Teachers, principals, researchers and advocates can do a lot to get kids ready to start school. But guess what? Parents trump them all. 

That is one of the messages from an interesting discussion with researcher Jane Waldfogel on the Economix blog.

…We asked what share of the total gap in school readiness between low-income children and their middle-income peers could be accounted for by the various sets of factors in our models. In both countries, the single most important factor was parenting. – Waldfogel in “How Parenting Matters.” New York Times. 4/14/11. In both countries, differences in parenting between low-income and middle-income families accounted for about one-fifth (just under 20 percent) of the gap in school readiness.

This is why the best designed early education systems typically place parents in the middle of their efforts. If parents don’t buy into the program, how will it work? While it may seem obvious, I believe many in the early learning field would say the leading role of mom and dad is worth repeating and supporting in new ways.

Not to trumpet Thrive by Five Washington’s horn, but its new Love Talk Play campaign is a great example of placing parents in the leading role.

The whole Economix chat is worth reading.

Your Stumbling Speech May Help Your Kids:  New research suggests that when mom and dad say “um” and “uh” they could be helping their children, ScienceDaily reports.

A study conducted at the University of Rochester's Baby Lab shows that toddlers actually use their parents' stumbles and hesitations (technically referred to as disfluencies) to help them learn language more efficiently. – “Parents' 'Um's' and 'Uh's' Help Toddlers Learn New Words, Cognitive Scientists Find.” ScienceDaily. 4/15/11.  For instance, say you're walking through the zoo with your two-year-old and you are trying to teach him animal names. You point to the rhinoceros and say, "Look at the, uh, uh, rhinoceros." It turns out that as you are fumbling for the correct word, you are also sending your child a signal that you are about to teach him something new, so he should pay attention, according to the researchers.               

Check it out.