Two leading scientific societies and a charity that promotes scientific understanding have written to every local education authority in the the UK to warn that a programme of exercises being promoted to help child learning relies on “pseudoscientific explanations” and a “bizarre understanding” of how the body works.

The British Neuroscience Association, the Physiological Society and Sense About Science are concerned that some local authorities have promoted the exercise programme, called Brain Gym, in their schools. Brain Gym involves teacher-led exercises that are supposed to improve the cognitive abilities of pupils in primary schools.

“According to the calls we have received and to the material in the Teacher’s Guide to Brain Gym, children are, for example, being taught special exercises to ‘connect the circuits of the brain’ and ‘unblock’ neural pathways,” the scientists wrote. They believe that promoting these bogus explanations of how the brain operates undermines science teaching in schools.

Calls to Brain Gym in the UK for comment were not returned, but the Brain Gym Teachers’ Edition textbook describes the exercises as, “a series of simple and enjoyable movements that we use with our students in Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K) to enhance their experience of whole-brain learning. These activities make all types of learning easier, and are especially effective with academic skills.”

Other promotional material reads: “All liquids [other than water] are processed in the body as food, and do not serve the body’s water needs … Processed foods do not contain water.”

The scientists dismiss all these claims as nonsense. “I know of no evidence to support the claim that, by doing a particular repetitive activity, children will gain general benefits in learning,” said Prof Colin Blakemore of Oxford University, a former head of the Medical Research Council. “There have been a few peer-reviewed scientific studies into the methods of Brain Gym, but none of them found a significant improvement in general academic skills.”

Source: Guardian, UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/03/brain.gym

Children from loving homes are stressed when placed in poor quality child-care centres, new scientific evidence reveals. But children from disadvantaged families are better off in child care even if the quality is substandard.

The Australian study measured the levels of cortisol - a hormone produced in response to stress - in 156 children attending 16 centres. Samples of saliva were taken from the children twice a day.

It shows that good quality child care benefited children from both happy and disadvantaged homes. The children’s stress levels fell over the day, an indication that their needs were being met by responsive and caring staff. The fall in stress levels was dramatic in the children from disadvantaged homes. Even in poor quality centres, these children showed declining levels of stress across the day, but this was not the case for children from loving families.

“I don’t want to say poor quality child care is OK because it’s not,” Margaret Sims, the author of the study, said. “But for some children poor quality child care is better than what they’re getting at home. If they go into really good quality care, however, you see an even bigger drop in their cortisol levels.”

Dr Sims, associate professor in social science at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, visited Sydney last month for the “1:4″ campaign by child-care specialists designed to persuade the State Government improve staff/child ratios in centres.

She said chronically high cortisol levels were implicated in long-term health and behavioural problems, and, in young children, could put at risk the still growing pathways in the brain. Cortisol levels normally peaked just after waking and declined across the day unless children were put under stress.

The study is an extension of Dr Sims’s earlier pathbreaking research. It showed that stress levels fell only when children attended centres rated by her evaluators as high quality. Even centres rated satisfactory were not good enough, judging by the children’s rising cortisol levels.

A high-quality centre was characterised by warm, responsive, and respectful staff/child relationships and good communication between parents and staff. “A lot of the surface glitz that’s marketed as quality - bright toys, slick literacy programs - is not quality. Quality is about relationships,” Dr Sims said.

The latest research takes the child’s family background into account - after parents completed a survey that evaluated their parenting style. “Where children receive care that is as good or better than they receive at home, they are able to learn in the new child-care environment,” she said. (…)

Dr Sims said the scientific evidence demonstrated it was crucial to get the early years right because of the long-term consequences. This meant providing support to families at home - “giving them help before they fail” - as well as improving child care. (…)

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
http://tinyurl.com/2fhfyp

Jack P. Shonkoff, a Harvard pediatrician, was only sort of joking when he referred to 3-year- olds as middle-aged.

By then, much of the basic circuitry of a child’s brain, a series of connections not yet formed at birth, has already developed.

A child whose parents interact with her will probably have well-formed brain circuits and a strong foundation to build on. A child raised in an abusive environment may have damage to his brain architecture that sets him on a path to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, and mental and physical health.

“Things are happening early on in the lives of young children that are either going to set a strong foundation for high economic achievement and high economic productivity … or can build a foundation that’s going to be the beginning of failure, of school failure and economic dependence and criminal behavior,” said Shonkoff, a professor of child health and development and founder of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.

Shonkoff spoke to policymakers, educators and other professionals Tuesday as part of the Governor’s Early Childhood Summit.

