An interesting study looked beyond the effect of children’s television programming on child play and development, testing children’s play behavior in the presence and absence of background adult television shows. Play, the article reminds us, is essential to children’s social and cognitive development. The question is: does adult-oriented background television interrupt young children’s play with toys? The researchers observed children from age 1 to 3 playing with toys for one hour, half the time with a television in the background playing an adult game show that would be difficult for children to understand (Jeopardy!) as well as the commercials that appeared with the show. The study found that play was reduced in the presence of the background television, with somewhat shorter play time overall, shorter play episodes and shorter periods of focused attention. Although the differences were there, they were not large overall. There was not much effect on the amount of focused attention to play or on the level (or maturity) of play. Most of the lost playtime was spent looking at the television (about 5%). The change of attention from play to television did seem to disrupt young children’s play and make it more likely for them to move from toy to toy. In a later study, the authors found that the presence of adult television programming also negatively affects the quality and quantity of parent-child interactions. (The article reviewed is “The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children,” by M. Evans Schmidt, T. Pempek, H. Kirkorian, A. Frankenfield Lund, and D. Anderson, published in Child Development (2008), Volume 79, No. 4, pages 1137-1151.)
Does adult television disrupt children’s play?
July 21st, 2008Food intolerance and behavior
July 21st, 2008Perhaps you have read anecdotes about the effects of various foods on children’s behavior or read Doris Rapp’s book on food intolerances (Is This Your Child, 1992). The following review of the state of scientific findings on food intolerance is based on the article “The impact of diet on anti-social, violent and criminal behaviour” by David Benton, published by the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review, Volume 32 (2007), pages 752-774. The article explores the question of whether or not a negative response may result from a wide range of foods. The article distinguishes between food allergy, which involves an immunological response and accounts for only about one in five adverse food reactions, and food intolerance. Food intolerance is a more generic term for adverse food reactions. The author used a form of inquiry known as “meta-analysis” which involves systematically reviewing the methods and results of scientific studies on a topic. The article looked at studies that removed a range of foods from the diet of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and observed the results.
The article examined the results of five studies that used double-blind placebo-controlled. In one such study (Egger et al, 1985, “Controlled trial of oligoantigenic treatment in the hyperkinetic syndrome”, Lancet 1, pages 540-545) 7-year olds were put on a very restricted elimination diet of lamb, chicken, potatoes, rice, banana, apple and brassica (a group of plants including broccoli, cabbage, etc.). Other foods were added back into the children’s diet one at a time and kept in the diet if there were no negative reactions. Foods that seemed to create an adverse reaction were then tested in a double blind condition (one meal was given with the food and another with a substitute, without the observers knowing which was which). In that study, 82% of the children improved and 28% of children exhibited normal behavior. The food items that most often caused an adverse reaction were the artificial color tartrazine and the preservative sodium benzoate (79% of the children had an adverse reaction). Another important finding is that the children affected by these additives were also affected by other foods, but the pattern of food intolerances was different from child to child. The most common problems were related to cows milk, chocolate, grapes, wheat, oranges, cows cheese, and hens eggs.
In the five double-blind studies reviews, the percentage of children who improved by at least a quarter ranged from 25% to 66%. Some important note and caveats from the various studies:
• Changes were mostly in the children’s level of irritability and manageability of behavior, rather than activity levels or attention.
• Analysis of the studies shows that some children with ADHD and related diagnoses respond adversely to food. Generally the adverse response occurs with more than one additive or food.
• The question arises of whether children with allergic response to the foods are more likely to exhibit behavioral response than non-allergic children.
• Adverse reactions have been observed from dozens of food, with patterns varying from person to person.
• Review of studies of sensitivity to sugar have shown little effect of sugar on behavior and aggression, although that doesn’t rule out the possibility that a small minority of children are affected.
• Studies show a possibility that fatty acids may reduce behavioral symptoms in children with ADHD, but further study is needed.
