by Stacey
Background noise from television can disrupt preschoolers’ efforts to sustain attention while playing with toys. According to this Reuters article on MSNBC.com, researchers report in the current issue of the journal Child Development, this disruption can happen even if the little ones don’t pay much attention to what’s on the TV.
In a controlled setting, […]

by Stacey
Normal school-age children respond similarly to adults when they see someone in pain. According to this Reuters article on MSNBC.com, a new study using brain imaging found that children experience others’ pain as if it were happening to them.

This response, which also has been shown in adults, suggests that normal school-age children may be […]

by Stacey
Some schools around the country are teaching students a controversial form of meditation to help battle stress. According to this article in Newsweek, transcendental meditation may help kids in inner city schools better handle stressful situations as well as improve their academic performance.
TM is the trademarked name of a meditation technique created by Maharishi […]

Cross-posted at MotherTalkers
by Stacey
A new pill coming out next week will allow parents to treat their child’s aches and pains without administering any actual medication. According this article in the NY Times, the chewable placebo pill is made of sugar and will be cherry-flavored. It is called Obecalp, for placebo spelled backward, and will be […]

by Stacey
One in four late talking toddlers will continue to have language problems by age seven, according to new research out of Western Australia. This article in Science Daily says that the project, called LOOKING at Language, analyzed the speech development of 1766 children from infancy to age seven, with particular focus on environmental, neuro-developmental […]

by Stacey
A fascinating new study in the journal Cognition shows that three and four-year old children attune to those who provide them with reliable information. According to this short piece in the NY Times Science section, preschoolers spontaneously keep track of the trustworthiness of those around them.
“Humans make mistakes,” Susan A. J. Birch of the […]

Cross-posted at MotherTalkers
by Stacey
One of my favorite things to do is to listen to my four-year old son Sage talk to himself when he’s busy doing something. He totally uninhibited, talking about what he’s doing or pretending he’s hanging out with some of his imaginary friends. Often it happens when he’s concentrating, like building train […]

by Stacey
Thanks to many of you who pointed me towards this article in last Sunday’s NY Times magazine on gender-based education. I finally got a chance to read it last night. So let’s get to it.
The article showcases the ideas of Leonard Sax, a pediatrician turned single-sex education advocate who claims that boys and […]

Tom Schierlitz for The New York Times
by Stacey
How important is play? According this too-long article in last Sunday’s NY Times magazine, this question is causing some anxiety among parents and educators and has become the topic of a burgeoning field of scientific research.
Scientists who study play, in animals and humans alike, are developing […]

by Stacey
It’s been two weeks since Heath Ledger’s body was found in his Manhattan apartment and it seems that the cause of death was accidental overdose. According to this article in Newsweek, the 28-year-old Australian-born actor and star of “Brokeback Mountain” died from a lethal combination of prescription medications used to treat anxiety, insomnia […]