By Peter Gray Ph.D.Freedom to Learn Media descriptions of POTUS exemplify a toxic societal anti-child prejudice. Every day, it seems, we read of or hear journalists and politicians (of both major parties), and just plain people, referring to Donald Trump as “childish.” Here are a few of the many media headlines on this […]
By Peter Gray Ph.D. “Follow your passions,” they say. But what do passions arise from? At almost every commencement address, the speaker urges the new graduates to follow their passions. It seems almost cruel. The schools at which I’ve heard these speeches seem to be deliberately designed to prevent the development of passionate […]
four years boy playing with colorful wooden blocks With Christmas looming, many people will be considering what present to buy for their children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and friends. Soon, if not already, we will be reading lists of the top trending presents for 2017. These lists will no doubt […]
Not all young children want – or are able – to sleep at the same time. Shutterstock The legislated regulatory standards for sleep, rest and relaxation in early childhood education and care have changed this week. What are the changes and why have these been made? From October 1, the National Quality Framework […]
Children benefit from previous understanding of spoken words before reading them. Africa Studio/Shutterstock Children’s oral vocabulary – their knowledge of the sounds and meanings of words – is strongly positively associated with their reading all the way through school. Understanding this relationship is important for making children’s reading as strong […]
Credit: Olesia Bilkei / Shutterstock.com For babies In the first year of a baby’s life, the brain doubles in size, according to a 2007 study. The hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped structure deep in the brain that is used in memory processing, reaches its adult size by 10 months of age. These […]
By Peter Gray Ph.D. I don’t want to trivialize the roles of adults in children’s lives, but, truth be told, we adults greatly exaggerate our roles in our theories and beliefs about how children develop. We have this adult-centric view that weraise, socialize, and educate children. Source: publicdomainpictures.net Courtesy of […]
How we praise children is important in shaping the ways in which children see themselves. from www.shutterstock.com How do you react when you hear expressions like “well done”, “another A grade”, “aren’t you clever” and “great work”? Maybe you use them yourself with your children in the belief that it […]
Poor sleep can have longer-term effects. from www.shutterstock.com Sleep. Many children make a sport out of resisting it, reaching Olympic levels of prowess in bedtime shenanigans. And while night waking is a part of human sleep, requiring adult attention on every night wake is not only tiring for parents but […]
By Peter Gray Ph.D. When I give talks to parents’ groups about the benefits of outdoor free play for their kids, the first question asked is often something like this: My child doesn’t want to play outdoors because there’s nobody out there to play with. What can I do about […]