Do Kids Really Believe Curious George Can Fly a Kite?
Say it ain't so! Max and Ruby! Curious George. The three little pigs. The very reason we love them so is now the same one scientists say actually harms our kids. Giving animals human characteristics can lead to "less factual learning" but also influences "children’s reasoning about animals." Does this mean they'll grow up to pull the wings off birds? No, of course not. But researchers also say that young readers are more likely to "attribute human behaviors and emotions to animals when exposed to books with anthropomorphized animals than books depicting animals realistically," according to newswise.com. “Books that portray animals realistically lead to more learning and more accurate biological understanding,” the Web site quotes lead author Patricia Ganea, assistant professor with the University of Toronto’s Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development. “We were surprised to find that even the older children in our study we...