TMW Center Newsletter May 2023

“Parent Nation” Named 2023 Nautilus Book Awards Winner!

The international Nautilus Book Awards celebrate “better books for a better world.” And we could not be more honored to learn that Dana Suskind’s Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child’s Potential, Fulfilling Society’s Promise has been awarded a 2023 Gold Nautilus Award.

In the year since Parent Nation was published, the chorus calling for greater support for families has grown stronger and the connection between parents’ wellbeing and children’s success become more evident. We are proud of the role that Parent Nation has played in elevating these conversations across the country—from kitchen tables to the halls of Congress. We also recognize the tremendous work that lies ahead and are proud to join the many tireless advocates who are fighting for a better world for parents and their children.

What We’re Reading

A new paper published in The Journal of Neuroscience offers more concrete evidence of the importance of adult language and interaction on the developing brain. Utilizing audio recordings of the home language environment as well as sophisticated brain imaging, researchers found that 30-month-olds exposed to more adult speech showed more myelination in the brain’s white matter tracts most associated with language. One of the paper’s authors, John Spencer, summed up their findings this way: “What’s pretty striking here is that adult input is literally shaping the structure of the brain.”

Read the paper here.

What We’re Watching

It is never too early to begin talking with children about feelings and emotions or to begin building a foundation of trust and emotional support. With this month’s Mental Health Awareness Month serving as a caring reminder to many families to engage in these conversations, the “PBS KIDS Talk About” series is a wonderful resource. These videos, featuring real parent-child conversations about a wide range of topics including big life changes and more, help empower viewers to have meaningful conversations with their own children. And for the Arthur fans out there, there is also a new short featuring the beloved aardvark learning how to navigate nervous feelings.

More

Read the rest of the May 2023 newsletter here.