Modern children were considerably less innocent than parents and the larger society supposed, and postmodern children are less competent than their parents and the society as a whole would like to believe. . . . The perception of childhood competence… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
The idea of childhood as a social invention, in retrospect, is hardly credible. In the Bible, in writings of the Greeks and Romans, and in the works of the first great educator of the modern era, Comenius, children were recognized… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
“Shift from modern nuclear family to the postmodern permeable family.” — David Elkind Copy Share Image
Infants and young children are not just sitting twiddling their thumbs, waiting for their parents to teach them to read and do math. They… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
The conviction that the best way to prepare children for a harsh, rapidly changing world is to introduce formal instruction at anearly age is… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
When we are polite to children, we show in the most simple and direct way possible that we value them as people and care… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
Certainly parents play a crucial role in the lives of individuals who are intellectually gifted or creatively talented. But this role is not one… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
Play is not only our creative drive; it's a fundamental mode of learning. — David Elkind Copy Share Image
In leading-edge companies like Google and Apple, workers are given much freedom and opportunity to play. They know that's an important component of creating… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
Certainly, young children can begin to practice making letters and numbers and solving problems, but this should be done without workbooks. Young children need… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
If it is to be done well, child-rearing requires, more than most activities of life, a good deal of decentering from one's own needs… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
Young children learn in a different manner from that of older children and adults, yet we can teach them many things if we adapt… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
Much of the pressure contemporary parents feel with respect to dressing children in designer clothes, teaching young children academics, and giving them instruction in… — David Elkind Copy Share Image
