We’ve been a bit sceptical about the self-esteem movement on this site in the past but now it seems we are in respectable company. A Washington Post article looks at new educational theories about praise, and a school that is rationing it -- for the sake of kids’ intellectual development.

“We used to think we could hand children self-esteem on a platter,” Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck said. “That has backfired.”

Slow kids don’t try hard enough and smart ones are scared to take risks when they are smothered with unearned praise.

The new approach seems to be mainly inspired by brain research and the idea that the brain is a work in progress, especially for the young. There is talk of persistence, risk-taking and resilience, of sweat and strain rather than warm fuzzies, but fostering these habits is geared to setting “the neurons popping” and giving children… click here to read whole article and make comments

It is clear to even the most distant observer that family values are a big issue in United States politics. Among the Republicans vying for selection as presidential candidate so far two have been touched by sexual scandal: Herman Cain is out of the field but Newt Gingrich may survive.

There’s another interesting angle to the other remaining contenders, however, and that’s their large(ish) families. This was noted by New York Times columnist Mark Oppenheimer:

The Republican presidential field has produced a lot of babies. There is Mitt Romney, father of five sons. Ron Paul, an obstetrician by training, is also a father of five, and his campaign Web site credits him with bringing 4,000 babies into the world. Newt Gingrich and the recent dropout Rick Perry have only two children each, but Rick Santorum [pictured], who has said click here to read whole article and make comments

Marianne Gingrich

US Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich was accused by ex-wife number two last week of wanting, at one stage, an "open marriage" in order to accommodate an affair he was having with present wife (number three). The New York Times has rounded up some experts to discuss the merits of such arangements. Brad Wilcox of the National Marriage Project, who can relied on for common sense and objectivity, says:

The open marriage ethic that was celebrated in the ’70s is particularly problematic for women because men tend to be more interested in multiple sexual partnerships — as a wide body of social scientific research tells us. For instance, in the United States today, women are significantly more likely to express opposition to infidelity and significantly less likely to engage in it. In the 2000s, only 10 percent of married women, compared with 16 percent… click here to read whole article and make comments

With its bias in favour of innovation the internet is the enemy of tradition. But some traditions do not deserve to survive. One of them is the Indian dowry custom that persists, despite the fact that it is illegal, and leads to much bitterness in marriages, and even deaths -- especially among the poor.

So this time it’s internet to the rescue. Indian dating website shaadi.com has produced an online game called “Angry Brides” -- inspired by the popular “Angry Birds” game -- which allows players to attack prospective grooms greedy for dowry with a variety of weapons, from a brick-red stiletto to a broomstick. The game, available as a free application on Facebook, has already attracted more than 272,000 "likes", says the Telegraph:

"Shaadi.com has always believed that marriage is an institution of love, where there is a place for togetherness, mutual understanding, family values and emotional… click here to read whole article and make comments

It’s difficult today to say anything in favour of the intact, married family without putting somebody’s nose out of joint. Last week it was a blogger at the LBGT site ThinkProgress who took umbrage at a comment by Focus on the Family’s Glenn Stanton. I’ll let Mr Stanton tell you how from his post on NRO’s Home Front blog:

A reporter from CitizenLink asked me late last week to comment on a story coming from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. It’s a straightforward family-research story; a helpful, but not surprising finding: the type of homes kids come from has a huge impact on their educational success. Larger even than type of school they attend. But findings like this have been understood since the celebrated 1966 Coleman Study and before.

So I commented that this finding “supports over three decades of consistent… click here to read whole article and make comments

January 16 is Religious Freedom Day in the United States, affirmed by President Barack Obama in the customary proclamation last Friday.

However, not everyone in the US is as sure as the President that his administration “continues to stand with all who are denied the ability to choose, express, or live their faith freely”. Just the day before, an open letter signed by leaders of some of the largest religious communities in the country voiced their concern that religious freedom is at risk in America because of the campaign to change the definition and meaning of marriage.

The letter warns that there is more at stake than clergymen possibly being forced to perform same-sex “weddings”:

Some posit that the principal threat to religious freedom posed by same-sex "marriage" is the possibility of government's forcing religious ministers to preside over such "weddings," on pain of civil or… click here to read whole article and make comments

Picture: Daily Mail

“Children 'dumped in streets by Greek parents who can't afford them',” runs a UK Daily Mail headline as Greece teeters on the brink on defaulting on its debt mountain.

It’s hard to tell whether this aspect of the unfolding Greek tragedy is exaggerated for the sake of a fresh headline, but the Athens Ark of the World Youth Centre says it has had four children, including a newborn baby, left on its doorstep in recent months. The priest who founded the centre, Fr Antonios Papanikolaou, says:

'Over the last year we've had hundreds of parents who want to leave their children with us. They know us and trust us.

'They say they do not have any money or shelter or food for their kids, so they hope we might be able to provide them with what they need.'

This doesn’t happen only in… click here to read whole article and make comments

Children’s names are in the news again after New Zealand authorities published a list of names rejected over the past decade. They include the pretentious (King, Prince, Princess, Knight…), the religiously offensive (Messiah, Christ, Lucifer) and those offensive on other grounds (V8, Anal, Mafia No Fear, numbers, single letters and punctuation marks).

Most popular among the rejected names was Justice, with 49 attempts. Like Duke, Bishop and Constable it comes under the heading of “unearned titles”.

Questioned by officialdom but allowed was the name Nevaeh - heaven spelled backwards -- which reportedly has become the 38th most popular girls name in the New Zealand. The most popular names last year were Liam and Ruby. Thank goodness.

According to The Economist, America and Britain have the most tolerant naming laws: "Distinction-hungry celebrities make the most of this, as with Moon Unit (Frank Zappa), Apple (Gwyneth Platrow)… click here to read whole article and make comments

Here’s a question of special relevance to regions where there is a high incidence of HIV/AIDS -- in particular, sub-Saharan Africa: Does marriage protect a person against the disease? An editorial published in the official Zimbabwean newspaper, The Herald, this week scoffs at the idea, saying, “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The article notes that “Last year statistics revealed that married women had the highest rate of HIV infection compared to any other demographic grouping.” But it immediately adds: “Results of a medical study linking high infection rates to the use of hormone-based contraceptives may just be the explanation for that phenomenon.”

Indeed. I’ve gone into this subject elsewhere. But rather than warn women against the dangers of contraceptive injections, the government (International Planned Parenthood?) editorial proceeds to comment on the infidelity of women as well as men and to promote -- you guessed it -- the condom… click here to read whole article and make comments

This is 23-month-old Howard Wong on the drums. The YouTube video has some interesting comments beneath it. A sampling: