As proud parents we’re often guilty of clogging our friends’ and families’ Facebook and Instagram feeds with pictures of our kids, but many cyber safety and parenting experts are concerned about where these images can end up. Everyday photos of children engaging in simple activities are being used … [Read more...]
Balancing kids’ screen-time with green-time
Many children today spend their idle time staring at screens and not at the sky. Kids today are tethered to technology and as a result, many children are experiencing a ‘nature deficit’. When kids are spending too much time with technology they’re not spending enough time in nature and this has … [Read more...]
Do Kids Learn More From Handwriting or Typing?
Is Typing or Handwriting Better for Kids? The keyboard versus the pen. Which is better for children’s learning? As laptops and tablets become commonplace in schools many parents and teachers are left wondering if note-taking with paper and pencil will become an obsolete skill. … [Read more...]
Why Background TV Isn’t Healthy For Little Ones
Leaving the TV switched on throughout the day is commonplace in many homes. It’s often just the “done” thing. So parents are often quite shocked to learn that there are unintended consequences of “background TV” on their child’s development. I live by the mantra by Maya Angelou, “When you … [Read more...]
Will DVDs Build My Baby’s Brain?
Today’s parents are under increasing pressure to buy educational goods for their children. From the moment a child is born, parents are bombarded with toys and products touted as ‘educational’. Parents and teachers are often seduced by the promise that these products will give young … [Read more...]
Simple Strategies for Building Brains: Move and Eat Well
Children need to move to learn. This will be nothing new for our grandparents who have always known this. Physical movement actually sets up the neural pathways (the brain connections) required for academic learning to occur. Simple things like crawling, rolling, rocking, swinging and skipping all … [Read more...]
Simple Strategies for Building Brains: Language
We know more than ever about how brains develop and the critical role that parents and teachers play in this process. Essential aspects of brain architecture are shaped by a child’s experiences. This development starts before birth and continues at a rapid rate after birth. Many fundamental aspects … [Read more...]
Simple Strategies for Building Brains: Secure attachments, sleep and stress
A child’s early experiences form brain circuits that provide the basic architecture of the brain. These brain circuits are constructed through a process that begins early in life (before birth in fact) and continues into adulthood. Much like constructing a house simpler circuits are built first … [Read more...]