Reading before a nap benefits learning for toddlers

Reading before a nap benefits learning for toddlers.

A connection between sleep and learning has already been identified as beneficial for adults and older children.

Now University of Sussex psychologists Dr Jessica Horst and PhD candidate Sophie Williams have shown that three-year-olds who take a nap after having stories read to them will also perform better later in word-learning tasks.

Their study, published in Frontiers in Developmental Psychology today, involved 48 British children, half of whom took afternoon naps, and half of whom didn't.

They were read either the same story, or three different stories, but were exposed to the same number of unfamiliar words.

When tested two and a half hours later, 24 hours later and a week later, those children who had been read the same story before their nap performed significantly better than those who hadn't had a sleep.

Significantly, those children who had been read three different stories before their sleep performed 33 per cent better than those who had stayed awake after hearing those stories.

On subsequent tests, the researchers found the wakeful ones never caught up with their peers in word recall.

Jessica Horst

Previous studies by Dr Horst have shown that being read the same story rather than different stories was more beneficial to learning new words.

But the new study shows that sleep can have an additional significant advantage, especially when the children are exposed to different stories.

Dr Horst says: "Overall, all of the children in the study did very well—reading is always good, at any age and any time.

But, children who were learning something particularly difficult (new words from several stories) especially benefited from hearing the stories right before sleeping.

In fact, these children ended up learning the words as well as the children who had heard the same stories again and again, which we knew would be easier."

Dr Horst points that many studies have shown young children are now sleeping less than ever before and consistently less than recommended guidelines.

Chronically short sleep is significantly related to poorer vocabulary scores, childhood obesity and externalising behaviours, such as tantrums.

"Many preschool children take an afternoon nap, yet classroom naps are increasingly being curtailed and replaced due to curriculum demands," she adds.

"Given the growing body of evidence that sleep consolidation has a significant effect on children's learning, such policies may be doing our children a huge disservice."

"In fact, findings like those from the current study indicate we should be encouraging young children to nap and should take advantage of the period right before they nap for instruction in key academic areas such as word learning and arithmetic."

More information: "Goodnight Book: Sleep Consolidation Improves Word Learning via Storybooks." Sophie E. Williams and Jessica S. Horst. Front. Psychol. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00184

Toddlers' Aggression Strongly Associated With Genetic Factors

The development of physical aggression in toddlers is strongly associated with genetic factors and to a lesser degree with the environment, according to a new study. 

Credit: © nadezhda1906 / Fotolia

The development of physical aggression in toddlers is strongly associated with genetic factors and to a lesser degree with the environment, according to a new study led by Eric Lacourse of the University of Montreal and its affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital.

Lacourse's worked with the parents of identical and non-identical twins to evaluate and compare their behaviour, environment and genetics.

Eric Lacourse

"The gene-environment analyses revealed that early genetic factors were pervasive in accounting for developmental trends, explaining most of the stability and change in physical aggression, " Lacourse said.

"However, it should be emphasized that these genetic associations do not imply that the early trajectories of physical aggression are set and unchangeable."

"Genetic factors can always interact with other factors from the environment in the causal chain explaining any behaviour."

Over the past 25 years, research on early development of physical aggression has been highly influenced by social learning theories that suggest the onset and development of physical aggression is mainly determined by accumulated exposure to aggressive role models in the social environment and the media.

However, the results of studies on early childhood physical aggression indicate that physical aggression starts during infancy and peaks between the ages of 2 and 4.

Although for most children the use of physical aggression initiated by the University of Montreal team peaks during early childhood, these studies also show that there are substantial differences in both frequency at onset and rate of change of physical aggression due to the interplay of genetic and environmental factors over time.

Genetically informed studies of disruptive behaviour and different forms of aggression across the lifespan generally conclude that genetic factors account for approximately 50% of the variance in the population.

Lacourse and his colleagues posited and tested three general patterns regarding the developmental roles of genetic and environmental factors in physical aggression.

• First, the most consensual and general point of view is that both sources of influence are ubiquitous and involved in the stability of physical aggression.
• Second, a "genetic set point" model suggests a single set of genetic factors could account for the level of physical aggression across time. 
• A third pattern labeled 'genetic maturation' postulates new sources of genetic and environmental influences with age.

"According to the genetic maturation hypothesis, new environmental contributions to physical aggression could be of short duration in contrast to genetic factors," Lacourse explained.

About the twins cohort
This twin study was initiated by Michel Boivin of Laval University and Richard Tremblay, who is also affiliated with the University of Montreal and University College Dublin.

All parents of twins born between April 1995 and December 1998 in the Greater Montreal area (Canada) were invited to participate, which resulted in the participation of 667 monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs.

Monozygotic means the twins originated from the same embryo -- they are genetically identical. Dizogytic means they developed in separate embryos, meaning they are not identical.

