Pregnancy? Newborn baby? Partway through parenthood with a toddler or preschooler? No matter your stage, I’m guessing you could use more calm, more confidence. You could read dozens of parenting books on pregnancy, baby sleep, picky eaters, child psychology, child development, potty training, and discipline. Or you could listen to Zero to Five: 70 Essential Parenting Tips Based on Science

Journalist Tracy Cutchlow cuts to the chase, summarizing the best parenting research in bite-sized chunks. She knows from her own experience with motherhood: new parents are too busy and sleep-deprived. One tip per page + beautiful photographs = cool + easy.

Research

With the premise that science isn’t perfect, but it’s the best guide we’ve got, Zero to Five draws on scientific research and studies from experts such as Dimitri Christakis (screen time), Diana Baumrind (parenting styles), Adele Diamond (neuroscience and executive function), Carol Dweck (growth mindset), Alison Gopnik (child psychology), John Gottman (marriage and conflict resolution), Megan McClelland (executive function), Patricia Kuhl (language acquisition and brain development), Ellyn Satter (feeding children), Dan Siegel (emotions), Paul Torrance (creative thinking), Grover Whitehurst (literacy and reading comprehension), and more.

Then Cutchlow makes it all readable, for that 2-minute break you’ve got during the day.

This parenting book is for you

…if you like to research all the options so you can find the best (same here)

…if you are feeling scared, anxious, or unsure of yourself as a parent (who isn’t?)

…if you have never spent more than a few minutes around a newborn before (I hadn’t)

…if you like the idea of using science as a filter for the crazy amount of parenting advice out there