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Hi,
My 6 years old son has to cross a street to go to school. My wife sends him to school every morning. But he used the pedestrian crossing to cross the street and walks home by himself after school everyday. Typically, the traffic on that street is not very heavy. However, occasionally you can still observe some drivers do not slow down even when they are approaching the school and the pedestrian crossing.

In the beginning of the school year, I discussed with my wife on whether we should allow our son to cross the street by himself. We all understand the dangers of the street, but we still went ahead to teach our son the proper way of crossing the street with the pedestrian. It certainly requires a lot of trust and faith to do that.

This reminds me of the movie, Finding Nemo, where Nemo's father, Marlyn protected Nemo from anything that might be potentially dangerous. In doing so, he never taught Nemo how to deal with the dangers he might face in the world. Perhaps, some of you have been overprotecting your kids. At some point, you should just let go and let your kid do it himself or herself. In the movie, Marlyn asks the sea turtle, "Dude, how do you know when they are ready? " The only way to know if your kid is ready for something is to test them. After all, this is the only way to teach your children to be independent and to give your children confidence in their own abilities. You can read the feature article in this issue about "Confidence children, Avoid Overparenting" by Michael Grose. Have a great week ahead!

Andrew Loh
Publisher & Editor, BrainyZine
andrew @ brainy-child.com

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Confident Children, Avoid Overparenting
By Michael Grose

How You Can Help Your Child To Be An Avid Reader
Alvin Ho

Q: My nearly 3 years old son seems to have photographic memories and he is excellent at memorizing all the things he hears, such as relatives' telephone numbers, spells names .... Is he gifted?

I wonder which directions we should follow to raise this boy? We are living in Hong Kong, and are there any "bright kids" special education program that is suitable for him? He will attend an ordinary kindergarten this September. But I am a bit worried that he would feel boring because he already knows that kind of knowledge. Thank you very much for your kind advice.

A: See Dr. Sandhu's answer on Educational Program for Gifted Children here!

Q: I have a 20 moths old son. He is very keen in learning new things especially numbers. When he is in good mood, he is able to rote count and recognize numerals up to 100 with little help and do counting object to 10. May I know is there any method to help him in developing his mathematics skills?

A: See Dr. Sandhu's answer on Developing Mathematical Skills for Children here!

Fish oil diet feeds brains of toddlers
The Observer UK July 17, 2005

Study shows Omega-3 improves pre-school learning skills. Omega-3, polyunsaturated fats found in significant amounts only in oily fish and offal, make up a quarter of the grey matter of the brain and are vital to brain and eye development.

Brain gains
The Observer UK July 10, 2005

It's never too early to reel in the benefits of a diet rich in oily fish. Dr John Briffa explains how pregnant mums can give their unborn babies a head start.

Sensory Deprivation Affects Brain's Nerve Connections
Newswise July 11, 2005

Scientists at New York University School of Medicine reveal the important role of early experience in shaping neuronal development and brain plasticity in a new study published in the July 14 issue of the journal Nature. These findings suggest "that childhood experience has a long lasting and perhaps permanent impact on later life," he says.

Look who's talking (French) - The number of foreign-language classes for toddlers is booming.
Indystar.com July 18, 2005

Research from the Center for Applied Linguistics suggests that children who learn a second language are more creative and better problem-solvers.

Boys and Girls: What's the Difference?
Connect for Kids July 12, 2005

In the book, Boys and Girls learn Differently: A Guide for Teachers and Parents, the author, Gurian offer an explanation to teachers' and parents' observations of differences between boys and girls. The explanation has its roots in brain-based research. Gurian also helps us to understand how these differences influence learning styles, school performance and behavior.

Teaching Girls and Boys Differently
Zenit News July 9, 2005

Girls and boys, he explained, differ substantially in the speed with which their brains mature. The various regions of the brain develop in a different sequence in girls compared to boys. Therefore, rather than saying that boys develop more slowly than girls, it is more accurate to affirm that girls and boys develop at a different pace. Language skills develop earlier in girls, for example, while spatial memory matures earlier in boys.

Kids Talk : How to help a child learn to read
NWAnews.com July 11, 2005

Research has shown that the basic skills of literacy and numeracy are easiest to learn between the ages of three to seven. Unfortunately, too many of our children are not introduced to important language concepts and basic skills until the age of six or older. Fluent reading usually occurs between the ages of four to nine, dependent on a person's unique brain development.

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