Nine Important Child Development Findings in 2005

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Nine Important Child Development Findings in 2005

• Ann Epstein, Ph.D.
• American Montessori Society Annual Conference
• April 1, 2005

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9 Important Topics in 2005

• Brain Research sensitive periods
• Gender classroom biases
• TV Viewing detrimental effects
• Temperament inborn, goodness of fit
• Achievement and Culture expectations

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9 Important Topics in 2005 (cont)

• 6. Bullying victim, aggressor, by-stander
• 7. Emotional Intelligence validity
• 8. Families divorce, step families, sexual
  orientation, parenting styles
• 9. Poverty overwhelming effects

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Sources

• Primary References
• Frieberg, K. L. (2004). Annual Editions Human
  Development, Guilford, CT McGraw Hill.
• Junn, E. N. (2003). Annual Editions Child Growth
  and Development, 11th Edition. New York McGraw
  Hill.
• Santrock, J.W. (2004). Child Development, 10th
  Edition. New York McGraw Hill.
• (Specific citations and studies available upon
  request.)

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Brain Research and Young Children

• Blooming and Pruning of Synaptic Connections
• Nearly twice as many synaptic connections are
  produced during first year as will ever be used
• Synaptic density peaks in visual cortex (vision)
  at approximately 8 months
• .. in auditory cortex (hearing) and prefrontal
  cortex (reasoning and self regulation) between 3
  and 6 years
• Blooming and pruning continues until at least age
  10

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Brain Research and Young Children

• Implications for blooming and pruning
• Brain is ready to learn!
• Provide rich sensory experiences
• Provide appropriate conceptual learning
  experiences
• Recognize plasticity (changing nature) of young
  childs brain

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Brain Research and Young Children

• Implications of Plasticity
• Repeated experiences wire the brain
  appropriate learning activities actually build
  strong brains
• Resiliency (recovery from early traumatic events)
  has biological foundation

8
Brain Functions

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Brain Research and Mylenation

• Mylenation fatty covering of neurons that
  increases speed of information traveling through
  nervous system
• Finding children who watch excessive amounts of
  TV have less mylenation, thus not able to process
  information as quickly as children who have
  sensory rich experiences

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Brain Research and Middle Childhood

• 6 puberty most brain growth is in temporal and
  parietal lobes
• Implication critical time for development of
  language (literacy) and spatial skills

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Brain Research and Adolescence

• Adolescent brains have more activity in amygdale
• This is primary area for processing emotions
• Implication academic learning occurs in on-going
  context of emotional processing

12
Brain Based Gender Differences

• Portions of the corpus callosum (band of tissue
  through which the brains two hemispheres
  communicate) larger in females
• Part of hypothalamus responsible for sexual
  behavior larger in males
• Area of parietal lobe involved in spatial tasks
  larger in males
• Areas involved in emotional expression show more
  metabolic activity in females

13
Gender

• Current Classroom Biases Against Boys
• Compliance, following rules, being neat and
  orderly are valued (boys wired differently)
• 2. Most teachers are female (lack of role
  models)
• 3. Boys more likely to be identified with
  learning disabilities (dont fit todays
  educational process)

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Gender Current Classroom Biases Against Boys
(continued)

• Boys more likely to be criticized
• Boys academic struggles (especially in literacy)
  more likely to be overlooked
• School personnel stereotype boys behavior as
  problematic

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Gender

• Current Classroom Biases Against Girls
• Tendency toward compliance, diminished
  assertiveness
• Teachers give more attention to boys
• By middle school, girls have lower self-esteem
• Girls see fewer career options

16
TV Taking our Kids Down the Tube

• Average young child watches 4 hours/day
• Thousands of commercials for high-fat,
  high-sugar, high-salt foods
• Violence, alcohol use, inappropriate sexual
  activity
• 60 of children 8 to 16 have TVs in bedrooms

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Effects of Excessive TV Viewing

• 15 of US children are seriously overweight (5
  in 1964)
• Children who watch 10 or more hours per week have
  lower reading scores
• The more TV between ages 1 and 3, greater the
  risk for attention problems at age 7
• Exposure to TV violence definitely linked to
  boys aggressive behavior

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Temperament

• Traits are primarily genetic with some
  environmental influence
• Three Types
• Easy or Flexible 40
• Slow to warm up or Fearful 15
• Difficult or Feisty 10
• 35 of children exhibit combination of traits

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Goodness of Fit

• Match between childs temperament and
  environmental demands
• Difficult children need calm response,
  redirection, options for high energy
• Fearful children need gradual introductions to
  new experiences

20
Gender, Culture and Temperament

• Cultures value temperament traits differently
• Example Chinese value quiet babies, Canadians
  value active babies Canadian mothers of
  inhibited 2 year-olds were less accepting of
  their infants temperament while Chinese mothers
  were more accepting

