First 5 Nevada County's Blog » Lindsay Dunckel

Kids Get Squeezed in the Federal Budget

Lindsay Dunckel — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:30:59 +0000

posted by Lindsay Dunckel

A recent report by the Urban Institute, a non-partisan economic and social policy research institute, shows that children are getting a smaller share of the federal budget, with spending on kids not keeping pace with GDP growth (GDP is gross domestic product, a measure of national income). Policy change is needed if our children’s needs are going to be met.

To read more on the report, go to: http://www.urban.org/publications/411699.html

New Study: Dads’ Care Benefits Babies’ Cognitive Development

Lindsay Dunckel — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:29:27 +0000

posted by Lindsay Dunckel

A new study from Child Trends, Involvement among Resident Fathers and Links to Infant Cognitive Outcomes, published online in the Journal of Family Issues, shows that fathers’ warmth, care, and play with their babies is positively linked with infant cognitive development–as seen in the babies’ babbling and exploring objects. The study also finds that fathers’ influence is even greater for baby boys and for babies with a disability. More evidence about how important dads are. . .

Encourage the dads you know to bathe, change, dress, feed, sing, read, and play with their babies!

To read more about the importance of dads, go to my article the First 5 Nevada County website: http://www.first5nevco.org/articles/daddifference.cfm

To read more about the study, go to http://jfi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0192513X08318145v1

What Children Need

Lindsay Dunckel — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:30:46 +0000

posted by Lindsay Dunckel

In my line of work, I spend a lot of time thinking about, writing about, and getting other people to think about what children need. As the mother of a pre-teen daughter, I hear a lot about what a particular child “needs”—which doesn’t always match up so well with the thinking I do at work (except when it’s something like “I need to snuggle with you”). So I had to smile when I came across this quote:

Contrary to the broader culture, most of what children need, money cannot buy. Children need time and space, attention, affection, guidance and conversation. —Mary Pipher, Ph.D., therapist and author of Reviving Ophelia

I so whole-heartedly agree. If I could give every child just one thing, it would be a strong, positive attachment to a loving adult. Wouldn’t the world be a beautiful place?