About

Welcome to Dr. Dad! I’m Ron Crouch, a.k.a. Dr. Dad, an author and child psychologist. My mission in life is to help every kid have a happy childhood, and my books are all about doing that by using the best that science and psychology has to offer.

If you read my books or browse this site you will see that I am a huge fan of critical thinking. Ok… maybe I’m a little obsessed with it. But I have good reasons! Critical thinking is crucial for living a happy and healthy life in our modern world. I think most of us grown ups know that is true and we try to be critical thinkers. But children need to learn critical thinking too. Especially now with the flood of misinformation that kids encounter online and in daily life, they need to learn healthy skepticism as early as possible!

The good news is that there is now abundant research that shows that they can learn critical thinking skills if they are taught about them in a fun and kid-friendly way. That is what my Beyond Belief book series is all about. Beyond Belief books help little critical thinkers (ages 8 to tweens) sharpen their skills with fun paranormal mysteries that follow the adventures of a Kenai, a kid skeptic. A reviewer once described the Beyond belief books as “Goonies meets Ghost Hunters” and I think that is a perfect!

I’m also the author of the Pixel Big Books series, which helps little kids (5 to 10) learn how to manage their big feelings. For little children simply learning what names to call their feelings can be a big step toward leading happier and healthier lives. In the Pixel books children learn about emotions with the help of a cute emoji named “Pixel” who guides them through fun activities. Pixel even explains concepts with videos that children can access by QR codes found in the books. For example, here is one of the videos:

That adorable voice for Pixel? That’s my son, Denali. He also made the video. Can you believe it? I’m so proud of that kid. He’s also the inspiration for Kenai, the hero of the Beyond Belief series. His mother, who has stayed married to me for 23 years, is a stand up comic and her sense of humor also shaped the books. Kids love to tell me how funny the stories are.

Professional Stuff:

I’m the recipient of the Harry S. Truman and Jack Kent Cook Fellowships and hold a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from DePaul University. I completed a two-year postdoctorate fellowship in clinical child psychology at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. I’m licensed to practice psychology in multiple states, but currently practice in Germany, where I live in a spooky rehabbed church near the black forest with family.

My motto as a writer is “it’s never too early to learn the important things.”