“The Ooh-and-Coo Duet of Babies’ Language Learning”- Early Learning Nation

When a baby peers into the face of an adult making the kind of goofy faces and noises most of us make when looking at an infant, they’re doing more than wondering what strange creature they’ve encountered. They’re listening, studying and observing, and when they coo back, a conversation has started—one that will lead to words and sentences and ultimately the language that will serve them for the rest of their lives. Read More…

“A parent’s guide to surviving COVID-19: 8 strategies to keep children healthy and happy”

For many of us, COVID-19 has completely changed how we work. Remote work might have its advantages for some, but when the kids are out of school and libraries and museums are closed, juggling two roles at once can be a challenge. What is a parent to do? As two developmental psychologists dedicated to understanding how children learn and play, these questions are filling our inbox. Here we offer some simple strategies for keeping your job and your sanity for parents and caregivers with children under 10. Read More…

The Hechinger Report: ‘There are policy solutions that can end the war on childhood, and the discussion should start this campaign season’

President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced his “war on poverty” during his State of the Union speech on Jan. 8, 1964, citing the “national disgrace” that deserved a “national response.”

Today, many of the poor children of the Johnson era are poor adults with children and grandchildren of their own. Inequity has widened so that people from underserved communities are relatively more underserved, and safety nets that would otherwise allow people to advance are being taken away.

It’s as if there’s a “war on childhood.”… Read More….

The Launch of Playful Learning Landscapes!!

On Wednesday, February 26, the Center for Universal Education and the Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings hosted an event introducing Playful Learning Landscapes, an interdisciplinary project aimed at transforming everyday places into learning experiences and bringing education into public spaces by reaching families in parks, supermarkets, and other places where they regularly go. The event convened community leaders, city planners, designers, and behavioral scientists that share a vision for creating family-friendly cities across the world. Read more and see videos….