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Achievement and Culture

• American/Japanese Math Example
• Hours teaching math
• Japan 25 of time in first grade
• US 10 of time in first grade
• Hours in school
• Japan 240 days
• US 178 days
• Beliefs
• US parents Math achievement is due to ability
• Japanese parents Math achievement is due to
  effort

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Bullying

• Who? nearly 1 in 3 6th through 10th graders
  (either victim or perpetrator)
• Begins in Kindergarten
• Early high school (boys) and younger middle
  school students (both genders) most likely

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Bullying

• Boys physical hit, slapped, pushed
• Girls verbal rumors, sexual comments, gestures
• Belittled about speech, looks, race, religion,
  dress (begins in elementary school)
• Perpetrators poor grades, other behavior
  problems, smoke, drink alcohol, substance abuse,
  early sexual activity

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Bullying

• Victims miss school, develop physical problems
  and/or depression
• Parents and teachers hesitate to become involved,
  children do not report incidences
• Bystanders/onlookers need training,
  encouragement and reinforcement

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Bullying

• Possible Solutions
• Family involvement
• School-wide policies consistent responses
• Assist children in developing social skills
• Address as top priority
• Learning decreases as bullying increases
• Continuing consequences for victim, aggressor,
  and bystander

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Emotional Intelligence

• Daniel Goleman, 1995 Emotional intelligence
  tells us more about a persons competence than
  traditional intelligence tests.
• Understand causes of ones feelings, manage
  emotions
• Be aware of others feelings
• Be able to separate feelings from actions

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Emotional Intelligence

• Reevaluated in 2000
• EQ can be measured and taught
• Emphasize caring school climate, cooperation
• Recognize individuals with high EQ
• Important in reducing incidences of bullying
• Altruism present in inner city youths
• Not motivated by adult authority (innate ability)

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Families Divorce

• 50 of US marriages end in divorce, 40 of
  children experience divorce
• 75 of children from divorced families do not
  have academic or behavioral problems
• Overall, children from divorced families are more
  likely to have problems
• Boys experience more distress than girls

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Families Step Parents

• Majority of children do not have academic or
  behavioral problems
• 25 of children from step families showed
  adjustment problems compared to 10 in intact,
  never-divorced families
• Early adolescence is most difficult time for
  adjusting to step families, particularly for boys

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Families Gay and Lesbian

• 20 of lesbians, 10 of gays are parents
• Most have children before acknowledging sexual
  orientation
• Children are just as popular with peers
• No differences in adjustment and mental health of
  children living in gay or lesbian families
• Overwhelming majority heterosexual orientation

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Families Parenting Style

• Authoritative (democratic) provides most
  effective guidance
• Provide flexibility within limits
• Communicate often
• Maternal Employment no detrimental effects
  EXCEPT
• Infants whose mothers worked during the first
  year of life experienced negative effects

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Families Parenting Style

• Spanking has negative short and long term effects
• Maltreatment most common abuser is overwhelmed
  single mother in poverty

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Povertys Effects

• greatest risk for developmental weaknesses is
  from growing up in families with persistent
  socioeconomic disadvantages (Santrock)
• Cognitive
• Physical
• Socio-emotional

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Povertys Effects

• US Statistics
• 16 of US children live below poverty line
• 9 of Canadian children, 2 of Swedish children
• 50 African-American
• 40 Latino

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Povertys Effects

• Characteristics of poor families
• Vulnerable little warning before being laid off,
  no resources to fall back on
• Powerless rules are handed down, rarely make
  decisions at work
• Restricted alternatives not able to make wise
  decisions due to poor education

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Povertys Effects

• Family characteristics (continued)
• Feminization of poverty single parent Moms have
  low pay, little alimony
• Distressed parents feel less effective in
  disciplining, are less affectionate
• What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up
  like a raisin in the sun? (Langston Hughes, 20th
  century American Poet and Author

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Children Our Hope and Future

• In every child who is born, under no matter what
  circumstances, and of no matter what parents, the
  potentiality of the human race is born again.
• James Agee, American writer, 20th century

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If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

• If I had my child to raise all over again, Id
  finger paint more, and point the finger less.
• Id do less correcting, and more connecting.
• Id take my eyes off my watch,
• and watch with my eyes.
• I would care to know less,
• and know to care more.
• Id take more hikes and fly more kites.

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(If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again, continued)

• Id stop playing serious, and seriously play.
• I would run through more fields,
• and gaze at more stars.
• Id do more hugging and less tugging.
• I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
• Id build self-esteem first, and the house later.
  
• Id teach less about the love of power,
• And more about the power of love.
• Diane Loomans