Please visit my child development company's, iMomConnect, website at www.imomconnect.com

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Coping with Food Allergies - Part 2

Today’s blog posting is written by Kelly Harrington, MS, RD as a follow-up to her last posting, Coping with Food Allergies – Part 1. In addition to the biography posted earlier this month, Ms. Harrington is the registered dietitian for iMomConnect, LLC’s “Allergy-Free For Me Cookbook” application which will be available on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad next month.

As discussed in my last blog posting, it can be scary, frustrating and time-consuming trying to figure out how to manage your child’s food allergy, and understandably takes a big toll on the entire family. I would like to offer parents some tips for managing such an important aspect in your child’s life. First, spend some time looking for allergy-free recipes, specific to the food you are avoiding. Building a collection of recipe’s your family enjoys will reduce cooking frustrations. Where would you find these recipes? There are many allergy-free resources available, such as allergy-free cookbooks, the internet, mobile phone applications, magazines, and your local library and county health department. Home life will become easier if you are able to prepare one, delicious meal for everyone to eat. I discourage you from becoming a short order cook. As an additional time saver, purchase allergy-free, ready-made products so you don't have to make everything yourself (the “Allergy-Free for Me Cookbook” application has a list of companies who sell allergy-free, ready-made products.

Second, meet parents who also have kids with food allergies and share tips with them. Support groups and allergy free blogs are both good avenues for pursuing this.

Next, discover tricks for dealing with a “choosy” eater. It can be frustrating when kids want to eat the same thing every day, but it is not uncommon. Kids are often slow to accept new tastes and textures, so you may have to present a food 10 to 15 times before they will try it. Don’t give up! As the parent, also don’t forget the influence you have on your child’s food preferences. Children often eat what they see their parents eating, so try to be a good role model.

Some children are simply less likely to try new foods, but here are some tips that may work for your child:
• Keep mealtime positive. Do not force your child to eat or make “deals” with your child (ie: “eat your vegetables and you will get dessert”).
• Allow your child to feed him/herself and offer safe finger foods.
• At each meal, make sure there is something your child knows and likes on the plate. Alongside the familiar food, place the unfamiliar food or food your child is typically “choosy” toward.
• When introducing a new food, encourage your child to touch, smell, lick, or taste the new food. Let them take their time “exploring” the new food.
• Use healthy dips such as yogurt, hummus, ketchup or low-fat salad dressings to encourage your child to eat fruits, vegetables, and meats.
• Involve your child in preparing the meal (like dropping cut-up fruit into a bowl for a fruit salad). Handling, smelling and touching the food helps your child get comfortable with the idea of eating it.
• Always offer your child what the rest of the family is eating, in toddler-sized portions. Over time, these choices will become as liked and familiar as their favorites.

Once you have your home life squared away, what happens when the control of your young child’s diet is no longer yours, such as when you drop him/her off at daycare or school? It is a troubling thought to wonder if another caregiver will really understand your child’s allergy. Quite frankly, it may be up to you to raise awareness, which will lead to a much more joyful experience. Food will be a part of every daycare setting, and assume food will also be a part of every preschool or kindergarten classroom. Because of this, become involved in your child's school as much as possible. Most teachers appreciate parental support! Talk to the teacher/daycare provider about your child’s allergy and create a letter to give to other parents, informing them of your child’s food allergy. Talk to the school/daycare about possibly offering allergy-free food alternatives for snacks or special classroom occasions. Suggest parents only bring treats for sharing which are clearly labeled with the ingredients. Offer to provide the teacher/caregiver a “how-to” video on using an epi-pen, and give the teacher/caregiver a detailed personalized management plan in case your child experiences a reaction.

In this posting, I suggested various ways to cope with a food allergy in your family. The best course of action usually involves discussing with others what worked best in similar situations in order to determine what the right course is for your family. We hope to address some of these issues in our Allergy-Free Cookbook App and we look forward to hearing about any helpful ideas which have worked for your family you might share with us on the blog.