“Every child gets one chance at their first 1,000 days,” Gov. M. Jodi Rell said. “We don’t want to squander that.”

The summit came as many states, including Connecticut, work to expand and remake early childhood programs, spurred in part by research that links a child’s earliest experiences to key brain developments. Studies have shown that focusing on the most disadvantaged children as early as possible can lead to significant savings in special education, welfare and prison costs, Shonkoff said. (…)

Stable, safe relationships and rich learning experiences are key to brain development, Shonkoff said. Children can get them at home and in child-care programs, but they must be evidence-based, quality programs, he said. Child care must be treated as something to facilitate child development, not just to allow parents to go to work, he said. (…)

Source: Hartford Courant, United States
http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-ctwired0116.artjan16,0,4930379.story

Pre-schools have become a breeding ground for bullies who are bolder than previous generations, researchers claim.

An international expert in early childhood told a conference in Melbourne yesterday many preschool teachers failed to respond adequately to bullying behaviour by three and four-year-olds.

“Preschool teachers who do not intervene at all and just think it’s part of playing can affect a child for life,” said Ester Ng.

“If the behaviour is not controlled, by the time these children go to primary school they will have mastered the skill in bullying in a more aggressive way.”

Speaking at the National Coalition Against Bullying Conference, Ms Ng said preschoolers often used group power to exclude a child from a game - or a more confident child would snatch toys from a vulnerable one.

She said, unlike previous generations, these children were far more bold in their expression.

“They say what they think. Preschool teachers say they do it discreetly, they either use an elbow or hand to push someone away and they are only three-years-old.”

Ms Ng called for early childhood teachers to be better trained to identify and discipline potential bullies.

She said how a preschool teacher responded helped determine if the child would master the skills of excluding or picking on someone - or targeting a weaker one…

Source: NEWS.com.au, Australia
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22697832-5006009,00.html

In the early 1990s, I was taken aback to overhear my 3-year-old son insisting to his 6-year-old cousin that he went to “ABC school,” not to day care, as she condescendingly referred to it. (He was spending a few sociable hours a week at a children’s center chosen because it was around the corner.) I had no idea where he got that term, or when he decided his educational credentials needed upgrading. And, given that alphabet drills weren’t in fact part of the program, I wasn’t sure what he was really boasting about.

But with universal prekindergarten (UPK) emerging as a campaign issue, it’s now clear to me that he was a kid ahead of his time. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards have recently joined a chorus of early-childhood-education advocates, governors, foundations and social activists who have been promoting the cause in notably wonky, rather than warm and cuddly, terms. Calling for an overhaul of the current patchwork of uneven preschool programs, UPK proponents invoke neuroscientific evidence of brain growth rather than child-care needs. They cite the long-term economic benefits of an early investment in boosting “cognitive skills” and “school readiness,” especially for low-income children. There is little mention of, say, pretend play in the pitch for government-subsidized pre-K, which supporters argue should be affordable and available (though not necessarily mandatory) for all.

The hardheaded rhetoric conveys an important message: expanding access to early education is serious business, not baby stuff. The universal-preschool mission, too often dismissed as nanny-state meddling, capitalizes on the inclusive No Child Left Behind drive to close the K-12 achievement gap: the moment is ripe to reach downward to the post-diaper and pre-backpack stage, where disparities between white and minority students start. Yet aligning with an ethos of no-nonsense academics inspires uneasiness among UPK crusaders themselves, as the Berkeley professor Bruce Fuller points out in “Standardized Childhood: The Political and Cultural Struggle Over Early Education.” After all, for your bouncy 4-year-old — “wild and wonderful” is the epithet one classic parenting book applies to the age — how much ABC school do you really want? …

Source: New York Times, United States
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/magazine/28wwln-lede-t.html?ref=magazine

Both the Government and the Opposition want to get women back into the workforce as quickly as possible after giving birth. I suspect that most mothers are also keen on getting back into paid employment as soon as possible.

The problem is the politicians want to do it on the cheap, while mothers are reluctant to entrust their children to second-class care or to paying so much in child care that there is no financial incentive to return to work early. The result is a halfway house in which the Government doesn’t take direct responsibility for the provision of child care and early education but provides what amount to vouchers that subsidise these services run by non-profit and for-profit organisations…

The Scandinavian countries spend between 1.7 and 2 per cent of GDP on early childhood education and care. To reach this level would require a three-to-four-fold increase in government spending on children up to age six. The Scandinavian countries spend between $12,000 to $15,000 a year for each child aged one to six years, but this is not a net burden on taxpayers. The much higher expenditure has to be set against the much higher workforce participation rates for young women with children compared with Australia and the higher proportion of Scandinavian women occupying high-productivity, full-time professional jobs.

