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Once upon a time, babies’ first smiles would often be dismissed as “probably just gas.”
Now, scientists know better.
Starting nearly from birth, infants’ ethereal grins provide a window into their social and emotional development, researchers say. And the responses those enchanting and goofy expressions elicit can help program babies’ brains for a lifetime of social interactions.
Although math skills are considered notoriously hard to change, Johns Hopkins University researchers improved preschoolers’ arithmetic performance simply by exercising their intuitive number sense with a quick computer game.
The only way we are going to change the world is to change it one man and one boy at a time.
Since my wife is a teacher, I have spent countless hours listening to teachers tell their stories. This has caused me to recognize some things I would like to share with my fellow parents.
"It's time to stop princess shaming. There are thousands of gendered messages my little girl absorbs every day: the way I curse how my pants fit, the way shopkeepers talk to her, the way teachers assume that I am the dominant caregiver," Vardanis wrote. "There are so many battles to be fought, but princesses with sparkly tiaras may be the least of our worries."
Perhaps the best way to lessen the negative effects of the Disney princess culture to young girls is to expose them to all things in moderation, Time reports. Disney also made an effort in redesigning its Disney Princess collection by introducing braver, "more empowered" and "less boy-crazy" princesses such as Merida of "Brave" and Elsa of "Frozen."
Toddlers are terrible listeners. This is a fact. Part of it is because they aren’t developmentally ready to internalize things you’re telling them. That makes it necessary to repeat yourself a bajillion times. Which is also why you don’t see a lot of toddlers who are talk-therapists. And why you never feel better when you’re telling them about your anxiety over all those TPS reports at work.
If you want to give your child more exposure to reading but are struggling where to start, this article is what you need to check out!
The June school holidays are here and, for some primary school pupils, that could mean schedules packed with academic revision, remedial lessons and tuition. But there is also value in giving children free time and space to initiate their own activities, which can complement their learning in school, say educators.
The in-laws get in after long travels for the holidays, and the first thing they want when they walk in the door are hugs and kisses from their darling grandbabies. Super sweet. Except when the kids aren't feeling like freely giving affection. What happens next?
There”s nothing more adorable than the sight of a toddler happily immersed in an afternoon of play. Wee hands stack blocks and peals of excited laughter escape from his tiny body as playtime ensues. But when two toddlers come face to face during playtime, they’re ready for a showdown, and their battle cry in a playground full of toys rings: It’s mine!
You’ve probably heard the arguments in favor of early toilet training. They train early in Europe! Toddlers are more compliant than three-year-olds! Diapers are bad for the environment! Perhaps you’ve even read scientific studies concluding that children who train later are more likely to end up having accidents.
It’s no secret that mom and dad can sometimes differ in their parenting techniques. If mothers know instinctively how to look after children, then fathers can find 1,001 ways to keep the baby (and themselves) entertained. Here are just some of their ideas.
Talking about anything and everything under the sun with the kids may be pleasant for most parents. Though constant communication and positive criticism may be advised to keep a strong parent-child bond, a study revealed that there is one topic that should be OFF LIMITS! It was mentioned that talking / criticizing young children about their weight can do more harm than good.
Here's what happens if you don’t “baby talk” to your baby and instead speak like a regular adult.
The kids who tend to do well often exhibit some important skills before entering college. Perhaps surprisingly, these skills aren't incredibly sophisticated. In fact, they are skills we expect preschoolers to master.
Sibling fights are very common in young siblings, and it is one of the many problems that causes headaches to parents. Here are some tips for parents on how to prevent their children from fighting with each other and how to intervene.
Support and encourage their efforts, and love them unconditionally
A mom's letter to the doctor who suggested her abortion of her daughter upon the diagnosis of Down Syndrome reveals a truth we all should ponder about. The letter reads:
According to the EWG’s report, these are the 7 worst sunscreens for kids:
1. Banana Boat Kids Max Protect & Play Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 100
2. Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Stick, Wacky Foam and Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 55
3. CVS Baby Sunstick Sunscreen and Spray, SPF 55
4. Equate Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
5. Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Sunscreen Spray and Stick products, SPF 70
6. Up & Up Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
7. Hampton Sun Continuous Mist Sunscreen for Kids, SPF 70
How can you tell if your child is being bullied? If my child comes to me and tells me he is being bullied, what is the best thing to do? So, what can I do to stop the bullying?
My kids have this really annoying habit of popping out of their rooms 15 times after they’re tucked in. They also have this uncanny ability to know exactly when I need some personal space, because that’s when they choose to be extra cuddly and clingy. They bicker with each other, and change their minds about what they want for lunch after I’ve made the previously requested meal. In other words, they are kids and they do a lot of those things kids do that drive parents absolutely bonkers.
A bite from a single mosquito can result in fever, headaches, and pain. Severe cases can experience a multitude of symptoms including bleeding, shock, organ failure -- and potentially death. There is no treatment or vaccine and no real means of protecting yourself in countries endemic for the disease.
Let’s face it – no matter how “angelic” you think your children are, there will be times in your life as a parent when you’ll find yourself dealing with your kids’ annoying behavior; attempting to calm them down when you won’t buy what they want; and feeling helpless when they start “acting out” or throwing tantrums.
