Parents

Photo Credit: Walter Limby Mark ThomaAn issue that’s likely to arise in the debates leading up to the next presidential election is preschool education. Among the questions involved: Should preschool programs be available to all children no matter their socioeconomic status? Should America invest in programs such as Head Start or Perry Preschool so that all children can attend? Does any evidence show these programs work?Read the rest of the story at CBS MoneyWatch.

Photo credit: David Hawgoodby Dr. Francis CollinsWhen children enter the first grade, their brains are primed for learning experiences, significantly more so, in fact, than adult brains. For instance, scientists have documented that musical training during grade school produces a signature set of benefits for the brain and for behavior—benefits that can last a lifetime, whether or not people continue to play music.Now, researchers at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, have some good news for teenagers who missed out on learning to play musical instruments as young kids. Even when musical training isn’t started until high school, it produces meaningful changes in how the brain processes sound. And those changes have positive benefits not only for a teen’s musical abilities, but also for skills related to reading and writing.Read the rest of the story on the National Institutes of Health Director’s Blog.

by Jon GrinspanEACH summer, when school ends, education mostly stops short, too. But it hasn’t always been that way. For the striving youths of 19th-century America, learning was often a self-driven, year-round process. Devouring books by candlelight and debating issues by bonfire, the young men and women of the so-called “go-ahead generation” worked to educate themselves into a better life.Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.

Join us for a conversation with child protection advocate Francey Hakes, who will talks about rules to establish safety regarding kids and smartphones, including what constitutes a “friend,” and the topic of cyberbullying. Hakes was the first-ever National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney specializing in technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation.

Wednesday May 20th from 11:00am – 11:30pm EDT Join us for a conversation with child protection advocate Francey Hakes, who will be discussing rules to establish safety regarding kids and smartphones, including what constitutes a “friend,” and the topic of cyberbullying. Hakes was the first-ever National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney specializing in technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation. Note: You must RSVP to the event in order to see it.  Click on the link below and enter your name and email. You’ll receive a response with the link to the event. RSVP

by Lee Lawrence, CorrespondentNASHVILLE, TENN.; AND NEW YORK — To Samson Boyd, a father in Nashville, Tenn., simple addition used to be a straightforward proposition: Four plus four equals eight. But in today’s era of newfangled math, kids are taught various ways to arrive at the right answer.Read the rest of the story at The Christian Science Monitor.

by Josh ZumbrunMuch has been written about millennials–the nickname for the generation of young people born in the 1980s and 1990s–and the rough time they’ve had in the economy. But now that the generation is getting older, and  the oldest millennials are in their mid-30s by some definitions, an increasing number are parents themselves.A new report from Konrad Mugglestone, a policy analyst at Young Invincibles, a Washington-based group that represents the interests of young Americans, has dived into the data on millennial parents (defined in this report as those ages 18 to 34).Read the rest of the story on the Wall Street Journal site.

When I was growing up in Minnesota in the 1960s, “after school activities” for me meant walking out my family’s back door to play with the other kids who lived on my street. In the summer, we played kickball or we explored the nearby woods; in the winter, we built snowmen or stayed inside to play board games. My mom and the other neighborhood moms never had to worry about organizing activities for us; they just had to call us for dinner in a couple hours.

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