As if parents didn’t have enough to worry about, new findings just published in the American Journal of Public Health link childhood intelligence to long-term heart health.

How? Brighter kids who do better in school go on to hold higher paying jobs (which can affect their access to healthcare). They’re also better able to understand health information, adhering to regimens and avoiding environmental health hazards.

So while childhood intelligence has only modest effects on actual heart disease risk factors, it leads to “health literacy” which can make a difference in heart disease rates.

Want to raise a healthy adult? Talk to Parents as Teachers.

This week only, the National Center for Parents as Teachers is offering a special gift from Build-A-Bear Workshop to the first 25 people to make a donation of $25 or more.

Those who act fast will receive Holly Moose, a cuddly stuffed animal donated to the National Center by Build-A-Bear Workshop, along with Holly’s inspired story about siblings working together to save Christmas in the book, Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure!

Your gift will be used to bring thousands of parents the information, support and encouragement needed to help their children learn, grow and develop to realize their full potential.

Be one of the first 25 people by clicking here and donating now for your chance to receive this perfect holiday gift!

I sat in on an early morning workshop today about engaging employees through social media (aka Web 2.0). It was a session for human resources and internal communications folks to learn how to convert employees into brand ambassadors through the conversational power of social media.

Now this is not a new concept. Professional communicators know we need to be in this space. We know conversations are happening, with or without us. But most of us have two big challenges: getting senior management buy-in and grappling with company policies and guidelines around employees and social media.

How did you convince your company leaders to embrace social media?

Does your company have rules about employees and social media? Should it?

(Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/NatlPAT and Facebook )

The economic returns on early investments are high, Professor James Heckman, Nobel Laureate economist from the University of Chicago, told a group of Missouri business leaders at a high level summit in St. Louis last week.

But it’s not just cognitive abilities we should be focusing on, he said. While intelligence is an important determinant of socioeconomic success, it’s social-emotional “soft skills” like perseverance, attention, motivation and self confidence that really move children toward life success.

From Prof. James Heckman's presentation 11/16/09 to MO Business Leaders Summit

Sure, remedial programs for teens and young adults can be effective, but they’re much more costly in producing the same results (e.g., skill development). He laid out a strong case for public support for early intervention…specifically, early childhood interventions for disadvantaged children.

What constitutes ‘disadvantaged’? According to Heckman, it’s the quality of parenting. John Medina, who spoke to an audience of 1,300 at the Parents as Teachers conference the week before, agrees. “Stressed brains don’t learn the same way as non-stressed brains,” he says. Children who grow up in households under constant stress—whether from bickering parents, economic constraints, alcoholism/drug addiction—do not learn as well as others.

Organizations like Parents as Teachers that provide home visits can affect the lives of parents, creating permanent change in the home environment. And that’s a powerful return an anyone’s investment.

The National Center staff celebrates YOU!

25 years of Parents as Teachers…what comes next?

Zen Mommy

ZenMommy’s virtual baby shower to benefit Parents as Teachers prenatal work couldn’t have come at a better time. According to a government report issued yesterday, premature births are the number one reason the U.S. ranked 30th in the world in infant mortality in 2005. Good prenatal care is the critical factor.

Everyone agrees: we do a good job of saving premature babies in this country, but we’re not so good at preventing them in the first place. That means, among other thing, focusing pregnant moms’ attention on social and behavioral factors that affect prematurity, such as smoking and alcohol and drug use.

That’s exactly what Parents as Teachers does.  And that’s why funding … including the donations from the lovely folks who entered the silent auction at ZenMommy’s virtual babyshower as well as the sponsors who made it possible (Kolcraft, Artistic Sensations, Viewpoints, Snap Stories, and of course My Mommy Manual) is so critical to what Parents as Teachers does.

Babies are our future. These are the folks who are ensuring they have a healthy start to a bright future. Join them.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a baby shower. But Zen Mommy is pregnant and I’m super excited about her upcoming virtual baby shower on November 3! That’s because even though I’ll be at work at the National Center for Parents as Teachers, I can tune in to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/my-mommy-manual from my desk between 11 am – 1 pm CST.

