The Babbles

“Dig that disco sound!” ?? The only thing better than dad’s improvised musical accompaniment to this book (about a musical toy box) is his toddler’s reaction. She’s already got some moves! You don’t have to be a natural-born performer to read to your child, however. Read, talk, ask questions. Your baby will love it. And if you choose to add some sound effects or make a silly voice or two, nobody will be judging.?? This wonderful video was shared to IG by househusbandnetwork.

I was invited to celebrate World Mental Health Day with the amazing champions at The Kids Mental Health Foundation, and had an opportunity to learn more about their mission to create a world where?mental health is a vital part of growing up. Their mission resonates deeply with me and my family, and is at the core of the work that I'm doing with The Babbles. This is a critical moment for kids mental health in our country, and we need more education, outreach and understanding of this issue. Congrats to Tay and Taylor Lautner, M?dchen Amick & Tyler Davis for being recognized as Kids Mental Health Champions for their tireless efforts to change the stigma of mental health and make it a priority for everyone – especially our kids. And to Corey & Angel Conrad, Amanda Dove, and Niki Shafer for organizing and hosting such an impactful event! If you or someone you know are interested in free mental health resources, partnering, or supporting their mission, please visit https://lnkd.in/gzSNiA2D ??? credit: @trosephotos?? #worldmentalhealthday #thekidsmentalhealthfoundation #onoursleeves #mentalhealth

This deserves a thumbs up! ?? But give me a moment, my fine motor skills are still developing. As your little one grows, their physical (or “motor”) development happens on two interrelated planes: “Gross motor” development relates to the use of large muscle groups in the arms, legs and core used to balance, crawl, walk and jump (to name a few). And “fine motor” development describes the development of the small and precise muscle movements needed to manipulate your hands, wrists, fingers, feet, and toes. Both categories take time and practice to develop, with fine motor skills tending to trail gross motor skills in their refinement. Which makes sense. Fine motor skills are all about precision. Which leads us to this sweet little guy, who wants to celebrate by flashing a thumbs up to his mom and dad… but requires a little extra time and effort to get his thumbs to cooperate. Fine motor skills are critical to writing/drawing, the use of scissors, and the manipulation of things like buttons and zippers, just to name a few. You can help aid this development by providing lots of safe opportunities for your little one to practice strengthening the muscles of the hands and wrists, for example. Finger paint, crayons, play-doh, and eating utensils are all great options. Anything that will engage these small muscle groups. But even then, know that fine motor development takes a combination of practice and time. This happy little guy was shared to TT by chenko(dot)tattoo. (If you’re looking for the account use a period in place of the “dot” - I removed it here because the platform wanted to interpret this as a web link.) #earlychildhood #earlyyears #eyfs #parenting

As governments face complex global challenges, we expect them to rely on the best available science. In our paper, we quantify the disconnect between academic impact and policy influence. Research quality plays only a small role in explaining why certain papers are used in #policymaking. This suggests that something other than academic excellence explains which #science is used by governments. One option we examined is media attention. In some fields, such as #climate change, we found that media exposure is just as influential as #research quality in shaping policy impact. Less than 10% of authors account for over 90% of all climate policy citations, and these same authors dominate 79% of media coverage. Policymakers relying on media attention may disadvantage good science that lacks visibility, so important research could be overlooked simply because it hasn't captured media attention. The paper is open access here: https://lnkd.in/g_QwjeMu Very grateful for the guidance from Sir Geoff Mulgan and Professor Licia Capra, and for the support of Dr Andrew Plume, Kristy James, Alick Bird at Elsevier, Euan Adie at Overton, as well as Manolya Adan, Nadim R., and Afagh Mulazadeh.

Every day across the country, early childhood educators in all different settings provide joyful learning experiences at the most important time of children's growth and development.?As a new parent years ago, I relied on the expertise and caring of these professionals to help me best support my boys through the early years. ? And despite the fact that 90% of the brain development?happens?before the age of 5, the early childhood workforce is not adequately supported with compensation, benefits, career support or even respect.?I am glad to elevate how we can support the workforce that helps children to thrive in this supplement published by USA TODAY. #earlyeducation #childcare

Dan Wuori has delighted many of us with his care- and learning-filled videos and messages for months. His inaugural book - ??The Daycare Myth?? arrived yesterday, and I simply could not put it down: Filled with science and practical recommendations. Chapter 1 starts with a cliffhanger ??daycare does not exist?.?? This sentence sentence hit home: ??For young children, all environments are learning environments- which is why the Daycare Myth is so pernicious.?? Appendix A is critical too about the dangers of misinterpreting early childhood research. Bravo, dear friend. A must-read for anyone interested in (early) development and education, and society at large. Great foreword by Dana Suskind and highlights of Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation.