By Sarah Vander Schaaff Ok, I admit it, I don’t know where Azerbaijan is on a map. I know where it is not, generally speaking, and where it is most likely, generally speaking, but that does little good when your eight year old turns to you during the Olympic Parade of Nations, and asks, “So, Mom, where is that country?” “Hum. That’s a really good question. Oh, look, it’s Matt Lauer!” As my husband pointed out, the fact that the delegations were arranged in Cyrillic alphabetical order only added to the appearance of our parental ineptitude. I say “appearance” of ineptitude; my children may have a different opinion. While it may be a little late, there are still several more… Read More

by Sarah Vander Schaaff How do we keep from over-scheduling our children this school year? The first step, one I believe many of us only half-heartedly embrace, is that we have to want to keep from over-scheduling our children. When you look around the Internet, there are many posts suggesting tips for limiting activities and over-commitment. But a prevalent undercurrent behind much of the discussion is: here’s what you can do; we all fail, but it’s a noble effort. So, I was happy to find one piece that might make it easier to succeed in the goal of doing less. The website, Family Education, featured advice from David Elkind, author of The Hurried Child, and professor of child development at… Read More

The documentary film, “Race to Nowhere” is described on the film’s website as, “Featuring the heartbreaking stories of students across the country who have been pushed to the brink by over-scheduling, over-testing and the relentless pressure to achieve…” It was nearly three years ago that the film came to the Princeton-area community, thanks in large part to Jess Deutsch. Today she reflects on the experience, sharing some answers to questions she’s been asked over the years. How did you hear about “Race To Nowhere”, and why did you lead the effort to have it screened at Princeton High School? JD: The short answer is that I watched the film at a very small venue, and decided on the spot that… Read More

By Sarah Vander Schaaff Well, maybe not last summer, but summers long ago. As many of us begin to think about what our own kids will be doing this summer, I decided to ask my colleagues about summers they still remember. Was there an experience that shaped them? As a kid, of course, there was always something wonderful about having nothing to do except finding a friend and some ice cream, or a new bike route to a crowded pool. And was I the only one who considered “The Price is Right” a good break from the heat outside? But when it comes to memories of formative experiences, television, as you might expect, does not make the cut. Instead, for… Read More

By Sarah Vander Schaaff Several weeks ago, well before Sandy and the holidays took over our thoughts and conversations here in New Jersey, I attended an evening lecture given by Sam Wang, an associate professor of molecular biology and neuroscience at Princeton University and co-author of the 2011 book, Welcome to Your Child’s Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College. The room was full of parents, whose children, one imagined, spanned the time frame mentioned in the title of his book. Wang told us, as both a professor and father of a five-year-old, “For nearly everything, don’t worry.” Young kids not sleeping through the night, not talking properly, these issues usually resolve, he said. The brain is a… Read More