For further information/resources on food allergies, please visit the following links:

1) www.mayoclinic.com, “Food allergies: Watch food labels for these top 8 allergens.”
2) www.eatright.org, American Dietetic Association
3) www.foodallergy.org, The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
4) www.babyandkidallergies.com

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Coping with Food Allergies - Part 1

Today’s blog posting was written by Kelly Harrington, MS, RD who has practiced as a Registered Dietitian since July 2000. Kelly has worked in renal nutrition and pediatric and maternal nutrition. Her most recent position was the Registered Dietitian Manager for the Mountain Park Health Center Women, Infants and Children Program where she managed four Registered Dietitians. Her time spent working with families specifically targeted helping infants born premature or at a low birth weight, and children with developmental delays, autism, food allergies, genetic disorders, obesity, and picky eaters. Thus, over the years she has developed a strong interest in assisting individuals of all ages who have food allergies. Kelly also owns and operates her own private practice, where she works with individuals and families towards achieving their health and wellness goals.

Imagine having to dissect the food label of every food product you want to put into your mouth, and upon dissecting that label, needing to understand the derivative of every single ingredient listed! It would be difficult, tedious and frustrating, but absolutely necessary for someone with a food allergy. Food allergies are a growing concern in the United States as approximately 1 in 25 people and 1 in 100 children suffer from a food allergy. Among these children, 0-5 year olds have the highest food allergy rate, affecting boys and girls evenly. According to The National Center for Health Statistics, food allergies among children have unfortunately increased by 18% from 1997 to 2007. This also correlates to an increase in the number of visits to ambulatory care clinics due to adverse allergic reactions, which all parents know is stressful, scary, tiresome and costly!

More than 160 foods are known to cause food allergies. Surprisingly eight foods account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions:

•Milk
•Egg
•Peanuts
•Tree nuts (walnuts, cashews)
•Fish (pollock, salmon, cod, tuna, snapper, eel, and tilapia)
•Shellfish (shrimp, crayfish, lobster, crab)
•Soy
•Wheat

Manufacturers are required to state on the food label if the product contains protein from any of the top eight allergens; for example, the label will say, “this product contains milk.” Manufacturers may also indicate if the food was made in a facility that contains these allergens, but this is not yet mandatory. Overwhelming? Being a parent can be challenging, let alone being the parent of a child with a food allergy. There are so many things to think about! On the other hand, there are also steps a parent can take to ease the transition into this new way of life.

First, understanding what ingredients indicate a specific food allergen is very important. To expand your food label reading capability, take a look at the links below. The links name ingredients to avoid based on your child’s specific allergy. Don’t worry about memorizing all those hard to pronounce ingredients! You can print your list and use it as a reference while you shop.

As your child grows older, another extremely important aspect of coping with a food allergy is teaching your little one about their food allergy. Of course, your child’s age will determine the skill and information you give them, so start with the basics. Gradually increase the information so they are eventually able to manage their food choices on their own.

The more you know about your child’s allergy, the easier it will be to manage & increase the variety in your family’s diet, prepare meals, and prevent unwanted reactions.

Please stay tuned for the next blog posting as we will be discussing more on food allergies!

For more information on hidden milk ingredients, please visit:
http://www.foodallergy.org/page/milk2

For more information on hidden egg ingredients, please visit:
http://www.foodallergy.org/page/egg1

For more information on hidden peanut ingredients, please visit:
http://www.foodallergy.org/page/peanut1

For more information on hidden tree nut ingredients, please visit:
http://www.foodallergy.org/page/tree-nut

For more information on hidden soy ingredients, please visit:
http://www.foodallergy.org/page/soy2

For more information on hidden wheat ingredients, please visit:
http://www.foodallergy.org/page/wheat2

For more information on hidden fish and shellfish ingredients, please visit:
http://www.foodallergy.org/page/shellfish2

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Importance of Learning to Count

Teaching a child to count may seem like a relatively easy task. However, it might also be frustrating and complex at times. Counting is the first math concept taught in school, and it can be taught as early as infancy. By the end of the preschool period, children understand and are able to apply five principles of counting. These principles are the one-to-one principle, the stable order principle, the cardinal principle, the abstraction principle, and the order-irrelevant principle. Developing mathematics skills is built on a series of foundations. Thus it is critical to master the basics in order to progress to the next level of math. Math skills are relevant to developing science, reasoning, and money management skills. If you make learning fun, children will enjoy learning math throughout their school years.