Mothers were ask to rate their twins physical aggression, by reporting behavior such as hitting, biting, kicking and fighting, at the ages of 20, 32 and 50 months.

"The results of the gene-environment analyses provided some support for the genetic set-point hypotheses, but mostly for the genetic maturation hypotheses," Lacourse said.

"Genetic factors always explained a substantial part of individual differences in physical aggression."

"More generally, the limited role of shared environmental factors in physical aggression clashes with the results of studies of singletons in which many family or parent level factors were found to predict developmental trajectories of physical aggression during preschool."

Our results suggest that the effect of those factors may not be as direct as was previously thought.

Long-term studies of physical aggression clearly show that most children, adolescent and adults eventually learn to use alternatives to physical aggression.

"Because early childhood propensities may evoke negative responses from parents and peers, and consequently create contexts where the use of physical aggression is maintained and reinforced, early physical aggression needs to be dealt with care," Lacourse said.

"These cycles of aggression between children and siblings or parents, as well as between children and their peers, could support the development of chronic physical aggression."

"We are presently exploring the impact of these gene and social environment interactions."

Journal Reference: 
Eric Lacourse, PhD, Michel Boivin, PhD, Mara Brendgen, PhD, Amélie Petitclerc, PhD, Alain Girard, MSc, Frank Vitaro, PhD, Stéphane Paquin, PhD candidate, Isabelle Ouellet-Morin, PhD, Ginette Dionne, PhD and Richard E. Tremblay, PhD. A longitudinal twin study of physical aggression during early childhood: Evidence for a developmentally dynamic genome. Psychological Medicine, January 2014

Revised checklist improves detection of autism in toddlers

The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F) is an effective screening tool for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in low-risk toddlers, according to research published online Dec. 23 in Pediatrics.

Diana L. Robins, Ph.D., of Georgia State University in Atlanta, and colleagues used the M-CHAT-R/F to screen 16,071 toddlers at 18-month and 24-month well-child care visits.

M-CHAT-R/F uses an algorithm based on three risk levels and is intended to reduce age of diagnosis and hasten early intervention.

The researchers found that the M-CHAT-R/F was reliable and valid.

Children scoring 3 or higher at initial screening and 2 or higher at follow-up had a 47.5 percent risk of being diagnosed with ASD and a 94.6 percent risk of having any developmental delay or concern.

According to the report, compared with the original M-CHAT, the revised tool detects ASD at a higher rate and reduces the number of children who need follow-up.

In the current study, children received a diagnosis of ASD at an age that was two years earlier than the national median age of diagnosis.

"The M-CHAT-R/F detects many cases of ASD in toddlers; physicians using the two-stage screener can be confident that most screen-positive cases warrant evaluation and referral for early intervention," the authors write.

Several study authors disclosed financial interests in the M-CHAT.

More information: 'Validation of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised With Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F)' peds.2013-1813.full.pdf/html 

An extra hour of TV diminishes toddlers' kindergarten chances

Every hourly increase in daily television watching at 29 months of age is associated with diminished vocabulary and math skills, classroom engagement (which is largely determined by attention skills), victimization by classmates, and physical prowess at kindergarten, according to Professor Linda Pagani of the University of Montreal and the CHU Sainte-Justine children's hospital.

"This is the first time ever that a stringently controlled associational birth cohort study has looked at and found a relationship between too much toddler screen time and kindergarten risks for poor motor skills and psychosocial difficulties, like victimization by classmates," Pagani said.

"These findings suggest the need for better parental awareness and compliance with existing viewing recommendations put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)."

"The AAP discourages watching television during infancy and recommends not more than two hours per day beyond age 2. It seems that every extra hour beyond that has a remarkably negative influence."

Journalists are welcome to use the following responses in their own reports. Interviews and further information (including the original French text of this document) can be obtained by contacting media relations at the University of Montreal (Université de Montréal).

Question: Why did you conduct this study?

Pagani: Much of the research on school readiness has focused on how kindergarten characteristics predict later success.

Kindergarten entry characteristics predict long-term psycho-social adjustment and economic characteristics like income and academic attainment.

Being innovative, my focus has been to examine what predicts kindergarten entry characteristics. Adding further originality, I also wanted to focus on neglected yet crucial aspects of school readiness such as motor skills, which predict later physical activity and reading skills, likelihood of being "picked-on", which predict social difficulties, and skills at linked to doing what you are supposed to be doing when having been given instructions, which are in turn linked to attention systems that are regulated by the brain's frontal lobe development.

Question: Who participated in this study?

Pagani: 991 girls and 1006 boys in Quebec whose parents reported their television viewing behaviour as part of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development.

Question: How did you come up with the figure of an extra hour of TV?

Pagani: The standard deviation is a commonly used statistic tool that tells us what is within a normal range compared to the average.

One standard deviation from the average daily amount of television viewed by the toddlers in this sample (105 minutes) is 72 minutes.

