The Pica Perspective

Asking Children for Too Much Too Soon

Heard a story yesterday that made me want to cry or scream or otherwise emote. I was talking to the mother of 7-year-old twins, who said she's at a loss when she sees friends -- people who are both intelligent and otherwise considerate -- do things with their children that she knows to be developmentally inappropriate. She was particularly frustrated by a couple she knows -- both lawyers -- who have required their daughter to read to them daily for 45 minutes...since she was three years old!

Not surprisingly, when observing this child, now 7, in preschool and kindergarten settings, she's never once witnessed her pick up a book. Books, I'm sure, have become this little girl's enemy. And I feel confident that learning in general isn't far behind.

It seems no matter how often I hear stories similar to this -- like the one about the 9-month-old being enrolled in "preschool prep" or the one about the mom being pressured to enroll her 2-1/2-year-old daughter in the local competitive soccer program -- I never cease to be amazed. (What does "preschool prep" for a 9-month-old involve? And how can children who've barely stopped wobbling be expected to play soccer, particularly considering that foot-eye coordination isn't fully developed until 9 or 10?)

Childhood today has become a dress rehearsal for adulthood. And, for many children, life has become a great big competition. A race to walk and talk earlier than the other infants. To get into the best preschool. To be a star at Little League or the dance recital. To participate in the most activities. To excel. To win. To be the most "above-average" child in the history of children. To have a resume, upon entrance into first grade, that will guarantee a place in the best high school, the best college, and later, in the best corporation/law firm/medical practice.

But what are kids really winning when they're losing out on childhood? There are millions of adults out there who are tired of the rat race, and they didn't start racing until they were at least in their twenties. How long can today's children be expected to love life when they start racing before they're even toddling?

If you're a parent today, no doubt you've been led to believe that your child might fall hopelessly behind if you don't give him or her a "head start." But the reality is that child development is what it is, and it can't be "accelerated!" Moreover, children are born with an innate desire to learn and discover. And rather than determining destiny, abilities have a way of leveling out in children. Where reading is concerned, a child may read earlier than the neighbors' children; but the other kids will have caught up by third grade. At that point, it really won't matter who read first.

There's no research that shows children who read earlier end up reading better. Furthermore, there's evidence that hurrying children can do more harm than good. Noted educator Lilian Katz has pointed out that there are short-term advantages when 3- to 5-year-olds are given formal instruction but considerable disadvantages in the long term. According to a study by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, reading literacy was the highest in those countries where reading instruction began at 6.3 years of age.

So, yes, stories like that little girl's make me want to cry or scream or possibly pull my hair out. Instead, I pass along the story in this forum, hoping it can make a difference.

How soon should children begin schooling?

Like most controversial topics, the subject of universal preschool and even schooling during the first three years has supporters firmly on both sides. The good news is that everyone finally seems to understand the importance of early childhood. The bad news is that we have a tendency in this country to go overboard with our "solutions."

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune explored the topic of how early early education should begin. There are those who feel that because children's brains "change more between conception and kindergarten than at any other time," waiting to start schooling at age 4 or 5 is too late. The article cites neuroscientist Peter Huttenlocher's studies showing that connections in most brain areas peak by age three and then decline gradually as experiences mold the brain's wiring.

My question is: Just because the brain has more connections during the first three years, does that mean we have to stuff as much information as possible into it? After all, the pruning of synapses is part of nature's plan. It's about survival of the fittest. We aren't necessarily meant to have as many synapses as possible; we're supposed to have the most important, most useful synapses. (That's a rather simplistic explanation, but you get the idea.)

The article made many good points concerning the value of early intervention for infants and toddlers from low-income families. A University of Kansas study determined that children from upper-income backgrounds hear 30 million more words by age 3 than those from welfare families. So, if early intervention strategies can help low-income parents interact with and engage their children, I'd say that's money well spent. But considering how poorly we're doing with the early childhood education we currently offer, in terms of the developmentally inappropriate practice that the politicians and policy makers are demanding, the idea of "formal schooling" for children under age 4 makes me very nervous indeed.

My feeling is that as long as children have parents who interact with them -- love them, talk to them, read to them, and play with them -- they're getting all the education they need! You'll remember, too, that I'm a huge fan of what Finland is doing in terms of education; and Finnish children don't begin formal schooling until age 7. Before then they learn through play. And considering they're number-one in the world in literacy and numeracy, I'd say they're onto something.

What do you think?

