A University of Sydney study has found children with well below average language skills performed almost as well as their normally developing peers just four months after their parents made a few simple changes in the way they interacted with them.
Researchers worked with four- and five-year-olds attending DET NSW preschools in the Mount Druitt area, and their parents. They taught the parents (mostly mothers) of children with language difficulties to use simple strategies to develop their child’s language skills. [continue reading…]
The presumption that children need both a mother and a father is widespread. It has been used by proponents of Proposition 8 to argue against same-sex marriage and to uphold a ban on same-sex adoption.
On the other end of the political spectrum, Barack Obama endorsed the vital role of fathers in a 2008 speech: “Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation.”
The lead article in the February issue of Journal of Marriage and Family challenges the idea that “fatherless” children are necessarily at a disadvantage or that men provide a different, indispensable set of parenting skills than women. [continue reading…]
In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter? Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated? If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie? What’s the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?
NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children is a collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronsonand Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we’ve mistaken good intentions for good ideas. They demonstrate that many of modern society’s strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring–because key twists in the science have been overlooked.
There is an interesting review of Nutureshock in today’s Independent Why Parents are getting it wrong
Tell us what you think- is too much praise a bad thing, what about spanking? What are your thoughts on children and lying?
“I’ll never be like my parents.”Many youngsters must have said this at least once in their lives. The truth emerges as soon as you have your own children: you increasingly become more like your own parents. Dutch researcher Freek Bucx analysed data from more than a thousand young adults, their parents and partners. Children make you more like your own parents, but a partner who doesn’t get on well with his or her ‘in-laws’ can really sour the relationship between you and your parents. [continue reading…]
is a collaboration between award-winning science journalists 