Children find it very easy to make new friends and with time to become part of groups. A science is developing to understand the rules that govern the way people assemble into networks and groups. It is not the people forming the group that are studied, but rather the connections between them. These connections have...
Many human activities are harmful for nature. We speak of climate change and global warming and we fear that water (for agriculture as well as drinking) might have to be rationed. Thinning of the ozone layer may lead to an increase in skin cancer cases. A reduction of biodiversity (animal and plant variety) may have...
A study has examined if in small children who do something deserving, praising the child (“What a great child you are…!”) or instead praising the action (“Great work…!”) determine different effects by the age of 5 years. Results show that kids of 7-8 years who were praised for the action were more deeply involved in...
Teachers are usually older than their students and usually they have had more time ‘to prepare’. In the first years of life parents teach their children everything: “wave good-bye”, “it’s time we leave diapers and pass to a potty”. They teach them to speak, to write and do sums. Things are now changing. Forty percent...
The term Fast Food is well known around the world and to be truly fast the chewing part must be minimal. This allows more time to be spent doing other things such as speaking. In fact, exchanging about 45 minutes chewing time (15 minutes on average for each of the three meals) into social time...
It is known that children brought up in stressful situations are at greater risk of developing learning and behavioral disorders. Researchers would like to know if all types of stress are harmful for children, or if there is such a thing as positive stress. They would also like to know if certain faculties that one...
Until a few years ago it was thought that our DNA changed over generations to adapt to the environment. However, in response to certain stimuli it has been observed that our DNA can respond in a much shorter time without changing its fundamental structure. This has led to a new branch of Genetics called Epigenetics....
A study of 16 000 people belonging to 37 different cultures as concerns spoken language, habits and history discovered that the traits both men and women search for in a partner are intelligence and kindness. These are also the traits that distinguish man from all other animals. The reason why we are so kind and...
Parents often ask me how they should respond to children who won’t listen and whether punishments are useful. I do not believe in punishments as an educational tool. In any case, much depends on the child’s age, seriousness of the ‘crime’, if there are aggravating circumstances such as lying, recurrence etc. I won’t say that...
Parents of children I follow often ask me for advice on how to bring up their kids. The idea is that there are strategies they are unaware of that will make their kids happy and successful. Their doubts and questions vary from whether they should give their kids so-called educational games, get them to finish...
