Welcome to the Joiner Flourishing Blogs Gosh—after all the reading I’d done over the years to educate myself on how best to parent, here...

JFP Principle 2: How Infant Nurturing Shapes the Developing Brain In this second blog in the Joiner Flourishing Pathway series, we explore Principle 2 : The way infants are nurtured has profound effects on their brain development and whether they establish long-term positive or negative emotional and social pathways. Whether you’re a parent-to-be, a parent, grandparent, or someone interested in your own early experiences, this blog offers a condensed but powerful overview of

This blog post explores JFP Principle 3 : Mothers and Fathers - There are good reasons mothers spend a larger proportion of their time with their young infants. Research shows that mothers are typically more sensitive to infant cues and thus deliver more attuned early nurturing that enhances parent-infant bonds so vital for an infant's long-term wellbeing. I'll explore the evidence here, and in a later blog, the broader implications for women and men. This is a condensed ver

In this blog we explore JFP Principle 4 – Childcare is not the panacea we thought it was for infants. While childcare has become an accepted part of modern life, research suggests it may have long-term negative effects that deserve closer attention. This is a condensed version of a longer discussion in my book The Foundations of Flourishing and Our Responsibility to Infants https://ethicspress.com/products/the-foundations-of-flourishing  . Here, I'll summarise the key find

In the blog exploring JFP Principle 2 - Nurturing – I outlined the neuroscience showing the importance of responsive parenting which...

In this Blog we explore JFP Principle 6 – While we do have obligations to ourselves, in that we do matter and need to construct a life...

In this blog we explore JFP Principle 7 – Love is both the fire that ignites a parent’s will to care, and the essential ingredient for...

In this blog we explore JFP Principle 8 – To flourish is to have the personal attributes to enable a fulfilling life. Because the...

In this blog we explore JFP Principle 9 – Liberalism is a political philosophy that has focused on individualism and self-sufficiency,...

In this blog we explore JFP Principle 10 - We have been seduced into thinking consuming and wealth creation will bring us happiness, yet...

In this blog we will explore JFP Principle 11 – While feminism has effected many positive changes to women’s lives, it has failed to...

In this blog we explore JFP Principle 12 – Motherhood currently is in a vexed position, being subject to so many oppositional ideas and...

In this blog we explore JFP Principle 13 – There remain significant structural impediments to undertaking maternal work and until...

In this blog we explore   JFP   Blog 14   – Impediments to Motherhood – Psychological . In JFP Blog 13, we acknowledged the profound...

If, after exploring liberalism, feminism, and the complex issues around motherhood, you find yourself in a confused or unsettled place,...