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To Help Kids Thrive, Coach Their Parents
The New York Times: IN 1986, in a few of the poorest neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica, a team of researchers from the University of the West Indies embarked on an experiment that has done a great deal, over time, to change our thinking about how to help children succeed, especially those living in poverty. Its message: Help children by supporting and coaching their parents. The researchers divided the families of 129 infants and toddlers into groups. The first group received hourlong home visits once a week from a trained researcher who encouraged the parents to spend more time playing actively with their children: reading picture books, singing songs, playing peekaboo.
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The Science of Intuition: How to Measure ‘Hunches’ and ‘Gut Feelings’
Live Science: Whether you call it a "gut feeling," an "inner voice" or a "sixth sense," intuition can play a real part in people's decision making, a new study suggests. For the first time, researchers devised a technique to measure intuition. After using this method, they found evidence that people can use their intuition to make faster, more accurate and more confident decisions, according to the findings, published online in April in the journal Psychological Science.
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The Science Behind When and Why Children Learn to Lie
ABC: Most parents spend years trying to teach their children not to lie and that lying is bad, but virtually everyone learns to lie. To understand why this happens, experts have spent decades looking into the science of lying. Michael Lewis, a distinguished professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, says that in spite of what our parents told us, lying isn't always a bad thing and that there are important reasons almost everyone learns to lie. "Lying is a basic process that gets us into imagination and into play and into creativity," he explained. Read the whole story: ABC
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Moms’ Middle-School Blues
The Wall Street Journal: Mothers feel more anxious, dissatisfied and doubtful about their own parenting skills when their children are in middle school than at any other stage, new research shows. The turbulence that hits sixth- through eighth-graders often begins with the onset of puberty, bringing physical changes and mood swings. Also, many students transfer from close-knit elementary schools to larger middle schools. Childhood friends may be separated, classes are often tracked by ability and teachers are more demanding. Mothers often lose touch with other elementary-school parents who became friends. School officials often press them to back off and give students a longer leash.
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Higher-Earning Households Tend To Spend More Time Alone
NPR: A new study finds that wealthier people spend less time socializing. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with Emily Bianchi of Emory University about how income levels affect how people spend their time. ... WERTHEIMER: So what is the answer? How does income affect how people spend their time? BIANCHI: Well, what we found is that people who live in wealthier households tend to spend more time alone. And they tend to spend less time socializing with other people. WERTHEIMER: Any other people or particular other people? BIANCHI: Well, what we found was that people who are in households with higher income tend to spend less time with family, less time with neighbors.
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Worried? You’re Not Alone
The New York Times: I’m a worrier. Deadlines, my children, all the time they spend online — you name it, it’s on my list of worries. I even worry when I’m not worried. What am I forgetting to worry about? Turns out I’m not alone. Two out of five Americans say they worry every day, according to a new white paper released by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Among the findings in the “Worry Less Report”: Millennials worry about money. Single people worry about housing (and money). Women generally worry more than men do and often about interpersonal relationships. The good news: Everyone worries less as they get older. ...