Speaking of your thoughts, I'm happy to announce a new feature at Body, Mind and Child. It's called "Parenting Gossip," and it's a place for you to exchange parenting tips, talk about the program guests and topics, make product recommendations, or just gossip about the ups, downs, challenges and joys of being a parent. I hope you'll visit and help get the dialog started! Just click on the above link and then on the tab marked "Parent Gossip." I look forward to the exchange!

What Keeps Kids Inside

Well, I knew fear and competition from electronics were keeping kids indoors; but I never suspected flip-flops, mulch, and no coats as culprits! But that's exactly what a new study has found...

Because I want to do this study justice (it's really important that we give this issue some thought), I'm going to simply reprint the entire press release here. I'd love to get your thoughts on this!

CINCINNATI, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when over half of US
children (aged 3-6) are in child care centers, and growing concern over
childhood obesity has led physicians to focus on whether children are
getting enough physical activity, a new study of outdoor physical activity
at child care centers, conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children's
Hospital Medical Center, has identified some surprising reasons why the
kids may be staying inside. The study, will be presented May 5 at the
annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Honolulu, Hawaii.

    "It's things we never expected, from flip flops, mulch near the
playground, children who come to child care without a coat on chilly days,
to teachers talking or texting on cell phones while they were supposed to
be supervising the children," according to Kristen Copeland, M.D., lead
author of the study which was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood
Institute. She noted that because there are so many benefits of physical
activity for children -- from prevention of obesity, to better
concentration and development of gross motor skills -- it's important to
know what barriers to physical activity may exist at child-care centers.

    "With so many American preschool-aged children in child care centers,
and previous reports that the amount of physical activity children get
varies widely across different centers, we wanted to explore what some of
the barriers to physical activity at these centers might be," said Dr.
Copeland, a physician scientist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in
the Division of General and Community Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's.
According to the most recent statistics 74% of US children aged 3-6 years
are in some form of non-parental child care. 56% percent of 3-6 year old
children spend time in centers, including child care centers and
preschools. Her team began by exploring child-care center staff members'
perceptions of barriers to children's physical activity. They conducted
focus groups with 49 staff members from 34 child-care centers in the
Cincinnati area (including Montessori, Head Start and centers in the inner
city and suburban areas) as the first of several studies on this subject.

    "We found several previously unreported barriers that meant kids had to
stay inside, including inappropriate footwear such as flip flops and
inappropriate clothing for the weather," said Dr. Copeland. In some child
care centers, if one child in the group shows up without a coat on a chilly
day, she noted, that means the whole group has to stay inside. Even more
surprising to the researchers was the fact that the child-care staff
members said some parents appear to intentionally keep their children's
coats (or send children without coats) so they'd have to stay inside, which
staff attributed to parents' concerns about the child getting injured or
dirty, or a having a cold that may be exacerbated by cold weather.

    Teachers said they also felt pressure from some parents who were more
concerned with children spending time on cognitive skills, such as reading
and writing, than on the gross motor and socio-emotional skills (such as
kicking a ball or negotiating with another child for a turn on the slide)
that are best learned on the playground.

    Then there was the mulch factor. "The staff members who participated in
the groups were really concerned about mulch in the play area," said Dr.
Copeland. "Many said that the kids eat the mulch, or use it as weapons, or
it gets caught in their shoes. It also requires constant upkeep. It's
certainly not something that we had anticipated as an issue, but judging by
the amount of and intensity of the discussions among child care teachers,
it really is."

    Dr. Copeland said the child-care center staff recognized that they
themselves could sometimes serve as a barrier to children's physical
activity. "We heard reports of teachers talking or texting on cell phones
instead of interacting with the children while on the playground," said Dr.
Copeland. She continued, "We found that a staff member who doesn't like
going outside -- maybe she's not a cold-weather person, or she thinks it's
too much work to bundle up and unbundle the children on a cold day -- could
act as a gatekeeper to the playground." In some cases, staff reported that
their own issues with being overweight prevented them from encouraging
children's physical activity.

    "This initial qualitative research has identified a number of issues
that we will be exploring in subsequent studies," noted Dr.Copeland.
"Clearly this is a complex issue -- but finding out what the barriers are
is the first step in addressing the problem and getting more kids involved
in more much-needed physical activity."

    The PAS meeting, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the
American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research and the
Ambulatory Pediatric Association, is the largest international meeting to
focus on research in child health.

    Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, one of the leading
pediatric research institutions in the nation, is dedicated to changing the
outcome for children throughout the world. Cincinnati Children's ranks
second among all pediatric institutions in the United States in grants from
the National Institutes of Health. It has an established tradition of
research excellence, with discoveries including the Sabin oral polio
vaccine, the surfactant preparation that saves the lives of thousands of
premature infants each year, and a rotavirus vaccine that saves the lives
of hundreds of thousands of infants around the world each year. Current
strategic directions include the translation of basic laboratory research
into the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of disease,
and furthering the development of personalized and predictive medicine.
Additional information can be found at http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org.

