Writing
Letters, sounds, and screens
Notes on how small children learn letters, and how to tell a useful app from one that only holds their attention.
The Wonder of the Reading Brain: Why Toddlers Master What Supercomputers Can’t
What modern neuroscience and AI experiments reveal about the quiet miracle happening in your child’s mind.
What advertising does to a toddler’s app
A free app has to earn its keep somehow. Follow the money and most of what feels wrong about children’s software suddenly makes sense, from the gems to the nag screens. Here is what to look for instead, in five quick checks.
Why letter sounds come before letter names
Your child can sing the whole alphabet and still have no way to read the word cat. The names of the letters and the sounds they stand for are two different things, and the sounds are the ones that unlock reading. Here is why, and how to practise them in the car.