Posted on 1/5/2021
Q: I teach 3- and 4-year-olds in a childcare center in Australia. I always have a few difficult children in any group and the book in which you describe Alpha Speech [The Well-Behaved Child] has...
Read MorePosted on 11/10/2015
Copyright 2015, John K. Rosemond Q: My just-turned 3-year-old daughter has started biting other children in her preschool program. I put her in for three mornings a week thinking she...
Read MorePosted on 3/11/2014
Q: My 6-year-old son is a bright and friendly kindergartner. Each day a color coded chart is sent home about his behavior. This year he's gone through several spells during which he will have a...
Read MorePosted on 10/12/2010
Preschool without shame? What a pity The National Association for the Education of Young Children and I don't see eye to eye on many things - maybe anything. We don't even agree on a definition...
Read MorePosted on 8/17/2010
Many preschools go about it all wrong Q. Our 4-year-old grandson is enrolled in a pre-kindergarten class where all the kids are beginning to learn to read and write. The problem is that he...
Read MorePosted on 7/6/2010
Phonics is best way to begin teaching reading Q: Our son was already registered for junior kindergarten before we became aware that you believe in phonic-based reading instruction. He will be 5...
Read MorePosted on 10/20/2009
KINDERGARTEN QUESTIONNAIRE A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY Q. My kindergartener brought home a questionnaire that asks: Do you like your class? Do you have friends in your class? Does your teacher...
Read MorePosted on 11/20/2007
TAKING BUNNY AWAY ONLY ADDS TO TOT'S FEELINGS OF INSECURITY Q. I work at a day care where a 13-month-old child is having difficulty adjusting. She has a rash around her mouth from constant...
Read MorePosted on 3/27/2007
MICROMANAGING YOUR KIDS ROBS THEM OF MANY BENEFITS UNSTRUCTURED PLAY LEADS TO SOCIAL SKILLS Several months back, I answered a question from a parent who was bemoaning that in her community,...
Read MorePosted on 1/16/2007
4-YEAR-OLD MAY BE TANGLED IN POWER STRUGGLE WITH TEACHER Q: Is it appropriate for a preschool teacher to punish a somewhat shy 4-year-old child for not singing during the music lesson? My...
Read MorePosted on 1/2/2007
TODDLERS WHO DON'T GO TO PRESCHOOL UNLIKELY TO FALL BEHIND THEIR PEERS Q: At what age do you think children should start going to preschool? My son is going on 3, and he is home with me. I...
Read MorePosted on 12/20/2005
FATHER LEARNS LESSON ABOUT DAY CARE The father titled his letter "You Can't Tell a Day Care By Its Cover." It told a story that has become all-too familiar over the past few years. The dad...
Read MorePosted on 6/7/2005
WHEN PRESCHOOL IMITATES REALITY TV Q: At my 5-year-old daughter's preschool, several girls, including my daughter, have been competing with one another for one specific girl's friendship. It...
Read MorePosted on 5/24/2005
Be confident in your decision Q: We recently moved our 4-year-old daughter to a new pre-K program. The first couple of weeks were fine, but now she cries and doesn't want to go. She attends...
Read MorePosted on 9/7/2004
<b>Q: All of the moms in my mother's morning out group are purchasing academic "jump start" programs for their toddlers, some of whom are barely 2. What do you think of this trend, and if I don't...
Read MorePosted on 7/20/2004
TEACH CHILD WHEN NOT TO ASK QUESTIONS FINDING OWN ANSWERS IS IMPORTANT STEP IN LEARNING HOW TO THINK Q: I am a teacher of 4-year-olds in a private pre-K program. In my college child...
Read MorePosted on 5/25/2004
DON'T OVERREACT TO CHILD'S CRYING JAG Q: My best friend's 4-year-old daughter is currently in her third year at the same half-day preschool. The first two years were fine, but she has lately...
Read MorePosted on 2/24/2004
Q: My son will be 2 1/2 next month. I recently started a family day care at my home. I took in a 3-year-old boy and a 16-month-old girl. My son is not handling this change well. He has become...
Read MorePosted on 11/18/2003
TIME-OUTS CAN MAKE LASTING IMPRESSION Q: Our 42-month-old son is in a mornings-only preschool. He was in the same church program last year and had lots of "meltdowns," usually during group...
Read MorePosted on 12/24/2002
Q: I am the mother of two boys: 6 months and 32 months. The difficulty is with the latter. This well-mannered, easy-going, very loving child is having trouble at Mother's Morning Out. This is...
Read MorePosted on 10/29/2002
MANNERS FIRST, THEN MOUSE PADS Q: What is your opinion of the spate of computer-driven academic "jump start" programs for children as young as 3, if not younger? All of the mothers in my...
Read MorePosted on 2/19/2002
SURPRISE CONSEQUENCES CAN CURE CHILDREN'S MISBEHAVIOR A mom recently asked me for advice concerning a discipline problem that had had a small beginning, but was getting completely out of hand....
Read MorePosted on 10/9/2001
DON'T FEED CHILD'S PRESCHOOL ANXIETY Q: For purposes of convenience, I recently changed my 4-year-old son's preschool program. The new program is as highly rated and well staffed as the...
