In Brief

Kids struggle to talk to parents

A survey has shown that children often run out of things to talk to their parents about. The research from children’s newspaper, First News, said that 77 per cent of children struggle when talking over the breakfast and dinner table. Cox, editor of First News, said: ‘We were shocked when the results came in. This dearth in conversation could be down to a host of factors; perhaps children’s ever growing reliance on social and digital media for interaction or possibly a lack of subject matter which children deem relevant to discuss with their parents. Either way, 77 per cent is a scarily high figure.’

Adopted children fall behind

A lack of understanding leads to adopted children falling behind at school, a charity has warned. Research by Adoption UK revealed that 51 per cent of adopted children failed to hit education targets in junior schools last year, and their educational attainment was significantly lower than the rest of the KS2 population. A survey of Adoption UK members also showed that 80 per cent of adoptive parents believe their child needs more or different support in school because of their early childhood experiences and that they had to educate teachers about adoption issues. Hugh Thornbery, chief executive of Adoption UK, said: ‘Much more needs to be done at the frontline, within schools, to help these very vulnerable children achieve better educational outcomes. It is evident that it is the children who are bearing the cost of this lack of understanding within the school setting. The whole system needs improving.’

Four year-olds get mobile phones

A survey has shown that children as young as four received mobile phones as Christmas presents. The research into popular Christmas presents put mobile phones as the most popular present for children between four and 12, followed by tablet computers and games consoles. The main reason given by parents for buying a phone was because their child’s friends owned one. Brandon Ackroyd from TigerMobiles.com said: ‘The world has gone mobile so it’s no real surprise. I had to pester my parents for months before they got me a phone, now it seems children don’t even have to ask; they’re just given one because all their friends have one.’

They grow up so fast...

Recent research revealed that many parents fear their children are growing up too quickly. The survey showed that many ten year-olds own a mobile phone, pierce their ears, or have a TV in their bedroom. This acceleration in maturity was blamed on peer pressure, the internet and social media.

Noelia Lopez-Cheda, writing about leaving a Whatsapp group comprised of fellow parents. Noelia’s daughter (nine) had forgotten some homework when she made the decision. After writing about it, the blog has gone viral, being viewed over one million times and shared over 35,000 times on Facebook

My daughter Isabelle, aged 18 months, was intrigued by the Back to school article in an edition of Premier Childrenswork. She was intently ‘reading’ this mag for a long while! Danielle Wynn