The Value of Sibling Relationships: Don’t Listen to the Stereotypes
March 8, 2017
The nature vs. nurture question comes up frequently in education and parenting circles. By most estimates, it’s about 50-50. In other words, 50% of who you are comes from genetics and the other 50% is environmental. That allows parents and educators plenty of influence. So what does that imply for stereotypes about the “selfish only child”, the “responsible first child” or the “lazy youngest child”and the value of sibling relationships? Parenting and psychology expert Dr. Susan Newman provides us the research behind the stereotypes. She explains what parents can proactively do to avoid the stereotype trap so “onlies” have the value of sibling relationships without the siblings. What is the Stereotype? If you are the parent of one child, it’s hard not to… Read More
Why your first born might seem smarter
March 24, 2016
by Nancy Weinstein While there is no genetic difference in cognitive abilities or personality by birth order, parents always ask me about it in a half whisper. No parent ever wants to admit that they compare their children, particularly when it comes to “smarts.” However, as explained by author Meri Wallace, there are personality traits evident in studies of children and birth order that could lead to higher academic achievement among our first-borns. The traits? Perfectionism, responsibility, workaholic. The explanation? Parents tend to dote more on their first born, closely monitor their achievement at every milestone, and often times even invest more financially. As a result, first-borns tend to have more one-on-one instruction as well as higher self-esteem and confidence, all of which can be closely linked to higher… Read More
Empowering Parents: Sibling Surprises
November 13, 2015
Edited by Nancy Weinstein Editor’s Note: As the mother of two daughters who are so different and yet sometimes seem so similar, I am always drawn to sibling stories. In this second post in our Empowering Parents series, Laura, mother of two girls, Julia, 8, and Leah, 9, describes why she chose Mindprint. She explains how her family continues to use Toolbox. To protect the family’s privacy, these are not their real names. When we decided to give our children the test, we didn’t have any specific concerns about their learning abilities. We just thought why not find out if there is anything there, any specific learning strengths or weaknesses that we could work on, foster, and/ or support. Why not do everything you can… Read More