at the Occasional Temperament Conference. Sherbrook, Quebec, Canada. October 15-18, 2023.

Tired parents, alert children: The need for a temperament lens on sleep and sleep training.

little livewires research

Poster presented at the International Congress for Infant Studies, Ottawa, Canada. July 8-10, 2022

How do parents' real-world experiences with sleep training compare to the promises in parenting books?

research little livewires

Poster presented at the Occasional Temperament Conference. University of Virginia (Virtual), October 2020.

Do parents of alert, intense children have more difficulty
with sleep training?

research little livewires

Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Baltimore, Maryland. March 22-24, 2019.

More than just "difficult"? Are there strengths that go with a "difficult" temperament?

little livewires research

Poster presented at the World Infant Mental Health Conference, Paris, France, July, 2006.

What do we really know about the use of crying it out with babies under six months?

little livewires research

Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Denver, Colorado.
April 1-4, 2009.

Parenting advice about sleep: Where have we been? Where are we going?

little livewires research

Poster presented at the International Society for Infant Studies Biennial Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia. March 27-30, 2008.

What to do about sleep? A survey of parents' experiences with infant sleep and popular advice.

research little livewires

In progress . . .

The prevalence of parental burnout among parents of livewires.

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