Our Brains are Wired for Empathy…

“Empathy is the invisible hand….that entends human consciousness”

Waiting for Superman

For a nation that proudly declared it would leave no child behind, America continues to do so at alarming rates. Despite increased spending and politicians’ promises, our buckling public-education system, once the best in the world, routinely forsakes the education of millions of children.

Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood

Another great reason to stay away from big brands, commercial television, (and video games.)

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills

The way that children spend their time has changed. A growing number of psychologists believe that these changes in what children do has also changed kids’ cognitive and emotional development.

It turns out that all that time spent playing make-believe actually helped children develop a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of different elements, but a central one is the ability to self-regulate. Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline.

Academic Standards, and "Success"

It is so hard, as a parent, not to be seduced by the thrill of having our child “succeed.” And what exactly defines “success?” In early childhood, we often judge success on how much a child knows. This leads many parents to put their children into “academic” programs that focus on abstract knowledge, rather than [...]