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The old days
Finally research has vindicated the mothers of half-a-century ago who routinely opened the screen door in back and told their kids to go play – and not to bother coming back until the street lights came on or they heard the dinner bell (whichever came first).
Turns out these mothers were not being abusive and neglectful. The moms of the previous century didn’t know it, of course, but they were ensuring that their children developed a critical cognitive skill ...
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7
JUN
2019
He didn’t even notice!
We often dismiss our young children’s observational skills this way. Did our young daughter notice that she was the only white (or black) child on the playground? Of course not! Did our son happen to observe that all the women in the shower room were naked? Didn’t seem to. How about the man without legs in the wheelchair? Well, she started to stare, but we distracted her and she forgot all about it.
Well, he didn’t say anything
Perhaps ...
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22
APR
2019
A mother of young children asked:
We’re going to be moving to another house in a few weeks, and whenever I try to talk to our kids about it, they tell me they don’t want to move. Or they give me blank stares like they don’t know what I’m talking about. We showed them the new place a couple of times, but they didn’t seem impressed. What’s their problem?
Moving from one home to another, whether halfway around the ...
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20
SEP
2018
The Hanna Perkins family is mourning the loss of Virginia Steininger, who died in her home on Aug. 24. She was 89.
Steininger taught kindergarten, and was a teacher and director at Solon Cooperative Preschool before becoming the director of the child-care program at the Cuyahoga Valley Vocational School. There she taught courses in child development and helped establish the first public preschool in Ohio for children with difficulties. She then came to Hanna Perkins, where she served for 16 years ...
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4
SEP
2018
Starting preschool and the separation process can be hard on everyone. When parents give over the care of their children to a pre-school, day-care center or kindergarten teacher, no matter how attractive the facility, it is an emotionally difficult time for child and parents alike.
Parents tend to stifle these feelings with bravado, telling their child, “There will be a lot of other children for you to play with;” “Look at all the toys and things to do;” “Your teacher will ...
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3
AUG
2018
Dear Grandmothers:
My 3-year-old son Billy’s hamster is looking sickly and I don’t know what to do if it dies. Should I run out and get another one so Billy won’t know what happened? I don’t want him to be sad and upset, so I want to be prepared for this situation.
Worried Mother
Dear Worried Mother:
This may sound odd, but you should be grateful Billy has this opportunity to experience death in a relatively simple way, rather than with the ...
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30
JAN
2018
Finally research has vindicated the mothers of half a century ago who routinely opened the back screen door and told their kids to go play, and not to bother coming back until the street lights came on or they heard the dinner bell, whichever came first.
Turns out these mothers were not being abusive and neglectful. The moms of the previous century didn’t know it, of course, but they were ensuring that their children developed a critical cognitive skill called “executive ...
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21
JAN
2018
This is a controversial subject, so we’re going to work up to our main point gradually.
The Tooth Fairy
No parent that we’re aware of takes great pains to protect the true identity of the Tooth Fairy. Maybe that’s because by the time a child starts losing teeth – at about 6 – he’s already well aware that there’s no good reason for someone in a tutu with wings and a wand to go flitting from bedroom to bedroom gathering up the ...
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5
DEC
2017
A while ago I visited a friend and her family. One afternoon I found myself in the kitchen with Janine, her lively little 4-year- old. She was playing with a puzzle and I was helping prepare dinner and her mother had gone into the garden. She suddenly looked around and pushed a small stool against the cupboards. She glanced behind, climbed up and reached to the back of the shelf from which she pulled a chocolate.
Holding it tightly, she jumped ...
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24
AUG
2017
