The brain knows the real secret of seduction, more effective than even music and martinis. Just keep whispering, 'Gee, you are really special' to that sack of water and protein that is a body, and you can get it to do practically anything.

I'm afraid the parenting advice to come out of developmental psychology is very boring: pay attention to your kids and love them.

Developmental scientists like me explore the basic science of learning by designing controlled experiments.

Becoming an adult means leaving the world of your parents and starting to make your way toward the future that you will share with your peers.

Adults tend to think they have much free will. Kids younger than six are less sure. They may be more realistic!

Animals are certainly more sophisticated than we used to think. And we shouldn't lump together animals as a group. Crows and chimps and dogs are all highly intelligent in very different ways.

If parents are the fixed stars in the childs universe, the vaguely understood, distant but constant celestial spheres, siblings are the dazzling, sometimes scorching comets whizzing nearby.