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The Progressive Parent: Harnessing the Power of Science and Social Justice to Raise Awesome Kids―Empowering Parents with Evidence-Based Insights for Modern Family Life
An evidence-based, social justice–minded exploration of modern parenting, from an award-winning science journalist and cofounder of SciMoms
How can we raise happy, well-adjusted kids today amid so much injustice and uncertainty? This is the question at the heart of the progressive parent’s dilemma. Fortunately, award-winning science journalist Kavin Senapathy has the answers.
In this lively, accessible exploration of modern parenting, Senapathy guides readers through the complex cultural, environmental, economic and political issues facing all families today. Equipped with practical tips and research-driven advice for parents of kids from infancy to early teens, she helps readers build a more fulfilling relationship with their children and themselves by addressing pressing questions such
Informed by her experiences as a nonbinary parent of color, and filled with a science journalist’s hard-won wisdom, The Progressive Parent is an essential read for any parent or parent-to-be who believes that the values of science, truth, equity and justice should be applied not only individually, but collectively.
How can we raise happy, well-adjusted kids today amid so much injustice and uncertainty? This is the question at the heart of the progressive parent’s dilemma. Fortunately, award-winning science journalist Kavin Senapathy has the answers.
In this lively, accessible exploration of modern parenting, Senapathy guides readers through the complex cultural, environmental, economic and political issues facing all families today. Equipped with practical tips and research-driven advice for parents of kids from infancy to early teens, she helps readers build a more fulfilling relationship with their children and themselves by addressing pressing questions such
Informed by her experiences as a nonbinary parent of color, and filled with a science journalist’s hard-won wisdom, The Progressive Parent is an essential read for any parent or parent-to-be who believes that the values of science, truth, equity and justice should be applied not only individually, but collectively.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published August 6, 2024
12 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 27, 2024
Lots of information on various topics but probably not what I was looking for right now. Might be more useful to go back to if I need to read more about a specific topic.
September 17, 2024
What a wonderful resource for parents - particularly the more anxious of us. Kavin Senapathy’s approach to raising children, in a world full of information and misinformation, is enlightening.
I could have sworn Senapathy was talking directly to me. Their candor leant to an intimate and comfortable writing style, allowing the reader to relate to them without a sense of competition or judgement. Resources for parents, especially first time parents, can be intimidating, and cause people to have a knee-jerk reaction to the information. This book, however, feels like a conversation with the author.
While the language and tone of this book are extremely accessible, there is no lack of research, perspective, or helpful information. Senapathy presents information, then parses out how we, as a society & scientific community got there, providing important nuance for individual decision making.
As the title suggests, this book speaks to the left-leaning, "progressive" parent (which I do identify as). However, I truly believe that there is invaluable information for all parents, among these pages.
If you were a fan of Emily Oster’s “Expecting Better,” then you will love this book!
I could have sworn Senapathy was talking directly to me. Their candor leant to an intimate and comfortable writing style, allowing the reader to relate to them without a sense of competition or judgement. Resources for parents, especially first time parents, can be intimidating, and cause people to have a knee-jerk reaction to the information. This book, however, feels like a conversation with the author.
While the language and tone of this book are extremely accessible, there is no lack of research, perspective, or helpful information. Senapathy presents information, then parses out how we, as a society & scientific community got there, providing important nuance for individual decision making.
As the title suggests, this book speaks to the left-leaning, "progressive" parent (which I do identify as). However, I truly believe that there is invaluable information for all parents, among these pages.
If you were a fan of Emily Oster’s “Expecting Better,” then you will love this book!
May 6, 2025
3.5, rounding up to 4.
I... don't feel like I really learned anything new that I didn't already know by being plugged into scicomm world? I remember Kavin Senapathy from when science blogs were the hot thing as they posted about the antiscientific knee-jerk around GMOs, but haven't really kept up with her work. Very thoroughly sourced, though, so if you want citations on why sex and gender are different things (with neither being fully binary but rather a spectrum), or how EWG's math is iffy when it's counting ppb [parts per billion] of glyphosate in oatmeal, they are listed in the bibliography. It's a little bit grim to think about agencies that might not necessarily have teeth at the moment.
Ultimately, I think this is a useful read if you want to have scientific backing for parenting progressively (because as Colbert quipped in 2006, reality has a liberal bias), and you're not necessarily familiar with the relevant topics.
I... don't feel like I really learned anything new that I didn't already know by being plugged into scicomm world? I remember Kavin Senapathy from when science blogs were the hot thing as they posted about the antiscientific knee-jerk around GMOs, but haven't really kept up with her work. Very thoroughly sourced, though, so if you want citations on why sex and gender are different things (with neither being fully binary but rather a spectrum), or how EWG's math is iffy when it's counting ppb [parts per billion] of glyphosate in oatmeal, they are listed in the bibliography. It's a little bit grim to think about agencies that might not necessarily have teeth at the moment.
Ultimately, I think this is a useful read if you want to have scientific backing for parenting progressively (because as Colbert quipped in 2006, reality has a liberal bias), and you're not necessarily familiar with the relevant topics.
March 25, 2024
This book had a lot of science based research and contains a lot of information. Unfortunately, it wasn't really an easy read for me. It didn't flow as good as I liked and didn't keep my attention as I wish it had.
March 11, 2025
Very in depth book - while I didn’t feel it was necessarily a “parenting” book like all the others I read, it definitely went into topics like race and gender that I didn’t know. Her background as a medical/science writer is obvious as she delves into topics head first.
July 8, 2025
Hogwash
What a bunch of baloney. Poor Kavin. She lives in a complicated, delusional world. I’m not a Trump supporter, but this type of book clearly shows how far from the practical center the progressives are.
What a bunch of baloney. Poor Kavin. She lives in a complicated, delusional world. I’m not a Trump supporter, but this type of book clearly shows how far from the practical center the progressives are.
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August 1, 2024Prejudice, Pregnancy & Childbirth, Parenting
August 24, 2024
Thought provoking read.
May 14, 2025
Person who gives birth rather than mother? Boys who menstruate? While I did learn some things and I’m glad I read the book, it was way too far to the left for me.
January 2, 2025
Condensed education with a dose of one person's anecdotes augmenting the science being described.
Each subject is detailed, thought out, and supplanted with scientific data and evidence, with citations listed at the back in the bibliography. A genuinely wonderful resource that I'm glad I came across when the author was interviewed by Noah Lugeons on The Scathing Atheist.
Fantastic writing from an excellent teacher, I am not a parent but I absolutely think this should be required reading for every parent in America.
Each subject is detailed, thought out, and supplanted with scientific data and evidence, with citations listed at the back in the bibliography. A genuinely wonderful resource that I'm glad I came across when the author was interviewed by Noah Lugeons on The Scathing Atheist.
Fantastic writing from an excellent teacher, I am not a parent but I absolutely think this should be required reading for every parent in America.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews