Increased screen time for toddlers correlates with reduced parent-child conversation.
At age 3, each additional minute of screen time was associated with 6.6 fewer adult words, 4.9 fewer child vocalizations, and 1.1 fewer turns in conversation.
Watching together might partially mitigate the negative impact.
Sound levels exceeding 80 decibels (75 for children) pose risks, but regulations are lax; many people listen at 105 decibels, comparable to loud venues.
Permanent hearing loss may not show up until years later.
A study tracking over 400,000 athletes found that they tend to secure higher-level jobs and better pay after graduation compared to non-athlete peers.
Athletes earned approximately 3.4% more during their careers and are more likely to land in C-suite roles.
The study suggests that intercollegiate varsity sports foster valuable soft skills like teamwork and leadership, contributing to the career success of athletes.
Strict parental monitoring of social media isn't always better
Restrictive parental monitoring of adolescents' digital media use, including rules and limits on time or content, is associated with problematic internet use.
In contrast, active monitoring, which involves promoting critical thinking by discussing central themes, and deference monitoring, where parents intentionally avoid restrictions to showcase trust, were not linked to problematic internet use.
The findings highlight the effectiveness of varied monitoring strategies and emphasize the importance of promoting critical thinking in adolescents.
Young people from poorer families make fewer friends
Students from poorer households have fewer friends than students from higher income households.
Even within low-income groups, parental income influences friendship patterns, possibly related to social status attributes like clothing and leisure activities.
Schools should consider socioeconomic factors when planning activities to foster friendships and ensure equal opportunities for children from diverse backgrounds.
Targeting kids generates billions in ad revenue for social media
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter (X), and YouTube earned nearly $11 billion in ad revenue from U.S. users under 18 in 2022.
YouTube had the most users (49.7 million), with ad revenue from those aged 12 and under at $959.1 million. Instagram led in revenue from users aged 13-17 ($4 billion).
These platforms have a financial incentive to delay addressing concerns about the impact on children
A study tracking over 400,000 athletes found that they tend to secure higher-level jobs and better pay after graduation compared to 4:00 PM 2/3/2024non-athlete peers.
Athletes earned approximately 3.4% more during their careers and are more likely to land in C-suite roles.
The study suggests that intercollegiate varsity sports foster valuable soft skills like teamwork and leadership, contributing to the career success of athletes.
Strict parental monitoring of social media isn't always better
Restrictive parental monitoring of adolescents' digital media use, including rules and limits on time or content, is associated with problematic internet use.
In contrast, active monitoring, which involves promoting critical thinking by discussing central themes, and deference monitoring, where parents intentionally avoid restrictions to showcase trust, were not linked to problematic internet use.
The findings highlight the effectiveness of varied monitoring strategies and emphasize the importance of promoting critical thinking in adolescents.
Young people from poorer families make fewer friends
Students from poorer households have fewer friends than students from higher income households.
Even within low-income groups, parental income influences friendship patterns, possibly related to social status attributes like clothing and leisure activities.
Schools should consider socioeconomic factors when planning activities to foster friendships and ensure equal opportunities for children from diverse backgrounds.
Selective colleges abandoned standardized tests during Covid, adopting a test-optional policy for diversity reasons.
Critics argue against this shift, citing multiple studies that show test scores predict college success better than high school grades.
Despite evidence, colleges hesitate to reinstate test requirements due to political and progressive backlash, raising concerns about admissions fairness.
Targeting kids generates billions in ad revenue for social media
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter (X), and YouTube earned nearly $11 billion in ad revenue from U.S. users under 18 in 2022.
YouTube had the most users (49.7 million), with ad revenue from those aged 12 and under at $959.1 million. Instagram led in revenue from users aged 13-17 ($4 billion).
These platforms have a financial incentive to delay addressing concerns about the impact on children
Who Runs the Best U.S. Schools? It May Be the Defense Department
The Defense Department's school system, with about 50 U.S. schools and over 100 international schools for military families, outperforms most public schools.
On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, it excels in math and reading, particularly for Black and Hispanic students.
The success is attributed to well-funded, integrated, and centrally governed schools, offering housing, healthcare, and stable employment for military families.
How achievement pressure is crushing kids and what to do about it
Pressure to succeed comes from various sources, including parents, teachers, and schools, and is deeply rooted in macro-economic forces shaping parents' fears and anxieties.
Achievement becomes toxic when individuals tie their entire sense of self and value to their accomplishments, leading to anxiety, depression, and other negative effects on well-being.
