Dear Parent,

Education is a major subject of interest for any parent concerned for the good development, the well-being and the future of their children. Which mother or father would not like to get the best parenting information? There is no lack of it throughout the world; on the contrary, there is too much of it, so much, in fact, that modern parents can rarely dedicate enough time for it. This is why Edukey does just that: evaluating and selecting every day the best international education news for you – and your children.

Every month, the Edukey team screens through about 30,000 news titles and 300 articles related to parenting, child development, neuroscience, early learning, etc, to finally publish the best 120 of them at www.edukey.net.

We then pick what we’ve considered the 12 finest articles of the month for our Best of Education Newsletter, which we are happy to send you below today. We hope you will find them as interesting and useful as we have!

Best Regards and Good Parenting!

John Debonneville
Co-founder and Editor
Edukey Ltd

Early Learning

Hot Stuff on Little Kids - Dr Mustard Adds Spice to the Reading Wars

April 2nd, 2007

The claims that “children should be allowed to play”, that they shouldn’t be “hot-housed”, and so on, are thinly disguised excuses for ignoring them as much as possible. Since children’s primary method of learning how to become an adult is to watch and copy adults, this approach has predictably poor outcomes. more

Fatherhood

Dads’ Dilemma

April 6th, 2007

It’s a Saturday morning in Singapore, and around 20 men have turned up at the Chongfu Primary School to hear Wong Suen Kwong give a talk about fathering. Wong, who heads an NGO called the Centre for Fathering, begins his presentation with a PowerPoint slide declaring his organization’s purpose: “Inspiring fathers to be involved with their children’s lives.” more

Early Brain Development

Leaders Are Mindful of Kids’ Needs

April 8th, 2007

If you could peek inside a baby’s brain while she’s being held, while her mother rocks her, sings to her or plays a game of peek-a-boo, you would see split-second miracles. You would see neurotransmitters firing, synapses forming, chemicals sending messages of love and warmth. You would see language developing, sounds and words burning imprints on the baby’s memory.
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Child Discipline & Behavior Management

I’m not Perfect, but at Least I Don’t Batter my Kids

April 11th, 2007

I’ve never been sucked in by any of the fads and fashions in the extreme sport of parenting. I’m such a maverick mother my kids were all on solid food at three months. Which is why I can’t believe that I’m agreeing with something called the Australian Childhood Foundation. more

Early Brain Development

Early Years Are Most Important

March 10th, 2007

“All of us are affected by how we were raised as children,” Salvato wrote in one of his many writings on the subject. “The human brain undergoes most of its growth and development in the first three years of life. Our behavior, emotions, social and intellectual skills can all be traced back to these formative years.”
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Early Behavior Management

Babies by the Book

April 13th, 2007

Billed (by herself) as one of the the world’s top maternity nurses, Gina Ford’s rigorous routine tantalises new mothers with the prospect of an unbroken night’s sleep. She is not short of converts — but her detractors have plenty to say, too.
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Parenting

Parents, not Villages, Raise Kids

April 20th, 2007

A recent Vanier Institute for the Family study concluded that there are more problem children today than there were 50 years ago, and society at large is to blame. According to study author Anne-Marie Ambert, a former professor of sociology at York University, it is the laissez-faire “enabling environment” running rampant in today’s society that encourages problem children to misbehave.
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Early Learning

Lessons Start Now: Focus on Early Years Prepare a Child for Life

April 22nd, 2007

A new movement is gaining momentum in Kansas and elsewhere, as experts in neuroscience, education, psychology and politics consider the importance — and impact — of a child’s earliest years. Kids don’t begin learning in kindergarten, they say. They begin in utero. First cries, first words, first scribbles with a crayon, all are critical. They spark a brain into action. They affect whether a child starts school ready to learn.
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Healthy Children

Preschool Nutrition — The Early Years

April 25th, 2007

“Nutrition begins with the parents. Some studies indicate that a child’s taste starts to be established based on what a pregnant women eats,” says Shari Barkin, professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University.
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Parenting

Time with a Child ‘Better than Gifts’

April 27th, 2007

Parents who spend hundreds of pounds on toys, books and gadgets for toddlers may be wasting their money, according to a Government-backed study. One-to-one interaction and outings to the shops or park have more impact on development than gifts, it is claimed.
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Early Reading

Schools still Fail on Reading

April 30th, 2007

The inquiry’s Teaching Reading report, released in December 2005, recommended the dropping of the “whole language” approach to teaching reading, which is the most widely used approach in Australian schools.
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Parenting

Everyone’s an Expert

April 27th, 2007

New parents are crumbling under the weight of conflicting advice from experts, in-laws and mothers’ groups. Grandparents, other parents and a stream of parenting books are offering confusing and often conflicting advice on everything from sleep to toilet training. more