When asked to think about a classroom, there are some key features that stand out in one’s mind.  A classroom has desks with chairs, probably a carpet for read-aloud instruction, a teacher’s desk, and computers.  There is another aspect of classrooms that tends to stand out in one’s mind when remembering their years in school…decorations.  Most people can remember bright posters telling them “Reading is awesome!” or “The Steps of the Scientific Method”.  For years these posters have been thought to not only motivate and serve as reminders for students, but to also provide a source of sensory stimulation to help in child development.

Researchers have begun to question the impacts of such colorful decorations and backgrounds on development of the senses and cognitive abilities.  This questioning comes from the knowledge that some colors are known to distract and alter performance of a task in adults.  So, why would certain colors and patterns not also affect children who have less-developed attention spans?

Most often colors have the ability to alter focus when there is a contrast of brightness between two objects as well as multiple brightly colored objects in close proximity.  It has been found that too much color whether it be from decorations in a child’s environment or the colors of a screen, have the ability to overstimulate children.  But what is the effect of this overstimulation?

A recent study examined the ability of preschoolers to sustain attention on a given task.  These tasks included puzzle making, lego reconstruction, and completing a visual task after a read aloud.  These tasks were completed by each child once on a surface that was colorful, and once on a surface that was white.  Their attention spans were also observed in rooms with lots of colorful posters and those with white walls. Attention was measured based off of certain behaviors such as frustration, eye movements, missing a piece, and how the child searched for pieces.  

This study revealed that colorful backgrounds both within the direct work environment as well as in the background make it more difficult to sustain their attention to a task and can cause them to become distracted.  Children in the study had a difficult time completing tasks that required them to discriminate between pieces on a colorful background.  Attention is a crucial part of being able to complete tasks, often those involved with learning, which suggests that colorful environments and play areas may hinder children’s learning abilities.  More research is needed to investigate how these processes are disrupted but it is suggested to limit colorful objects in the child’s environment.

 

Marissa Robarge

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Read the full article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5083879/

 

Today’s Friday Feature is Kylie Robinshaw!

Kylie Robinshaw is a research assistant at UConn KIDS. She is a junior at the University of Connecticut and is pursuing a B.A. in Psychological Sciences and a minor in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies. After she graduates, she plans on going to graduate school to become a school psychologist. Kylie is excited to learn about research and recruitment processes and looks forward to spending a great semester with UConn KIDS!

Kylie has a passion for working with kids, and has been employed in child-care facilities, whether that be summer camp or after-school programs, for 3 years. Recently, she spent her summer as an Inclusion Camp Counselor, working one-on-
one with children with Down Syndrome and autism.

In her spare time, Kylie enjoys going to the gym, learning K-pop dance routines, reading fantasy novels, and spending time with her pets! Fun fact: Kylie has 4 golden retrievers and a cat! On campus, you can find Kylie working at UConn’s Child Labs, dining in Whitney, and visiting the cows at Horsebarn Hill!

The coronavirus pandemic has provided the world with a socially challenging environment. Amidst quarantine and the fear of getting sick, many people witnessed their in-person interactions with others dwindle for the sake of their own health. According to a recent study, adults are not the only ones struggling with talking to others; babies are too. 

Researchers compared babies who were born pre-pandemic to babies who were born in the course of the pandemic and found that the latter had more issues with speech. Babies who were born during the pandemic struggled with turn-taking in conversations and with babbling. The researchers suggested that parents of babies born during the pandemic may be talking less with their babies as a result of COVID-19 stress, but reassure parents that this problem is fixable. 

One method the researchers suggested to promote baby vocalizations is to use serve-and-volley interactions. Serve-and-volley interactions are a turn-taking-based strategy in which parents keep an eye on what motivates their baby and respond to it. For example, if a baby is looking at a pig stuffed animal, the parent can pick up the pig and make pig noises (“oink oink”). This encourages the baby to keep playing with the pig and allows the volley to continue. Serve-and-volley interactions therefore can be used practically in any environment a baby is in, as long as parents center on what motivates their baby. An important aspect of engaging with speech-and-volley interactions is to make sure to consistently and immediately respond to a baby’s motivations and vocalizations, as babies are sensitive as to what goes around in their environment. 

Speech-and-volley interactions contribute to brain development and enhance a baby’s language and learning. They are also useful with older children, helping them improve their focus, attention and academic success. Overall, speech-and-volley interactions are a convenient and constructive tool that parents can use to help build their children’s speech and learning abilities.  

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/smart-families/202209/babies-babbles-and-beyond-serve-and-volley-infants

Today’s Friday Feature is Tulsi Patel!

Tulsi Patel is a research assistant at UConn KIDS. She is an undergraduate student majoring in Nursing and minoring in Biological Sciences. This is Tulsi’s first semester working with UConn KIDS and she is grateful for the opportunity and can’t wait for everything she will learn throughout the year.