Although there are several tried-and-tested ways on how to deal with such episodes, parents may also want to know how to teach their children to “channel” or refocus their negative emotions, so that they can avoid the dreaded tantrums in the first place.
Breathing the fresh air, being unplugged and disconnected, experiencing the peacefulness of the outdoors ... it’s pretty fantastic. When kids go outside and play in nature, there are real benefits to both physical health and emotional well-being. The only problem is, kids are spending less time in nature and more time hooked up to their tablets, smartphones, and video games.
What holds them back is that they don’t learn to be original. They strive to earn the approval of their parents and the admiration of their teachers. But as they perform in Carnegie Hall and become chess champions, something unexpected happens: Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new.
This little machine is loaded with lessons about engineering and mobility. The gearbox teaches kids how gear ratios affect speed. And when it walks, the robot's feet can slip unless you add a dab of glue to them. That's a great introduction to problem solving: increasing friction to create traction and enable faster movement.
Thousands of primary schools in England will copy the south Asian style of teaching maths, the Department for Education has said. A £41 million boost will help more than 8,000 schools - half of the total number in England - receive support to adopt the approach, which is used by leading maths performers including Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong.
One parenting milestone that we could all live without is that first time your child pukes all over the car. Every parent has a nightmare story about projectile vomit in an enclosed space, and some parents even drive another 10 hours after that happens, which proves parents truly are rock stars.
While boosting kids’ math and verbal skills may draw more attention from parents and educators, spatial reasoning skills play an important — sometimes overlooked — role in academic and career success. And preschool, it turns out, is a key time to foster children’s spatial cognition.
SINGAPORE: Malay-Muslim community leaders support an idea to make the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) compulsory for all Islamic religious teachers. The decade-old scheme recognises teachers and scholars who meet the minimum standards of qualification to preach and teach Islamic religious knowledge.
The education method that a school implements can make a big difference on a child's development and progress. But how do we choose from a plethora of programmes? Montessori Education has been one of the most popular programmes for early development, and there are legit benefits.
1. Focus On Cooperative Activities
2. Individualized Teaching
3. Unique Way Of Instilling Discipline
4. Creativity Is Encouraged
5. Provides Hands-On Learning
Well, Prince Goerge is already having Montessori!
Cooking with kid is a time-efficient strategy -- by playing with kids, you get your dinner ready. And these recipes are amazing as they allow you and your kids a roomful of space for freedom and creativity.
Many children hate to eat vegetables but almost all children love superheroes. Combining the two apparently yields good results for those of you who aim best in your children's nutrition. A research has found that presenting vegetables as cartoon superheroes get children encouraged to eat vegetables.
A study found that youngsters smacked up to the age of six did better at school and were more optimistic about their lives than those never hit by their parents.
They were also more likely to undertake voluntary work and keener to attend university, experts discovered.
The research, conducted in the United States, is likely to anger children’s rights campaigners who have unsuccessfully fought to ban smacking in Britain.
Want to know how to make your bright little button even more brainy? These fun learning games and activities are expert-approved and a great way to develop a toddler’s memory and problem-solving skills.
Like many other American parents, I had an obsession: academic success for my child. Only, I was going about it completely wrong. Yes, my daughter would later go on to test above average with her academic skills, but she was missing important life skills. Skills that should have been in place and nurtured during the preschool years....
More than seven in 10 Singaporeans believe that a person's ethnicity does not influence his or her success, according to a nationwide survey specially commissioned by Channel NewsAsia in partnership with the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
Even preschoolers nowadays are being sucked in the media revolution and this is keeping them from communicating with their parents while using media, a new study from the University of Michigan has revealed.
The hormone imbalance that underlies polycystic ovary syndrome often makes women miserable. Here are PCOS symptoms to know.
A few years ago, when our child was still waking up at night (he was two at the time), I went into our Doctor’s office with this complaint… “My 2 year old is still waking up at night .” Her advice changed our nights!
When the time came for my daughter to string sentences together, she never stopped. She talked and talked, and when she ran out of stuff to say, well, she just made noises. These days, my daughter always has a thought to share or observations to vocalize. From the time she’s up to the time she’s fast asleep, there are few quiet moments in between without thoughts, ideas, out-loud play, questions, or commentary. Having a talkative kid has its pros and cons, as anyone with a chatterbox will know.
You don’t find school reformers talking much about how we need to train more teachers in the arts, given the current obsession with science, math, technology and engineering (STEM), but here’s a list of skills that young people learn from studying the arts. They serve as a reminder that the arts — while important to study for their intrinsic value — also promote skills seen as important in academic and life success...
There are some things I used to do before I had kids that are impossible now that I have three. Remember the things you used to dare try because you had silence, the time, and the patience — back when these things weren’t considered luxuries like they are to so many of us now because we have little hellions running around ruining everything they touch? Here is a list of 10 things that are ill-advised once you start breeding. Believe me, I have tried them all.
Kids attempt to explain the secrets of life -- and it's hilarious!
You can use these 4 steps to gently wean your baby or toddler away from co-sleeping, and towards sleeping in his or her own bed (and hopefully sleeping through the night!)...
A few years ago, when our child was still waking up at night (he was two at the time), I went into our Doctor’s office with this complaint… “My 2 year old is still waking up at night .” Her advice changed our nights!