Friday, December 24, 2010

The top 10 parenting tips of 2010 | Mormon Times

The top 10 parenting tips of 2010 | Mormon Times: "As a special Christmas gift to you loyal readers, here are the top 10 parenting tips of the year — the 10 best ideas we have come across to strengthen your family, 'happify' your kids and 'peace out' your own busy life. You may not want to try them all at once, but pick the ones that you think you need most and include them in your New Year's resolutions."

Monday, December 20, 2010

Breast-feeding benefits academic performance 10 years later - latimes.com

Breast-feeding benefits academic performance 10 years later - latimes.com: "Breast-feeding infants for at least six months appears to give kids' an advantage in school, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Many other studies have also found a small effect on school performance from breast-feeding. This study, however, was unique in that boys appeared to benefit the most."

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Story time — 10 questions and answers that can unlock the secrets to successful storytelling | Mormon Times

Story time — 10 questions and answers that can unlock the secrets to successful storytelling Mormon Times: "Are there times in your house devoid of monster noises, blaring televisions and Xbox background music? Times when the only sound you hear is your own quiet voice?"

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

edpsy10natural

edpsy10natural: "Reinforcement can conveniently be divided into artificial (contrived) and natural (logical) reinforcement. This division applies to all three types of reinforcement. A reinforcer is artificial (contrived) to the extent that the recipient sees it as logically unrelated to the task which must be performed in order to obtain it. A reinforcer is natural (logical) to the extent that the recipient perceives it as logically related to the task he has to perform to obtain it. Few reinforcers are purely natural or artificial. Rather, reinforcers can be graded along a continuum, with some reinforcers being more natural than others.6 For example, reading a book because it is a good book is at the natural end of the curriculum. Reading a book when I hate the book but my parents will pay me five dollars for reading it is at the artificial end. Reading a book when I would rather watch television because I know my parents would be proud of me would be somewhere in the middle of the continuum. Likewise, reading a difficult book because I want to become a photographer and I know I can get a better job as a photographer if I get a college degree is somewhere in the middle."

PINNACLE - Behavior Problems of Children With Autism, Parental Self-Efficacy, and Mental Health

PINNACLE - Behavior Problems of Children With Autism, Parental Self-Efficacy, and Mental Health: "Self-efficacy has been identified in the general parenting literature as an important variable affecting parent outcomes. In the present study, 26 mothers and 20 fathers of children with autism reported on their self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression. Teachers rated the behavior problems of the children. Regression analyses showed that self-efficacy mediated the effect of child behavior problems on mothers' anxiety and depression, but there was no evidence that it functioned as a mediator for fathers. However, there was evidence that self-efficacy moderated the effect of child behavior problems on fathers' anxiety. No evidence for the moderating effect of self-efficacy was apparent for mothers. Methodological issues and the theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed."