The Benefits of Following Your Child's Lead

   A key aspect of creating a Montessori-inspired environment is to ensure that the teacher or parent follows the child's lead.  As I explained in this post, teachers or parents should work not to direct a child's play or routines.  I have read that studies that look at the effectiveness of a Montessori education have found that children in Montessori classrooms preform on par or slightly better than their peers in non-Montessori environments on academic assessments.  However, studies have found that children in Montessori environments tend to foster greater "concentration, confidence, and independence" in addition to more respect for their classmates and even creativity, which is especially interesting as many of Dr. Montessori's critics focus on her views towards fantasy and creative play.  For this Science Friday, I want to focus on a study that explores the relationship between a mother's directing of her toddler's play and future cognitive and social functions. 
   While the study does not focus mention Montessori practices, it compares cognitive and social functions in 4.5 year old children based upon the extent to which their mother's directed their play beginning at age 2. The researchers decided that 2 years-old was an important age to start observations as it is a time when children have the ability to understand basic verbal communications but still require a caretaker's direct instructions to complete and understand most tasks.  By age 4.5 years, however, much less support from caretakers is necessary. 

Toddlers can certainly come up with some creative games when allowed to lead!

   For this study, researchers observed mothers and their children during two home visits that included daily activities and a play session that included standardized toys as well as an in-office visit that included a play session.  The study took place over a period of 2.5 years.  Standardized tests that have been approved for these age groups were used to determine cognitive abilities.  Social behaviors were measured based upon observations of two specific behaviors- responsiveness (i.e. a child's ability to respond to instructions) and initiating (i.e. the child's ability to direct his mother's attention to an activity.)
   I believe that the findings in this study very much support using Montessori methods at home or in a classroom.  The children whose mothers consistently practiced "maintaining" (asking questions or making comments concerning an activity on which a child was working or responding to a child's requests) versus "directing" (giving specific verbal or non-verbal instructions for the child to follow, providing few options) had higher cognitive and language skills between age 1 and 3.5 years.  Additionally, maintaining also proved to have significant positive effects on responsiveness for these same ages.  Researchers believe that practicing maintaining supports cognitive and communication skills in early children as it works within their limited attention spans and current abilities without forcing them to shift focus. 
   The study revealed the children whose mothers practiced maintaining would ultimately have more success in "joint learning situations."  This is based upon two findings: First, at 3.5 years old, maintaining increased a child's social responsiveness, which ultimately seemed to improve his ability to initiate activities. Secondly, by 4.5 years, maintaining was directly related to a child's increased ability to establish and then meet goals. 
   While many parents may believe that being directing will increase responsiveness, this study and others (one additional example- a study that analyzed conversations between toddlers and mothers showed a mother's requests were more often followed when she adjusted the request to acknowledge the child's current focus) indicate that respecting the toddler's thoughts and activities will ultimately lead to greater success for completing immediate tasks and for longer-term cognitive and social skills.

Sources:
Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Prentice Hall:Boston. 
Landry, S.H., Smith, K.E., Swank P.R., &  Miller-Loncar, C.L. (2000). Early maternal and child influences on children's later independent cognitive and social functioning.  Child Development, 71(2 ) pp. 358-375

Paternal Attachment

        Q-ball loves her Daddy!  She is blessed with a wonderful Daddy (and I’m blessed with a wonderful husband!)  But, it seems that dads often get a bad rap in the media and certainly are less likely than moms to be the primary care providers for children. In the past, I have focused on maternal attachment.  But, in recognition of Father’s Day, I wanted to look at some of the current research regarding paternal attachment and the influence of fathers on their children.  I know that I have heard a lot about the negative affect that dads can have on children, so for today’s Science Friday (although it's a day late...) I tried to find studies that focused on the positive effects that fathers can have on children or just facts about paternal attachment in general.