There are many ways that parents can incorporate a counting exercise into daily activities. During infancy, you can count fingers and toes while you are bathing them, changing them, or playing with them. While feeding a snack to your child you can “count” the number of crackers or cereal along with them. You can also start teaching them to count at this age by introducing fun and interactive counting books. Over the past decade educators and retailers have made the job easier for parents to help their youngsters count with all of the advancements made in technology. For instance, my child development company, iMomConnect, recently released its first iPad book application entitled “Over in the Meadow Animated Storybook.” This educational and entertaining book app helps children count from 1 to 10 and learn the sounds of various animals. It can be purchased on iTunes for $0.99 (http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/imomconnect-llc/id402150184).

Over in the Meadow is classic children’s poem which is now brought to life using animation, audio and colorful graphics as a storybook app. Follow the story of different types of animals and see what activities they partake in during the course of walking through a meadow on a sunny day! The rhyme was derived circa 16th century and instantly captures the attention of children of all ages because of its poetic lyrics which are narrated by a young girl, Madison Moran, with a charming voice.

There are 3 ways to experience this storybook:
“Read it Myself” – Children read the story independently and explore features
“Read to Me” – Narrator reads story aloud and the listener turns the pages
“Auto Play” – Narrator reads story aloud and the pages automatically turn

Benefits:
• Enjoy animation and bright colors throughout the story
• Practice counting numbers and hear animal sounds on every page
• See “Special Animation” on some pages (find the arrows!)
• Find and press the hidden number on each page and a bright red one will appear!
• Listen for animal sounds on “The End” page which features all the animals from the story. Their sounds can be heard by simply pressing an animal on the page!

The app has already become one of the 50 best selling apps in the iTunes store and was placed on the “New and Noteworthy” list for Book apps. The app has been featured in newspapers across the country including the San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/11/12/prweb4781134.DTL). Link to the press release for the Over in the Meadow Animated Storybook App: http://www.imomconnect.com/press.html. A video demonstration of the app can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49lcQOH954E.

For further information/resources on teaching children to count, please visit the following links:

http://www.songsforteaching.com
http://math-and-reading-help-for-kids.org

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Developmental Impact of Trauma

What is a trauma? A trauma can be a multitude of life experiences, but it is best defined as a situation that is personally threatening when someone is confronted by it and the person does not have adequate coping resources. Non human traumas include events such as natural disasters and accidents. Human traumas include events such as abuse, war, rape, assault, sexual abuse and neglect (including physical, social and emotional neglect).

Given the extent of violence and other events in our culture, it is increasingly possible that a child will experience some type of traumatic event during childhood. The quality of relationships a child has before and after experiencing the trauma impacts his or her ability to cope. Parents help guide the child in dealing with life’s stressors. Secure attachments are the primary defense against childhood-trauma-induced psychopathology as well as helping with long-term recovery. Even prenatal exposure to trauma is a concern. Studies have demonstrated that fetuses exposed to trauma during the second trimester showed significantly higher rates of depression in adolescence.

Research into the neurobiology of early life stress and trauma shows us the effects of abuse on the brain and the body. There are four primary ways that trauma impacts children including: 1) relational difficulties, 2) developing maladaptive coping strategies, 3) developing psychological disorders, and 4) negatively impacting brain development. In addition, too much stimulation related to abuse, trauma, and neglect may overwhelm the child’s developing nervous system.