A key to healthy achievement lies in helping children feel deeply valued for who they are, separate from external achievements.
Selective colleges abandoned standardized tests during Covid, adopting a test-optional policy for diversity reasons.
Critics argue against this shift, citing multiple studies that show test scores predict college success better than high school grades.
Despite evidence, colleges hesitate to reinstate test requirements due to political and progressive backlash, raising concerns about admissions fairness.
Impact of screen time on children's communication and problem solving development
A study involving more than 7,000 mother-child pairs looked at the association between screen time exposure at age one and developmental delays in children at ages two and four.
The study identified a dose-response relationship, linking greater screen time at age one with developmental delays in communication and problem-solving.
Children with over 4 hours of daily screen time had higher risks of delays in multiple domains.
Mediterranean diet: The benefits to mother and child during pregnancy
A study published in the journal JAMA Network Open that suggests a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy significantly improves the neurodevelopment of children during their first two years of life.
The study involved 1,221 pregnancies, where participants were randomly assigned to different groups, including one following the Mediterranean diet.
Children born to mothers adhering to the Mediterranean diet scored higher in cognitive and social-emotional domains at the age of two.
Anti-dopamine parenting can curb a kid's craving for screens or sweets
Neuroscientists have found that activities like watching cartoons and consuming sugary foods trigger surges of dopamine in the brain, associated with desire and motivation.
The author discusses the challenges of stopping such activities and offers tips for anti-dopamine parenting, suggesting four strategies that may be helpful.
Benefits of later school entry for kids spill over to younger siblings
A study, based on North Carolina public school data, reveals that students born just after the kindergarten cutoff date tend to perform better.
Their success positively influences their younger siblings in middle school.
The sibling spillover effect is more pronounced in disadvantaged families, perhaps because wealthy families have the resources to mitigate sibling influence.
A study from 2018, involving approximately 500,000 individuals, found that more television viewing time was associated with worse cognitive function.
Another study in 2022, involving 146,651 people, revealed that spending more than four hours daily watching television increased the risk of dementia by 24%, while using the computer interactively for over one hour daily decreased the risk of dementia by 15%.
Anti-dopamine parenting can curb a kid's craving for screens or sweets
Neuroscientists have found that activities like watching cartoons and consuming sugary foods trigger surges of dopamine in the brain, associated with desire and motivation.
The author discusses the challenges of stopping such activities and offers tips for anti-dopamine parenting, suggesting four strategies that may be helpful.
Wide gap in SAT/ACT test scores between wealthy, lower-income kids
Children from the wealthiest 1% of Americans are 13 times more likely to score 1300 or higher on SAT/ACT tests compared to children from low-income families.
Some experts look at this and say the SAT has become a "wealth test."
Disparities in education contribute to these gaps, starting from early childhood and continuing through high school.
Out-of-school opportunities, often available to wealthier families, exacerbate the inequality.
Schools across the U.S. are trying a 4-day week. Why?
7% of U.S. school districts have adopted a four-day school week, with 30% in Missouri and 67% in Colorado implementing this schedule.
Why? It is often a response to the challenge of retaining teachers when districts can't raise taxes to increase salaries. While the shortened week doesn't increase salaries, it serves as an incentive and helps address teacher retention.
However, the move may lose its effectiveness as a recruitment tool, as neighboring districts adopt similar schedules.
There are also concerns about the impact on students, and the cost to parents for additional childcare.
Too little time outdoors, too much time on screens
The World Health Organization warns that by 2030, 40% of the global population will be nearsighted, with the U.S. already experiencing a rise in myopia rates from 25% in 1971 to nearly 42% in 2017.
The increase is particularly prominent in children. Experts attribute this rise to children spending too little time outdoors and too much time indoors staring at screens. For young children, such habits cause their eyes to prioritize near vision, leading to elongated eyeballs and myopia development.
Early onset myopia can result in severe vision problems later in life.
The Science of Reading: Phonics plus Reading Comprehension
Improving reading comprehension involves recognizing the broader "science of reading," which goes beyond phonics and includes building knowledge.
The typical phonics instruction method emphasizes practicing skills on random topics at individual reading levels, disregarding the importance of building knowledge, which could be done at the same time.
Cognitive scientists stress the significance of knowledge and vocabulary in comprehension. Effective strategies include teachers reading aloud, engaging students in discussions, and using content-focused curricula for knowledge building.
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