• Fathers who are present at the birth of their child are more likely to demonstrate more attachment behaviors (holding, verbalizing, touching, etc.) with their newborn than fathers who were not present.
• While attachment studies tend to focus on the infant’s attachment to the primary caregiver (typically the mother), studies have also shown that a strong, positive relationship in the concordance of attachment patterns.  That is, infants who are securely attached to their mothers are very likely to be securely attached to their fathers. Likewise, infants who are insecurely attached to one parent are very likely to be insecurely attached to the other. While many theories exist to explain this relationship, the two I that liked are 1) mother and father learn together how to respond to their children and 2) one parent may serve as a model for the other parent.  I like the idea of mothers and fathers being a team!
• Fathers are more likely than mothers to interact with their children through physical play and to generate more excitement in children.
• Paternal sensitivity is related to the pattern of attachment that a father will have with his children.  Increased sensitivity is linked with a more secure attachment pattern.
• A father’s appropriate response to a young child’s emotions predicts positive social and emotional models of behavior in adolescence. 
• One study revealed the that the most significant predictor of empathy in children is paternal involvement in childcare as fathers establish clear boundaries for children, thus demonstrating how to respect other peoples’ boundaries.
• More and more fathers are providing child care as more mothers are working. Research has revealed that these children, when compared to children with mothers, another relative, or a non-relative as the care provider, are “no better or no worse.”  (This is still a positive note! Many of the researchers hypothesized that paternal care would be worse for the children than maternal care!)

Some researchers consider the father essential for the holistic development of the child.  I know this is true in our family!  It is obvious that Q-ball interacts with her father completely differently than she interacts with me.  While I am occasionally jealous of the fun they have, I am more often relieved to have a short break and am thankful for Q-ball’s opportunity to practice different interactions. 

Thank you for all the fun, Daddy!  Happy Father’s Day!

Does your child interact differently with his father than with his mother?  What role does the father play in your house?

Sources:

Averett, S.L. Gennetian, L.A., & Peters, H.E. (2005). Paternal child care and children's development. Journal of Population Economics, 18, 391-414.   

Fox, N.A, Kimmerly, N.L., & Schafer, W.D. (1991).  Attachment to mother/attachment to father: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 6(1), 210-225.

van IJzendoorn, M. & de Wolff, M. (1997). In search of the absent father-meta-analyses of infant-father attachment: A rejoinder to our discussants. Child Development, 68(4), 604-609.

Millar, D. (9 October 2006). The impact of a father on a child’s socio-economic development.  Retrieved from http://fathersmatter.wordpress.com/tag/attachment-theory/

Miller, B.C. & Bowen, S. (1982). Father-to-newborn attachment behavior in relation to prenatal classes and presence at delivery. Family Relations, 31(1), 71-78.

Rousseau's "Natural Education" Method

    In yesterday's post, I mentioned and quoted Rousseau and his belief in a child-centered education, but I realized that many, even those who have studied educational philosophies and educational psychology may not realize Rousseau's influence in this field.  (I say this as he was not mentioned in my initial educational psych courses, but he did play a prominent role in my political thought courses.)  Given that I have not discussed a philosopher or researcher in some time, I will devote this Science Friday to Rousseau's work and subsequent development of his beliefs toward education.  

    Much of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's work was focused on the "natural man."  He believed that man, left to his own devices, is good but is corrupted by society, as he more eloquently states in his famous beginning line to The Social Contract, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."  With this idea in mind, it makes sense that Rousseau's work on child development and education would focus on natural education, free from societal influences.

   In Emile, written in 1762,Rousseau describes a fictional boy (Emile) whom he raises and tutors according to what he believes is nature's plan for child development.  Rousseau believed that education happens naturally, through everyday experiences, as Rousseau stated, "We begin to learn when we first begin to live; our education begins with ourselves, our first teacher is our nurse."

    According to this theory, it not is necessarily to teach towards an ultimate goal of being "a magistrate, a soldier, nor a priest." Indeed, nature alone allows children to develop in their own time without the outside assistance of adults. Rousseau identified four stages (from infancy to adolescence) of child development and the natural urges that ultimately lead to mastery of skills associated with each stage.  Rousseau argued that education must be individualized, meeting the developmental level and natural curiosities of each person. Thus, constant observation of the individual's abilities and interests is essential. 
     Here, I will explain Rousseau's beliefs about infancy, as Q-ball (9 months yesterday!) is in this stage. 

