Picky Eating, Sleep Training & Potty Training: Parenting Myths Debunked w/ Professor Emily Oster

Raising Good Humans

Dear Media, Aliza Pressman

Toddler, Sinai, Mount, Doctor, Mother, Science, Dear, Baby, Motherhood, Parenting, Psychology, Pressman, Education, Humans, Seedlings, Kids & Family, Adolescence, Children, Child, Childhood, Parent, Good, Raising, Infant, Media, Aliza

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, I’m joined by economist and bestselling author Emily Oster for a myth-busting conversation about the science (and sanity) of parenting. We unpack everything from picky eating and sleep training to praise, rewards, and toddler tantrums—exploring what the data actually says and what parents can finally stop worrying about. We also talk about co-sleeping, potty training, and the myth that every small decision can ruin your child.

I WROTE MY FIRST BOOK! Order your copy of The Five Principles of Parenting: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans Here: https://bit.ly/3rMLMsL

Subscribe to my free newsletter for parenting tips delivered straight to your inbox: draliza.substack.com

Follow me on Instagram for more:

@raisinggoodhumanspodcast

Sponsors:

Nurture Life: For 55% off your order + FREE shipping, head to NurtureLife.com/HUMANS and use codeHUMANS

FlavCity: Visit Shop FlavCity.com and use code GOODHUMAN15 at checkout for 15% off your first purchase

Saks: Head to saks.com

iRestore: Reverse hair loss with @iRestore lases and unlock HUGE savings on the iRestore Elite with the code RGH at https://www.irestore.com/RGH!

Merit Beauty: Right now, Merit Beauty is offering our listeners their Signature Makeup Bag with your first order at meritbeauty.com

Quince: Go to Quince.com/humans for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

Produced by Dear Media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The following podcast is a Dear Media production.
0:10.0	Welcome to Raising Good Humans podcast. I'm Dr. Lisa Pressman, and today I am speaking with Professor Emily Oster, who is on a mission to empower parents by providing the data and tools they need to make confident decisions.
0:24.6	So Emily's actually an economist, and she was so frustrated with how information and data gets translated out in the world that she decided to clear it up for
0:38.4	everyone. And she has an awesome website called parent data.org. And basically, if you're feeling
0:44.3	overwhelmed or you just want to neurotically check on something because somebody told you
0:51.4	something scary, she will make you feel better. Or she'll let you know
0:57.1	that you probably should be worried about it. And she's just looking at it from strictly a data
1:01.8	perspective. And I really just loved it. So we're clearing up some myths today that have
1:07.9	occurred that kind of drive parents a little bonkers because sometimes what's out
1:13.2	there is just misinformation.
1:14.8	If you enjoy this episode, please write a review and give it a five-star rating so the word
1:20.2	is out in the world.
1:22.0	And as always, Instagram, substack, all of it.
1:26.3	Just check in and I'll see you there. I think we all know you're
1:30.5	the voice of reason here in this very noisy space of like people talking about research-based,
1:39.2	anything related to raising kids, but then it's not actually rooted in good science, and that can get really
1:48.0	scary.
1:49.5	And so I think it would be really fun to go through some of the pain points that you're
1:54.4	noticing a lot of and then clear them up right here.
1:57.6	So an example.
1:59.5	Let's do it.
2:00.4	What's your favorite, this isn't science,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dear Media, Aliza Pressman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dear Media, Aliza Pressman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.