Read MorePosted on 5/22/2001
CLOSED MINDS SHUT OUT VITAL RESEARCH ON DAY CARE We live in the postmodern age, which is characterized by a rampant anti-intellectualism. It matters not, for example, that objective evidence...
Read MorePosted on 7/18/2000
WHAT DO YOU TELL A CHILD WHO BEGS YOU TO QUIT YOUR JOB? Q. Of the 40 mothers represented in my 4-year-old son's pre-K program, I am one of only three who work outside the home. I do so not for...
Read MorePosted on 7/11/2000
SCHLESSINGER TAKES OVERLY HARSH STAND ON DAY CARE It was, I suppose, inevitable that people, journalists included, would ask me what I think about the position on children and day care that...
Read MorePosted on 6/13/2000
4-YEAR-OLD WHO HITS OTHER KIDS NEEDS IMPULSE SENT TO HIS ROOM Here's an interesting tale: A 4-year-old - I'll call him Bluto - has a habit of hitting other children in his preschool program....
Read MorePosted on 7/28/1998
PRESCHOOLERS NEED SOCIAL SKILLS, BUT NOT SOCIAL STUDIES Q. My friends and I both have 3-year-old boys who will enter 4-year-old kindergarten this fall. I'm concerned because her son knows how...
Read MorePosted on 3/31/1998
UPDATE ON DAY CARE: IT'S STILL NOT AS HEALTHY AS ADVERTISED Five years ago, I wrote a series of columns in which I contended that group day care is disadvantageous for children under age 3....
Read MorePosted on 3/17/1998
ABOVE ALL, YOUR KINDERGARTNER SHOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH TIME Many school systems across America send parents of upcoming kindergarten students a laundry list of things those children are...
Read MorePosted on 2/24/1998
LEAVE IT UP TO YOUR CHILD TO LEARN FROM EITHER TEACHER Q. I work daily with my very active 4-year-old, trying to get him started in reading, but he doesn't show any real interest. Furthermore,...
Read MorePosted on 7/29/1997
THUMBS DOWN ON COMPUTERS AND TV; DAY CARE IS LESS CLEAR A few thoughts on computers, day care and television that came to mind on a serene spring afternoon as I sat watching clouds do...
Read MorePosted on 7/2/1993
ONCE AGAIN, LISTEN UP: CARING FOR CHILD AT HOME IS BETTER THAN DAY CARE Jennifer Mitchell, a columnist for the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, recently took me to task for saying that at-home...
Read MorePosted on 4/2/1993
Q. What do you think about delayed entrance into kindergarten for so- called "summer children?" This practice has caught on in our school system, and officials are now making the...
Read MorePosted on 3/19/1993
OUTRAGE OVER CHILD-CARE COLUMN POINTS TO THE REAL PROBLEM: DECLINE OF FAMILY In a feature article and two separate editorials, The Des Moines Register has taken me to task for a column in...
Read MorePosted on 12/18/1992
Q. I read a recent column of yours in which you said that parent care during the first three years of life is preferable to daycare. I tend to agree, but wouldn't some children be better off in...
Read MorePosted on 12/4/1992
STAYING AT HOME ENCOURAGES INDEPENDENCE IN TODDLER I recently wrote that parent care during the first three years of life is highly preferable, in most cases, to day care. A number of folks...
Read MorePosted on 3/25/1990
DELAYING KINDERGARTEN FOR LATE-BIRTHDAY CHILDREN IS COMMON Q. Most of the psychologists and pediatricians in our community are advising parents of children who turn 5 after June 1 to delay by...
Read MorePosted on 9/17/1989
WANTED: DAY CARE THAT WORKS Q. Being the mother of 3-month-old girl, I read your recent article on infant day care with interest. My leave of absence from my job is almost over, and I've been...
Read MorePosted on 8/13/1989
FAMILY DAY CARE SETTING IS BEST FOR INFANTS Q. I took a leave of absence from my job to have my first baby and be totally available to her for the first three months of her life. Now people...
Read MorePosted on 7/17/1988
PRESCHOOLERS ARE NOT READY TO LEARN TO WRITE ALPHABET I was talking recently with the parents of a boy who attends a preschool program for 4-year-olds where they've been teaching him to write...
Read MorePosted on 3/27/1988
PRESCHOOLERS NEEDN'T LEARN ABC'S, READING I do a workshop titled, "Helping Your Child Succeed in School." At one point, I ask my audience the following question: "How many of you knew the...
Read MorePosted on 2/21/1988
5-YEAR-OLD FRETS OVER KINDERGARTEN HOMEWORK Q. My daughter's kindergarten teacher recently started assigning homework. It really doesn't amount to much - just to practice forming letters and...
Read MorePosted on 12/26/1986
I'M AGAINST DAY-CARE SPANKING Joseph Chambers wrote a column that appeared on this page Oct. 1 under the headline "I'd Go To Jail Over Right To Spank." Obviously, the Rev. Chambers believes...
Read MorePosted on 5/25/1986
READING EARLY HAS NO VALUE TO KIDS As I have expressed before in this column, I have a problem with preschool children attending formal learn-to-read programs. Simply stated, they aren't...
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