Wow, nice link!

It really seems to boil down to a big ol' "I dunno" from science, which is at least a bound on the virtues/dangers of the approach if nothing else.

As someone who is actually relatively interested in science, I have noticed that it isn't very helpful when it comes to parenting, except in a few cases which tend not to be very surprising ("hey, don't smoke around your baby"). The studies are so small and there are so many confounding factors I almost wonder why they try.

I'm satisfied with our outcome, nobody got exhausted and we're in a pretty good position now, but who really knows why?

I agree with you - most of this stuff has a marginal difference on long term outcomes. The way I interpret the data is: as long as you don't abuse or neglect your kid, they'll be fine.

Most parents don't want to hear this - but I think it's great! I don't have to participate in science-approved stimulation activities, I can just play with my kids.