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What Is Victory? The Story of Breast Cancer and the NYC Marathon

November 23, 2011

The "comeback kid" is a recurring theme in American life, defining who we are as a people and how we see ourselves. We admire stories of people getting battered, knocked down by life, then standing up to defeat and winning -- the ultimate triumph.

The story of my niece, Sasha Rau, now 39 years old, running the 26.2 mile New York City Marathon in four hours, 25 minutes, and 58 seconds, two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer is such a triumph for Sasha and inspirational story for all of us who know her. But it is much more than that to me.

There she is in a photo at the finish line, looking radiant on November 6th, 2011 wearing an orange running shirt. Hers is decorated with her name in bold handwriting -- "Sasha. Breast Cancer: 2009. Marathon: 2011." She ran with Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Fred's Team, to raise money for breast cancer research, and she dedicated her run to one of her dearest friends Jennifer Wise Merendino, who has stage 4 disease. Sasha's face is flushed and smiling and her newly grown-in hair is a mass of shiny curls.

Diaper Changing Dialogues

November 20, 2011

Julie A. Riess, Ph.D., is the Senior Advisor on Child Development and Education at Families and Work Institute. She is a developmental psychologist and the director of the Wimpfheimer Nursery School at Vassar College.

This article was originally published in the Poughkeepsie Journal by Gannett Publications on November 13, 2011.

A few years ago, I was talking with my best friend from graduate school days. (Our children were infants during those years, but are now married men.)  We were pondering research and language development theories suggesting direct, face-to-face, responsive language with infants and young children is essential for optimizing these aspects of early development.

You’re Never Too Young To Vote…

November 07, 2011

Julie A. Riess, Ph.D., is the Senior Advisor on Child Development and Education at Families and Work Institute. She is a developmental psychologist and the director of the Wimpfheimer Nursery School at Vassar College.

I have a campaign message for parents: Vote early and vote often.

Although this may sound like a suggestion to become parents who are role models in corruption of the political system, it is actually a message about the important role parents play in the political socialization of their children. Following the election controversy of 2000 and the national tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, social scientists, political practitioners and educators wondered how these events would affect the political attitudes and beliefs of young adults. In January 2002, a group of not-for-profit organizations that are national leaders in social initiatives commissioned a survey to explore these questions. The report, “Short-Term Impacts, Long Term Opportunities: The Political and Civic engagement of Young Adults” summarized this national survey of 1,500 young adults ages 15-25. This data clearly point to the importance of parents’ political behaviors in shaping the attitudes and engagement level of their children as young adults. Here are important messages from the report.

“Shhh, I think someone just said my name!”

October 31, 2011

Julie A. Riess, Ph.D., is the Senior Advisor on Child Development and Education at Families and Work Institute. She is a developmental psychologist and the director of the Wimpfheimer Nursery School at Vassar College.

Portions of this article were originally published in the Poughkeepsie Journal by Gannett Publications on October 30, 2011.

Have you ever been in a crowded room and heard your name in the flow of background conversations?  Researchers call this common phenomena the cocktail party effect.  Even though infants are not regulars at the local bar, they are primed for the cocktail party effect from a very young age.  But of course, there’s a catch.

On Halloween, Will Your Child Take The High Road or the Low Road?

October 24, 2011

Julie A. Riess, Ph.D., is the Senior Advisor on Child Development and Education at Families and Work Institute. She is a developmental psychologist and the director of the Wimpfheimer Nursery School at Vassar College.

This article was originally published in the Poughkeepsie Journal by Gannett Publications on October 29, 2006.

Boo!

Did that scare you? Make your heart race a little faster? Cause you to startle? Probably not. Out of context, with no great lead up story or visual imagery, "boo!" is just a word on a page. But if that word was spoken by Vincent Price at the climax of a horror movie or written as the cliffhanger in a Stephen King novel, you might have already been sweating, eyes wide and shallow of breath.