1. Infancy (birth to 2): 

• Importance of Breastfeeding:  Before I reviewed Emile for this post, I had never heard about Rousseau's stance on breastfeeding, but I found it very interesting, and will make a special point of discussing it here.  Rousseau strongly believed that there is "no substitute for a mother's love," and writes what I consider to be an angry rant towards mothers to refuse to nurse their babies and, instead, intrust them to midwives.  In fact, he argues that when mothers begin to breastfeed their own children "mutual affection" will be restored to society and a "natural feeling will be restored to every heart."  

• Sensory Exploration: Babies expereince the world through their senses.  They want to touch everything, which allows them to learn about the temperatures, weights, and textures of objects.  Rousseau removed all unsafe objects from his house, allowing Emile to touch anything he wanted, even bringing Emile objects that he desired but were out of reach.  However, he did not allow Emile to rule over him- Rousseau only granted Emile's wishes when they furthered his learning.

•  Language Development: The first signs of learning to speak occur during this stage.  Rousseau did not think it was necessary to force or teach language- it is a natural occurrence.  In fact, he believed that lessons would backfire as the grammar infants develop is often better than that of adults.  Additionally, by intervening, adults do not allow the inevitable self-correction of the student.

   Rousseau's goal in education, then, is for children to draw their own conclusions from their personal experiences in their own time.  He believed this is nature's intent.  As Emile was a fictional boy, there was no actual demonstration of how natural education would work. However, his ideas are put in practice in the Montessori Method.  Dr. Montessori strongly supported Rousseau's goals and educational philosophies.  It should be noted, however, that her on methods are not entirely derived from Rousseau, but they share the same underlying educational goals. 

    In our household, we share Rousseau's and Montessori beliefs toward child-centered education, although we would not go as far as to say that society will corrupt Q-ball.  We have worked hard to created a "prepared environment" in our home and largely allow Q-ball to go for whatever she wants to explore.  We work to allow her to discover an object's characteristics and purposes on her own. We certainly are not perfect in our attempts, but we hope that our efforts increase her own desires for self-exploration and love of learning as time goes on.    

Sources:

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of development: Concepts and applications. NY: Prentice Hall.

Roehrs, H. (2000). Maria Montessori. PROSPECTS: The quarterly review of comparative
education. Retrieved from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/publications/ThinkersPdf/montesse.pdf.

Rousseau, J. (1762). Emile. (B. Foxley, trans.) London: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1948.

Tips for Travelling

I did get a new haircut for our new city!

Well, we are finally pretty much back to normal- new house, 90% unpacked, and we even now have Internet!  It was quite difficult to keep the blog updated without access to the Internet...

         Over the past 2 weeks, Q-ball and I have traveled over several states, slept in five different beds, lived out of suitcases, and without regular access to a kitchen and washer and dryer.  Should you suffer the same fate with an infant, here are the top ten ways that I survived...

1.       Parenting on demand- Crossing time zones, day-lights savings time, and major shake-ups to a normal schedule obviously affected Q-ball's sleeping, eating, playing, moods, etc.  We had to be extra cognizant of her needs and wants to prevent meltdowns (hers and ours, obviously...)

2.       Breastfeeding- Can't get much more convenient. Nothing extra to pack or carry.

3. Babywearing-

a.        I thought this was essential to get through the airport.  My hands were free for check-ins and security, Q-ball was happy, and I wasn't banging around a heavy carseat while running past crowds.  

b.       Also, this became totally necessary as days when naps just weren't going to happen under a roof (movers coming and going, maids in the hallways, another new place.)  Some days the only way she would sleep was for me to go on a walk with her in the Ergo. It ended up being great for both of us as I got fresh air and exercise (needless to say, we weren't eating our healthiest.)

4.       Hand-washing station/cloth wipes- Q-ball was crawling all over the hotel room. After just a few minutes of being on the floor her feet, legs, and hands were be black.  It was gross, but there was little we could do except wash her.  In addition to her normal baths, I would wipe her down with cloth wipes and a pre-made solution of 2 parts water and 1 part baby soap (I keep it in a water bottle with a leak-proof valve top) several times a day. 

