Effects of
Early
Stimulation
and
Deprivation
The general philosophical
trend has been that
stimulation is always
“good” and deprivation is
always “bad.”
Questions
• Can overstimulation occur?
• Is deprivation ever in the child’s best interest?
• When are the best times for stimulation or the
worst times for deprivation?
• Is stimulation worthwhile for the acquisition of
all human behaviors?
• Are there some behaviors that cannot be
facilitated by early exposure to stimulating
experiences?
Objectives
• Describe some effects of early stimulation.
• Describe some programs to enhance early motor
development.
• Describe McGraw’s famous twin study involving
early stimulation and deprivation.
• Describe some effects of early deprivation.
• Explain the major concepts concerning stimulation
and deprivation.
Effects of Early Stimulation
• “Bringing up Superbaby” (Langway et al., 1983)
– Predicted increased enrollment in children’s
educational programs.
• Currently
– Parents begin to “teach” their children at birth.
– Parents are involving children in early educational
programs more than ever before.
• Why?
– Parents are older, more educated, and wealthier than
earlier generations.
– Parents believe early educational stimulation is
valuable.
– Parents want all advantages for their child.
– Parents believe that kindergarten is “too late”.
The Smart Baby . Com Products
Babies love the sounds of other babies and your baby will
be intrigued. Audio CD of a happy baby cooing with highs and
lows like a symphony. The program promotes vocal expression
in a unique way. Included tracks in volume I are Sing with Me,
Happy Time, Cutie Pie and more. See how your baby will want
to interact with the sounds of another infant just like him or
her. Along with the Smart Sounds CD you will receive a FREE
8x10 color photo of a happy smiling baby. The two items
should be used in conjunction for maximum benefit. Ages Birth
to 9 months.
Repeated exposure to the characteristic sounds of a foreign
language will create dedicated neurons in the auditory cortex
of your baby's brain resulting in greater brain capacity. Baby
Einstein includes nursery rhymes spoken by mothers in their
native languages of English, Spanish, Japanese, Hebrew,
German, Russian and French. For ages birth to 18 months.
Birth to 18 months.
Effects of Early Stimulation
• Burton White (1975): First Three Years of Life
– Parents are teachers, not just creators of babies.
• Glen Doman (2000, 2005, 2006)
– Fine motor control of eye influences reading and
math success.
– Use flashcards during first few days of life to
stimulate eye control.
• Benjamin Spock
– Concern that children are “overintelliectualized”.
– Early emphasis on achievement may actually hamper
emotional, physical, or creative aspects of
development.
The Boston Globe – 2007 – Glen Doman
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazin
e/articles/2007/10/28/baby_video/
Programs to Enhance Early Motor Development
• Millions of programs available to fill
consumer demands.
– Offered by qualified and unqualified persons.
• Two main types of programs:
– No programming
– Programming
Programs to Enhance Early Motor Development
• No programming
– No systematic practice of future motor skills.
– Instruction withheld until the infant learns
body control.
– Do not place a child in a position they cannot
attain alone.
– Nonrestrictive clothing advocated.
– Hard-soled shoes are discouraged.
– Allows for acquisition of early movements.
5 months
Programs to Enhance Early Motor Development
• Programming
– Parent takes an active role in moving the
baby or limbs of the infant during activity.
– Infant walkers, bouncers, etc., are
encouraged.
– Specialized equipment is available.
– Manual manipulation benefits infant posture,
locomotion, fitness and flexibility.
Infant Walkers
• Designed to support babies who cannot yet
walk independently.
• There are many questions about safety and
efficacy of the device to promote early walking.
Infant Walkers
• Concerns for Injury
– Slipping through walkers.
– Tumbling over walkers.
– Falling down stairs in walkers.
• Cost of Walkers
– 12 – 40% of users experience injuries.
– $9 million / year on walker related injuries in US.
– 34 walker related deaths in US between 1973-1998.
• Concerns for Development
– May deprive infants from seeing moving limbs.
– May delay independent walking.
– May impede crawling.
Infant Walkers – In Canada
• 1989
– Canadian Juvenile Products Association and Health Canada established
a voluntary industry standard regarding infant walkers.
– Resulted in a rapid phase out of baby walkers from the marketplace.
• 1997
– Canadian Juvenile Products Association ceased to exist.