You see, My Mommy Manual and Kolcraft, along with friends at Artistic Sensations and Viewpoints are celebrating not just Zen Mommy but all pregnant women. Kolcraft and Artistic Sensations are giving 2.0 of everything in the silent auction to benefit Parents as Teachers.

Just look at some of these items up for bid:

• 2.0 Jeep Tandem Strollers ($249.99 value) Bidding starts at $25
• 2.0 crib mattresses ($259.99 value) Bidding starts at $25
• 2.0 booster seats ($39.99 value) Bidding starts at $3
• 2.0 walkers ($69.99-$99.99) Bidding starts at $6
• 2.0 Sealy mattress pads 2-pack ($99.99) Bidding starts at $9
• 2.0 Sealy mattress pads ($19.99) Bidding starts at $1
• 2.0 baby bedding from Artistic Sensations ($400 value) Bidding starts at $40

Please come. Please bid. Please wish Zen Mommy a successful pregnancy.

Resident of St. Louis County (MO) are about to vote on a smoking ban. The proposition would prohibit smoking throughout the county…with plenty of exceptions. Why is this even up for debate?!

A new study just out in the November issue of Pediatrics looks at secondhand and prenatal tobacco smoke exposure and makes a flat statement: “Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure of children and their families causes significant morbidity and mortality.”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boroda/ / CC BY 2.0

Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke sensitizes the fetal brain to nicotine, the study found,  resulting in a higher likelihood that a child will become addicted to tobacco at a later age when the brain is exposed to nicotine.

The evidence supporting the association of secondhand smoke exposure of children with respiratory illnesses is long:

• lower respiratory illness
• middle-ear infections
• tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy
• cough
• asthma
• hospitalizations
• sudden infant death syndrome

As Congress grapples with issues of health care, it should consider this: exposure to secondhand smoke causes asthma symptoms in 200,000 to one million children and contributes to as many as eight to 26 thousand new cases of asthma per year.

Early exposure to neurotoxins (including nicotine) can lead to lifelong learning, behavioral and development problems. Parents as Teachers helps early childhood professionals learn how to share prevention strategies with parents. Like pediatric clinics, Parents as Teachers settings offer “teachable moments” for parents, too. Smoking parents can be motivated to change their behavior for the benefit of their child’s health.

At the very least, they can vote for smokefree facilities.

On November 16, Missouri business leaders have been invited to a Business Leaders Summit at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to learn about the return on investment they can achieve from investing in early childhood programs. Fewer than 100 have responded so far. There’s a lot at stake.

The Missouri Business Leaders Summit is co-hosted by the National Center for Parents as Teachers, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Coordinating Board for Early Childhood, and the Missouri Child Care Resource and Referral Network and is sponsored by the Partnership for America’s Economic Success which is funded in part by The Pew Charitable Trust. Additional funding by Deaconess Foundation and Missouri Children’s Trust Fund.

Grammar Girl, where are you when we need you? SPOGG (Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar), why do so few appreciate you?

Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. Individually, a misplaced comma or parathetical phrase might be overlooked. But collectively, these emissaries of style spell trouble!

Just as great designers make the end result look spontaneous and effortless, form, punctuation and grammatical style make all the difference between  ho-hum writing and a well-tended image.

Part of my job is maintaining the brand or image of Parents as Teachers. The way we present ourselves, right down to the capital letters and periods may be nuances to some but to others their misuse stands out like overused clichés.

I do my share of proofreading so when I recently corrected some improper capitalization and punctuation on a document sent to me for editing I was taken aback to hear a colleague tell me, “That came from the company’s Web site. I’m not changing it because that’s the way the company wants to present itself.”

Wow. Made me wonder how others perceive Parents as Teachers. How do the little things like grammar, punctuation and writing style contribute to your company’s image? Does anybody care?