• Several well-designed studies found that multi-vitamin and mineral supplementation had a positive effect on violent and anti-social behavior.
Benton concludes by cautioning that diet is unlikely to be the major cause of anti-social behavior, but one of many. Thus, a range of approaches to such behavior is likely to be indicated.
Here is an article in Mothering on food intolerance and behavior.
Fussenegger Juwel Blanket and The Playful Penguin Featured in Wondertime Magazine
March 15th, 2008Disney’s Wondertime Magazine featured David Fussenegger’s lovely white Juwel receiving blanket in it’s March 2008 Editor’s picks, with a link to our store, The Playful Penguin, where the blanket is available for only $26 (currently on sale for $18!). It is also available in pink.
Stacking, sorting, pouring — developmental play really adds up
January 21st, 2008There are a lot of hi-tech toys out there for preschoolers, toddlers and even babies. But what about the value of manipulating their environment? Edgar Klugman, Professor Emeritus at Wheelock College and founder of Playing for Keeps, a national not-for-profit organization that promotes healthy, constructive play for all children notes how fun it is for kids to “stack blocks into towers and to build other block structures. You’ll see babies occupy themselves quite happily for a surprising amount of time when they play with shape sorters and stacking toys. But it’s more than fun. It’s the way kids experiment with size, shape, amounts, and other arithmetic concepts.”
Encourage the little ones in your life to dig in and figure things out. Here are some recommendations:
• Let kids practice pouring and measuring. Keep safe containers of various sizes around and give children well-supervised time in the bathtub for playing with water. Play guessing games by asking your child to estimate how many small containers of items will be needed to fill up a big container. Extend this kind of play to different settings (outdoors, at the beach, in the kitchen, while doing laundry) and with different safe and age appropriate materials (e.g., sand, pebbles, potting soil, coins, beads). Kids may also enjoy pouring and measuring some foods like frozen peas or corn and with close supervision, they can use these skills to help prepare meals.
• Combine reading time with math time. There are many wonderful children’s books that feature counting or math concepts as part of the story—creating an effective way to combine lap reading with arithmetic-centered play. You can find plenty of titles by Googling “counting books” and similar phrases. Other good titles can be found in consultation with the children’s librarian at your public library or at your local specialty toy store. One word of warning—some books in this genre use not-so-healthy food products such as Oreos or M & M’s as the item being counted and some parents may wish to avoid those snack-centered “stories”.
• Play counting games—anytime, anywhere. Many of us grew up with rhymes and song-games that helped us learn how to count. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and One Two, Buckle My Shoe come to mind. Some of these classic ditties have been made into board games of varying quality, but parents should keep in mind that all they really need is a playful spirit and a simple everyday occasion like a car ride or waiting in line at the grocery store to engage your child in those types of counting play. Of course, age appropriate board games are also great ways for kids to learn counting skills and some online games are effective and fun.
Check out, for example, nesting drums, wooden blocks, and shape sorting box at The Playful Penguin.
Little Uglies Attend Birthday Party
January 11th, 2008Like it or not, goodie bags are a birthday party staple. For years now, I have looked for alternatives to the bag full of tiny items that end up on the floor of my car and my children’s rooms. This year I found the perfect goodie bag item for a third grade party with Little Uglies. Not only are they the perfect size, these little Uglydolls are loved by all ages and both boys and girls! Who could ask for more?
Read together
December 27th, 2007Aside from tooth brushing, to me the most important part of the bedtime routine is reading together. When children look forward to this time together, they are less likely to complain about bedtime! Reading with your child has so many other benefits as well — language development, success in reading, better attention spans, learning new concepts and building vocabulary. It is also a great bonding time. I couldn’t agree more with the following quote (from “Using picture books to support young children’s literacy. Janis Strasser and Holly Seplocha. Childhood Education, Summer 2007):
“The text and illustrations of high-quality picture books weave rich stories that can excite and surprise children, make them laugh, make them wonder, and make them think. Turning each page brings another element to the magic. Whether the pictures are photographs, black-and-white line drawings, unusual designs, paintings, woodcuts, or collage, the visual art form excites the young audience. Whether the text is factual, fictional, historical, readily identifiable to the listener, or something from another culture, the stories fill young children with a multitude of ideas, words, and questions.”
