

Reflections on lessons from randomized trials of newborn infants, 1951-1967 - gwern
http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/essays/cautionary/silverman.html

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jawns
I think just about every parent has performed some sort of experiment on
his/her baby, although we don't often label it as such (and fortunately, we
don't often have to perform the sort of life-or-death experiments that Dr.
Silverman was involved in).

My experiences experimenting on my own kids led me to write "Experimenting
With Babies: 50 Amazing Science Projects You Can Perform on Your Kid"
(available wherever books are sold). It's a collection of completely safe
science experiments that parents can perform on their own babies, with no
special equipment needed. All of the projects are adapted from published
academic research in various fields of child development, but don't worry --
there's nothing ethically troubling or harmful, and the projects aren't meant
to see if your kid "measures up." They're just to help you better understand
how your baby is developing in the first two years.

If you'd like a little preview, check out the December issue of Parents
magazine, where (to the best of my knowledge) there will be an excerpt
featuring five experiments from the book.

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tizzdogg
I just happened to buy this book the other day after having my first child two
weeks ago. What a coincidence to come across this comment.

I have to say I'm really enjoying reading through it! I've only tried the
triangular-face-image test so far, with mixed results (the baby pooped which
derailed the experiment a bit). But I'm looking forward to doing more as he
grows up.

I appreciate that it's actually full of real science about child development,
and written with some rigor. Amazon seems to group it together with novelty
joke books like "Quantum mechanics for babies" or whatever, so I wasn't
entirely sure what to expect when I ordered it. I have been pleasantly
surprised. So thank you for producing an enjoyable book!

