Teaching self-control!

Rather than emulating the strict discipline of child-rearing in other cultures, it’s more useful to consider the science of successful parenting in all countries. Read on this NYT article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/opinion/sunday/building-self-control-the-american-way.html

Testing the teachers!

If you’ve got a student at or applying to college, ask the administrators how much the students there learn, and how they know for sure. A nice article on the worth of college education:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/20/opinion/brooks-testing-the-teachers.html

Develop a love of reading!

Teaching English simply for test preparation rather than to develop a love of literature is a mistake. Read on this NYT article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/taking-emotions-out-of-our-schools.html

Are Left-handed better than Right-handers?

It seems that the image that left-handers have been persecuted in history is unfounded, as is the current tendency to associate left-handedness with creativity and leadership.

Read on NYT article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/lefties-arent-special-after-all.html

Advantage of Bilingualism

I am not just talking about those multinational jobs requiring knowledge of Spanish or Chinese in addition to English. It seems people knowing more than one language do have cognitive advantage over others who speaks just one language. So enroll your child in Spanish or Chinese immersion class preferably before 5 years of age.

Read this NYT article to learn more about the advantage of bilingual skills:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-bilingualism.html

Power of positive reinforcements!

How do you tackle a 3 years old who is not listening? I have received following tips from other parents:

1. Most of the kids crave for attention - acknowledge their positive behavior and ignore the negative ones! Instead of scolding your child for a negative behavior, redirect their focus - instead of throwing your car away, can you tell me what makes them go so fast? To stop unruly behavior at a grocery store, you may ask them to find things on a shelf with specific color or letter. Distractions are great too. Also, try to talk to them at eye level..they may have difficulty connecting to people who are taller to them :)

2. Three year olds want some control in a world where they don't have any! Try giving them 'two-choice' decisions as long as that involves getting your work done - you want apple or oranges? you want to put on your pant or shirt first? Make sure you don't give them many choices as it soon spirals out of control!

Closed-book vs. Open-book exams

Which exams pattern is better - closed-book, open-book, take-home or project-work? A recent study recommends OBOW (Open Book Open Web). For more details, visit -

http://www.kueducation.com/sites/knowledgeu.com/files/bjet.pdf

Developing healthy food habits

What do French parents knows about developing healthy food habits in kids that we don't...read on this informative article -

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/why-french-parents-are-superior-in-one-way/

Home remedies for treating cold and cough

Cold or cough is so common among infants and toddlers specially those who goes to daycare centers. We have struggled a lot of this front. We have used little ginger in the drinking water for treating cough, honey in the milk (1 year and above) and humidifer while sleeping. They do help.

Here are few articles which talks about treating cold and cough:

http://lifeisanovel.hubpages.com/hub/Home-remedies-for-cold-in-babies

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/cold-cough-home-remedies-children

Smacking?

This is very controversial topic. Parenting requires lots of patience. One of the things that has worked with my daughter is time-outs or taking away her favorite toy when she is being difficult. This works sometimes and not on other occasions. Anyways, jury is out on this and parents must use their best judgement to find out what works and what does not.   There is nothing like a perfect parent or perfect child. Here are some links that talks about smacking and also its ill-effects:

http://drphil.com/articles/article/48

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6926823/Smacked-children-more-successful-later-in-life-study-finds.html

And, do watch Supernanny on TV. They have some practical tips on handling difficult kids.

Human capital

I am not politically savvy but I listen attentively when President Obama talks about American kids lagging behind their Asian counter-parts in education. Our future depends on how we grow 'intellectual capital'. There are nations like South Korea and Japan where there is severe shortage of natural resources but they have not let that come into the way of developing human resource..an article talking about what we can learn from South Korean schools:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2008-11-18-korea-education-usa_N.htm

Bad side of chicken nuggets

Chicken nuggets is a very popular snack among children. How bad are they?

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/chicken-nuggets-how-bad-are-they

Risky habits

We do few things out of ignorance and regret later. I found an interesting article on stupid things parents do that put their kids at risk. Do read...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/20/health/parents-kids-risk-empowered-patient/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Reading list for kids

Reading habit helps in building strong foundation for the future. so jump start your kids' imaginations through reading:

http://www.oprah.com/packages/kid-reading-list.html

Edutainment

Now that your kid has started spending time on iPad, how do you channel their attention to something educational on iPad or iPhone?  Link below lists some useful Apps for the children:

http://robin.hubpages.com/hub/Best-iPhone-Apps-for-Kids

Don't forget to read comment section of the above article, they mention some good information as well. I will continue adding more links once I come across any other useful App for the children.

Kids and screen time

Electronic media has become the part of our everyday life. How does this affect a child's brain? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for
children under 2 and less than 2 hours per day for older children.

For more information, visit

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20019246-247.html

www.commercialfreechildhood.org/factsheets/screentime.pdf

The cause of education

With a pre-schooler at home, my attention has shifted to the cause of education. Parents are first teachers but social interaction with outside world plays a major role in child's learning. There is a saying in Africa that 'It takes a whole village to raise a Child'. A child learns more by playing with other children (than with the parents) as that provides for 'contextual learning' experiences - learning experiences in a context in which they are interested and motivated in.

How about the parents? How do we learn that will help our children? 

In this blog, I am going to share information gathered from various online resources. I would like if this becomes a collective learning experience which will benefit us all.