Survivors of trauma are aware of intense longings for connection. They long for close relationships, but are terrified by them at the same time. This may make relationships very confusing. Traumas that lead to long-lasting relational difficulties are more likely to happen when the violence or trauma is committed in the context of a human relationship; and even more likely if at the hands of a parent, sibling, or close relative. Maladaptive coping strategies include substance abuse, eating disorders, and/or self mutilation which may further isolate the individual. Psychological disorders that may occur include major depression, adult substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Regarding brain development, chronic stress and trauma cause very specific biological changes in brain and body development and functioning. Children with a history of substantial abuse or neglect have a reduced size of their corpus collosum which causes a decrease in communication between the two halves of the cerebral cortex. This may result in the alteration and disintegration of memory functions.

Even if we could eliminate violence and oppression, trauma and stress would still exist in the form of accidents, natural disasters, death, and loss. Parents should be aware of the wide reaching impact of trauma on children’s’ relationships, bodies, and brains. If your child is struggling to deal with the effects of a traumatic event, it is recommended that you seek professional help such as scheduling an appointment with a play therapist. Play therapy may be beneficial for survivors of trauma because the therapist creates a safe environment for the child to bring hidden emotions to the surface where he or she can cope with them in a healthy manner.

For more tips on coping with childhood trauma, please visit:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5018055_cope-childhood-trauma-adult.html

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Growing Up Multiracial

Today’s blog posting is written by my colleague, Dr. Alicia del Prado, who is an assistant professor in the clinical psychology program at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. She teaches Life Span Development and specializes in multicultural psychology and university mental health. Dr. del Prado also works as a consultant, providing seminars and workshops to programs on enhancing multicultural competency in the work place. Her most recent publications include book chapters on multiracial identity and ethnicity in therapy. An American with Filipino and Italian ancestry, Dr. del Prado’s personal experiences as a multiracial person contribute to her professional dedication to enhancing multicultural competency in psychology and society.

An increasing number of children in the United States have two or more racial heritages. At the time of the 2000 U.S. Census, approximately 7 million people identified as being two or more races. Nearly 42% of this multiracial population was under the age of 18.

Children may recognize racial differences as early as three years old. Helping children feel comfortable in “their own skin” is an important part of healthy identity development. Perhaps not surprisingly, children of mixed race may encounter some identity development experiences that children with one racial background do not undergo. Parents and adults responsible for the emotional and psychological well-being of mixed race children may be facing issues they never came across themselves.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Maria Root found that multiracial persons shared common experiences, such as being frequently asked by others “What are you?” and racially identifying differently than their brothers and sisters. Other common experiences by some multiracial persons include being rejected by relatives because of their parents’ interracial relationships and receiving looks from strangers trying to figure out if they are related to their parents.

Monoracial parents and caregivers may not be familiar with the unique issues that their multiracial children face. However, psychologists suggest that family play an important role in the development of multiracial persons. Parents and caregivers can positively influence mixed-race children’s self-concept and happiness by communicating acceptance of children’s self-exploration and self-descriptions. Racial identity is not static but will likely change over time and across situations.

Adults can communicate a positive and open environment about multiracial identity to their children by introducing and emphasizing:

1. Multiracial-affirmative stories, color books, and toys
2. Open-ended avenues for expression, such as creative writing, painting, and drawing
3. Positive aspects and strengths of being multiracial
4. Dialogue about race and listening supportively to any hurtful racial comments their children may have experienced
5. Multiracial role models and peers

As children get older, caregivers may also want to present and discuss Dr. Root’s “Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People”, a series of affirmations that encourages self-acceptance, integration of identities, and empowerment.

Each child is unique. Factors such as personality, physical appearance, and gender influence how a child experiences and expresses her or his racial identity. Furthermore, what it means to belong to multiple racial groups means different things to different people, families, and cultures. Talking with your children about their multiracial identity as well as providing them with multiracial-affirmative resources can help promote healthy, positive identity development.

