UNIT: Prenatal to Birth and Cognition, Language, and Learning Should You Bring Your Unborn Baby to Work?, Moises Velasquez-Manoff, The Atlantic, 2015 Recent "fetal origins" research is demonstrating that the fetus is more vulnerable to environmental factors than we previously realized. These can range from maternal stress to environmental toxins that can impair the mother''s immune system. This article presents findings from around the world to illuminate the power of prenatal experience and the value of maternal leave policies. "Possibly the Worst Approach", Melinda Wenner Moyer, Slate, 2015 In an attempt to protect children''s immature immune systems, American parents have actually made them more vulnerable. New evidence indicates that infants and young children should be exposed to small amounts of foods to which the children may be oversensitive in an attempt to build immunity, an idea known as "immunotherapy." The Talking Cure, Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 2015 Parent in low-income families speak with their children far less than do parents in higher socioeconomic classes. Programs such as Providence Talks and other early-childhood community interventions are trying to help low-income parents enrich their children''s home environments to help those children grow cognitively and linguistically. Good Thinking! Fostering Children''s Reasoning and Problem Solving, Jessica Vick Whittaker, Young Children, 2014 As early as preschool children''s critical thinking skills can be cultivated.
Rather than assuming only older children are capable of such competencies, preschool environments can help children develop reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. The Preschool Puzzle, Kirsten Weir, Monitor on Psychology, 2014 Since Head Start programs began in the 1960s, psychologists and politicians have wondered whether such programs actually benefit young children. This article summarizes some of the major analyses of early childhood programs and concludes there are no simple answers, in part due to differences between the programs and the challenges of defining "quality" in preschool education. How Children Learn To Read, Maria Konnikova, The New Yorker, 2015 One of children''s greatest achievements is to learn how to read. This article describes recent research that examined the factors underlying that process, and the findings point to the key role of a brain area, the temporoparietal region in the left hemisphere. Growth in this area during the early elementary school years is a major factor in children''s reading skill. Is Your Fist Grader College Ready? Laura Pappano, The New York Times, 2015 When should children start thinking about college? To some educators, the preschool and primary school years are the right time. This article describes the steps some schools take-from mock applications to campus visits-to get young children thinking about college.
Other educators are opposed to these potentially premature and high-pressure steps. 9 Ways to Support Child''s Creativity, Margarita Tartakovsky, Psych Central, 2012 The author of this hands-on article gives easy tips to parents on how they can support and nurture their children''s creativity. Social Awareness + Emotional Skills = Successful Kids, Tori DeAngelis, Monitor on Psychology, 2010 Although schools have emphasized academic intelligence, evidence is mounting to show that emotional intelligence matters, too. This article reviews research confirming that children who complete a social and emotional learning program score significantly higher on achievement tests and appear healthier on depression and anxiety scales. What Homeschooling Actually Looks Like, Sarah Rivera, Noodle, 2015 More than 2 million American children--about 3 percent of school-age children--are homeschooled. This article explores the many reasons parents have for homeschooling their children, the wide variations in state requirements for homeschooling, and the challenges of finding educational materials and balancing role of parent and teacher. UNIT: Raising a Moral Child Raising a Moral Child, Adam Grant, The New York Times, 2014 In the heat of the nature-nurture debate, studies have shown that the way parents raise their children provides evidence for the kind of person each child can turn out to be. In the study, modeling behavior, rather than preaching behavior, led to children acting in more generous ways.
This article argues that it is a combination of modeling behavior and explanation of behavior that shapes a child''s character. Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart? Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, The New York Times, 2013 Some children are "Warriors" and other "Worriers." This article describes biological influences, from genes to neurotransmitters to brain function, that help explain why some children thrive but others wilt under extreme challenge. For some youth stress can have advantageous effects, especially if the youth can view stress as being good for them. The Moral Life of Babies, Paul Bloom, The New York Times Magazine, 2010 Can babies be moral? Despite theorist''s claims of infants'' immaturity, many fascinating new studies reveal that babies seem to possess a rudimentary moral sense, a naïve morality. Bloom''s article describes numerous experiments that use ingenious methods to measure infants'' understanding of good and bad in the first year of life. Building Resilience among Black Boys, Tori DeAngelis, Monitor on Psychology, 2014 African-American boys in the United States face risks in various aspects of growing up. This article describes intervention efforts at multiple levels--family, schools, and communities--to promote resilience rather than risk in these boys.
Is Your Child Gay? Jesse Bering, Scientific American Mind, 2012 Is it possible to know what children will grow up to be gay adults? The author discusses several studies that suggest what he calls prehomosexual children do often show gender nonconforming behavior as children. To Help a Shy Child, Listen, Perri Klass, The New York Times, 2013 Some children, perhaps many, are shy, quiet, and reticent. This personality is a natural and normal one among many temperaments, but it can pose problems for such children in a culture that seems to value being confident and outspoken. To help shy children, parents can use tactics borrowed from cognitive behavioral therapy as well as role play and rehearsal of positive interactions. An All-out Anti-bullying Focus, Amy Novotney, Monitor on Psychology, 2014 As schools, parents, and psychologists have become more aware and concerned about bullying and its negative effects on children, a team of psychological researchers have studied the problem to identify new ways to combat bullying and reduce its impact on children. Certain Television Fare Can Help Ease Aggression in Young Children, Study Finds, Catherine Saint Louis, The New York Times, 2013 The long debate over children''s consumption of TV shows has focused on violence. This article explores the broader impact of children''s "media diet"--antisocial and prosocial programming--on children''s behavior. Parents have a key role in helping children draw the right lessons from what they see.
UNIT: Parenting and Family Issues Why Fathers Really Matter, Judith Shulevitz, The New York Times, 2012 We often think of mothers as being crucial in children''s development, but this article describes biological and genetic research showing how fathers have powerful genetic influences on their children''s development. Fathers'' reproductive vitality are affected by factors like stress and age that cause epigenetic changes in the fathers'' genes, which can contribute to problems in children like autism and stress. The Overprotected Kid, Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2014 Childhood has changed for countless numbers of American children, as a cultural obsession with children''s safety and view of children as vulnerable and delicate has deprived children of opportunities for independence and risk-taking that help build their confidence and competence. One antidote to this overprotection are new kinds of playgrounds and play environments for children. Psychological Biases Play a Part in Vaccination Decisions, Tania Lombrozo, NPR, 2015 Some parents choose, quite emphatically, not to give their young children the typical vaccinations to protect against many diseases. The author explores some psychological biases that lead parents to do so, including the naturalness bias--not wanting to interfere with nature, the omission bias--parents would feel if their child died due to a vaccine than if their child died due to not receiving it, and anticipated regret--feeling especially responsible if their decision to vaccinate hurt their child. New Ways to Protect Kids, Rebecca A. Clay, Monitor on Psychology, 2014 More than three-quarters of a million American children are maltreated each year.
For many, the negative effects can lead to adverse developmental paths in childhood and adolescence as well as physical and emotional problems in adulthood. The parents who abuse children need support, and parent training programs that foster better parenting and resilience can help. The Case Against Spanking: Physical discipline is slowly declining as some studies reveal lasting harms for children, Brendan L. Smith, Monitor on Psychology, 2012 Disciplining children is one of the most challenging dimensions of parenting, and many parents use spanking. The author reviews recent research on the spanking debate, with evidence pointing to risks associated with spanking, though the effects of s.