A Meta-Approach to Parenting

Hello lovely readers, whoever you may be!

I have finally - after much consideration and internal debate - gotten this blog up and running. I've chosen to call it "Meta-Parent" after the term "meta-analysis," which is commonly used among researchers and statisticians
and is defined as follows:

(From Wikipedia.org):

"In statistics, a meta-analysis combines the results of several studies that address a set of related research hypotheses.

Advantages of meta-analysis

• Deal with information overload: the high number of articles published each year.

• It combines several studies and will therefore be less influenced by local findings than single studies will be.

• Makes it possible to show if a publication bias exists."

Similar to a meta-analysis in research, the main goals of the "Meta-Parent" blog will be: 

• To combat parenting information overload...
•  by sorting through the plethora of information available to us today via the internet, finding the facts, and letting parents decide for THEMSELVES what works best for their families;
• To find the big picture...
• by presenting a variety of sources and studies;
• To avoid bias...
• by presenting and processing evidence-based sources of information.

With so many parenting-related decisions to make - and so many parenting websites to guide (or misguide) us along the way - it can be all too easy to succumb to less-than-reliable information and advice. I can't count the number of times I have been researching something on the internet and wondered, "Where are all the sources? Where are people getting these statistics? What are they basing their recommendations on? Where are the FACTS?!"

My feeling of frustration with the lack of reliable sources of information has played a major role in my decision to create this blog. But since I am both a first-time blogger and a first-time parent, this site will also chronicle my own personal parenting journey and experiences.  My hope is that I can find a balanced voice in this blog, combining an informative and evidence-based perspective with one that is more personal and experiential. Although I do not, by any means, claim to be a "parenting expert," I hope to use my background as a social science researcher, my passion for all-things parenting-related, and my first-hand parenting experiences to help you - my fellow moms and dads - sift through the many articles, statistics, advice and opinions we are bombarded with every day. My goal is to help you to find YOUR perfect parenting path; along the way, I will be exploring my own path, as well.

So there it is... the first post.  Look for the next one soon! Thanks for reading.