Celebrate Earth Day!

It probably won't surprise you to learn that, according to reports, fewer than 10% of U.S. children currently learn about nature from being outside. Instead, one-third of them learn about it at school, and more than one-half of them learn about it via such electronic devices as computers and television!

Surely you don't need me to convince you that books and electronics offer no substitute for the real thing. Being outdoors is an experiences of the senses (which is how much of young children's learning takes place). Outside there are myriad amazing things to see: creatures in the clouds, hummingbirds hovering, and four-leaf clovers. To hear: birdsong, leaves rustling in the breeze, brooks babbling. To smell: lilacs, the rain-soaked ground, and Concord grapes (a favorite scent from my childhood; every time I smell it I'm transported back in time). To touch: the velvety softness of a petal, the fuzziness of a pussy willow, a fallen feather, the bark of a tree, or mud puddles. There are even things to taste, like a freshly picked blueberry or, in the winter, freshly fallen snow.

Do you remember how even the simplest foods taste better outside? Somehow, a peanut butter sandwich is just a sandwich when it's eaten in the kitchen. But make it part of a picnic, and suddenly it's special!

If T-ball and soccer are among your child's activities, you may believe she is indeed spending plenty of time outdoors. And while it's true she may be getting fresh air and sunshine (both important!), such organized activities don't allow for the appreciation of nature that outdoor experiences are meant to provide. When free to explore the outdoors on her own, she can lie on her back and absorb the feel of the grass against her skin, or track a caterpillar's progress. Heaven forbid she be doing either of those things during an organized game!

How about taking a "senses walk" on this Earth Day? Whether you walk around the backyard or around the block, you and your child can discover how many things you can hear, smell, or touch. How many red things can you see? How many natural things? An activity like this serves so many purposes! It stimulates the senses, provides physical activity, heightens awareness of the surrounding beauty, offers science lessons, and fosters a love of nature. Choose one sense to focus on today and then tomorrow, when it's no longer Earth Day, go outside and choose another to explore!

A Potpourri

• According to a new Harvard Medical School study, infants who sleep fewer than 12 hours a day are at greater risk of becoming overweight in preschool. The researchers found that 586 of the 915 babies involved slept an average of 12 hours or more a day, and 329 of the babies slept less than that. Among the babies who slept longer, seven percent were obese at age 3. The short   sleepers fared worse. Twelve percent of them became obese 3-year-olds. Adding TV to the picture, 17 percent of those who slept less than 12   hours a day and watched two or more hours of television a day were   obese by the time they were 3. Researchers suggested that hormones may be the issue. In previous studies, sleep-deprived adults produced more   ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger, and less leptin, a hormone   that signals fullness. For more information, go to the Time article on the study.



• Next week, April 13-19, is Week of the Young Child. This year's theme is "Bring Communities Together for Children/Children Bring Communities Together."  According to the website of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): 
  

  The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

  NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child in 1971, recognizing that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children's success in school and later life. The Week of the Young Child is a time to plan how we--as citizens of a community, of a state, and of a nation--will better meet the needs of all young children and their families.
  
  For activity ideas and resources, including an event planning booklet, click on the link above.
  

• This week's featured interview on Body, Mind and Child is with Nancy Carlsson-Paige on protecting children from media violence. Nancy is the author of the new parenting book, Taking Back Childhood, which I've blogged about before. She's been a "student" of media violence for many of the 30 years she's been involved in early childhood education and has been a fierce advocate for the protection of children. Here's an excerpt from her book.
  
  Violent media are particularly detrimental for young children because during the early years, as child development theory explains, children don't clearly distinguish between fantasy and reality. They cannot be sure what they see on the screen won't really happen to them -- that the monster or the bad guy leering at them won't come right off that screen, if now now, then maybe later. According to the American Medical Association's Physician's Guide to Media Violence, published in 1996, media violence causes seriously increased levels of fearfulness and mistrust in children. A random national survey conducted in 1999 reported that 65% of parents with children between the ages of two and seventeen said that their child had been frightened by something they saw in a TV program or movie, and this fear, according to other studies, can last for days, months, or even years.
  
  Nancy spoke passionately on the topic. To listen to her interview, click here.

Withholding Recess as Punishment

How many of you have children in schools where recess is withheld as punishment -- or as a way to catch up on school- or homework?