Tulsi’s main passion is working with children or in the NICU and is currently doing her clinicals at Connecticut Children’s Hospital. In the future, she wants to move back to New Jersey and hopefully find a job working in the city.

On campus, Tulsi is a Resident Assistant at Towers, a mentor for middle-schoolers in UConn KUBE teaching them about both education and culture, and Late Night and Student Activities. She really enjoys meeting and getting to know new people. In her free time, Tulsi loves to be outdoors, to dance, to paint, and to get a crunchwrap suprme at Taco Bell.

It’s hard to think of a place in everyday life where you aren’t exposed to technology.  Whether it be your smartphone in your pocket, the television in the waiting room, or the computer on your desk, the fact is that technology is integrating its way more and more into our lives.  While the newest devices seem to make tasks easier and more convenient, it may be impacting your child’s cognitive abilities.

 

There have been numerous studies that focus on the effect of technology on maintaining focus and the ability to self-regulate, but new research has begun to shed light on the impact of screen-media on children’s fine-motor skill development, and as a result various cognitive functions.  Fine-motor skills refer to one’s ability to control and coordinate the movement of the hands and fingers, which is seen in tasks like grasping, touching, and placing objects.  Fine-motor skills are crucial in completing learning and cognitive tasks and thus can be a good indicator of one’s learning abilities.  

 

A study evaluating preschool children found that higher screen-media usage (such as television and smartphones) has a negative impact on fine-motor skill development.  Specifically, researchers found that children had a difficult time drawing figures when asked.  Researchers believe screen-media type technology has a negative effect on fine motor skills because the tasks required to use these devices are repetitive, e.g. swiping and tapping, so various aspects of motor development are not stimulated.  

 

More research is needed in this area of development but current research recommends varying tasks to improve skill level.  Suggested tasks include sand play, dough-molding, bead threading, and block building.

 

Read the full article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088520062200031X

 

Marissa Robarge

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

In today’s world, the prevalence of developmental disabilities among children is high but the amount and adequacy of services and interventions available to help these children are low. Updated estimates can help increase awareness and understanding of the requirements and needs of the population. In a study done in 2018, using the National Health Interview Survey, researchers were able to see the change over time in the demographics of developmental disabilities over a 9-year period. They found out that there was an overall significant increase in the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and other developmental disabilities. There was, however, a substantial decrease for any other developmental delay. This leads to an overall trend of about 1 in every 6 children between the age of 3 to 17 in the United States being reported as having a developmental disability. There was a higher prevalence among the male gender, older children, children with a birth weight <2500 g, non-Hispanic white children, children with public insurance, children with parents with a high school education or less, and children below the poverty line. This growth in percentage leads to the importance of conducting more research on the characteristics of the diseases and what we can do in children-related environments to help their developmental processes. Studies like these can also help us discover more services and interventions for this population. 

Tulsi Patel

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Link: https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/144/4/e20190811/76974/Prevalence-and-Trends-of-Developmental?autologincheck=redirected?nfToken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000

Children are impacted by their environments around them, with new research findings surrounding how physical environments of chaos can impact a child’s mental health.

Research regarding how children’s physical environments impact them originated from Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory on classic ecological systems, which centers on how people interact with and are affected by their environments. Bronfenbrenner’s theory inspired developmental and environmental psychologist, Gary W. Evans, to study how household chaos affects children. Evans has defined chaos as “noise, crowding, disorder, and instability.” Studies on chaos date back to the 1970s, with many focusing on themes of auditory and visual chaos.

Auditory chaos can have impacts on children’s ability to think, learn and focus. A study from 1975 found that children whose classrooms were near a train track had lower standardized test scores than their peers whose classrooms weren’t near the track. Other studies regarding the effect of auditory noise on children have found that children who live near airports have cognitive deficits and higher levels of stress. One study that studied noise in schools found that children’s background noise in urban high schools are two to three times more than the recommended limit.

The visual conditions of children’s environments, in and out of school, also impact a child’s development. Studies have found that children who grow up in houses that are in poor condition (e.g., houses that need repairs) experience emotional and behavioral problems as well as difficulty with math and reading. Further, children whose classrooms are decorative, but visually distracting had a tougher time focusing and being able to concentrate on their work in comparison to children in classrooms with less posters and artwork.

Studies have also focused on aspects of environments that benefit a child’s development, with some centering on the advantages of living near a green space. Children who have more access to green spaces, like parks and fields, had lower levels of behavioral and attention issues. It has also been found that children who live near green spaces displayed less aggressive behaviors and had higher IQ scores.

