I was talking to a mum about her little boy. He had been very happily attending Nursery until this new boy started. The rumour was that he had been to several schools before this one, but no-one knew why he had had to move on. Boy 1 suddenly became quite unhappy and didn’t want to [...]
There’s an article in the paper today describing a piece of research which suggests that even 4/5 year olds find fat peers less attractive even than one in a wheelchair. The research suggests that they would choose as a friend in order 1] the standing up child of normal build 2] the wheelchair child of normal [...]
I have serious trouble with exams for small children because so much depends on the school and the teacher they are with. Over 10 years ago I saw a seven year old boy who was panicking about exams – when asked, he answered ‘If I don’t do well in my exams, I wont get a [...]
There has been a lot in the papers and on the news about How the Date of your Birth can affect educational achievement. Fundamentally, the point is that when small children start school at one or two points in the school year, some children will be very much more mature and able to learn than [...]
A friend of a friend has a pre-schooler who is due to start school in Autumn. The Mum was a Primary teacher but seems to have forgotten what school is like. It sounds as if this mum loves the idea of a dependent child. The little girl is still brest-feeding occasionally. It is clearly acknowledged [...]
I ended up discussing toy preferences with friends. One expressed her interest that daughter number 1 loved mechanical things, telescopes, building stuff, cars. She overcame this and was relieved when her second daughter was born – she could pass the toys on. Not true: daughter number 2 loved dolls and pet and animals and anything that [...]
Yesterday Boots was [were?] persuaded to move the toys from the Science Museum from the Boys section to toys of general interest. I did two radio interviews about this and a lot of thinking first. When my daughter was very small, I suddenly realised we hadnt bought her any Lego or making toys at all. [...]
At 11, approaching puberty, I began to wear glasses. This apparently happens because at that point your body changes shape, muscles becaome stronger and weaker, proportions alter. I hate glasses – I wore contact lenses as soon as I could afford to, and continued to wear them until my far and short sight became too [...]
1 of 1 A recent study claims that only children are happier but some experts disagree, saying that having a sibling helps a child to develop important social skills Getty Images Emily Sherwood February 20 2012 12:01AM When her son refused to play with his friend’s sister, his mum was embarrassed. But should she [...]
Appositely, following my thoughts about what constitutes an accurate memory, I have been reading a newspaper insert on Memory. It’s really well done, written by experts with experience and an interest in what research says. I have always admitted that my memory is not very good – except it is in parts. I seem to [...]