Some of the children who participated in the study were two or even three standard deviations away from the average, and their kindergarten indicators were correspondingly worse than those who were one standard deviation away.

Question: Where did you examine television viewing?

Pagani: This study only looks at the most common form of screen time, which is in the home. However, it may be an underestimate because many child care settings use television as an activity during care giving.

Question: Why would these results be important for everyday life?

Pagani: Because of kindergarten's power to predict future productivity, the identification of modifiable factors that foretell not being ready for the transition to formal schooling represents an important goal for a productive society.

By statistical standards, the results show highly controlled modest associations, yet these are net effects which suggest a developmental course which could ultimately compromise achievement, social relations, physical prowess, and preferences and habits toward a healthy lifestyle.

Toddlers 'cry for a month in French nurseries'

A nursery workers' leader has unleashed a stinging attack on France's more formal early years education system which has been praised by a UK minister.

Pre-School Learning Alliance chief Neil Leitch described how chairs had been fitted with tennis balls to stop fidgeting toddlers sandwiched into desks from making a noise.

He also said many children "cry for a month" after joining such nurseries.

UK Childcare minister Liz Truss has praised the teacher-led French model.

And she suggested that more nursery sessions, where two and three-year-olds experience a more formalised approach with teachers leading the learning, could be adopted in England.

'Fidgeting'
She also criticised what she described as "chaotic settings" where children were allowed to run wild.

Mrs Truss told early years managers that they need not feel obliged to run their nurseries in such a way that children can go in and out of doors, choosing the activities that they want to engage in, as is the case in the vast majority of settings.

But Mr Leitch told his organisation's conference in Birmingham:

"Well I went to France, and I saw 25 children sit around tables, fidgeting so much that staff had fitted tennis balls to the legs of the chairs to stop any noise. I switched off from observing the teacher and watched the effects of the constant teacher-led activity on the children.

"I watched them sit in their chairs and twiddle their fingers and then they would start playing with their clothes. As the time went on the little boys began prodding each other as their attention waned.

"Three-year-olds that had times allocated in the day to use the toilet and three-year-olds that could be in the class from 08.00 to 12.30 with a 15-minute play break, and when they did go outside, no bikes, no balls, no sandpit - nothing.

"But then I guess they were simply relieved to breathe fresh air."

'I was captivated'
He added that the government had not passed on French nursery staff's concerns about "countless children that cry for a month when they join the class in September".

Mr Leitch said he felt uncomfortable criticising another country's childcare system, but he "could not stand by and be lectured on how awful we are in England compared to our French neighbours".

He added: "Because given what's best for the child, for me there is no comparison."

When Mrs Truss made the comments in April, she said of the French model: "There is a strong focus on structured learning, led by a qualified professional. I saw a teacher lead eight two-year-olds in putting together a series of plastic discs for a good 20 minutes. I was captivated - and so were they."

The Department for Education followed up the minister's comments, saying it was a "myth" that free-flow play was compulsory, adding that there was no reason why structured teacher sessions could not also be the norm.

'Numbers'
It added it was important for parents to have a choice of different approaches in early years settings - so they could choose what worked best for their child.

The Department is yet to respond to the comments in Mr Leitch's speech.

But his speech comes just days after the plan to increase the number of children qualified nursery staff could look after, was dropped by the government.

Mr Leitch said the higher ratios per staff member that French nurseries adopt were unpopular with staff there.

He said: "I spoke with four teachers separately and when asked what would they change about the French system... every single one said ratios. They could not cope with numbers."

Canadian Researchers reveal Toddlers value helpful people

Even very young children value people that help them and they are motivated to return the favour, according to a new study in the journal Plos One, out of Queen's University, Ontario.

The study revealed that those children, when asked to pick one person to help, most often choose the person who was helpful to them.

Valerie Kuhlmeier

"Children can identify helpful individuals and will be helpful toward those people," says study author Valerie Kuhlmeier (Psychology).

"As early as the age of three, children already appear to be engaging in a variant of the golden rule: 'do unto others as they have done unto you."

In the study, children were presented with a puzzle that consisted of a picture covered in such a way as to allow only a small section to be seen.

The children could not see what was in the picture but could interact with two puppets. Puppets are used in studies like this one because children treat them as peers.

One puppet announced that it knew what the picture was and proceeded to tell the child. The second puppet said that it also knew the picture, but was not going to tell.

Both puppets spoke in happy, friendly tones, and looked alike; they only differed in their willingness to provide information.

Children were able to determine which puppet was helpful and, when the one puppet needed help reaching a far-way toy or solving a puzzle of their own, the children were quick to identify which puppet had helped them and returned the favour.

"There is a growing body of research demonstrating that toddlers spontaneously help others in many situations," says Dr. Kuhlmeier, director of the Infant Cognition Group at Queen's.

"What we are also finding is that they pick out the helpers around them, even when the helpful act is as simple as teaching them something new about their world, and they return the favour with their own helpful acts."