Last week I came across an article written by a superintendent in South Dakota. It was called "Recess Restriction Is a Useful Tool that Shall Remain in the Toolbox." (I'd send you there, but if you want to see an article that's more than 7 days old in The Daily Republic, you have to pay for it!) And as you can tell from the title, this guy is in favor of withholding recess when teachers felt it was necessary. He feels it's one of the few resources teachers have when it comes to managing the children, and he made it clear that he believes it works.

I could feel my hair get whiter as I read it! It was another one of those times when I wondered why we have so much excellent research if no one is going to pay attention to it -- particularly the people who should be paying attention, like educators and educational administrators?!

The research is quite clear on the benefits of recess. Studies as far back as 1885 and 1901 and up to the present have shown that individuals (but especially children) produce more when their efforts are distributed (breaks are included) than when concentrated (work is conducted in longer periods). Moreover, Dr. Olga Jarrett and her colleagues conducted a study that determined 15 minutes of recess resulted in the children being 5% more on-task and 9% less fidgety, which translated into 20 minutes saved during the day.

Hello. Is anybody listening?

Even if we didn't have a childhood obesity crisis on our hands (and we most certainly do), recess and the outdoor light would be essential to children's academic success. And since that's so obviously what matters most in our society, it's truly unbelievable that this particular research is being ignored -- or, at the very least, unheeded.

And here's another pertinent bit of information: Experimental studies and anecdotal evidence indicate that the same children tend to miss all or part of recess every day. Translation: The threat of missing recess is an ineffective "tool in the toolbox."

On Thursday I'll be interviewing the CEO of the National PTA for Body, Mind and Child. I'll be talking to her specifically about the PTA's support of recess and PE and want to explore the issue of what happens when parents and teachers don't see eye to eye (e.g., when parents want their children to have recess no matter what and teachers disagree). If there are questions you'd like me to ask -- or if you just want to contribute your thoughts to this conversation -- post your comments here or e-mail me at raepica@movingandlearning.com.

Read Any Good Books Lately?

The coolest thing has begun to happen. Now that Body, Mind and Child is becoming more well known, publishers and authors are contacting me, inquiring as to whether I'd like to receive a review copy of a new book, with the goal of scheduling an interview with the author. As an avid reader, this is a wonderful opportunity. As a person who has spent entirely too much money on books in the past, this is a dream come true! It was only weeks ago that I had to purchase the book of every author I was scheduled to interview!

Since I conduct an interview a week, I'm reading even more than usual lately. (Glad to have the excuse!) So I thought I'd share a bit about some of my favorites.

• Last month I blogged about my interview with Sara Bennett and her book The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Children and What Parents Can Do About It. The book certainly merits another mention. Here's copy from the back cover: "What if everything you thought you knew about homework turned out to be wrong? The Case Against Homework draws on the latest educational research to reveal that there is almost no evidence that homework helps elementary school students achieve academic success, and little evidence that it helps older students. Yet the nightly burden takes a serious toll on America's families, robbing children of the sleep, play, and exercise they need and turning learning into drudgery. Now this book gives you the tools and tactics you need to restore balance in your child's life."
• In my January 18th post, I briefly mentioned Susan Linn's Consuming Kids: Protecting Our Children from the Onslaught of Marketing & Advertising. Susan is the director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which was the main topic of that blog; and her book is a "shocking and engrossing expose...[that] uncovers the marketing industry's $15 billion yearly effort to cultivate nagging, insatiable, cradle-to-grave consumers. This advertising blitz stifles creativity and exacerbates obesity, eating disorders, violence, sexual precocity, and substance abuse....Consuming Kids is a call to action for anyone who cares about the well-being of children."
• Taking Back Childhood: Helping Your Kids Thrive in a Fast-Paced, Media-Saturated, Violence-Filled World is the first parenting book from early childhood expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige. Due to be released in just over a week, this book is based on Nancy's 30 years of teaching, researching, and writing about young children. And that's actually what I liked best about it; considering that most parents don't have a background in child development theory and research, Nancy brings that perspective to parenting. From the back cover: "Childhood should be a precious time of oasis from the realities of the adult world, yet in today's fast-paced, achievement-obsessed, consumer-driven society, this is increasingly not the case....There are three attributes critical to all children's healthy development...: imaginative play, a feeling of security in today's often frightening world, and strong, meaningful relationships with both adults and other children -- attributes that we, as a society are failing to protect and nurture....Taking Back Childhood reveals practical, hands-on steps parents can take to create a safe, open, and imaginative environment in which kids can relish childhood and flourish as human beings."
• Along completely different lines is Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John Ratey, MD. This book is a huge hit with physical education specialists and those of us who have long been proponents of movement. From the back cover: "The latest research shows that for your brain to function at its peak, your body needs to move. In Spark, John J. Ratey, MD, demonstrates exactly how and why physical activity is crucial to the way you think and feel. He explains how aerobic exercise prepares your brain to learn, improves mood and attention, lowers stress and anxiety, helps stave off addiction, controls the sometimes tumultuous effects of hormonal changes, and guards against and even reverses some of the effects of aging on the brain. Find out how exercise can put the spark in your life!" I'll be interviewing Dr. Ratey on Friday, so stay tuned for more information on this topic!