For further information on multiracial identity development:

del Prado, A. M., & Lyda, J. (2009). The Multiracial movement: Bridging society’s language barrier. In J. L. Ching (Ed.), Diversity in mind and action (Vol. 1, pp. 1-16). Santa Barbara, CA: Praegar.

Root, M. P. P., & Kelley, M. (Eds.), Multiracial Child Resource Book (pp. 34-41) Seattle, WA: Mavin Foundation.

http://www.drmariaroot.com/doc/50Experiences.pdf

http://www.drmariaroot.com/doc/BillOfRights.pdf

Friday, September 24, 2010

The Day Care Dilemma

Over the years, there has been a shift in the role that mothers typically play in a child’s life. Currently, one in four children is cared for by a grandparent or relative. One in six children is cared for by a father. One in five children is cared for by a non-relative such as a babysitter or a family day care (i.e., a day care operated out of an individual’s home). In addition, there has been an increase in the use of day care centers in the United States. For instance, one in four children attends a child care center or preschool. Although no negative effects of day care have been found for toddlers and preschoolers, the research is mixed when it comes to infants, which may be partly why companies in countries such as Canada and Sweden offer year-long maternity leave.

For toddlers and preschoolers, day care can have a number of benefits. If the quality of care is high, day care can promote cognitive and social development in children. Research has shown benefits such as increased curiosity, better concentration, and improved on-task behavior across all income groups who attend day care. Children in day care have also been found to be more socially competent and independent. However, the debate still continues regarding day care for children under one year of age.

Two blog postings ago, I wrote about attachment during infancy. Attachment research has demonstrated that infants are able to discriminate between or among primary caregivers, and they can become attached to more than one caregiver. An attachment to a babysitter or day care provider will not prevent an infant from forming a secure attachment to his or her mother and/or father. However, a caveat does exist as some studies have shown that if an infant is separated from his or her mother for more than 20 hours a week, the attachment process can be disrupted.

Some studies have also shown that infants who begin day care before the age of two may be more aggressive, less responsive to adults, less socialized and less mature than children who did not attend day care and had a secure attachment with a primary caregiver. Usually when parents who have duties outside of their home decide to leave their infants in full-time day care it is after a few months of their child’s birth, when maternity or paternity leave has expired. During the child’s waking hours, he or she will have little contact with his or her parents which interferes with the attachment process. Because attachment is not as firmly established before the age of two, the interference is more traumatic and longer lasting than with an older child who is separated from his or her parents for extended periods of time.

Thus, the question of whether day care is harmful to infants is a difficult one to answer because a number of factors need to be considered such as the quality, type of care, timing, age of child and quantity of care. Many infants who attended day care are well-adjusted and have secure attachments, and “quality of time spent” is a likely contributor. If your infant does attend day care, it is recommended that the amount of time spent with your child is of high quality. Numerous studies have shown that the quantity of time spent with a child is not nearly as important as the quality of time spent.

For tips on finding high quality day care during infancy, please visit:

http://www.suite101.com/content/finding-daycare-for-infants-a50999

Sunday, September 5, 2010

The Wonderful World of Language

One of the most remarkable accomplishments of early childhood is the development of language. Even more extraordinary are those children who become proficient in more than one language. However in the past, childhood bilingualism has been met with skepticism and criticism from parents, educators, and other experts due to conflicting beliefs about the impact of learning more than one language simultaneously. Initially, my parents spoke their native language to me but decided that once I started school, I might get confused so they stopped speaking Hindi to me. Thus, I developed bilingual language skills later in life when it was much more time consuming and difficult.