In 2006 the OECD published a comprehensive survey of early childhood education and child care. The central insight in the report was that it saw early childhood services as a public good, which provides an unequalled opportunity for investment in human capital. It cites research that shows the social return from investment in child care and preschool is higher than an equivalent level of investment in primary and post-primary education.

According to the OECD report, “In early childhood positive (or negative) dispositions towards society and learning are absorbed and the basic life skills acquired … Additionally, parents are particularly protective of their children at this age and eager to support development and learning. In comparison, remedial education interventions targeting young school drop-outs or adults with poor basic skills are far more costly, and according to the research, of limited benefit.” …

Source: The Age, Australia
http://tinyurl.com/2pr5wa

Parents are creating a generation of yobs by failing to teach children good manners at a young age, researchers warn today.

Infants are “naturally” aggressive and must be taught to control their emotions, it is claimed.

Academics say busy families who do not spend enough time curbing bad tempered three- and four-year-olds risk fuelling serious behavioural problems in later life, including drug abuse and violent crime.

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy and parents on low incomes are more likely to find their children become aggressive, the scientists say. The findings — in a study by Richard Tremblay, professor of paediatrics at Montreal University — will be presented at a conference in London today.

They follow the publication of a Government-backed report that found toddlers left in a nursery for more than three hours a week were more likely to develop anti-social behaviour.

Speaking before the conference at the Royal Society, Prof Tremblay said: “Physical aggression in children is a major public problem. It is not only an indicator of aggression in adulthood but it also leads to other serious behavioural problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, violent crimes and continues the cycle of abusive parenting.

“Identifying the factors which stop children becoming well socialised adults should help us design preventative measures. These should put an appropriate emphasis on the behaviour of the parents.”

In today’s research, scientists claim young children do not learn to be badly behaved. Instead, infants are naturally more physically aggressive and must be taught how to control their behaviour.

Children’s ability to shake off violent tendencies is dependent on “both genetic and environmental factors”, with some parents better at teaching youngsters how to be well-mannered and communicate properly.

The findings will fuel the debate over childhood, with academics saying that the amount of time parents spend with children has a dramatic impact on their ability to develop.

Critics say the rising influence of addictive video games and television and a decline in outdoor play has damaged young children.

A Government analysis of 800 toddlers at 100 nurseries found those spending all day separated from parents were more likely to be bossy, disruptive, attention-seekers and even bullies.

Ministers want more mothers and fathers to be given classes to ensure they bring children up properly.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/16/nyobs116.xml

On any given day, blood curdling screams of abused and neglected children being separated from their parents, caretakers and siblings can be heard ricocheting through the halls of Miami-Dade juvenile court.

But amid the chaos and confusion, something astonishing is taking place and it’s because of a judge who has one thing on her mind, the brains of babies who come before the bench.

Judge Cindy Lederman spoke to CBS4′S Michele Gillen.

“What we have learned from the research is that the brains of abused and neglected children are different,” Lederman said. “There are formations that are possible, that never happen. That lack, absence that we see, have ramifications for the rest of the lives of these children.”

Lederman is presiding judge of Miami-Dade juvenile court and she’s pioneering territory that could help change, possibly reverse, the course of how the nation treats abandoned and abused children and perhaps how they ultimately treat you.

“We now know from the explosion of research of brain development that the early years are absolutely crucial. We used to ignore infants and toddlers when they came into court, because we didn’t understand the science,” she said. “[We thought] they will get over it, if they are harmed how would we know because they can’t speak. We were so very, very wrong, well meaning, but very wrong.”

Lederman went on to say, “and as a result, we so missed a tremendous opportunity to change the course of these infants, babies and toddlers minds.”

There are images that are now rocking the world of many child rights advocates and judges. They are X-rays of the brains of abused and neglected children and how they develop from birth to age 3.

At issue, when a child particularly between birth and age 3 is denied love, touch, attachment. The growth of neurons in the frontal lobes seems to be stunted. The area of the brain associated with empathy, having an ability to care for others, that’s called attachment disorder.

“And when you have an attachment disorder, you do not have the ability to relate to people, to be empathetic, and in effect what we are doing is creating monsters, and it’s a really horrible thing,” says Judge Steven Leifman, assistant administrative judge for Miami-Dade County circuit court.

He is also one of the nation’s leading mental health advocates.

“And when they don’t have that attachment to another human being, there are parts of the brain that don’t develop and it causes huge problems later on for the child,” he said.

Leifman says the latest research is staggering because it means juvenile court systems around the country have unwittingly damaged children in foster care by purposely preventing attachments.

