Babble

An article in the New York Times last week looked at the practice of paying New York City students if they achieve a certain score on Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The results were "mixed." While there were more 5's (the best score you can get), there was also a "decline in the number...

Robots have kind of a mixed rep. From loveable, cuddly characters to cold killing machines, it's clear we have some ambivalence about what it means to have this kind of technology in our lives and on the horizon. While I personally have a strange affection for robots, I can see how others are raising...

Getting your child into a pre-kindergarten program in New York City is a little like buying a summer home in Italy--when you've never been to Italy, don't speak Italian, and are flat broke. This year, the Department of Education decided to scrap the old application process, which officials deemed...

Perhaps the only thing worse than losing is a child is the sense that that loss could have been prevented. This is the situation facing thousands of Chinese parents who believe that their children would have survived the massive May 12 earthquake if it had not been for the shoddy construction of school...

A lot of parents have the same time honored battle with their little ones and getting them to eat their veggies. Are you one of those frustrated parents who would just love to see your child eat some carrots or broccoli? Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley may just have the solution to your struggles....

The American Library Association says the book the public objects to the most was one written for children. (Objections were measured by written complaints filed with a library or school.) Was it the one explaining mommy's plastic surgery --"My Beautiful Mommy"? Nope. The one where Curious...

The Virginia elementary school that banned tag may again allow kids to be "it". A few weeks ago, principal Robyn Hooker outlawed the game, saying it had gotten out of hand, with students being tackled and piled on and dragged into games unwillingly. Some outcry among parents ensued, and so...

Um, maybe it's because I have a very high energy child (sometimes called "spirited" meaning "is there a 'pause' switch cuz mama's so tired") but the idea of children consuming energy drinks is totally appalling to me. And of course, the Red Bulls and Rockstars and...

I remember as a kid we had air-raid drills. A siren would shriek, and we would all sit in the hall against the wall, with our arms folded over our bent heads. That's ancient history. Now, we're not afraid of Russian jets dropping bombs on us, but of alienated kids with machine guns roaming the...

Ah, in a day and age when many schools are instituting programs to combat children teasing other children about their appearance, one school has decided to put the bullies out of a job by doing their work for them. Six-year-old Bryan Ruda was suspended from charter school Parma Community School in Ohio...