Dr Norman Swan on his latest book, 'So You Want to Know What's Good For Your Kids?'

Good Reading Podcast

We all want our kids to grow into happy, healthy adults and the first ten years count more than any other time in our lives. So what should we be doing to give them the best chance? Most books on childhood stop at age five and start again in adolescence. They miss the critical primary school age years leading to adolescence - the years that make all the difference. With a background in paediatrics and an over thirty-year career monitoring and broadcasting the latest medical research, Dr Norman Swan fills that gap. He has unparalleled experience in delivering straight-talking, honest, unbiased and commonsense health information. Norman Swan knows what issues parents are worried about throughout childhood. Drawing on the questions he hears time and again, in this book he gives you the information you want and the answers you need to raise healthy and happy children, with a particular focus on the crucial years of five to ten - the runway to adolescence. So You Want to Know What's Good for Your Kids? is a one-stop handbook that you can trust to clear away all the unnecessary advice, allowing you to focus on what makes the difference for kids. Norman Swan replaces myths, half-truths and misconceptions with practical knowledge on topics that parents agonise about - including sleep, diet, school refusal, screens, social media, what genetics determine and what you can and can't change, anxiety, ADHD and much, much more. This book will help you focus on the decisions that can make your kids the best they can be. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dr Norman Swan about why being a “good enough” parent avoids many of the pitfalls of parenting, why presenting ultra-processed foods can lead to problems down the line, and why parenting should to be tailored to each child as individuals.