Getting answers to common parenting questions down to a science
by
Jenna Vassallo
Dec 13, 2023
Parents are inundated with many opinions on what to do or not to do for their children.
There is a ton of information on everything from sleep training to screen time guidelines—and separating noise from facts is not easy. Much of the “conventional wisdom” parents are sold isn’t always backed by data.
An economics professor at Brown University and mom of two, Emily has written multiple books on pregnancy and parenting and is also the founder of ParentData.
One of the most trusted and influential voices in the parenting space, Emily joined us on The False Tradeoff. Here are 3 takeaways from the conversation.
The pandemic changed everything—for Emily and most parents
After writing a few books as she continued her work as a professor, Emily launched ParentData, a newsletter designed to empower parents with facts and decision-making tools needed to make sound choices.
What Emily didn’t realize is that we were about to face a global pandemic less than a month later. And with that, her platform and ability to reach parents grew significantly:
“It very rapidly turned into something that was much more than COVID,” Emily said. “And I think at that point, there were a lot of people who had been in my audience because of the books, who were sort of like trapped at home with their babies or trapped at home pregnant. And I think I was there in a moment that was helpful.”
Becoming the go-to resource for parents
If you’re a parent, you’ve likely panic-scrolled to see what your baby’s cough means, if their rash is contagious or why they’ve suddenly stopped sleeping.
Emily wants ParentData to “be the thing that you go to in the night that answers your question so you can go back to sleep.” This entails giving parents permission to make decisions based on the information they have.
“I want this to be a place where you can go, you can have good quality information that is based in data and that you then understand better and you can move forward with whatever is the right decision,” Emily said. “And we want to build that and we wanna make it as accessible as possible.”
Hot takes on everything from discipline to children percentiles
After booking Emily on the podcast, we asked our LinkedIn community to share questions so we could end the episode with her “hot takes” on the most pressing pregnancy and parenting topics.
We got quite a range of questions and Emily did not disappoint.
Wondering what you can do to support your partner during the pregnancy as a first-time dad?
Emily’s number one recommendation is to schedule biweekly meetings with your partner for after the baby, where you can talk about how things are going.
What about discipline styles - does one way work better than another?
Emily confirmed that physical discipline is not effective, but for everything else, the key is consistency:
And lastly, why do we talk about percentiles when we bring our kids to the doctor?
Because as Emily put it, “people like to rank their kids and they like numbers.” She added that it doesn’t matter where they are outside of major extremes that your doctor will share if they’re worried about growth over time.
To celebrate all we’ve accomplished, our team shared what they’re most proud of since joining the team:
I'm most proud of how much we have done to improve the single hardest moment for women's careers (going on parental leave) ... one that is often shrouded in insecurity and fear. We've been able to help advocate for so many women (and men!) in a way that is empowering and truly life-changing.
Allison Whalen, CEO & Founder
What am I most proud of? Growth! Growing a category of support that didn't exist before Parentaly. Growing from a one-woman bootstrapped operation to a global team of 25+ employees and coaches. Growing our overall impact for working parents, with companies investing in our parental leave programming to support employees all over the world. And growing as humans: new babies, new friends, new life experiences... all while tackling new and exciting work challenges together.
Rich Burke, Head of Growth
When I reflect on what I am personally most proud of during my time here, it's working alongside a team where we constantly evolve and optimize everything that we do in order to deliver the best possible experience for the folks going through our programs. It sounds cheesy, but there are processes that my team and I used to do 100% manually that are now completely automated and systems in place that have become second nature to how we operate. Working with such thoughtful, smart, and creative people is incredible.
Sara Ophoff, Senior Program Manager
I’m most proud about doing work that makes parents feel confident and empowered about their careers during a time that can be overwhelming and challenging – not only for our clients and users who go through Parentaly’s programs, but also with our advocacy work on LinkedIn, through our podcast and other big campaigns that make a difference. It’s been pretty rewarding to build a brand people know and love because what we’re doing resonates with so many employees’ experiences in the workforce.
Jenna Vassallo, Head of Brand & Marketing
I am so proud of the way we've approached growth with such care and intentionality - with every adjustment we've made to our offerings, we've never lost sight of our goal to provide the most supportive and valuable experience for our users. I love looking back on the early stages of conversations and building that have led us to the experience we offer today. Personally, I am extremely proud of the work I've done to scale and automate our backend!
Rachel Andes, Program Associate
I am most proud of the work we do every single day to make a positive impact on working parents! Everyday I get to work with an amazing group of people…we work hard but we also have fun.
Sarah Gruber, Client Partner
I'm proud of scaling an employee experience that consistently delivers positive outcomes for new parents and their organizations. Our north star has always been the user, and we never sacrifice our high quality bar!
Mansi Kothari, VP of Product & Experience
I feel a sense of pride that I get to work behind the scenes supporting everyone. I’m proud to see all of the collaboration between the team and how Parentaly positively impacts employees.
Leo Manalo, Executive Assistant
I'm most proud of going through the Parentaly program myself! I'm so proud to work for and promote this company in a time where parental leave and supportive policies are at the forefront of a national conversation. But beyond this, I'm most proud to call myself a participant.
Emmy Carragher, Enterprise Partnerships
I’m really proud of the work I did to expand our coaching bench globally at Parentaly. It was so rewarding, not to mention insightful, to connect with talented coaches from around the globe. This expansion not only enriched our coaching offerings but also strengthened our commitment to making a meaningful impact on families all over the world.
I have tremendous pride in the knowledge that what I am doing will change the career landscape for new parents, particularly mothers. This will make it more likely that my daughter can have a career AND a family without worrying about the unintentional negative impact of taking parental leave. Nothing makes me prouder than that.
Mindy Himmel-Brown, Strategic Partnerships
In my short time at Parentaly, I'm proudest of the work we're doing with our clients' ERG groups to elevate the stories and advice of actual working parents. It's such an impactful way to spread the word about Parentaly as an essential resource for all people growing their families, and the managers who support them!
Alex Diskin, Enterprise Account Manager
I'm most proud about using LinkedIn to connect with others. I was recently able to share a helpful return to work doc with 50+ new people looking to make a difference at their company. Was pretty cool that people from Chewy, McDonald's, Honda, Cisco, AWS, Walmart and more want to integrate just a piece of what we have to offer. Also...I'm so proud of the way I feel as an employee at Parentaly. For the first time in my career my personal interests align with my professional interests and I've never felt more motivated.
Jenny Hurwitz, Strategic Partnerships
I'm really proud of being able to help the Experience team by handling the supportive functions so they can focus on the bigger picture. It feels great to know that I’m making things easier for them and contributing to the team’s success.
James Mango, Executive Assistant
Tagged
Podcast recap
Working parenthood
Hear the rest of Emily’s hot takes - as well as her journey from academia into the public eye.
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