You’re a good parent if you drink coffee while pregnant. You’re a good parent if you don’t breastfeed. You’re a good parent if you drag your kid to soccer practice… and then let them quit the team mid-season. This week’s podcast guest, award-winning economist Emily Oster, isn’t saying these things to make you feel better. She’s got the data to back it up. Frustrated by all of the “rules” she encountered as a mom-to-be, she researched popular parenting advice and discovered just how much of it is misguided or flat-out wrong. As Dr. Becky and Emily discuss her most surprising discoveries over the years, they demonstrate the power of data to deshame our parenting choices. You’ll leave the episode with your own version of, “I’m a good parent who _______.”

For more information, subscribe to Emily’s newsletter ParentData on https://www.parentdata.org/ and check out her three books: “Expecting Better,” “Cribsheet,” and “The Family Firm.”

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Order Dr. Becky's book, Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be, at goodinside.com/book or wherever you order your books.

For a full transcript of the episode, go to goodinside.com/podcast