A little on child development

"Observe your grandson's spontaneous play. This will give you the best clues to the developmental tasks that are important for him to learn next. Children tend to be most excited about skills they are on the brink of mastering. If you try to engage him in an activity that is beneath his developmental level, he will quickly get bored. If you try to interest him in something that he is not yet ready for, he will become upset. (Note: babies don't tend to cry when they fail, but rather when the activity isn't at the right developmental level). Our task is to find that zone of moderate challenge -- where learning is fun. Provide situations where he can teach himself through playful exploration. Forced teaching hinders development. These principles apply equally to "gifted," "average," and "special-needs" children."

Entire Article by Dr. Greene

Dr Greene

On his quest to educate and inspire parents about their children, Dr. Alan Greene has become one of the world's most trusted and beloved pediatricians. His acclaimed book, From First Kicks to First Steps (McGraw-Hill, 2004), is an inspiring resource for parents around the world. It's no wonder that Intel named him the Children's Health Hero of the Internet. A practicing pediatrician and father of four, Dr. Greene has devoted himself to freely giving real answers to parents' real questions -- from questions about those all too common childhood conditions to those that address the most rare childhood illnesses. His answers combine cutting edge science, practical wisdom, warm empathy, and a deep respect for parents, children, and the environment. He is also an electrifying public speaker, and has become a go-to expert in children's health. He has personally touched many during his talks in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Dr. Greene is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of California at San Francisco. Upon completion of his pediatric residency program at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Northern California he served as Chief Resident. He entered primary care pediatrics in January 1993. In 1995, he launched DrGreene.com, cited by the AMA as the first physician Web site on the Internet. His award-winning site receives over 50 million hits a month from parents, concerned family members, students, and healthcare professionals. In addition to being the founder of DrGreene.com, he is the Chief Medical Officer of A.D.A.M., a leading publisher of interactive health information. He also teaches medical students and pediatric residents at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and is an Attending Physician at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. He is the President of Hi-Ethics (Health Internet Ethics) and helped URAC develop its standards for eHealth accreditation. He serves on the board of directors of The Organic Center.
Dr. Greene is the Pediatric Expert for Yahoo!, Rob Reiner’s ParentsAction.org, and NPR’s The People’s Pharmacy. He is the author of From First Kicks to First Steps (McGraw-Hill, 2004), The Parent's Complete Guide to Ear Infections (People's Medical Society, 1997), and a co-author of The A.D.A.M. Illustrated Family Health Guide (A.D.A.M., Inc., 2004). He is the medical expert for three additional books, The Parent's Soup A-to-Z Guide to Your New Baby, (Contemporary Books, 1998) The Parent's Soup A-to-Z Guide to Your Toddler, (Contemporary Books, 1999), The Mother of All Baby Books, (Hungry Minds, Inc., 2002).
Dr. Greene is a frequent keynote speaker at important events such as the first Green Power Baby Shower, held in Hollywood, the first European Internet health conference, held in Maastricht, and the first International eHealth Association Conference, held in Jeddah. Dr. Greene also appears frequently on TV, radio, websites, and in newspapers and magazines around the world, including such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Parenting, Parent, Child, Baby Talk, Working Mother, Better Home's & Gardens, and Reader's Digest.
Dr. Greene was named a "Community Hero" for his heroism during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and selected to carry the Olympic Torch in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Torch Relay.
He loves to think about challenging ideas, he collects encyclopedias, and he wears green socks.