5.       Plan your diapering system.  I already discussed this in a previous post.  If you use cloth have a detailed plan for washing. 

6.       Pack a nightlight.  The rooms are new to you and baby- not friendly for moving around at night with the lights off.

7.       Work with the hotel staff.  We often requested room service at specific times to try to accommodate Q-ball’s anticipated naps.  It didn’t always work, but at least we tried.  This was also necessary because we were travelling with our darling cats who needed to be caged for housekeeping.

8.       Baby-led solids.  I didn’t worry about packing or buying any special solid foods for Q-ball for this trip.  Frankly, I didn’t put much emphasis into her eating solids at all during this trip, but with BLS she ate some toast and bananas from the hotel breakfast bar and some pieces of fruit at lunches.

9.       Pack an extra-duty  garbage bag to cover the car seat when it is checked on the plane.  I did this previously, but didn’t this time and ended up with a big spot on the car seat.  (Which I subsequently have not been able to wash without a washer and dryer…)

10.    Pack outlet plugs.  Again, we didn’t do this.  But, it would have been great to have in the rooms we were visiting as the outlets were the first places Q-ball headed for. 

The Meaning of Play

This post is part of the Attachment Parenting Month blog carnival, hosted by Attachment Parenting International.

For children, play comes naturally.  Children can find play hiding in boxes, under trees, in mud pies, between mom’s never-to-be-worn-again dresses in the closet, and on top of the neighborhood’s tallest hill.  Children need no reason or goal in their play.  They just play because they want to and they can.

For adults, play does not seem to come naturally.  We seem to have lost our innocent desire for play in boxes in the garage that need to be sorted, under the piles of mud-stained laundry, between the bills that need to be paid, and in the desire to ensure that we give our children the absolute best chance for success in life.  In fact, play comes so unnaturally for adults that a researcher (Catherine Garvey of the University of Maryland) has decided to define play.  Apparently, there are five elements to “play”.

1.    Play must be pleasurable and enjoyable.  Easy enough.

2.    Play must have no extrinsic goals.  So, if Junior is “playing” on the computer with the newest Math Busters game to improve his test scores or out hitting some balls to make the Varsity team, it doesn’t count.  Tougher.

3.    Play is spontaneous and voluntary.  Here, if you are making Junior hit balls because it’s your favorite pastime, it doesn’t count.  Also, could be tough.

4.    Play involves active engagement.  So, watching TV is not play.  Watching big brother use the Wii is not play.  Easy enough.

5.    Play involves make believe.  Doable.

What links these elements?  Play should be left to the kids.  On the way home from school, a group of otherwise bored children can come up with an innovative way to use their lunchboxes as radars to help them find their way to the lunar launch site.  (See, it includes all five elements! Unless a trip to the moon is considered an extrinsic goal…)  It seems that adults can inadvertently take all of the fun out of play by providing more structured activities and timing. 

Still, adults shouldn’t step out completely.  Another study has revealed that an infant’s sense of exploration increases directly with the level of responsiveness that a mother shows towards his play activities.  By watching their mothers’ actions during play, infants learn how to play and, ultimately, entertain themselves (infants as young as 2 days old have been observed imitating adults around them!) Children get the most benefit from play (the benefits of play for children are countless- improved abilities to handle emotional difficulties, improved social skills, increased understanding of mathematical concepts, etc.) when adults guide them and provide new challenges or ideas, only when it is obvious that the children are ready to handle these next steps.

So, how can you be a secure base within your child’s play?  Ensure that play activities are child-led.  Take your cues from your children.  And, relax in the knowledge that by guiding, instead of leading his exploration, you are giving your child the best chance at Harvard or the Major Leagues. 

Sources:

Belsky, J., Goode, M.K., Most, R.K. (1980). Maternal stimulation and infant exploratory competence: Cross-sectional, correlational, and experimental analyses. Child Development, 51(4), 1168-1178

Hirsh-Pasek, K. & Golinkoff, R.R. (2004). Einstein never used flash cards. USA: Rodale.