Researchers at Cornell University have concluded a study that examined the experiences children have with nature and their attitudes toward environmentalism as adults. They found that kids who participate in “wild” nature activities such as “camping, playing in the woods, hiking, walking, fishing and hunting” before age eleven are more likely to care about the […]
A five-year study on children in a Romanian orphanage, and the changes they experience when transferred to foster care, concludes that lack of a loving family can lead to stunted growth, substantially lower IQs and more behavioural and psychological problems than children who experienced better care. (Thanks to Blogging Baby for the sighting.) Studies from
I love my son’s Music Together class, as I’ve written before. Not only is it great for the kids, but it encourages us parents to participate in our children’s musical exploration, sharing drums, bells, scarves, shakers, and anything else that makes a sound or marks a rhythm. In how many other places would you find
Scientific American reports today on research claiming that babies as young as seven months have an inherent sense of number. The scientists found that when infants hear someone saying “Look” either two or three times, they will chose to spend more time looking at a video displaying the matching number of faces, rather than one
One of the latest trends in geekdom is creating “mashups,” combinations of data from multiple Web sites that result in a new service for users. The best-known of these are combinations of Google Maps and something else: movie showtimes or house listings, for example. My two-and-a-half-year-old son, showing his attunement to such innovations, has been
I’ve never been a fan of education that “teaches to the test.” Now, a new study from the UK supports the view that the relentless focus on preparing children for national exams has lessened their cognitive and conceptual development and ability to handle new ideas. In fact, they claim, 11- and 12-year-olds are “now on
One of the more interesting aspects of being a parent, for me, is discovering when my son takes an approach to something I never would have imagined, especially when it’s the exact opposite of what I would have done.
It’s a new year, and there’s a new parenting site on the block: Parent Hacks, “a collaborative weblog of practical parenting wisdom.” It’s not specifically LGBT, but looks to be a good resource for general parenting tips. I can’t say I agree with them all, but that’s a matter of personal style. There’s still much
A recent research paper suggests that simply reading to toddlers may not help them learn to read, although it may have other developmental benefits. Apparently (and not surprisingly), toddlers focus on pictures more than words. They won’t learn to read words, though, unless the reader points out letters and words as well as narrates the
The Guardian has a lengthy article today on the effect of advertising, particularly food advertising, on kids. (It has a U. K. perspective, and mentions some U. K.-specific findings, but most of its major points apply equally to the U. S. and elsewhere.) While some blame advertising for children’s obesity, unhealthy materialism, and dissatisfaction with what they (or
