Ashley Merryman
Best-Selling Author & Award-Winning Journalist
Award-winning journalist Ashley Merryman’s best-selling book, NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, with Po Bronson, explores the cutting edge research in child development and parenting, turning on its ear most current conventional wisdom on best parenting practices.
NurtureShock reveals that when it comes to children, we’ve mistaken good intentions for good ideas. After all, in a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, Merryman & Bronson demonstrate that many of modern society’s strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring -- because key twists in the science have been overlooked.
NurtureShock began as a series on the science of parenting with an article titled “How Not to Talk to Your Kids,” which appeared in New York Magazine in 2007. After researching the most current science, Merryman and Bronson reported on the counterintuitive finding that constant praise has a negative effect on children. It quickly became the most emailed article in the history of the magazine, and the series won the magazine journalism award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as a Clarion Award.
At the podium, Merryman brings their research to life with wit, first-hand experience, and a journalistic appetite for the truth. Delving into NurtureShock, she covers a variety of parenting techniques, topics and addresses all stages of childhood, from toddlers to teens. Her insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children’s (and adults’) lives will change how audiences think about the kids in their life, and rethink how we all became who we are today.
Together with Bronson, Merryman currently writes an online daily column for Newsweek.com and has written on the science of child development for Newsweek, New York, TIME and the Guardian. Merryman's journalism appeared in The Washington Post and The National Catholic Reporter. She has been a commentator on television and radio shows seen and heard around the nation. She has also served as a practicing litigation attorney and a speechwriter in the Clinton Administration.
She lives in Los Angeles, where she has directed a small all-volunteer tutoring program for inner-city kids for 10 years; in that time, her program has helped over 800 children. For her civic involvement, Merryman received commendations from both the Clinton and Bush Administrations.
Merryman holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, a J.D. from the Georgetown University's Law Center, and a Certificate in Irish Studies from Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Interested in booking Ashley Merryman to speak at your next event?
NurtureShock reveals that when it comes to children, we’ve mistaken good intentions for good ideas. After all, in a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, Merryman & Bronson demonstrate that many of modern society’s strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring -- because key twists in the science have been overlooked.
NurtureShock began as a series on the science of parenting with an article titled “How Not to Talk to Your Kids,” which appeared in New York Magazine in 2007. After researching the most current science, Merryman and Bronson reported on the counterintuitive finding that constant praise has a negative effect on children. It quickly became the most emailed article in the history of the magazine, and the series won the magazine journalism award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as a Clarion Award.
At the podium, Merryman brings their research to life with wit, first-hand experience, and a journalistic appetite for the truth. Delving into NurtureShock, she covers a variety of parenting techniques, topics and addresses all stages of childhood, from toddlers to teens. Her insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children’s (and adults’) lives will change how audiences think about the kids in their life, and rethink how we all became who we are today.
Together with Bronson, Merryman currently writes an online daily column for Newsweek.com and has written on the science of child development for Newsweek, New York, TIME and the Guardian. Merryman's journalism appeared in The Washington Post and The National Catholic Reporter. She has been a commentator on television and radio shows seen and heard around the nation. She has also served as a practicing litigation attorney and a speechwriter in the Clinton Administration.
She lives in Los Angeles, where she has directed a small all-volunteer tutoring program for inner-city kids for 10 years; in that time, her program has helped over 800 children. For her civic involvement, Merryman received commendations from both the Clinton and Bush Administrations.
Merryman holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, a J.D. from the Georgetown University's Law Center, and a Certificate in Irish Studies from Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Interested in booking Ashley Merryman to speak at your next event?
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