Five World-Renowned Scientists Offer Tips for Parents on How to Have a Positive Impact on Gift-Giving to Kids

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To get this fresh perspective on holiday gift-giving, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, which gives a dozen large unrestricted biomedical research grants to scientists at leading research centers every year, surveyed a group of its highly talented grant recipients. The Foundation asked the world-renowned scientists what gifts they believe children want and need most.

The recommendations were far from the usual children's wish list of dolls, electronic toys and computer games. "Talk to them, read to them, take them with you to work once in a while -- be a living role model and let them share your daily world," says John Damonti, president of the Foundation, in summary.

Specifically, the scientists recommended reading to children at the dinner table -- even from a dictionary, taking children to the office occasionally or even on an annual business or professional trip if you can afford it, and giving each child quality time every day to talk to a parent and be taken seriously.

The participating scientists represent the fields of cancer, cardiovascular/metabolic, neuroscience, nutrition and orthopaedic research.

Here's what each scientist had to say:

Dr. Alan Chait, professor, Department of Medicine and Director of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, urges closer family ties. He says, "The best holiday gift any parent can give a child is their time -- time when the whole family can be together to talk. Talk to your children and listen to what they have to say. Whatever your income level is, give them the best education you can provide -- and be an active part of it."

"Let your kids share your work world for short periods of time," says Dr. Marc Caron, professor, Departments of Cell Biology and of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in Durham, North Carolina. "Take a child to your place of business for a day... and, if you're able, as a special gift, take an older child on a professional trip once a year.

"When you take children out of your home environment, where you're often on opposite sides of a discussion, they can better understand why you have spent so many years getting an education or learning a trade."

Caron says they'll learn by your example that it's worth building a foundation of experience and respect so they can have a job they love and possibly keep on doing as they reach their forties and fifties, and beyond.

Dr. Caron also suggests that parents read aloud to their children at the dinner table when the family is together. "Pick up a book -- any book, even a dictionary -- and find a topic you and your children can talk about," he says. He offers one other, very practical suggestion -- "give your child a typing course in preparation for this computerized information age."

The best gift a child can receive, according to Dr. Loren Field, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics, Krannert Institute of Cardiology, Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, is peace of mind, the ability to withstand and avoid pressures from others.

Says Field, "Let your children know they can do what they want with their lives and not be sidetracked by what other people think they ought to do or by money. When I was a child, my Dad and I often went for a walk together and he encouraged me to keep to my dream of becoming a research scientist."

Dr. James G. Howe, professor and chairman, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, encourages parents to give their children daily individual quality time. "You don't necessarily need to plan the time ahead or make it a lengthy interaction, though scheduling something special with each child a few moments now and then is important.

"Be totally, 100 percent focused on your child... really listen and reflect on what your child is feeling. As an adult, you can make your child's life easier by explaining how a child's feelings and opinions fit or don't fit into the greater expanse of life ahead. Take your child seriously and provide honest feedback. Giving your son or daughter the benefit of the doubt is very important and it's just possible your child might be right!"

Dr. John Mendelsohn, President of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, cites Socrates and Shakespeare, respectively, when he offers advice to parents of youngsters with aspirations.

"Know thyself" and "To thine own self be true," he says. "Encourage your children to use their minds to dig through the trappings that surround us and reach the core of what it means to be a creative, responsible and loving human being. You can show them, using yourself as an example -- what are your core motives and values in your daily activities?"

CONTACT: Francine Gingras of Bristol-Myers Squibb, 212-546-4616