– Most major retailers refrained from re-introducing walkers into Canada.
– Baby walkers still available to Canadians through second-hand sales,
street vendors, electronic commerce, etc.
• 2003
– Health Canada concluded that the inherent nature of baby walkers
poses significant and unnecessary risks to infants.
– Health Canada sought the views of Canadians on a proposal to legally
ban the sale, advertisement and importation of baby walkers into Canada.
• 2007
– Tony Clement, Minister of Health, released report of the Board of
Review Inquiring into the Nature and Characteristics of Baby Walkers.
– Clement accepted recommendation to prohibit advertising, sale and
importation of baby walkers.
The ExerSaucer
Programs to Enhance Early Motor Development
• Little research is available to substantiate
either “no-programming” or “programming”.
• American Academy of Pediatrics recommends:
– Structured programs not be “promoted as
being therapeutically beneficial for the
development of healthy infants”
– “Parents are encouraged to provide a safe,
nurturing, and minimally structured play
environment for their infant”
Swim Programs
• American Academy of Pediatrics
– Swim programs designed to teach infants to
swim (0-1 year) ineffective.
– Infant and toddler aquatic programs DO NOT
decrease the risk of drowning.
– Children not ready for formal swim lessons
until 4th birthday.
Swim Programs
• Skills better achieved once child has
attained the motor development of 5 year
old.
• Earlier lessons do not lead to more rapid
mastery of skill.
• Drownproofing programs may give
parents a false sense of security.
• Early programs are beneficial for
pleasure and comfort in the water.
Swim Programs – Health
Concerns
• Hyponatremia
– Water intoxication
– Individual ingests too much water
• Body’s electrolytes reduced
• Kidneys cannot filter excess fluid
• Sodium levels reduced
– Symptoms: restlessness, disorientation,
weakness, death
Swim Programs – Health
Concerns
• How could an infant develop
hyponatremia during a swim program?
Swim Programs – Health
Concerns
• Giardia
– Parasite which develops in intestinal track.
– Causes diarrhea.
– Easily transmitted to others in a pool.
• Safety in the Pool
– Shower after class (wash off Giardia).
– Wear tight legged diapers/pants.
– Children who are ill or with diarrhea should
not participate in swim lessons.
Baby pools may increase asthma danger
By David Rennie
Jan 19, 2006
Telegraph UK
Taking baby swimming classes before the age of two may double the risk of a child
developing asthma and chronic lung problems, a European expert on toxic substances
claimed yesterday. Alfred Bernard, the professor of toxicology at Belgium's leading medical
school, the Catholic University of Louvain, told the Belgian senate that he had measured
levels of the irritant trichloramine 50 per cent higher in the air above indoor paddling pools
than in adult pools. He said he had found damage to specific deep lung cells among former
baby swimmers comparable with that caused by smoking among adults. His recent study
involved 341 schoolchildren of whom 41 had been taken to baby swimming classes 10
years before when they were under two. Twenty-three per cent of the baby swimmers
developed asthma compared with 11 per cent of the whole group.
British specialists urged caution. Prof Martyn Partridge, Asthma UK's chief medical
adviser, said: "Swimming is an excellent form of exercise for children with asthma. The
warm humid air in the swimming pool is less likely to trigger symptoms of asthma. "We do
recognise however that the chemicals present in heavily chlorinated pools may be important
in making the airways more irritable and further research is needed to understand this
association".Prof Malcolm Green, a founder of the British Lung Foundation, said asthma
was on the increase across the world, including in societies where young children did not
use indoor pools. "These results need to be reviewed with caution and subjected to rigorous
prospective studies," he said.
Prof Bernard believes that pools used by babies and toddlers should be thoroughly
ventilated to clear dangerous gases. Given the expense of replacing indoor pool air six
times an hour - as recommended in some American studies - it might be simplest to switch
to other forms of disinfection, such as ozone treatment or copper-silver systems, he said.
When he published a study two years ago the Committee of the Medical Effects of Air
Pollutants at the Department of Health investigated. Its report concluded that "swimming
provided an important form of exercise and unless significantly affected, children suffering
from asthma should not avoid this activity. Minor effects on airway function were likely to
respond to the use of the subject's reliever inhaler".
Gymboree
• Philosophy:
– Preschool years may be the most critical
part of education but parents have least
amount of expert help.
