Tagged: children

Coming up on The Conversation, February 20 at noon.

Why do some children succeed and others fail? Paul Tough went looking for the answer to that question, and in the process learned the answer is changing. He joins Ross Reynolds for a conversation about childhood success.

In Seattle, more people have cats than have kids. Same goes for dogs. In fact, Seattle is the second-most childless city in the US, just behind San Francisco. Deciding to have a child is a big decision; so is deciding not to. Seattle Times columnist Sharon Pian Chan recently addressed the issue in an editorial titled “Why I’m Not Having Kids.” Have you made the same decision? What conversations did you and your partner have? What reaction did you get from friends and relatives? We'll talk with Sharon Pian Chan and hear your take. Call us during the program: 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a law prohibiting US citizens from adopting Russian children. The US adopted 748 children from Russia in 2012, with roughly 8,600 adoptions from foreign countries in total. Every year, hundreds of families adopt children from places that are drastically different — socially, politically, and economically — from the United States. So our question is: How important is it to preserve the cultural identity of adopted children? Ross Reynolds takes your questions and discusses international adoption with Spring Hecht from the World Association for Children and Parents.

By law, children in Washington state don’t have to attend school until they’re 8 years old. In every other state, besides Pennsylvania, children have to attend school when they’re younger — usually 6 or 7, sometimes even 5. Now a group of lawmakers wants to lower Washington’s compulsory age of education from 8 years old to 6 years old. The bill’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for tomorrow morning and today Ross talks to the main sponsor of the bill, Renton Democrat and state Representative Marcie Maxwell.