Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development model represents probably the most well-known and highly regarded map of the human life cycle in contemporary western culture.  This theory was first articulated in 1950 in chapter seven (“The Eight Ages of Man”) of his book Childhood and Society, and further developed in later books and articles. Erikson...Read More

A study that appeared in the the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reports that pediatric hypertension is increasing as a result of the obesity epidemic in the United States, and that in most cases, high blood pressure in children goes undiagnosed.  The study observed over time 14,000 children aged 3 to 18 at...Read More

Founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud created a psychosexual model of human development based upon the erogenous zones of the body.  He believed that as these zones matured neurologically, they activated the emotional world of the child (largely resident in the unconscious), and in the course of doing so, created the basis for later emotional health...Read More

I’m impressed with the work of  Susan Linn, author of The Case for Make-Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World, whose organization, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), has been attempting to stop corporations from using characters like Sponge Bob Square Pants,Sesame Street’s Elmo, and cartoon movie figures to advertise everything from sugar-rich cereals and unhealthy McDonald’s “happy meals” to...Read More

I read a cute book of quotations from Penguin Books called Child: Quotations About the Delight, Wonder, and Mystery of Being a Child, edited by Helen Handley and Andra Samelson.  Here are ten of my favorite quotes from the book: “Babies are such a nice way to start people.” – Don Herold “In a secular age,...Read More