Wits Guts Grit: All-Natural Biohacks for Raising Smart, Resilient Kids

Description

Wits Guts Grit is inspired by the many questions acclaimed science writer and mother Jena Pincott explored about the natural forces that shape children's minds and health. What if we identify the microbes that support stress resilience and find ways to expose our kids to them? What if we reintroduce the mineral magnesium, deficient in almost every child's diet? Would it reduce anxiety and increase bounce back, as the science now suggests? What if memory and learning could improve measurably after eating certain foods-such as blueberries-high in plant chemicals called flavonols, or after certain forms of exercise? These and many more questions led Pincott to simple, all-natural "biohacks"-experiments inspired by current research and theory-complete with instructions on how to undertake them to help your own children strengthen their wits, guts, and grit. Explaining the science and her own experimentation with her two gung-ho daughters in a lively, accessible way, Pincott shows parents how the underlying ingredients of the traits we all want for our kids-resilience, focus, perseverance, working memory, and more-may be all around us in the natural world, ready to be harnessed.

Jena Pincott is the author of Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?, which received starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus for mixing "science with wit, personal anecdote, and playful humor," and Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?, on the science of love and attraction, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and has been translated into eighteen languages. Her science writing and interviews have appeared in Psychology Today, the Wall Street Journal, Nautilus, the Huffington Post, Brain World Magazine, Oprah.com/OWN, and many other outlets. She lives with her husband and two daughters in New York City.

"The brilliant Jena Pincott has done it again with Wits Guts Grit . A must read for every parent, teacher, psychologist, social worker, pediatrician and childcare provider. Five Stars." Louann Brizendine MD, neuropsychiatrist and author of the New York Times bestsellers The Female Brain and The Male Brain "If you are the kind of parent who reads the latest studies on resilience and achievement and wonder how they might really apply to your own kids, Jena Pincott's Wits Guts Grit is the book for you. Pincott breaks down the science in an entertaining and accessible wayand then offers a series of remarkable step-by-step "biohacks," or at-home experiments, to show parents how they can use the very world around them to help guide their kids grow into the most resilient, focused, and thoughtful version of themselves." Kayt Sukel, author of The Art of Risk: The New Science of Courage, Caution & Chance and This is Your Brain on Sex "Jena Pincott is a science writer who doesn't just ask questions and search for answers, she also applies the best of what she learns in her life. This book is the result of an evident passion for sharing her applied knowledge, and it will no doubt influence many lives for the better. It's a fantastic example of what I call 'science-help' in its truest form." David DiSalvo, author of What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite " Wits Guts Grit will be a sought-after addition for any public library parenting collection." Booklist "Accessibly informative, with thoughtful and thought-provoking observational commentary, Wits Guts Grit: All-Natural Biohacks for Raising Smart, Resilient Kids is fully and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Parenting instructional reference collections and supplemental studies lists." Midwest Book Review