Thanks for the Mammaries: Prolonged Breastfeeding Impacts Intelligence to Age 30, Says Lancet.

March 18, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

The link between prolonged breastfeeding and intelligence is well-established but this study, published in the esteemed British medical journal, The Lancet, is the first to show just how long the advantages given to children through extended nursing continues to impact their development. “Our study provides the first evidence that prolonged breastfeeding not only increases intelligence until at least the age of 30 years but also has an impact both at an individual and societal level by improving educational attainment and... Read more

Hugs Can’t Fix Anxiety Caused by Physical Punishment, Study Shows.

March 17, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

A new study by Duke University published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology shows that being loving after administering corporal punishment tends not to ease a child’s anxiety and may, in fact, make it worse. A loving mom can’t overcome the anxiety and aggression caused by corporal punishment, and her otherwise warm demeanor may make it worse, according to research led by Duke University that was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology….[Researchers] interviewed... Read more

“Dear Gay Community, Your Kids are Hurting”

March 17, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

This is a power letter from a young woman, raised by two women, who was a former gay marriage activist and is now a children’s rights advocate and mom of 4. “….Kids of divorced parents are allowed to say, “Hey, mom and dad, I love you, but the divorce crushed me and has been so hard. It shattered my trust and made me feel like it was my fault. It is so hard living in two different houses.” Kids of... Read more

Don’t Think NFP is Effective? Advertisers KNOW It Is–“Bio-Marketing” Can Remotely Monitor Fertility Data to Increase Sales

March 4, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

This blew my mind–and not in a good way. “In the creepy brave new world of marketing, a woman who logs onto Facebook during her fertile phase can expect to be barraged by ads for new consumer products that are absent on non-fertile days. It is not happening yet, but it is technically possible and it is hard to see who has the power to stop it.” Aldous Huxley? Meet Don Draper. Dr. Nigel Barber, an evolutionary psychologist who writes at Psychology... Read more

Helping Your Kids Deal with Anger

March 3, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

Parents often struggle to deal effectively with their children’s anger. We either tend to respond by coddling them when they tantrum or shutting them down. Of course, neither response is effective and both responses tend to produce angrier more impulsive kids. Of course, an important part of raising moral, loving, faithful kids is teaching our children to manage all of their emotional reactions in more godly, appropriate ways. In Parenting with Grace and Then Comes Baby, we offer a ton... Read more

You Can Prevent Anxiety in Your Children

February 20, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

New research published in the Journal of Child Development shows that the degree to which parents respond to their infants’ and toddlers’ needs promptly, generously, and consistently (the keys to healthy attachment) predicts how anxious their children will be in young adulthood, especially among boys and children who tend to have shy temperaments to begin with. (Read more details here). This is just the latest in a series of studies that show how responding promptly, generously, and consistently to children’s... Read more

How Healthy is YOUR Relationship with God? –TAKE THE QUIZ!

February 20, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

The following quiz* is a statistically valid and reliable measure that evaluates the degree to which a person’s relationship with God is healthy and secure. Most people are surprised by the results. How will you score? Directions Circle the number indicates your level of agreement from DISAGREE STRONGLY (DS) to NEUTRAL (N) to AGREE STRONGLY (AS). The points assigned will vary from question to question. Don’t worry about the numbers for now, just view them as place-holders that indicate... Read more

Most Antidepressants Make it Harder To Get Better, Study Says.

February 17, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

A new study from Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review asserts that the science behind most anti-depressant medications is entirely backwards. Rather than easing symptoms, the authors of the study argue that serotonin boosting medications may be actually making it harder to depression-sufferers to recover. The low-serotonin theory is the basis for commonly prescribed serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) anti-depressant medications which keep the neurotransmitter’s levels high by blocking its re-absorption into the cells that release it. Those serotonin-boosting medications actually make it harder... Read more

Children Raised by Gay Parents WORSE OFF Than Other Kids, New Major Study Shows.

February 9, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

From Mercator.net via the British Journal of Education, Society and Behavioral Science. Fresh research has just tossed a grenade into the incendiary issue of same-sex parenting. Writing in the British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, a peer-reviewed journal, American sociologist Paul Sullins concludes that children’s “Emotional problems [are] over twice as prevalent for children with same-sex parents than for children with opposite-sex parents”. He says confidently: “it is no longer accurate to claim that no study has found children... Read more

Pope Francis and Spanking: 4 Things to Consider

February 7, 2015 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

People know that, as a Catholic Parenting author and family therapist, I encourage parents to eschew corporal punishment in favor of more effective methods discipline that are more respectful of the dignity of the parent and the child. As a result, I’ve been getting emails all week from people about Pope Francis’ recent comments which are being touted in the press as a ringing endorsement of spanking. Before we all get our wimples in a knot, here are a few... Read more