Common sense is the best guide - A review of "The myth of the first three years"

I am a parent of a 2 and 4 year old, and at no time was I exposed to the myth of the first 3 years, nor of the belief that the first 3 years of a child’s life have life-long intelligence and school achievement implications.

In "The Myth of the First Three Years", author John T. Bruer, Ph.D., dissects numerous studies from neuroscience and cognitive psychology to debunk myths and their perpetrators who improperly use science to bolster the claim that early intervention programs are essential to healthy brain development.  The authors of many of these studies are at odds with the conclusions of science writers and policy makers, he asserts.  While child policy advocates to not espouse these unfounded ideas out of ulterior motives, and their intentions are no doubt altruistic, funds and resources are wasted and misappropriated as a result, e.g. the government Head Start program.

The best parenting advice is one that has been in existence for over 60 years, which is first, do no harm, and second, talk, sing and play with your children.  Then allow nature take its course.  Children are resilient, and brains remain plastic throughout life.

Mr. Bruer is to be commended for his exhaustive research in separating fact from fiction.

2012 Highest Paying U.S. Jobs

If you're looking for a career change to increase your pay, or you're past that stage and have given up on career enhancement and are looking to steer your child to a high paying career instead, you may want to read the list of highest paying jobs published today on the CNBC web site.

The list has some surprises that buck public perception.  For example, CEOs are ranked 3rd in job category with an average annual salary of $176,550.  There are currently 267,370 of them employed.  When I looked a little closer at the rankings on the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site which served as the source for the CNBC article, CEOs actually ranked as the 11th occupation as measured by "annual mean wage".  The following 10 occupations ranked higher - listed from highest paying down:

Anesthesiologists, Surgeons, Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (Maxillofacial means jaws and face), Orthodontists,  Internist (General), Physicians and Surgeons (all other), Family and General Practitioners.

Not surprisingly, 9 of the top 11 professions are MDs.  There may be a potential flaw in the ranking, as it's based on wages only.  CEOs, for example, are compensated quite shamelessly and handsomely through non-salary means such as stock options, grants etc.  Total compensation package may have bumped CEOs up a few notches.

If you want your child to be a lawyer, the statistics have a breakdown of which subcategory of lawyers are the highest paid - Securities and Commodity Exchanges (avg. annual pay of $174,370).  It even shows which regions pay the highest wages for lawyers on average - District of Columbia (avg. annual pay of $161,050).

|Air Traffic Controllers have a mean wage of $114,460, ranked as the 27th occupation and one notch above Pharmacists, but if you're older than 30, you will not be allowed to start a career as one.