All children are capable of learning more than one language during early childhood, and research has shown that there is a critical period in early childhood during which language is learned most readily. Brain plasticity is largely responsible for this phenomenon. Brain plasticity can be defined as the learning that takes place as new cells are developed in the brain (there is an increase in the density of synaptic connections around the time of a child’s vocabulary spurt). Thus, infants have inborn abilities and predispositions that help them detect information needed for language learning. Along with these innate abilities, the environment also plays a large role in language acquisition. Without exposure to language, children cannot even begin to learn to speak. Given the fact that brain pathways are so receptive to language during the first 4 years of life, children should be exposed to languages very early in development.

Many parents are concerned about confusion if they teach a child two languages before the child has even mastered the primary one. One aspect of bilingual language development is mixing of the languages. Research has demonstrated that it is normal for young children to mix both languages due to their limited vocabulary. In fact, it is actually very common for adult bilinguals to mix languages. Most people will find that it is extremely difficult to keep the languages separate. The social context that the child is in determines how much the child will mix the two languages (i.e., if the child is around someone who speaks both languages, he is more likely to mix the two languages). The mixing of words will likely pass once the child is 4 or 5 and has built a large enough vocabulary. I once had lunch with a 4-year-old child who was able to speak French with his mother, Bengali with his father, and English with me. In fact, learning and maintaining the language of one’s parents is an integral component to developing one’s cultural and ethnic identity as well as sense of belonging. Abruptly ceasing the use of one of the languages by a child’s parents may lead to emotional and psychological difficulties for the child. Language is linked with emotion and identity, and abandoning a language can be quite traumatic for a child.

Other disadvantages to bilingualism may include speech delay (e.g., bilingual children may start talking 3-6 months later than their peers). In addition, once children start attending school and are exposed less to their native language, parents may have to put in more effort at home to reduce any language loss. However, research has shown that learning more than one language does not lead to significant delays or disorders in language acquisition. There are a number of benefits to bilingualism such as a) superior reading and writing skills in both languages, b) higher analytical, social, and academic skills, c) increased performance on cognitive tests, and d) sounding like a native when speaking. When children maintain their bilingualism, they gain a deeper understanding of language and how to use it more effectively. Research has also shown that children may develop more flexibility in their thinking due to processing information through two different languages.

For parenting tips on how to raise a bilingual child, please visit:
http://www.brainy-child.com/article/bilingual.shtml

For information on immersion schools, please visit:
http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/25
http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-4/parents.htm

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Ties That Bind

In my last blog posting I discussed a child’s fear of strangers. A related issue is that of attachment. Attachment is an emotional tie that exists between an infant and a caregiver (different than bonding, which is a one-way parental emotional tie to an infant). Each child has an attachment style, which can be described as how a child behaves when her parent or caregiver leaves her with a stranger for a short period of time. A child’s attachment style can say a lot about the quality of care a child receives and can highlight development possibilities. Attachment is typically formed by the end of infancy, and attachment style is measured by Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation experiment that is given between the ages of 12-18 months.

Ainsworth’s experiment begins with an infant placed in a room with his or her mother. Ideally, children will use their parents as secure bases for exploration and feel safe navigating their environments, which include new people. A stranger enters the room, and then the mother leaves the room so the infant is left alone briefly with the stranger. The mother then reenters the room and is reunited with her infant. Reactions such as separation distress and stranger distress are recorded when the mother leaves the room and when the mother reenters the room. Infants begin to experience separation distress typically from 7 to 24 months. Separation distress can be defined as anxiety children feel when their caregivers temporarily leave them and is a normal adaptive response for an attached infant.

There are four types of attachment styles:

Secure attachment (about 65% of cases): infants use their mothers as secure bases for exploration, protest their mothers’ departure, are easily comforted by their mothers when they return, and show positive emotional responses to their mothers. Infants may be comforted by strangers but show a clear preference for their mothers.

Anxious-avoidant attachment (about 20% of cases): infants are unable to use their mothers as secure bases for exploration. They easily separate from their mothers, avoid or ignore them when they return to the room, and treat strangers similarly to their mothers. This type of attachment style typically occurs due to past rejection/unresponsive care from the mother.