Overall, psychology has built a strong foundation for demonstrating the impact that physical environments have on children. Developmental and environmental psychology studies have shown that a child’s environment can impact their behavior and overall learning experience. Parents and educators alike can take these studies into consideration when producing and evaluating child environments.

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article Link: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/growing-places

 

Today’s Friday Feature is Marissa Robarge!

Marissa Robarge is a research assistant at UConn KIDS.  She is an undergraduate Biological Sciences student at UConn’s Storrs Campus.

This is Marissa’s first semester working as a research assistant and she is very excited about this opportunity!  She hopes to gain more background in the research process and looks forward to working with so many new people.

Marissa enjoys studying Biology, especially when she can be hands on with the organisms (see the image below!). Her true passion is working with kids, especially building connections and assisting children with special needs.  She plans on pursuing a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in hopes of working as a pediatric occupational therapist.

In her free time, Marissa sails with UConn’s Club Sailing Team, goes on hikes, and enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Our culture’s youth has adapted an extreme perfectionist habit, with many children sacrificing sleep and over-stressing in order to receive an A in school. School environments have become places of comparison, with students nowadays evaluating themselves based on their peers’ accomplishments. This consistent comparison between students can lead to students becoming maladaptive perfectionists, stressing themselves out to the point of exhaustion in order to receive the best grade in their class. Today, 3 out of 10 children can be considered a “maladaptive perfectionist” because their drives for extreme perfectionism are harming their mental health. Research has found that youth who are high in perfectionism evaluate themselves negatively, but deem it a necessary component to their academic performance. This harmful self-appraisal is reinforced when people praise them for their academic success, and results in children downplaying their own accomplishments instead of celebrating them. 

Lately, students have been feeling more obligated to achieve outstanding academic performance due to the rate at which college admissions have been growing more selective. This has led some parents, out of concern for their children’s academic future, to increase the pressure they put on their children in school. However, it has been found that high parental expectations can be just as harmful as criticism, as this pressure may push children towards high levels of perfectionism. Students who become maladaptive perfectionists may experience exhaustion, anxiety, and a loss of motivation as a result of their own and their parents’ high expectations for themselves. 

At the end of the day, it is never a bad thing for children to hold themselves to a healthy and reasonable academic standard. Children who engage more in school have been found to have more positive interactions with others. To combat maladaptive perfectionism, the author discourages students from using a perfectionist view, and instead suggests that they should focus on building resilience. This can be done through the help of parents, schools and communities, as they can encourage children to practice self-care and resilience all the while setting reasonable standards for themselves. 

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brave-voices/202209/is-our-culture-overachievement-exhausting-our-youth

Many parents wonder whether their child’s difficulties are considered “normal”. In our society, there is a long history of stigma against mental illness and going to therapy. Fortunately, these ideas are starting to change and people are starting to accept that these symptoms exist and require treatment. It is important to recognize mental health as a part of our physical health – we regularly take children to get check-ups at the pediatrician’s office, but we don’t often do the same thing to check on their mental health. Just like pediatricians can help us prevent certain issues by helping us with healthy eating behaviors, mental health clinicians can help children learn skills that will help them manage challenges as they grow. Mental health clinicians can also be beneficial in that they can help parents understand normal developmental milestones from those challenges that may require more support. 

Even if your child is only going through expected changes throughout development, many children can still benefit from therapy which will help with strategies for managing the difficulties that come with these types of changes. Mental health problems have also increased in our youth since before the pandemic, so therapy may be helpful for more and more children. 

Generally, research suggests that therapy helps in improving patients’ quality of life. It is important that children get the type or types of therapy that is used for their specific challenges. Therapy can help young children build skills that will help them deal with challenges that adult life may bring. Going to therapy can also be a helpful lesson to children that asking for help is a good thing and this can be a helpful life skill – learning to ask for help when you need it. A therapist is also another person to add to your “village” when raising a child and helping them grow. It is also vital to recognize that if you or your child do not like therapy, you can switch to a different therapist, stop therapy completely, or try a different treatment. 

When finding a therapist for a child, it is important to figure out what challenges your child is going through, and if you would like the therapist to specialize in a specific area or age group. There are many other qualifications that you may consider, like how many years of experience a therapist has, whether they do family therapy or parent training, and what kind of insurance can cover their services. Pediatricians, as well as friends, and asking around your community, can also help you find what you are needing. 

It is important to find a therapist that your child is comfortable with and can trust – as different personalities are compatible with different people. It is important to find a therapist that your child likes. 

To conclude, if you aren’t sure whether your child needs a therapist, it can be helpful to ask their pediatrician or find a mental clinician that could evaluate your child. This clinician could help determine whether your child could benefit from therapy or if there are other tools that may be a better fit.

Ethel Dvoskin

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article link:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/afraid-the-doctor/202204/does-my-child-need-therapy