Covering The Science of Early Childhood Development

 

In 2000, a fascinated public embraced the new science of baby's brains found in the National Academies' report “From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development.” The science provided a powerful argument for enhancing child care and early education that underlies much of the prekindergarten discussion today. But in the realm of unintended consequences, the report may have also helped launch an industry of toys and get-ahead games for nurturing baby geniuses. And it seemed to generate a misconception that a child's future is sealed in the early years .

 

As head of the committee that developed the report, pediatrician Dr. Jack Shonkoff, is trying to tweak public thinking on those points. Dr. Shonkoff is also dean of Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

 

If edu-gadgets and enrichment classes for preschoolers promise great results, ask for independent studies of how they affect a child, Dr. Shonkoff told fellows. And don't carry the message that cognitive results are the only thing that counts. Brain research shows that the single most important contributor to nurturing a child’s intelligence is not skill-based learning, it is interaction with a nurturing and responsive adult, he said. In short, for any child, there’s little learning without love.

 

What of the economically disadvantaged child, who may start school with major deficiencies in language skills and vocabulary compared with her more advantaged peers? Can she ever catch up? (See more on those issues in the seminal book, “Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of American Children.”)

 

Yes, according to the science. As the brain matures and connections harden, it becomes more difficult to change skills and behavior, but far from impossible. “The window of opportunity for adaptation remains open,” Dr. Shonkoff said, “but the costs of change increase over time.”

 

One reason change becomes harder is simply biological. Scientists have observed that children who lack secure connections with loving adults, who change caregivers frequently or live in chaotic circumstances may produce high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. That self-protective hormonal response puts the child on mental alert, which is essential for basic survival, but diverts his capacity to focus on other tasks.

 

That’s why, Dr. Shonkoff said, it’s imperative that child-related policies focus on reducing the stress points in a young child’s life. “Very few will come to school healthy and ready to learn if their needs are unaddressed. The earlier you make the investment, the more time you have in the future to reap the return.”

 

Beyond reporting on the latest in brain science, he suggested other story ideas:

 

• Child welfare and the mental health of preschoolers

Of course child protection efforts should ensure a child’s physical safety, but what about his mental health? When investigating charges of neglect or abuse, Dr. Shonkoff said that child welfare workers should evaluate a child's emotional well-being as carefully as his physical condition. Federal laws encourage systems to refer children for psychological evaluation and signs of developmental delays. How is that done in your child protection system? And given a national dearth of mental health practitioners for children, who delivers the needed care?

• What’s behind preschool expulsion?

Two-fifths of preschool teachers surveyed by Yale researcher Walter Gilliam in a recent study said they had expelled a preschooler from a program. (See state explusion reports here.) Get beyond the “blame game” about failed parents, Dr. Shonkoff advised fellows, and explore the stressors in these children’s lives. What services are available to them and their families? How are teachers trained to deal with children’s behavioral issues?

 

• Are preschoolers being medicated to “solve” developmental issues?

A 2000 study led by University of Maryland researcher Julie Magno Zito found that the number of children ages 2-4 taking antidepressants and stimulants (generally for ADHD) increased by 50 percent between 1991 and 1995. Not only are psychotropic medications not approved for use on young children, but prescriptions can be administered by physicians with little expertise in child mental health. What’s happening now, particulary among children in protective care?

© 2005, Journalism Fellowships in Child and Family Policy, University of Maryland