Who we are, what we do

Hello fellow nerds,

Thank you for joining me today.  Please, stick around, I'll pour some tea and we can get to know each other.  I'll start.

I am a scientist, an adventurer, a tinkerer, a mother of three rambunctious children, a life long learner, a wannabe writer, and so much more.  My literal and figurative hat collection is quite large, but that's true of every parent I suppose.

My goal is to create a community where parents trade ideas and share activities on raising intelligent,  kind-hearted, curious kids.  We are here to support each other, not to pass judgement and certainly not to evangelize for a single type of parenting style.  Play is important.  Academics are important. Social skills are important.  Do you ban all screens in your home? That's great!  Do you use the TV as a babysitter? So do I.   Not every activity or piece of advice is going to work -- and that's okay. 

Extraverts and intraverts are both welcome here:
Please, feel free to lurk;  new activities and ideas are posted on a semi-regular basis.
Please, feel free to share; contribute new ideas and activities or link to your own parenting blogs.
This is a resource for all.  Participation is encouraged,  but not required.

I'm a researcher at heart.
I have a PhD in Biochemistry and still read science journals for fun.   When I first laid eyes on my little gummy bear dancing the Macarena in his 12 week ultrasound (I swear, he lifted his right arm to his ear and then wiggled his hips), I had to learn everything about him.  I had the app that told me how he was developing each week.  We asked for clinical books on brain development at my baby shower. Even after he was born, I tracked his milestones and bragged when he started crawling 3 months early.  Then baby #2 came along, and all this went out the window; nothing crashes helicopter parenting like having multiple children, by the way. 

As my kids grew, I started creating a file of activities and learning techniques.  This website is a culmination of what I've learned.  When possible, I try to verify things with primary research [a.k.a the original study published by researchers] and I link to it on each post. 

Well, I guess my chamomile tea is now done.  I've enjoyed chatting with you, and hope to see you again.  If you have a parenting blog yourself, please let us know.  We'd love to link to it.  Information is most useful when its shared.  Send an email to nerdstuff4kids-at-gmail.com