1/Kids form hierarchies, even in kindergarten. Within the first few months of school, kids group themselves according to the same socio-economic strata as their parents.

2/Researchers found that children in professional families heard 11 million words in a year, compared to 6 million in working class families, and 3 million in families on welfare. By kindergarten, children from welfare families hadheard 32 million fewer words compared to those in professional families. The more proficient children are in language devleopment, the better they do in life. www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc291a.pdf

3/ Forget Baby Einstein, kids can’t learn langauge from screens. We know that children only begin to learn to express themselves to face to face interactions that are timed directly to their own behaviour

4. A three-year-old’s brain is twice as active an adult’s.

5. Reading to babies before they are born, helps them understand language. In fact, a three-day-old baby can discern patterns of language. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/newborns-recognize-language_n_2397986.html

6. The more soothing an infant has, the better able they are to cope with stress as an adult.

7. The more self control a young child has, the more successful successful she or he will be in life. http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/06/the-secrets-of-self-control-the-marshmallow-test-40-years-later/

8. The reason we talk out loud when we’re putting together a piece of furniture from Ikea. Talking out-loud helps us focus. Learning to talk out loud is a big milestone in early childhood development.

9. Did you know that every one dollar spent on early childhood intervention, saves as many as $17?

10. The PAX Good Behaviour Game, a simple class-room based intervention currently played in Manitoba returns an astounding $84.51 for every $1 invested.

Make sure you tune in to Angry Kids & Stressed Out Parents on Thursday March 27 (9pm/9:30 NT) for more!