In times of community or world-wide crisis, it’s easy to assume that young children don’t know what’s going on. But one thing’s for sure — children are very sensitive to how their parents feel. They’re keenly aware of the expressions on their parents’ faces and the tone of their voices. Children can sense when their parents are really worried, whether they’re watching the news or talking about it with others. No matter what children know ...
In 2013, for the first time, a majority of public-school students in this country—51 percent, to be precise—fell below the federal government’s low-income cutoff, meaning they were eligible for a free or subsidized school lunch. It was a powerful symbolic moment—an inescapable reminder that the challenge of teaching low-income children has become the central issue in American education.
The truth, as many American teachers know firsthand, is that low-income children can be harder to ...
Elementary students who practiced playing at school significantly improved their organization of stories, imagination and frequency in showing emotion, according to a study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University.
Students who struggled using their imaginations before the study also saw marked improvement in their creative problem-solving abilities—considered essential to navigate the adult world, according to researchers.
Bullies in the Block Area: The Early Childhood Origins of “Mean” Behavior
By Kerry DeVooght, M.S.W.; Sarah Daily, Ph.D.; Kristen Darling-Churchill, M.P.P.; Deborah Temkin, Ph.D.; Megan Novak, B.A.; Child Trends Karen VanderVen, Ph.D.,University of Pittsburgh | Published August 2015
A familiar scene in preschools nationwide might go something like this:
Jacob and Stella are building an elaborate castle for the family of farm animals ...
By SHAEL POLAKOW-SURANSKY and NANCY NAGER | Published:
WITH the introduction of universal pre-K in New York City, we have created a new entry point into our public school system. This raises a key question: What do we want our children’s first experiences in school to be? What does a good education look like for 4-year-olds?
It’s amazing how routine it’s become to hear news of violence that affects children. Does news of yet another school shooting still affect you quite the same way it did when we heard about Sandy Hook?
If so, our first reaction on hearing the latest is to hug our children tightly. If not, if you’ve grown numb, keep in mind that young children who hear about it are learning of such things for the first time. And it’s hard to think they ...
From Under the Rainbow, a publication of Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital
By Lydia Furman, M.D. | Published Fall 2013
The bond between mother and child is one of the most important connections humans can make. But the bond between father and child is just as vital, and includes his support of the mother and the family unit.
Studies indicate the impact of a father’s presence – or absence – in his children’s lives can have lifelong effects. Fortunately, today’s culture encourages men ...
By MAGGIE KOERTH-BAKER | Published: October 15, 2013
THE NUMBER of diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has ballooned over the past few decades. Before the early 1990s, fewer than 5 percent of school-age kids were thought to have A.D.H.D. Earlier this year, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that 11 percent of children ages 4 to 17 had at some point received the diagnosis — and that doesn’t even include first-time ...
By Kerry DeVooght, M.S.W.; Sarah Daily, Ph.D.; Kristen Darling-Churchill, M.P.P.; Deborah Temkin, Ph.D.; Megan Novak, B.A.; Child Trends Karen VanderVen, Ph.D.,University of Pittsburgh | Published August 2015
