Parents seeking to tantalize their offspring’s taste buds are usually foodies themselves. Some mothers start children’s gastronomic education while still pregnant, eating spicy and garlicky meals, and continue to do so while nursing, citing research that suggests children exposed to many tastes through breast milk or in the womb are less likely to be picky eaters…

Though a quick perusal of restaurant blogs underscores the consternation created by children’s infiltration of restaurants that used to be adult oases, their owners say children are mostly well behaved…

Pediatricians warn that parents should talk to their doctors about the proper times to introduce foods, as advice varies about many foods, including fish, as well as potential allergens like wheat, soy, milk and eggs. Parents should also know that exposing children to an adventurous menu — celery root, artisanal cheese, shrimp dumplings — won’t automatically produce an adventurous eater, or even a nonpicky one…

“Some kids have sensitive palates or they don’t like texture. That isn’t developmental, that’s temperamental,” said Jean Kunhardt, a director of the SoHo Parenting Center, which conducts child-rearing classes in downtown Manhattan. “Parents have to be sensitive to that.”

She added that most children go through a picky phase no matter what, starting at around 2 and sometimes lasting for years. If parents “try not to care too much about them eating or not eating,” Ms. Kunhardt said, the odds are better they will not be picky. Struggling with children over food or being overly manipulative exacerbates the problem, she said.

Source: New York Times
http://tinyurl.com/2c28sh

Expectant fathers play a bigger role in their child’s early development than they may realise and it begins from the moment of conception.

Far from being just bystanders during the pregnancy, their relationship with their wife or partner and any stress it may cause can influence their child’s brain development…
Earlier studies have shown that children may have a higher risk of behavioural problems, anxiety, and cognitive and emotional problems if their mother suffered from stress while pregnant…

Although it is not fully understood how maternal stress affects the foetus, it is thought to be linked to raised levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the mother’s blood and in the amniotic fluid.

Source: Reuters.co.uk
http://tinyurl.com/yqv3rd

These Utopian concepts have been accepted into the public school sector. In the Soviet Union, children were placed in specific areas of study for the good of the state. Now in Florida and other states children in middle school are being required to choose actual majors of study before reaching any particular level of competency. This is done to try to increase student motivation…

Appeasement of students and parents seems to be a guiding principle of many public schools. Since grades are difficult to assess and thought to be a means of motivation, schools have elevated them to make students and parents happy. Parent complaints of homework being a burden on their free time has resulted in schools cutting back on homework requirements.

Academic standards in reading, writing, spelling and math have been diluted. The milestones of memorizing times tables, grammar and historical facts have been ignored or postponed because it is difficult for children to endure the work of rote memorization.
Instead of focusing on skill development, children are encouraged to live in their fantasy world. Required courses in history, geography and civics, knowledge required of citizens in a republic, have been dropped…” …

Success breeds success. As students master a certain level of competency in a certain area they are motivated by their success to go on to the next level. Reading, writing and arithmetic are basic skills that are not optional. They must be learned before one can realistically go on to higher education. Possessing these basic skills is necessary to continue the process of life long self-education.

Source: Hernando Today
http://www.hernandotoday.com/columnists/MGB8ZY3SDXE.html

It’s the ultimate taboo. No parent would admit to loving one child more than another - and we will rush to reassure our kids they are all deeply, equally loved.

But the truth is many of us do have a favourite. A survey from the University of Toronto found that 80 per cent of mothers admitted they favoured one child.

And Deborah Plummer, a therapist specialising in children’s self-esteem, insists: “It’s natural to feel more in tune with one of your children depending on gender, temperament and birth order, and parents shouldn’t feel guilt about this.

“However, you may accidentally show who you feel a natural affinity with and the suspicion of favouritism can become firmly entrenched if it’s not rectified.”

Luckily, it’s never too late to spot what you’re doing and stop playing favourites. Here’s how…

Source: Mirror.co.uk
http://tinyurl.com/2f7742

Gone are the days when kids are not allowed to attend school (kindergarten) until they are either 5 or 6 years old, depending on their age as of Sept. 1.