Whether you're a parent or a professional, I'd love to hear what's on your bookshelf -- what's made an impact on you lately and why. Who knows -- I just might decide to interview the author of your favorite book!

ABCs vs. Social Skills

Did you know most kindergarten teachers would prefer that children come to them possessing good social skills as opposed to the ability to know their ABCs, shapes, and numbers? It's true. Although parents often consider word and number recognition the most important preparation for school, educators have found that social skills are far more critical to academic success.

In a 2003 article in the journal Child Care Information Exchange, education expert David Elkind cites the ability to work cooperatively with other children, take turns, and stand in line as among the skills necessary to success in formal schooling. Says Elkind: "If a child has these...social abilities, learning the academic skills is much easier than it is without them."

I talked this week with NAEYC executive director Mark Ginsberg about just this topic for Body, Mind and Child. NAEYC, as I mentioned back in November following their annual conference, is the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Founded in 1926, NAEYC, with 100,000 members, is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children. Membership is open to all individuals who share a desire to serve and act on behalf of the needs and rights of children ages birth to 8.

If you haven't yet been to their website, I highly advise that you pay it a visit. Whether you're a parent or a professional, you'll find resources you can put to use immediately. Also, my interview with Dr. Ginsberg is live on the BAM! site. Listen to what he had to say about children's social/emotional skills and the importance of relationship in their lives.

Music to My Ears

We haven't talked yet about music in this blog. It's not because I think music is unimportant in early childhood. On the contrary, I'm a huge proponent of the need for music in children's lives and education. I can't imagine how anyone can live a fully satisfying life without music in it, but for children it's absolutely critical!

In my presentations, I tell audiences that music:

• is vital to the development of language and listening skills;
• helps improve attention span and memory;
• expands vocabulary;
• alters moods -- to soothe or energize, as needed;
• increases motivation to communicate with the world; and
• heightens one's sensitivity to aesthetics!

You can read what a stay-at-home dad has to say about it in his blog, "A Family Runs Through It." There's also some great information in this piece:"Language Development and Music: Music Can Help Children Learn to Talk and Communicate".

Early childhood music specialists say that children should experience music through listening, singing, moving, playing, and creating. "Playing" can be as simple as banging on pots and pans. And "creating" covers a wide range: everything from creating movements to go with the music to making up lyrics to humming an "original song."

Plato, it seems, was a huge music fan. He said: "Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything. It is the essence of order and leads to all that is good, just, and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate and eternal form."

Sensory Integration

Yesterday I interviewed Christy Isbell for Body, Mind and Child. Christy's a pediatric occupational therapist and co-author of a book called Sensory Integration: A Guide for Preschool Teachers. Although sensory integration is certainly a hot topic in education these days, I must admit that I didn't know as much about it as I should -- especially considering I'm a movement person, and movement is involved on so many levels when there are problems with sensory integration.

Let me start at the beginning. Sensory integration occurs in the central nervous system as the body gathers information through the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, skin, muscles, and joints. Christy explains that although we're taught all through school that there are five senses, there are actually seven. The other two are "hidden." They're the vestibular sense, which has to do with movement and balance sensation, and the proprioceptive sense, which alerts us to our body's position in space.

When there are problems using the information that comes in via the seven senses, it's called Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Children with SPD fall into three categories: sensory avoiders (the most common), sensory seekers, and sensory under-responders.

Although there are a variety of ways in which these problems manifest themselves, according to Christy they all have "an enormous impact on children's overall development." SPD in its many forms also has a tremendous influence on a child's ability to learn. Among the symptoms are poor attention span, difficulty focusing, poor handwriting, and low self-esteem. I was particularly fascinated by Christy's description of sensory seekers who are in constant motion and often misdiagnosed as having ADHD. For such children, she said, drugs like Ritalin won't have any effect.

Because SPD is still not commonly understood and too often results in the children who suffer from it being misunderstood, it's an important topic for both educators and parents. Watch for Christy's interview to go live on BAM Radio. In the meantime, I highly recommend her wonderful book on the subject!