Is “baby talk” really the best way to talk to your newborn to help them develop their language skills? Can “baby sign” help babies communicate sooner? And if your family speaks multiple languages, how can you help your baby understand and learn them?  In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, new dad Greg Foot is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn language: “Babies don’t understand language yet, so there’s no need to talk to them.” “Speak to your baby as you would an adult so they don’t learn bad speech habits.” “Just speak to your baby in one language so you don’t delay or confuse them.” With help from Professor Sarah Lloyd-Fox (University of Cambridge) and Dr Elizabeth Kirk (Anglia Ruskin University), Greg explores when language learning really begins, the truth about baby sign language, and why parents do not need to be naturals at speaking “parentese” to make a real difference. If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected] Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck Follow us on social media:Instagram: @TheBabyFactCheckTikTok: @TheBabyFactCheckFacebook: @TheBabyFactCheck The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production. Series Producer: Greg FootContent Producer: Graihagh JacksonVideo Producer: Adrienn RuszAudio Mix: Jonnie HowardRecorded at: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, with help from Daria Hupov & Peter SimisonSpecial thanks: Teddy’s mummy, Katrin!

Hearing your baby cry is one of the hardest parts of early parenting - but how much of the advice around how to soothe your crying newborn is backed by science? In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, new dad Greg Foot is joined by a trusted expert to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn crying: “If my baby cries a lot, I’m doing something wrong.” “Babies often cry more with their safest person.” “You’ll know every cry and what it means, if you pay attention.” With help from Professor Dieter Wolke (University of Warwick), Greg explores the “crying peak”, why some crying is simply unavoidable, and how to cope when nothing seems to soothe your baby. This episode includes a brief archive clip of a TV item on the Dunstan Baby Language from a 2006 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, used here for commentary and factual analysis. If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected] Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck Follow us on social media:Instagram: @TheBabyFactCheckTikTok: @TheBabyFactCheckFacebook: @TheBabyFactCheck The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production. Series Producer: Greg FootContent Producer: Graihagh JacksonVideo Producer: Adrienn RuszAudio Mix: Jonnie HowardRecorded at: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, with help from Daria Hupov & Peter SimisonSpecial thanks: Teddy’s mummy, Katrin!

There’s a huge amount of pressure to get everything “right” from the moment your baby arrives, including “uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact during Golden Hour”. But is that really helpful? And is it worth continuing skin-to-skin in the weeks and months after birth? In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, Greg Foot - new dad and creator & host of the popular BBC podcast Sliced Bread - is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn skin-to-skin contact: “You MUST do uninterrupted skin-to-skin for the first hour after birth.” “Skin-to-skin only counts if it’s with mum.” “Skin-to-skin is only beneficial for the time you do it.” With help from Professor Topun Austin (Addenbrooke’s Hospital) and Professor Carolina de Weerth (Radboud University Medical Center), Greg explores why skin-to-skin contact can be so powerful, what the evidence says about the “Golden Hour”, and why parents can let go of the idea that everything has to happen perfectly to matter.   If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected] Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck Follow us on social media:Instagram: @TheBabyFactCheckTikTok: @TheBabyFactCheckFacebook: @TheBabyFactCheck The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production. Series Producer: Greg FootContent Producer: Graihagh JacksonVideo Producer: Adrienn RuszAudio Mix: Jonnie HowardRecorded at: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, with help from Daria Hupov & Peter SimisonSpecial thanks: Teddy’s mummy, Katrin!

Social media is full of newborn sleep advice - but what if some of the “rules” are actually making life harder for new parents? In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, Greg Foot - new dad and creator & host of the popular BBC podcast Sliced Bread - is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn sleep: “Keep your newborn baby awake more in the day and they will sleep better at night.” “White noise is a cheat code for baby sleep that helps them sleep longer and deeper.” “You should put your baby down drowsy, not asleep, or they’ll never learn to self-soothe.” With help from Professor Helen Ball (Durham University Sleep Lab and author of How Babies Sleep: A Factful Guide to the First 365 Days and Nights) and Sarah Ockwell-Smith (author of The Gentle Sleep Book), Greg explores why newborn babies sleep the way they do, what parents can stop worrying about, and how to get through the early months with a little more confidence.   If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected] Join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon: patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck Follow us on social media:Instagram: @TheBabyFactCheckTikTok: @TheBabyFactCheckFacebook: @TheBabyFactCheck   The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production. Series Producer: Greg FootContent Producer: Graihagh JacksonVideo Producer: Adrienn RuszAudio Mix: Jonnie HowardRecorded at: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, with help from Daria Hupov & Peter SimisonSpecial thanks: Teddy’s mummy, Katrin!

The new parenting podcast where trusted experts fact check the baby advice filling your social media feed.  As a new dad, Greg Foot - creator and host of the popular BBC podcast Sliced Bread - is being bombarded by parenting tips so he’s making this podcast to work out what’s fact and what’s fad.  With Greg’s son Teddy only a few months old, Series 1 focuses on newborn babies - fact checking advice on newborn sleep, skin-to-skin contact, crying, language development, gassy babies, bottle feeding, playtime and baby skincare - to find out what really helps, and what’s just noise! As always, our podcast promise to you is... no influencers trying to sell you stuff, no pursuit of parenting perfection, and no judgement. Just evidence-based advice from experts you can trust, to help you be the best parent you can be today. Let's figure this out together.  If you've seen a piece of parenting advice you'd like us to fact check drop us an email to [email protected] and come join The Baby Fact Check Family on Patreon at patreon.com/TheBabyFactCheck Follow us on social media: Instagram: @TheBabyFactCheck TikTok: @TheBabyFactCheck Facebook: @TheBabyFactCheck  Credits: The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.Series Producer: Greg FootContent Producer: Graihagh JacksonVideo Producer: Adrienn RuszAudio Mix: Jonnie HowardRecorded at: The Raspberry Pi Foundation with help from Daria Hupov & Peter SimisonSpecial thanks: Teddy’s mummy, Katrin!