Enter the era of early childhood education…

Among the more than 8,200 district students are 30 whose ages are between 12 and 36 months. Those students attend school once a week with a parent, while another group of 105 students, who are either 3 or 4 years old, often find their parent as a volunteer in their classroom…

“All learning, from this age on, is based on kids’ ability to use language,” Allen said. “It’s all about bringing the kids real-world things and adding to their vocabulary. And the second component that is absolutely critical is family involvement.” …

Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs anyone can have, Allen said, and the district’s early childhood education program is designed to help parents with that responsibility…

“Parents are the foundation,” Allen said. “They are the first and primary teachers for their children. So, if we can help them do that job, they not only help the one that is in pre-school but also their whole family, including brothers and sisters.”

Source: West Linn Tidings
http://www.westlinntidings.com/features/story.php?story_id=116967531775652900

… Just because babies are staring at objects moving on a screen does not mean they’re learning. There is no evidence to support the implied claims that Baby Einstein videos, or any similar products that engage infants in staring at screens, enhance infants’ growth and development in any way…

While Baby Einstein videos and similar products may capture infants’ attention, they are no substitute for stimulating and nurturing interactions with real people. The moving shapes and animals on the screen cannot respond to a watching infant. They just keep doing the same thing over and over…

For many harried parents, baby videos serve the purpose of occupying the baby for a few minutes so Mom or Dad can take a shower, cook dinner or talk on the phone. But let’s not be seduced into buying the marketing pitch that these videos will make our babies smarter.

Source: Concord Monitor
http://tinyurl.com/yul9tb

Quitting smoking may be more difficult for individuals whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, according to animal research conducted by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

Prenatal exposure to nicotine is known to alter areas of the brain critical to learning, memory and reward. Scientists at the Duke Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research have discovered that these alterations may program the brain for relapse to nicotine addiction. Rodents exposed to nicotine before birth self administer more of the drug after periods of abstinence than those that had not been exposed…

While the rates of smoking in the United States are declining, approximately a quarter of Americans have mothers who smoked during pregnancy, Levin said. Previous studies have shown these individuals have a higher chance of sudden infant death syndrome, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, obesity and even of becoming a lifelong smoker themselves, Levin said.

“It is easy to quit smoking — anyone can do it, for a brief time,” Levin said. “But not taking it up again — that is the part that has proven so difficult for most people, especially those who have been exposed to nicotine before birth.”

Source: WebWire
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=26728

Which children like school the most? Asians and girls and the children of parents who are married, make the most money, have advanced academic degrees and live in the suburbs of the Northeast.

Those are also likely to be the same students who say they are most interested in their schoolwork and often work hard in school.

Which are most likely to be enrolled in programs for gifted students? Children of better-educated parents. If one imagined a category combining the leading factors, it would be the daughters of married couples from the suburbs in the South whose parents’ income was above the poverty level.

Source: New York Times
http://tinyurl.com/384yg5

Need a lesson in parenting? If you live in California, you may have to take one from the government whether you like it or not…

For critics of the ban, the current law — which states that parents, guardians and relatives can use any form of physical discipline that is necessary as long as it is not unjustifiable — is enough. But for Lieber, who hears criticism daily from prosecutors, judges and pediatricians that children are being beaten and their parents are getting off on a technicality, the law doesn’t even come close to being enough…

“By law you would have a hard time differentiating between a responsible parent who thinks about parenting and then hits and one that does not,” Lieber said. “Responsible parents have to give up the privilege to physically discipline their children for the sake of protecting children that aren’t being hit once in a blue moon or in a light way, but are really being hit day after day, many times a day.” …

“A hundred years ago it was considered a novel idea for the law to say you couldn’t hit your wife,” said Block. “Today, we can’t hit slaves, wives or military personnel. Children are the only class that is unprotected.”

Source: Time
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1581853,00.html

Time out, extra chores and taking away privileges are more useful forms of disciplining naughty children than spanking or hitting, according to a study on Wednesday.

An estimated 94 percent of parents use some form of corporal punishment to teach their toddlers right from wrong, according to research studies. But psychologists say it could lead to later emotional and behavioral problems.

Even children who were only smacked occasionally are more likely to show signs of depression or lower self-esteem.

“The key is consistency. Using something like corporal punishment that seems severe at best doesn’t help and can put a child at risk for problems,” said Dr Paul Frick, of the University of New Orleans in Louisiana.

Source: Scientific American
http://tinyurl.com/3br7z3