Anxious-resistant attachment (about 10% of cases): infants have trouble separating from their mothers to explore. They are ambivalent about contact with their mothers and typically display anger and reluctance to return to their mothers when she reenters the room. Infants are not easily calmed by strangers. This type of attachment typically occurs due to inconsistent or chaotic caregiving.

Disorganized-disoriented attachment (about 5% of cases): infants have no consistent way of interacting with their mothers and typically act confused. They may display behaviors such as rocking back and forth. This type of attachment typically occurs due to abuse or drug/alcohol use by the mother.

Research has shown that the latter three attachment styles can have negative consequences for a child’s cognitive, social and emotional development such as (a) less cognitive advantages, (b) less advanced patterns of play, (c) poor peer relationships and social competence, (d) future psychopathology, (e) difficulty in romantic relationships, and (f) insecure attachments with their own children. Typically, attachment style is stable over time but can be changed with higher quality of care.

Secure attachment is optimal. Research has shown that factors such as emotional availability as well as consistent and sensitive care can lead to secure attachment. Secure attachment is associated with qualities that impact social and emotional development such as higher self-esteem, empathy towards others, less aggression, healthy trusting relationships, ability to share feelings with others, and seeking social support. Cognitive advantages include more sophisticated play, greater problem solving abilities, and greater attention and memory skills.

For a video of Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Experiment, please visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36GI_1PBQpM

For tips on how to parent a child with an insecure attachment, please visit:
http://helpguide.org/mental/parenting_bonding_reactive_attachment_disorder.htm

Friday, July 30, 2010

When Everyone is a Stranger

Is it normal for your child to experience stranger distress? Absolutely. Stranger distress is a normal part of a child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. A 5-month old infant may cry after a stranger stares at him or her for 30 seconds. At 7-10 months of age, babies will react negatively to strangers even by their mere presence. The context of the interaction with the stranger influences a baby’s reaction. If a stranger rapidly approaches a baby, the baby is likely to experience a high amount of distress. If a caregiver is close by and does not have a negative reaction to a stranger, the distress is less. Babies and young children model behavior on the adults they interact with most. How a parent or caregiver interacts with “strangers” will influence how a baby might possibly react. It is also important to note that “stranger” refers to anyone the child does not know. Even if the “stranger” is well-known to the parent or caregiver, that person is new to the baby. At this age, babies do not always remember people, so even if the baby has met someone once, they might still consider the person a stranger the next time they meet.

Stranger distress typically continues for several months with the amount of distress varying from baby to baby. For example, my sister used to feel bad when her son did not instantly feel comfortable with his extended family members. Initially my nephew did not cry when he was left under the care of a family member or nanny for the first time when he was 3 months old. However, when he was 7 months old and his caregiver changed, he was quite startled when the new caregiver tried to interact with him and it took him a few days to adapt. As he got older, even when interacting with people somewhat familiar to him, he needed to observe them and feel comfortable around them before allowing them to touch or hold him.

As young children are exposed to a variety of social situations and environments such as daycare centers, schools, and play dates, their stranger anxiety may lessen (note that their responses vary greatly depending on factors such as culture, temperament and past experiences). Two weeks ago, my nephew began going to school for the first time at 17 months old and even though his mother stayed with him the entire time on the first day, by day two he began crying as they were entering the building because he knew his mother was probably going to leave him with “strangers.” However, by the end of the second day of class he was comfortably playing with the teachers and other children.

Stranger distress is an indicator that your child is developing appropriately. Cognitively, babies are reaching a developmental milestone in which they can differentiate between their caregivers and other people. Babies need to go through the learning process of understanding that they will have to interact with people other than their immediate caregivers. Emotionally, beginning after 3 months of age throughout the remainder of infancy, babies are obtaining a wide range of new emotions such as happiness, disgust, anger, sadness, surprise, interest, and fear. Thus, rather than associating this new emotion of fear as a difficulty, it is actually an indicator of healthy emotional development.