“It is particularly acute in the foster care system and one of the things that we realized, again, the court in advertently contributed to the problem, because we felt that we didn’t want children to become too attached, that it would do more harm than good if they got attached then we’d move them. So for a long time we kept moving the kids around the foster care system.”

Leifman now knows they did the absolutely wrong thing and that attachment is the most important thing. Now they try not to move the kids around.

There is dramatic and immediate proof of attachment disorder through something called Still Face Experiment. It captures a loving mom interacting with her trusting, smiling baby. When the mom puts an expressionless look on her face, refusing to show any compassion, interest or love, the child is visibly stunned and appears confused and in pain.

Judge Lederman believes, “We see the deterioration in that baby just because the fullness of that interaction is not there. That baby really reacts to it. Every time I see that, I am frightened because the babies in my court, its chronic neglect.”

In Miami, they’re trying to fix the problem in a novel way. It’s a joint effort between the courts and a first of its kind child-infant evaluation, treatment and study center. There, babies in transition from ages 0 to 3 have a caretaker and a home away from home to attach to.

Dr. Lynn Katz, is director of the Linda Ray Intervention Center in Miami, which is at the forefront of applying this new knowledge, but thy do have limited resources, and limited loving hands to help out.

“So we feel sad when we have children on a waiting list, we feel sad when children are waiting to be in a best practice setting, but we can only do all we can do, so part of the struggle is getting the word out that the early years matter,” said Katz.

The number of children referred to child protection agencies nationwide is staggering, almost three million children per year. Half a million children a year are removed from their homes and the court assumes the legal role of parent. In Miami-Dade County alone, this translates to 9,000 children annually, many of them infants. In Miami, 27 percent of the hildren in foster care are under the age of 5.

Source: CBS 4, FL
http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_255195814.html

A Harvard pediatrician replies to parents worried about day care, autism and vaccines.

I recently put my kids in day care and they have had constant cold symptoms and mild diarrhea. I realize day care is an adjustment and exposes them to all sorts of new bacteria and viruses, but it’s been more than a month and I am having symptoms as well. How long should this be expected to last?

Dr. Claire McCarthy: There are all sorts of studies to show that children who attend day care get sick more often than those who don’t. The number of illnesses each year varies a lot from child to child, from about three times a year to as much as six or seven —which could feel like almost constant illness to a parent, especially if the parent is catching the illnesses, too!

As much as this may make you want to pull your kids out of day care, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It turns out that getting exposed to plenty of bacteria and viruses when you are young may be a really good thing—because it helps promote the healthy development of the immune system. In fact, research has shown that early exposure to germs can decrease a child’s risk of getting asthma and other allergic diseases. It may even decrease their risk of certain cancers such as Hodgkin’s disease…

With all the publicity about autism and immunizations, I’ve chosen not to immunize my kids. What are your thoughts?

There is a lot of publicity about autism and immunizations. What there isn’t a lot of, though, is scientific data to link them. Children get lots of immunizations in the first two years of life—and that’s when the signs of autism emerge. So it’s entirely possible, if not probable, that families or doctors will begin to notice autistic behaviors within a month or two of a child’s getting a vaccine—but that doesn’t mean the vaccine caused the autism…

Source: Newsweek
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20643575/site/newsweek/

Standards of the Three Rs in infant schools have slumped to their lowest level for seven years, national test results reveal.

Seven-year-olds’ mastery of reading, writing and maths has returned to 2000 levels despite huge state spending on early education schemes…

Almost half of boys - nearly 140,000 - will start the next phase of primary school next week without the writing skills needed to be sure of coping with the courses…

The figures emerged days after research from Durham University found that spending of £21billion over the past decade on nursery education and childcare has failed to improve children’s ability to learn.

Experts also voiced concern that the infiltration of screen entertainment in the lives of the youngest children - including TVs, DVDs and computer games - was contributing to poor language skills.

Ministers, however, are optimistic that results will rally after the introduction of the traditional “synthetic phonics” system of teaching reading.

It was not made compulsory in schools until last September despite evidence that it can virtually wipe out illiteracy.

In maths, youngsters will learn their times tables at age eight, a year earlier than now.

There will also be a greater focus on mental arithmetic, with pupils expected to work out more answers using pencil and paper alone…

Tory schools spokesman Nick Gibb said: “Ministers are worryingly complacent about these figures.

“Until we get literacy and maths to significantly higher levels in the first two years of school, we will continue to have problems later on in the education system.

“This is hugely concerning as these early years of school are critical building blocks for a child’s education.” …

Source: This is London, UK
http://tinyurl.com/33kmd8