And it's up to parents to create a world — both physical and social — that is rich with wiring instructions. Based on years of research in neuroscience and psychology, here are seven parenting rules to help your kid build a brain that is flexible and therefore resilient. Likewise, parents can sculpt their child into something specific, say, a concert violinist. Research shows that, even when children are just a few months old and don’t understand the meanings of words, their brains still make use of them. When someone fails to tell the truth, don't say, "Sam is a liar," which is about the person.

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