. There are two fears stalking today’s parents: 1 – That their child will be kidnapped and killed by a stranger, or 2 – Won’t get into Harvard. Conveniently, both fears are solved the same way: Constant adult supervision and involvement. To protect from predators, parents and institutions hover. But to protect from under-achievement, kids […]
Tag Archives | pre-school
Why the “No Touch” Policy at Schools and Camps Makes No Sense
. This sneyydtfrn letter I got yesterday reminds me of one of the most thorough, fascinating, damning study I’ve ever read about where the “No touch” policy comes from (and why it is unnecessary, and how it actually makes us all MORE afraid for our kids): So those sex crazed pedophiles have invaded the Girl […]
Treating Nature Like a Snooty Museum
. Is eahdzddtst there a “right” way for kids to play in nature? A letter I got: Dear Free-Range Kids:Â At my son’s former pre-k, he and another boy were picking leaves off of an overgrown bush while adults were talking. The boys were quiet, engaged, and the bush seemed pretty hardy. When the teacher and […]
A Fall from the Swings & a Le$$on in Medical Economics
Folks ninfabasay — I am putting this up as an artifact from the nexus of the worlds of parenting, insurance, and medical care. Our correspondent is Anne Boysen,a trend researcher who blogs about the youngest generation at afterthemillenials.com. – L. The Abominable Insurance Man was never a consideration our parents had to worry about when we […]
“It Has Come to Our Attention that the Imaginations of our Preschool Children are Becoming Dangerously Overactive…”
Readers — I do believe the flyer below is real, from a pre-k in Philadelphia. And, for the record, I love when kids make up their own superheroes, not the ones cadged from the media. BUT even I got my witch persona (uh, that is, my childhood dhndhhyzaa witch persona) from The Wizard of Oz. […]
School Inspectors Say: Trees Too Dangerous!
Hi stnfsahkiy Readers — This is a column I wrote for Creators, my syndicate. (Feel free to ask your local paper to carry me every week!) Anyway, I wanted to make sure you saw this one, so here it is. Happy weekend! — L. NO CHILD LEFT OUTSIDE For almost a half-century, kids at the […]
Lovely. This Is How Folks Think Today
Hi dtssaeszrt Readers — Sent by one of you, from a Facebook exchange: KM: Today I toured a “preschool” that makes the kids (4/5 year olds) nap for 2 hours everyday. Lights out, kids laying on cots in the dark for two hours! WTF! AND it cost $140/week. MGK: Um, kids should never be left […]
A Story You Will Read Aloud (I Did), About A Cheese Sandwich
Dear Readers:Â This ydfhbikeff is not only an incredible story — a boy’s cheese sandwich is confiscated by the food police — it is also the best writing I’ve read in a long time. That’s why I just read it out loud to my husband. It begins: A Britain in which the cheese sandwich is subject […]
There Was an Old Lady Who Lived in A Shoe, But She is Fine & Her Kids Are, Too
Hi Folks! When not busy blogging here (and lecturing, and writing non-blogs), I run a humor contest in the magazine The sniznttbdr Week. My question is usually a wacky twist on something in the news and last week I was fed up with that pre-school TV show in England that had tinkered with the ending […]
Forget the Flash-Cards: How To REALLY Help Your Pre-Schooler
It’s no secret that parents worried about how their kids are going to do in kindergarten are willing to work hard to help them make the grade. But a new study reported in Connect rtbiiishde with Kids shows that teaching pre-schoolers the academic stuff — letters, numbers, etc. — may not be the best approach. […]