Also On Wellness
Posts by Rae Pica
Well, I'm back from the "windy city" and the whirlwind that is the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and I thought I'd share a little of the experience with you. From what I was told, this year's conference brought together 22,000 members of the Association, which is this country's largest organization of early childhood professionals (about 100,000 members)....
11/20/2007 12:33:59 PM
The blogosphere has buzzed lately with the voices of parents who are appalled and sometimes outraged at the idea of the schools sending home notices regarding their children's weight. Here's part of a recent posting from MotherTalkers: "At least a dozen states have passed legislation requiring schools to start sending reports home if a child's Body Mass Index (itself a controversial health-o-meter)...
11/2/2007 7:00:00 AM
So much of what comes across my computer -- in the way of Google and New York Times alerts, and even e-mails from distraught parents and teachers -- is bad news. Or disturbing, discouraging, or all of the above. I read that recess and physical education are being cut. That children are overweight, obese, and suffering from symptoms formerly seen in adults only. That French fries are the number-one...
10/11/2007 7:00:00 AM
School has started all over the country, and all over the country children, parents, and teachers are discovering there's less time -- or no time -- being allotted for recess. I was reading an article at floridatoday.com called "Recess takes a time out: Law to increase activity eliminates recess at some schools." Anyone else see the contradiction in that title? If the goal is increased activity, why...
9/27/2007 7:00:00 AM
I came across an article yesterday that just begged to be commented on. The piece was titled "Personal Trainers for Kids on the Increase: Kids Working with Fitness Experts Hone Skills, Lose Weight, Get Healthy." Anyone familiar with my work knows I'm all in favor of fitness for kids. In fact, it's one of my crusades. But this story worried me. With the children's obesity crisis raging (and it truly...
9/20/2007 7:00:00 AM
Some years ago the Josephson Institute of Ethics reported their findings on the ethics of children in sports. The results? As reported in the Toronto Star, children who participate in organized sports "are more likely to cheat in school, are learning from their coaches how to best cut corners and are more open to forms of bullying as a way to motivate people."How could this be? The prevailing thinking...
9/17/2007 7:00:00 AM
Wow, according to a story in the Boston Globe, anthropologist David Lancy contends that parent-child play has been "virtually unheard of throughout human history" and that "American-style parent-child play is a distinct feature of wealthy developed countries - a recent byproduct of the pressure to get kids ready for the information-age economy." Lancy's point seems to be that adult-child play isn't...
8/29/2007 7:00:00 AM