Getting help with parenting makes a difference -- at any age

    New Oxford University study finds that parenting interventions(育儿干预)for helping children with behavior problems are just as effective in school age, as in younger children.

    There is a dominant view among scientists and policy-makers. They believes, for the greatest effect, interventions need to be {#blank#}1{#/blank#} early in life, when children's brain function and behavior are thought to be more flexible. However, according to the new research, it's time to stop focusing on when we intervene with parenting, and just continue helping children in need of all ages.

    Just published in Child Development, the study is one of the first to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} this age assumption. Parenting interventions are a common and effective tool for reducing child behavior problems, but studies of age effects have produced different results until now.

    A team led by Professor Frances Fardner {#blank#}3{#/blank#}data from over 15,000 families from all over the world, and found no evidence that earlier is better.  Older children benefited just as much as younger ones from parenting interventions for reducing behavior problems. There was no evidence that earlier interventions are more powerful. This was based on {#blank#}4{#/blank#} data from more than 150 different experiments.

    What's more, their economic analysis found that interventions with older children were {#blank#}5{#/blank#} more likely to be cost-effective.

    Professor Gardner commented: “When there is {#blank#}6{#/blank#} about behavioral difficulties in younger children, our findings should never be used as a reason to delay intervention, otherwise, children and families will suffer for longer.” She continued, “As for {#blank#}7{#/blank#} parenting interventions for reducing behavior problems in childhood, we should stick to the principle, 'it's never too early, never too late', rather than 'earlier is better'.”

    The study draws the conclusion that it makes sense to invest in parenting interventions for children at all ages with behavioral difficulties, because they are no more likely to be {#blank#}8{#/blank#} in younger than older children, at least in the pre-adolescents.

    Of course, there's more work to be done. The experiments conducted were {#blank#}9{#/blank#} to pre-adolescents, to shorter-term effects, and parent-reported assessment of child outcomes. Future studies are needed that focus on adolescents, longer-term outcomes, and using multiple sources for {#blank#}10{#/blank#} child behavior problems.

Emphasizing social play in kindergarten improves academics

    Emphasizing social play and students helping one another in kindergarten improves academic outcomes, self-control and attention regulation, finds new UBC research. The study, published in the journal PLoS One, found this approach to kindergarten curriculum also {#blank#}1{#/blank#} children's joy in learning and teachers' enjoyment of teaching.

    "Before children have the ability to sit for long periods {#blank#}2{#/blank#} information, they need to be allowed to be {#blank#}3{#/blank#} and be encouraged to learn by doing," said Dr. Adele Diamond, the study's lead author. "Indeed, people of all ages learn better by doing than by being told."

    Through a controlled experiment, Diamond and her colleagues {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the effectiveness of a curriculum called Tools of the Mind (Tools). The curriculum was introduced to willing kindergarten teachers and 351 children with different backgrounds in 18 public schools.

    Tools was developed in 1993 by two American researchers. Its basic {#blank#}5{#/blank#} is that social-emotional development and improving self-control is as important as teaching academic skills and content. The Tools {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the role of social play in developing skills such as self-control, selective attention and planning. "Skills like self-control and selective attention are necessary for learning. They are often more strongly associated with school readiness (入学准备) than intelligence quotient (IQ)," said Diamond. "This experiment is the first to show {#blank#}7{#/blank#} of a curriculum emphasizing social play."

    Teachers reported more {#blank#}8{#/blank#} behavior and greater sense of community in Tools classes. Late in the school year, Tools teachers reported they still felt {#blank#}9{#/blank#} and excited about teaching, while teachers in the control group were exhausted. "I have enjoyed seeing the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} progress my students have made in writing and reading." said a Tools teacher in Vancouver. "I have also enjoyed seeing the students get so excited about coming to school and learning. They loved all the activities so much that many students didn't want to miss school, even if they were sick."