One way to make reading together more fun is to pick books that YOU can enjoy reading with your child. At least for me, certain books feel like a chore, while others facilitate great interaction. Some more tips for making reading with your child fun and a great learning experience:
– Reading through a story is great, but when you have more time stop and ask lots of questions. Even the little children enjoy answering your questions by pointing to the pictures.
– When you have read the same book many times with your child, he or she will often know the words (or even the whole book) by heart. I often pause long enough to let my child fill in different words from memory (especially the rhyming ones as the rhyming also provides a clue). Before my younger son was ready to say the words, I let him fill in the sounds. I would say Chicka Chicka and he would say Boom Boom!
– My four year old thinks it is great fun when I substitute nonsense words for a main part of the narrative. Instead of Franklin Rides a Bike, we might do Franklin rides a Noodle! Then every time the word bike comes up in the story I have to say noodle. He always notices and reminds me when I forget!
– When my older child and I read together we take turns — he reads a page and I read a page.
– My son recommends ending reading sessions for longer books on a ‘cliffhanger’ to make it more fun when you start reading again next time.
– Don’t forget to talk about the book with your child when you are done reading!
Most of us feel pressed for time these days. If there isn’t enough time in the day to get in reading time before bed, there may be many other opportunities to squeeze it in. If your child needs your company during long potty visits, that could be a good time for reading. On long car rides we often play books on tape.
My younger son LOVES to go to the bookstore, but unfortunately the only thing he is interested in once we get there are books based on TV characters. Although these books can draw your kids in through the familiar characters, if you are like me, reading them is like watching paint dry. On the other hand, we recently went on vacation and I brought along several books from The Playful Penguin, including In a Nutshell, This is the Sea that Feeds Us, and On My Way to Buy Eggs. Since I didn’t bring enough books for a whole week, we read these over and over and he couldn’t have been happier. He still wanted to read them when we got home from vacation!
Here is some more information on the four publishers we are currently working with:
Dawn Publications is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Their mission is to assist parents and educators to open the minds and hearts of children to the transforming influence of Nature. I began carrying their books because my son loved The Dandelion Seed, which features the journey of a tiny dandelion seed who was initially reluctant to leave the safety of his flower home as it travels through the landscape to its new home and continues the cycle of life. The illustrations are lovely, making you a part of the journey. In a Nutshell shows a similar journey as an acorn transforms into a magnificent tree.
Illumination Arts’ mission is to publish children’s books that “Inspire the Mind, Touch the Heart, and Uplift the Spirit.” “As well as inspiring joy and laughter, our books also promote respect, forgiveness, tolerance and love, helping to create a more enlightened world through inner peace and self-awareness. Through the years, it is gratifying to discover that adult readers are also deeply touched by our children’s stories.” Their book, One Smile, shows how one good deed can lead to many as people pass along the small kindnesses they receive. The illustrations are lovely and I always get choked up reading the book to my son (admittedly, it doesn’t take much for that to happen!)
Kane/Miller Book Publishers “Open minded books opening young minds to the World”. They specialize in foreign translated children’s books. They “search the world for books that through great stories and arresting illustrations enrich the lives and the imaginations of the children who read them.” The books we currently carry are from Taiwan and Brazil. One story Nina Bonita, is about a white rabbit who wants to find out how a beautiful girl got her dark skin.
Ten Speed Press publishes some wonderful children’s books, including the fun Hairy Maclary and Slinky Malinki series, full of playful characters and rhymes.
For more information about reading together, check out the tips at Reading is Fundamental.
