307. Navigating Social Media As a Parent with Cara Goodwin

The journey of parenting requires a unique approach for every family. Don’t get discouraged by claims that there is one right way to raise a child; this is simply not true.

Dr. Cara Goodwin, an experienced child psychologist, author, and mother, was amazed at the volume of misinformation shared online by self-proclaimed 'experts'. To combat this, she created the “Parenting Translator”- a source of trustworthy, science-based research and information on parenting and child development. 

As a well-known voice in the online parenting world, we are super fortunate to have Cara join us to help us learn how to recognize pseudoscience, interpret research accurately, and use social media more strategically. Her message is clear: No single approach to parenting fits everyone, and we should be mindful of research that does not take individual differences into account.

Listen and Learn: 

Cara’s mission with her Instagram account, Parenting Translator?

Is there an ideal age gap between your children?

Why you should be wary of online research that references brain studies

The importance of being mindful of how you feel when interacting with social media

The types of unsettling research articles Cara is sent and why she uses them as inspiration for her posts

Why Cara crafts a peer review process to validate and inform the research in her social media and newsletter 

How to create a social media feed that engagingly highlights research 

Should you make your child apologize? 

Cara’s approach to correcting misinformation sold as science on social media, while also maintaining diplomacy  

Resources:

Visit Cara’s website: http://parentingtranslator.com

What to Do When You Feel Like Hitting: A No Hitting Book for Toddlers: https://parentingtranslator.org/book

Follow Parenting Translator on Instagram (@parentingtranslator)

Subscribe to Cara’s newsletter: https://parentingtranslator.substack.com/

Parenting Translator Podcast: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781541724389

Parenting Translator - Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/parenting-translator

Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don't, and Why: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781541724389

The Invisible Gorilla: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9780307459664

About Cara Goodwin 

Cara Goodwin, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and a mother to three children. She received a Ph.D. in child clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master’s in Developmental Psychiatry from Cambridge University, and a Master’s in Child Psychology from Vanderbilt University, and she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University. She specializes in child development and has spent years researching child psychology and neuroscience and providing therapy and clinical services for children of all ages. She has published 18 research articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, written two book chapters, and completed numerous conference presentations. She also recently wrote a children’s book titled What to Do When You Feel Like Hitting which gives children evidence-based strategies to use when they are dysregulated. Goodwin translates recent scientific research into information parents can access and implement in their everyday lives through her Instagram account @parentingtranslator and her website.

Related Episodes: 

Episode 87. Cribsheet with Emily Oster

Episode 149. How Not to Lose It With Your Kids with Carla Naumburg

Episode 214. How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Jerks with Melinda Wenner Moyer

Episode 223. Mom Brain Returns with Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco

Episode 245. Family Firm with Emily Oster

Episode 267. You Are Not a Horrible Parent with Carla Naumburg

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices