How childs play effects their cognitive ability

I found it interesting in the article ‘Old-fashion play builds serious skills’, how 60 years ago children’s idea of play consisted mainly of using their imagination. For example playing pirates and princesses without having toys for props. In today’s society it is very rare to see children using their imagination; instead play usually revolves around a toy. This has changed how the mind develops. It decreases cognitive thinking and effects how children are able to self-regulate their emotions and behaviors.  This is because when children use their imagination they use ‘private speech’ to come up with rules to their own games.  This critical cognitive skill called executive function. 

I think today's life style has changed so much; not only how children play but how busy are life styles have become. Maybe parents don’t have enough time to take their children outdoors or don’t get them away from video games or computers enough. I think this is the case for many parents and if we had known  that we were neglecting our children of using their imagination and that it would have such negative consequences;  that we would encourage them to play outdoors more, and limit video games and computers. I know myself that I’m guilty of this. Right now my son is playing the Wii so I can have some quite time to write my paper, but I will try to work on it.

I think that this could be a cause of why ADHD has increased so dramatically in the United States. If children are losing their ability to concentrate and self-regulate; I think that there should be further research on why? ADHD research should be focused on the underlying problem, not on being so quick to prescribe medications.

Wk 3, Brain development and attachment

I thought it was interesting how the first two years of life are so important to a child’s developing brain. This is when the synaptic connections wire the brain. Motor, sensory, and cognitive skills develop. It is what Erikson’s theory refers to the stage of ‘Trust vs. Mistrust.’ This is crucial time when experiences shape the child’s personality. Since infants depend on their caregiver it is caregiver’s responsibility to provide positive interaction with the child. Smiling and holding the child helps create a secure connection. This is very important in connecting synapse in the brain that deal with emotions, empathy, and cognitive skills. For example if a child is neglected and no one attends to them when they cry, they become fearful. This has a huge impact on the child’s later development if these needs are continually not meet by the time the infant reaches two years of age. It permanently deletes connections in the brain that deal with trust, empathy, and emotions. It is almost impossible to reverse these effects later in life.

This made think of how being home with my son the first years of his life helped develop his emotional stability. I knew that we had developed a secure connection by his reaction when I first left him with a babysitter. This was proven by him trusting me to leave him there. He did not cry and was not mad at me when I picked him up. If secure trust was not there he would have been angry when I dropped him off or picked him up. This also made me think of daughter who is 8 weeks old. The pediatrician told me to let her cry in the middle of the night, a little longer each night and that would help with her sleeping through the night. I tried it for two nights and made her so upset that it was nearly impossible to put her back to sleep. I now feel like this was misguided information given by the pediatrician and sounds like it could have lead to trust issues with my daughter.

I would like to know more about adoptive children. I now understand why adoptive parents are presented with more problems, but what can they do to help rewire the brain?

Week 2 Teratogens

Teratogen is an agent, which can cause a birth defect.  

I found this topic interesting because the book focuses on drugs, diseases, and environmental hazards, but I don't think enough attention is brought to foods that we eat that can also cause teratogen effects. Nutrition is very important while being pregnant and feel that it’s important for a woman that is expecting to also beware to avoid certain foods. These foods include:

•  Certain artificial sweeteners- This is found in so many of the foods we consume such as diet soda, yogurt, and even salad dressing.
• Unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices- They could contain bacteria that is very harmful to a pregnant woman and her fetus. 
•   Deli meats- It contains MSG which is a neurotoxin.

During my two pregnancies I knew to avoid alcohol, tobacco, and cleaning the litter box. I feel like that is common sense, but was unaware of a lot of the other known teratogens. That’s why I think it would be important for doctors to provide more information to an expecting mother. Not once did my doctors ever go over the list of stuff for me to avoid. I knew basic things for example the doctor said to take Tylenol. So I did but it wasn’t in till I was reading this chapter that I found out aspirin can potentially cause deficits in intelligence, attention, and motor skills. In conclusion I feel that doctors need to provide more information on teratogens, and I also feel that more research needs to be done on the foods that we eat that could potential cause teratogen effects on a fetus.

WK 1 Entry: Reflection of B.F. Skinners view on behaviorism

Skinner was well known for his research on operant conditioning. This includes two consequences; reinforcement and punishment. They both have an effect on whether or not a behavior will be repeated in the future. Reinforcement can be either positive of negative. Both types of consequences are used throughout our life from infancy to old age.

This interests me because Skinners research is based primarily on animals so I wanted to take a look into how his point of view has affected humans over the years. This raises the question:

How relevant is Skinners theory in today’s society?

•  50 years ago the typical house hold consisted of stay at home parent. This is strong influence on a child’s upbringing. The parent was able to consistently reward or punishes behaviors to help mold the child’s behavior. With today’s society it is more common to see single parents or both parents working or going to school. I feel this makes it harder for children to have a straight set of rules. For example a daycare may have different standards then the parent does. In conclusion I feel that Skinners theory was more relevant 50 years ago then it is today.

With my son I use operant conditioning. I found that rewarding good behavior is much easier than punishing bad behavior. For example my son will pick up his toys so he can play the Wii. Over time he has learned to pick up his toys without me asking, because he knows that in order to play the Wii his toys must be picked up. This makes us both happy and there is no conflict.

I would like to know more about how a child’s behavior is affected by the busy life style people live today. Is a child’s behavior better when they have a stay at home parent, or can a child’s behavior also be great having different influences in their life’s on a daily bases?