Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz: The most remarkable word I’ve ever seen
Despite increasing pressure to make kindergarten more rigorous, the cognitive capacity of children’s brains hasn’t changed much over the past century, a new study by the Gesell Institute of Human Development says. A triangle is still a mystery to most four-year-olds, and counting 20 pennies and then remembering that number is beyond most five-year-olds. At [...]
The wired generation: how early it all begins…should it?
EarlyStories was struck by a comprehensive report in “Teaching Young Children” that offered tips and suggestions on how to introduce young children to computers. The story appeared in “Young Children and Computers: Storytelling and Learning in a Digital Age,”’ produced by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The tips were excellent, and [...]
Primer on Interactive Media and Young Children
The children’s advocacy group Children Now has on its Web site a very useful overview of what’s known about the effects of interactive media use on 3-5 year olds. Although much remains unknown this clearly written publication sums up what is. For reporters who are considering writing about the controversy over children who are younger [...]
Texting Toddlers
I took note earlier this month of the intense focus of toy makers on making toys educational, to lure in parents who are predisposed to think the hunt for the best college begins in the womb. Latest entry on this theme is the story in the New York Times this morning on digital toys for [...]
A Lesson Plan for Infants (This WILL be on the test!)
I was struck this past weekend by the number of television ads for toys aimed toddlers. Christmas selling and buying season starts right after Halloween. The ads caught my ear because they were talking about how babies develop skills with the right toys. A couple of days ago I Googled eBeanstalk, the company whose ads [...]
Overselling Brainy Baby Geniuses
I missed this when it first came out but Sara Mead of Education Sector has put together one of her typically smart, dispassionate, let the chips fall where they may discussions of the evidence. This time her focus is on the overselling of the importance of the birth to age three window for brain development. [...]
Newsweek Picks up on Mead’s “Brainy” Critique
Barbara Kantrowitz of Newsweek explored the overselling of baby technology in an article in the April 23rd edition.Here’s her lede: You see them everywhere: harried parents hauling their little ones off to classes in Mandarin, gymnastics or classical violin. At home, they’re filling nurseries with “educational” rattles and mobiles. It’s all for a worthy goal: [...]
Child Care Debate Reignited
The coverage by the New York Times and the Associated Press of the newest report from the nation’s longest running study of child care got picked up by news organizations everywhere. The report gave top billing to the positive effects of high quality care on vocabulary although it also acknowledged a slight increase in problem [...]








