Introduce Yourself!

Plus: Does impulse control not improve until kids are 11?

Hi everyone! IT’S FINALLY NOT JANUARY THANK GOD. There are a lot new folks here (welcome!) and I thought it would be nice to give you the opportunity today to introduce yourselves. We’ve done this before in a thread, but it’s been a while.

I will start: I’m Melinda Wenner Moyer. I live in the Hudson Valley in New York with my husband, our 9-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son, and our dog Ozzy. I love to read thrillers, sing (I just joined a choir!), cook, and take long walks.

Oh yes, and write. I have been a science journalist for 18 years and have covered all kinds of topics within science — genetics, immunology, neuroscience, and social science, to name a few. In recent years, I’ve been covering health for The New York Times.

Over the past decade, I’e also been focusing a lot on the science of parenting. My first book, which came out in 2021, is How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes. I’m now working on a second book due out summer 2025, called Hello Cruel World!: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times.

Here on Substack, it’s my mission to bring science and nuance to the world of parenting advice, which is typically oversimplified, inaccurate, and guilt-inducing — and which is making parents anxious, exhausted and burned out (and is also no good for our kids). I dissect these harmful parenting messages and share what the research really says about raising great kids.

Now it’s your turn! In the comments, share a bit about yourself, your family, your kids — whatever you’d like us to know. I can’t wait!

Kids Can’t Control Themselves Until They’re 11?!

And now for this week’s

Today I’m commenting on this Instagram post from @dandelionseedspositiveliving, which has more than 1,300 likes:

Here are my thoughts.