JCCOC

“A Child’s Nap is more complicated than it looks”.

Peter Blair — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:43:26 +0000

For parents of young children napping can be a major struggle or a necessary evil. We often debate about when to stop napping, how much to “pick this as a battle” and when it is better to have a nap or not have a nap. ECLC Parent Betty Carroll sent me this article months ago and I appreciated her perspective on this important aspect of our young children’s lives. I am sharing this with you in the hopes that you too will engage in discussion about napping……

To read the full article, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/health/views/13klass.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

“Insights from the Youngest Minds”

Peter Blair — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:51:30 +0000

This article highlights the profound learning and development exhibited by our children at infancy! We at the Merage JCC see children as competent, capable and able to be the protagonist in their learning. This article reinforces that approach that children are learning in ways that we may not see from the first moments they join us.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/science/insights-in-human-knowledge-from-the-minds-of-babes.html?_r=4&ref=health

“The Toddler Dictionary: Tips for Communicating with your Toddler”.

Peter Blair — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:33:20 +0000

This article does a wonderful job explaining what your children are thinking when you are communicating with them. It is not only a valuable article for parents of Toddlers, but also parents of children of all ages. To read the full article, click here: http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/language/communicate-with-your-toddler/

“Girls who play in dirt grow up healthier”.

Peter Blair — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:38:33 +0000

This article has received a lot of press this week and I thought that you would enjoy reading it. While it may fly in the face of all that we think, it is aligned with research and has some interesting take-aways. I especially liked the following passage:

“Mizushima explains how kids used to spend nearly two to three hours playing outside every day. But with the influence of television and video games forcing kids to spend the majority of their time indoors, auto-immune disorders are on the rise.”

To read the full article, click here: http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=493934

“What Eating Too Much Sugar does to your Brain”

Peter Blair — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:26:12 +0000

This week’s article: “What Eating Too Much Sugar does to your Brain”.

While I love sugar as much as the next guy, I was really struck by this article. The brain science behind how the body reacts to sugar is fascinating. Take this for instance: “Research indicates that a diet high in added sugar reduces the production of a brain chemical known as brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF). Without BDNF, our brains can’t form new memories and we can’t learn (or remember) much of anything. Levels of BDNF are particularly low in people with an impaired glucose metabolism–diabetics and pre-diabetics–and as the amount of BDNF decreases, sugar metabolism worsens.”

WOW! It makes you pause and think about the added sugar that we are consuming and what it might be doing to our and our children’s ability to remember and learn. Now, please don’t think that I am going to stop giving my kids a cookie here and a cupcake there, because I will not. However, it does give me pause to think about how much they are consuming and when during the day they are consuming it.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/04/01/what-eating-too-much-sugar-does-to-your-brain/