Every week, starting when I was ten, my mother took me on a forty-five-minute drive to ballet school. We kept up this routine for two years, until it became clear that no amount of lessons would ever turn graceless, waistless me into the Sugar...
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May 03, 2018
How I Got My Toddler Back on Books After She Got a Taste of Screen Time
By Angela Zimmerman, Common Sense Media
When I opened the gates to screen time for my 2-year-old daughter, I was planning to limit it to airplanes and sick days. But with TV and tablets came a whole new colorful world that hooked my tot...
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April 26, 2018
How to Raise a Motivated Reader
by Pam Abrams
It’s an easy trap to fall into: You tell your kid to read for 20 minutes and he can have extra video-game time. Or ice cream. Or something new and shiny. Yet when we reward our children for spending time with a book, we are focusing their...
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April 19, 2018
How to Prepare Your Child for Tests
Taking a test can be unnerving for many students, but especially so for younger children. Whether your student will soon take his first classroom reading exam or a statewide standardized test, fear and uncertainty can impact his performance....
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April 10, 2018
How One Plus One Became Three
by Bob Brody
Soon after we brought our newborn daughter Caroline home from the hospital, her five-year-old brother Michael wanted us to take her back. I know that because that’s exactly what Michael told me and his mother.
My wife said, “OK.” And then...
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March 29, 2018
How Travel Helps Kids Learn
In many cases, kids learn by absorbing the information and environment around them. As a result, exposing your youngster to the multitude of experiences that travel offers can provide unique, hands-on learning experiences. Consider, for example,...
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March 22, 2018
Sleep Tight, Little Guy
by Bob Brody
As a toddler, our son Michael came into our bedroom at night to sleep on the carpet near our bed. He never knocked on the door or asked to come in or tried to climb into our bed with us. He always conked out on the side near his mother. Obviously...
Read MoreMarch 14, 2018
An Open Letter to Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
At Highlights, our core value is the idea that “Children are the world’s most important people.” We keep this idea front and center as we create magazines, books, and digital products that are “Fun with a Purpose.”
We...
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March 08, 2018
Why Media Role Models Matter
By Caroline Knorr, Parenting Editor, Common Sense Media
As parents, we have a natural instinct to choose who we want our kids to be friends with -- and who we'd rather they not hang around. The same instinct kicks in for media role models...
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March 01, 2018
What They’ll Remember
I was having breakfast recently with the appealing young woman who used to be my little girl, when she suddenly looked across the table and, out of the blue, began reminiscing about a game we used to play when she was in the first grade. "...
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