Senior Dad

Todd Risley, noted researcher was one of the team that named “time outs”, a tool that parents have been employing as a technique to help them retain their sanity as their children grow. Todd’s major work, along with researcher Betty Hart, was a study that showed convincingly that the more a parent talks to their child, between birth and age three, the larger the child’s vocabulary, and the higher the child’s IQ. Start behind, stay behind. I recently learned of Todd’s passing in December 2008. As we remember the contributions of Todd I am broadcasting my interview with Todd from December 2006. The interview was conducted while Todd was home in his beloved Alaska. Todd told me he was at the end of the power grid, that after his house, technology ended. He was not far from being correct. The phone call dropped ten times during the interview and we had to pick up context and continuity on the fly. In the process I learned about his research, his misconceptions about Head Start, and the warmth and good nature of t