Anne S. Robertson
Articles
ADD/ADHD: What Does It Mean for Parents and Families when Their Child is Diagnosed with This Conditi
"What is ADD/ADHD?"Some specialists estimate that anywhere from 3-10% of school age children are affected by attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)... [more]
Foster Parenting: Reaching Out to Support Displaced Children
Family foster care is designed to provide a supportive family environment for children who have been temporarily or permanently displaced from their biological family. Since the 1950s, foster care... [more]
America Goes Back to School: Creating Parent-Community-School Partnerships
Although much has been written about the value of parent participation in schools and creating effective community-school partnerships, many parents and teachers still wonder what this means for... [more]
Including Fathers and Their Unique Contributions
Imagine walking into your local school gym on a Saturday morning and seeing about 190 dads and their children playing a variety of games. This is exactly what you could have observed recently during... [more]
Parenting Support and Education Classes
Parenting support and education classes come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Some are as informal as a few mothers gathering weekly as part of a neighborhood parent-toddler group. While the... [more]
Family Gatherings
During the next few months, people around the world will begin planning their holiday festivities. Fall harvest festivals culminate in Thanksgiving in the United States. The winter brings... [more]
Healthy Eating Habits for Toddlers and Teens
Parents often worry that their children aren't eating properly. While some parents are concerned that their child may not be getting enough nutrition, others worry that their child is eating too... [more]
Family Centers: Community Concern Put into Positive Action
It is 9:20 on a typical morning at the Healthy Universal Beginnings (HUB) family center in New Hampshire. Under the guidance of their teachers, 15 preschool children are playing in the two brightly... [more]
Families Learning Together - The Strength of Family Literacy
I passed!" Tina said. "My score wasn't as high as I had hoped, but at least I have it." Tina had just passed her General Equivalency Diploma (GED) exam and earned her high school diploma. She had... [more]
Transition to High School:
The transition to high school can be an exciting time when most students anticipate more freedom and choice, more extracurricular activities, and new friendships. Some may feel nervous about finding... [more]
Transition to Middle School:
Many parents and children worry about moving from elementary school to middle school. For most students, the elementary school is a smaller, more protected environment where the student is likely to... [more]
Truancy: Helpful Information for Parents
Webster's Dictionary defines a "truant" as "one who shirks duty" or "one who stays out of school without permission"([6], p. 1266). In school districts across the country, school administrators and... [more]
Volunteering at Your Child's School
A parent recently shared her frustration about her daughter's school and what she saw as their "closed-door" policy regarding parent volunteers. The principal had started a program in which parents... [more]
Staying in School Pays Off
New education report shows that graduates from high school can expect annual earnings about 25 percent higher than high school dropouts. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the... [more]
Preventing Substance Abuse at Home and at School
Parents frequently feel that when children become adolescents they need less supervision. However, a recent report by the Research Institute on Addictions suggests healthy adolescent development... [more]
Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) and Children's School Performance
Auditory processing problems may affect as many as 1 in 20 children but are frequently difficult to assess (Goldberg, 1998, p. 109). Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) is not deafness but... [more]
Parental Assistance Program
President George W. Bush's blueprint for education, No Child Left Behind, expands on the importance of parents to their child's education. Title IV of the blueprint is specifically designed to... [more]
Home Visiting as a Tool to Ease High School Transitions
Home visiting is typically linked to early childhood or early intervention programs for new parents and young children. In many of these programs, specially trained professional or lay home visitors... [more]
Zero-Tolerance:
In recent years, school districts across the country have been developing stricter disciplinary guidelines around issues that are related to student and school safety or substance abuse. These... [more]
When Should Parents Contact the Teacher?
When a preschooler is asked about his day at school, he consistently replies that it was "fine" and he did "nothing." A first-grader swings in the door after school and tells her mother that the... [more]
Family Literacy: Helping Children to a Good Start by Helping Their Parents
Family literacy, and a similar concept called intergenerational learning, focus on a "strengths-based" approach to education. The strengths-based practice of respecting the family's cultural... [more]
How Intergenerational Programs Can Enhance Schools and Communities
During a visit to a public middle school, a guest was surprised to see the shell of a small sail boat under construction in the school's allied arts room. The teacher explained that each year the... [more]
Summer "Catch-Up" Programs May Be Helpful - But Are They Enough?
For most students in the United States, summer vacation lasts about 12 weeks, typically from the first of June to the end of August. During this time, some children may not even pick up a book to... [more]
Transition to College: How Parents Can Help
There are more students aspiring to college than ever before in U.S. history. Researchers Barbara Schneider and David Stevenson have found that the percentage of adolescents who are aspiring to... [more]
If a Child Threatens to Run Away, Should Parents be Concerned?
Each year, an estimated 1 million children, usually between the ages of 13 and 17, run away from home (Isaacs, 1997, p. 121). The National Runaway Switchboard estimates that the average age has... [more]
Reducing the Risk of Violence in Young Adults through Successful Transitions
In our society, most adolescents are beginning to make the transition from secondary school to work or college between the ages of 17 and 19. However, ever-changing work and social environments with... [more]
Building a Healthy Community
"What makes a healthy community for children and adolescents?" is a question that Peter L. Benson, Ph.D., examines daily in his work at the Search Institute in Minneapolis. In his recent article... [more]
Homevisiting: Bridging the Gap between a Family and the Community
Tracy grabbed her two bags full of supplies and walked up the front steps of the duplex. The door flew open, and three grinning boys peered out at her. "Hey guys, good to see you!" She greeted them... [more]
Work and Family:
I. Workplace Policies that Support FamiliesII. How To Win "Family Friendly" Policies at WorkIII. The 100 Best Companies for Working MothersHow would you answer this question: [more]
Public Schools Partnering with Faith Communities
"Public schools can neither foster religion nor preclude it. Our public schools must treat religion with fairness and respect and vigorously protect religious expression as well as the freedom of... [more]
Displaced and Unaccompanied Children:
IntroductionSome of the questions we receive through our Parents AskERIC service are related to adoption. They might be requests for information on adoption support organizations or perhaps questions... [more]
