CAUTION: If your child is begging you for a cellphone and you aren’t quite ready to give in, you might not want your child to read the following post! By Mindprint Staff Parents of elementary-aged children always ask about the “right age” for a cellphone. And all parents wonder about what rules to set. Given…
The term ADHD generally conjures an image of the boy in the classroom who gets into trouble and can’t keep his hands to himself. While there’s no denying that there are children with ADHD that fit the stereotype, many more do not. In fact, in recent years researchers now understand that ADHD is not a behavior problem. Rather, ADHD is a difficulty managing the complex systems…
We are supremely fortunate to share with you this week insight from a leading child psychologist Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore who has great advice on how to handle some sensitive parenting moments. Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore has a private practice in Princeton, NJ, where she works with adults, children, and families. In addition to co-authoring Smart Parenting for Smart…
We hear it all the time. Teens need more sleep. They burn the candle at both ends, with early start times for school followed by hours of after school activities and homework. When I taught high school, I saw my students in first period at 7:45 a.m. and dismissed the last class 2:45 p.m. And guess…
By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff We’re keeping this one simple. You’ve been through a lot. You got the last glue stick, the right calculator (or maybe the wrong one), the pencils, the graph paper, and the new backpack. You’ve convinced everyone that getting up before 7am is the new normal, and lunch is a meal,…
By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff Editor’s Note: This was originally written in 2016 and revised by Mindprint editors in 2019. Consider also reading “What if it’s a can’t not a won’t“ A few days ago, while listening to NPR in the car, I heard an interview with Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the…
By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff I am reading a biography of a woman who traveled to Europe by steamer ship in the early twentieth century. She took with her an address book in which she’d entered the names and addresses of recommended tailors and doctors just in case she needed one. The modern parent doesn’t…
By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff Yesterday, my six-year-old announced that she and her good friend had swapped lunches for the week, pretending to be one another. “I had a salami sandwich and no pickles. And she had a bagel, cream cheese, yogurt and two pickles.” The pickles were a key part to this story. It’s…
By Nancy Weinstein As parents we really need to stop saying: the teacher, the curriculum, the lesson, or the test is bad. Really, we’ve just got to stop. The reality is that most teachers are highly competent. Most curricula are well-vetted and well-written. Most administrators put a lot of care into selecting the materials they believe will…
By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff Today, we have a Q&A with a man some of you may know best as Dr. Scott from the PBS show, Dinosaur Train. His full name is Scott D. Sampson and he has a new book out this month: How to Raise a Wild Child, the Art and Science of Falling…