– Preschoolers need to be provided with
certain types of play activities that are
essential in development but not available at
home, playground, or nursery.
– Safe and noncompetitive.
Gymboree
• Program includes 7
levels designed to
enhance motor skills,
social skills, and selfesteem.
•
•
•
•
•
Physical fitness
Arts
International play
Music and dance
Yoga
• Free time with colourful scaled down equipment:
– Balance beams, balls, scooters, tunnels,
rollers, hoops, ladders
• Group activities: singing, dancing, etc.
Gymboree
• Program claims improvement in
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Balance
Fundamental movements (run, jump, throw, catch)
Switching modes of locomotion
Assuming variety of body positions
Changing directions and speeds
Socializing
Expressing imagination
• Parent surveys
–
–
–
–
Parents have undistracted quality time with children.
Parents have chance to meet other parents.
Children are less passive and dependent.
Children develop coordination and social skills.
• Consumers should be cautious.
Suzuki Method of Violin Playing
• Beginning at birth
– Infant listens to violin music.
– Infant watches musicians play violin.
– Tonal quality of music essential.
• Beginning at 2 – 2 ½ years
– Child engages in violin lessons.
– Child must be motivated.
– Properly sized violin must be used.
• Residual effects of programming unknown
– Some outstanding violinists
– Many dropouts
Head Start Programs
• Philosophy
– To give financially disadvantaged children a
“head start” in education.
• Objective
– To “enhance the social competence of children
from lower income families”.
– i.e., To give children the ability to deal with
their present environment in school and in life.
• Method
– A preschool program that boosts intellectual,
social, and emotional behavior will enhance
academic success.
Head Start Programs
• Longitudinal Study (Bergley & Carey, 1983)
– 2100 Head Start Children
– 10 times more likely to complete high school
compared to their socioeconomic counterparts
• D.C. Study (Marcon, 1996)
– Preschool programs (like Head Start)
positively affect children’s long and short term
performance.
Head Start Programs
Head Start Family and Child Experience
Survey (FACES; Zill et al., 1999, 2001)
• Methods
– 3200 children in 40 Head Start programs
– Longitudinal: entry, year 1, year 2, end of
kindergarten
– Examined cognitive, social, emotional, and
physical development
Head Start Programs
Head Start Family and Child Experience
Survey (FACES; Zill et al., 1999, 2001)
• Some Results
– Social Skills
• “Very often” “used their free time in acceptable
ways,” “follow the teacher’s directions,” and “help
in putting things away”.
– Cognitive Skills
• The children COULD NOT identify or write the
letters of the alphabet.
• The children could not copy complex geometric
figures.
Head Start Programs
Head Start Family and Child Experience
Survey (FACES; Zill et al., 1999, 2001)
• Conclusions
– Disadvantaged children involved in Head Start
programs narrowed the academic gap in vocabulary,
writing, and social skills.
– Those of greatest disadvantage showed the greatest
gains.
– Head Start children were ready for school on the
basis of how much they had learned by the end of
kindergarten.
– Head Start children could benefit from more activities
aimed at improving early literacy.
• http://www.kindermusik.com/
What is Kindermusik?
Kindermusik is a music and movement program. Each week in class
you’ll play, listen, and dance to music that will impact you and your
child in profound ways. That’s because every song, story, and twostep has a carefully chosen purpose in this creative curriculum—one
that’s designed to stimulate and strengthen the vital neural wiring
taking place in your child’s mind, right now. A Kindermusik educator
will guide you every step of the way so you know how each activity
contributes to your child’s overall growth and development.
The latest research with proven methods—that’s Kindermusik, too.
Our child-centered curricula incorporate ongoing, in-classroom
studies with our own, 30-years’ experience in music and child
development. Plus, we’ve combined the best music learning methods
found in Orff, Kodaly, and Suzuki.
“Take-home” books, instruments and CDs from class let you take
learning with you wherever you go. All while strengthening the
emotional bond between you and your child.
So whether it’s twirling under a sea of scarves, experimenting with
age-appropriate instruments, singing about a scampering squirrel,
creating a musical ensemble, or snuggling in your lap during story
time, Kindermusik speaks your child’s language and offers her (and
you!) the best music and movement class available.
Kindermusi
k
8 months