Stranger distress can be a difficult hurdle for parents to overcome. It can be stressful for parents and caregivers to see their children so frightened of others, and they may even feel embarrassed. Parents and caregivers should be understanding of stranger distress and realize that it may take time to introduce someone new to the infant such as a babysitter or relative. It is recommended that you respect your baby’s fear and do not force him or her to be held by a relative or nanny until your baby feels comfortable around them. Ideally, children will use their parents as secure bases for exploration in order to feel safe navigating their environments, including new people.

For further information/resources on stranger distress, please visit the following links:

Tips on how to cope with stranger distress and separation anxiety:
http://www.triplep.net/cicms/assets/pdfs/pg1as100gr5so128.pdf

To view a brief video on an example of stranger distress:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCgvR1-gFjM

Friday, July 9, 2010

The Power of Play

Encouraging children to play is an important task for caregivers and parents because research has shown that play contributes significantly to the cognitive, emotional and social development of children, particularly during the preschool years (ages 2 1/2 to 5). In fact, psychologists consider play as vital to a child’s cognitive development as food or sleep.


The role of play in early childhood development serves the following functions:

  • Dealing with conflict and fear
  • Working through developmental challenges
  • Experimenting with social roles
  • Contributing to an increase in self-reliance, self-control and self-regulation


Play allows children to explore their environments and become active participants in their own development. Through pretend play, children can confront their problems actively and overcome any feelings of fright, pain or anxiety they may be experiencing. Children are able to freely express their emotions and work through any concerns or frustrations that they encounter on a daily basis such as the power differential between children and parents. The solutions that they discover through pretend play are often precursors to more advanced problem solving strategies later in life.


Role playing provides an opportunity for children to not only act out their conflicts and fears but to act out their aspirations as well. Many children pretend to be mommies, daddies, doctors, firemen or other social figures. In this fashion, children are able to explore social roles and cultural values by themselves or with playmates (note that cultural factors can influence the themes and types of play of children but all children should have an internal desire to play). For example, playing “house” can help children comprehend social norms and rules which can contribute to their development of empathy skills (i.e., understanding other people’s perspectives). These empathy skills aid in their ability to connect to other children, share, take turns and develop true peer relationships. This can be a daunting task to a preschooler who is trying to overcome his or her egocentric thinking. In addition to social and emotional development, role playing such as playing “house” contributes to language development as children experiment with using different, more complex words and phrases.


Another daunting task for children to overcome as they get older is delay of gratification (i.e., wanting something immediately without the ability to wait). Acting out social roles during pretend play can help children learn how to behave appropriately in different situations. For example, my 17-month-old nephew’s inability to delay gratification leads to temper tantrums, which are normal, primarily because as a toddler he does not have the words to express his frustrations. As he moves through the preschool years, he will learn to regulate his emotions and express his frustrations in a more effective manner. Playtime to work on this issue can be accomplished through play with adults as well as with children of similar age. Having a variety of play environments increases the situations and roles that a toddler will experience.


It is critical for parents to encourage play from a very young age. Play can come in the form of solitary play as a child explores his toys or surroundings. Or it can come through interaction with adults and other children. It can be in set playgroups or can take place during the simplest daily tasks. For instance, my nephew loves to push the grocery cart at the store, take food cans off the shelf and put them in the cart, push the button on the elevator and remove dishes from the dishwasher. Allowing him to partake in these activities will promote optimal child development. An added benefit is that learning these life skills from a young age will help him increase his self reliance leading to independence as an adult.


For further information/resources on pretend play, please visit the following links:


For examples of pretend play games:

http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/imaginative-play-benefits-of-pretend-play-for-childs-development-games-scenarious-ideas-317173.html


Research articles on the role of pretend play in cognitive development:

http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/bergen.html

http://ematusov.soe.udel.edu/final.paper.pub/_pwfsfp/0000004a.htm


Research abstract on pretend play as a predictor of higher IQ:

http://gcq.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/53/2/106