Kids Talking: Learning Relationships and Culture with Children

by John Meyer

Carl and David were talking about older brothers. "My big brother is eight," said Carl.
Not to be outdone, David said, "When I'm ten I'll beat your big brother."
"No, you won't; he'll be eleven," said Carl.
David kept claiming he would be older than Carl's brother.
"When were you born?" asked Carl.
"When I was younger."

Kids Talking explores communication among young children in a child care setting, showing how games and even tentative interactions can turn into rich relationships―and a vibrant learning culture where friendships, power, and control are managed in creative ways. Filled with lively anecdotes and examples, this engaging book looks at ways children's passionate and mixed signals, communication uncertainty, conflict, and games can be transformed into effective messages. Readers who work with young/preschool children, including parents, child care workers, and teachers, will find useful insights and suggestions for how to enhance young children's communication skills.

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

TeenInk books are the product of more than 300,000 student submissions sent to TeenInk magazine during the past eleven years. This nonprofit monthly publication is read by 3.5 million teens in thousands of schools nationwide. Since its inception, TeenInk (formerly The 21st Century) has published more than 25,000 students. All the pieces in this book are drawn from this wellspring of prose, poetry, art, and photography.

John Meyer, publisher of TeenInk magazine, holds an MBA and has published two successful business magazines. The Meyers have two children.

All royalties from the TeenInk books will go to The Young Authors Foundation, Inc. (publisher of TeenInk magazine) to expand reading, writing, and publishing opportunities for young adults nationwide.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave good narrative account of the experiences of the author as he volunteered at a child day care center and observed the conversation patterns of the preschool children. The most important part of this book was the last chapter which nicely summarized the implications for interacting in a child center and more broadly on children's culture in general.