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This article appeared on Tuesday 24 February in the South China Morning Post print edition as “Why kids need time to ponder” “Use your imagination,” was my mother’s exasperated reply to my whiny claims of boredom one day when I was little. “I don’t have any,” I exclaimed. But the truth is, my childhood was replete with unstructured time and full of imaginative play. I fear, however, that for this generation of students who are intensely scheduled, pressured and expected to excel in all areas of life except free time, that answer might just be true. We all want what’s best for our children, but determining what that is and how to get there is not easy. In our best effort to shepherd them through this harsh, competitive world, we fight their every battle, smooth every bump, give them every advantage and then we wonder why they can’t do anything for themselves. A practising psychologist and bestselling author, Dr Madeline Levine has identified alarming rates of depression among teenagers who are adored by their parents and successful by any measure, but who a

This article appeared on Tuesday 10 March 2015 in the South China Morning Post print edition as “Heads-up on the theory of mind”. My love of reading and all that I’ve gained from it define me as much as my relationship and life experiences. I am confident that my children will also be shaped by the books in their lives and by the rich reading environment in which they are being raised. However, my passion for reading also stems from learning about how reading can change brain development and enrich lives. Three things I recently learned about reading have further fuelled this passion. First, bigger vocabulary leads to faster thinking. Second, fiction allows readers to develop the so-called theory of mind. And third, bibliotherapy is not literature. It is widely acknowledged that children who read for pleasure learn more words than those who do not. Daniel L. Everett, in his study of the Piraha people of the Amazon, took this a step further and examined the implications of a broader vocabulary. He found that the Piraha are able to recognise quantities despite not having any words for numbers or counting in the

For me, the essence of Lunar New Year is perfectly embodied in A New Year’s Reunion, the award-winning picture book by Yu Liqiong. I didn’t discover it until 2011, and since then I have read it countless times, not just during the season but throughout the year. I’ve read it not just to my children but at storytelling sessions all around town, and not only in its original Putonghua but also in Cantonese and English. The story is undeniably timeless, but “timeless” can sometimes suffer from a case of “too many times”. This year, I heartily embrace change and explore other books relating to Lunar New Year. Karen Katz is a bestselling author of lift-the-flap books for toddlers. In My First Chinese New Year, Katz provides a lively introduction to the festivities surrounding Lunar New Year that even the youngest reader will enjoy. The story follows a young girl as she celebrates with her family, including watching the dragon dance at a Chinatown parade. For a multicultural look at the Lunar New Year, author Janet S. Wong and illustrator Yangsook Choi teamed up to create This Nex

Last summer, the American Academy of Paediatrics issued a new policy statement for its members, recommending that paediatricians advise parents of young children about the importance of breastfeeding, vaccinating and reading aloud. Until that moment, reading to children was just another fun and enriching educational experience, on par with playing in the park and attending live theatre performances. When educators extol the virtues of reading to children, parents interpret its importance in terms of language skills and literacy development. But the academy’s pronouncement shows that the importance of reading goes beyond educational value. Parent-child read-alouds have a vital impact on children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. A child who is read to, breastfed and vaccinated will have a better chance for good health and brain development. The AAP policy statement also recommends its members to counsel parents on how to read aloud, and what books to read. To make reading fun, and to cater to the short attention span of infants, parents can start with short nursery rhymes and point-and-name

A “Why is Goodnight Moon such a big deal?” my friend asked me. The classic story by Margaret Wise Brown doesn’t seem that notable on first glance: a slightly off-putting colour scheme depicting a story without any exciting plotlines or humorous developments. I urged her and her young child to give the picture book another try, and pointed out a few things to take note of. The same scene in the bedroom repeats itself through the story, but illustrator Clement Hurd shows subtle changes with each successive image: the lighting, the little rabbit initially on top of the covers and later snuggled under them, and the unassuming mouse. The verses in the first part of the book have a sing-song quality; the latter part is devoted to the rabbit’s special bedtime ritual of wishing a good night to his surroundings. A quality picture book can be reread and enjoyed many times over, and I can’t think of a better example than Goodnight Moon. My four-year-old daughter is still at that stage of discovering new favourites and never tires of hearing them again and again. But her six year-old sister is now