Super-genius or Zombie?

Mariam Akabor sets out to discover exactly how TV affects babies and toddlers.

When Zayd was born my husband and I were in a for a reality shock. He wouldn’t sleep for more than forty-five minutes at a time and when he was awake, he was crying. We had tried everything: pushing him in the pram, car drives, a fancy baby swing, swaddling, massaging him after his bath, and we even downloaded white noise. Then one day, despite my protests, my husband placed six-week-old Zayd in front of the TV and something miraculous happened. His gaze was transfixed to the screen and he was awed. There was actual peace and quiet in our home and we loved it. But something gnawed at my maternal conscience. My biggest fear was that he would become addicted to the box and other activities, like reading and playing outdoors, wouldn’t interest him as he grew older.

At one year, Zayd no longer requires the TV to keep him calm. Yet the question of whether to allow him to watch a bit still bothers me. Hundreds of articles have been written about the pros and cons of allowing babies to watch TV yet without the empirical data to endorse these claims it is very difficult for concerned parents to make an informed decision. I decided to embark on my own little journey of discovery.

Cognitive Development
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in children starts with the sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth up until two years of age. Infants discover the world around them by seeing, smelling, touching, hearing, tasting, sucking, grasping and looking. As children grow older, up until the age of six, the preoperational stage sets in where they are still developing but are unable to perform mental operations. Basically, the child cannot think logically nor can they understand the concept of other points of views.

The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) recommends no television to babies under the age of two. This caveat was first issued in 1999, encouraging parents and caregivers to interact directly with infants to promote healthy brain growth and the development of cognitive skills. However, very few parents have been found to strictly follow this guideline. Is it because of the effective marketing from toy companies that encourage parents to obtain the latest educational media with the belief that it will help our babies thrive? More importantly, can our kids comprehend the content and learn from TV and video at a young age?

The Teletubbies Test
Daniel Anderson, a psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts, was determined to find out if babies could make sense of what they saw on the Teletubbies, an award-winning popular children’s program designed for 9-month to 36-month-old children. Anderson and a colleague doctored a ten-minute segment from the program. They cut them into pieces lasting six seconds each and rearranged their order so that the narrative made no logical sense. Then they showed the normal and the distorted versions of the program to the babies and noted their responses. Babies around the 6-12 months were not fazed by the unintelligible sequence of shots; babies around 18-months could discriminate to a certain degree and the 24-month-old babies could clearly notice the difference between the two versions. These findings show that babies under a year are not able to understand the relationship between shots and are not constructing any kind of narrative understanding of what they are seeing (Guernsey, 2007).
So babies under a year may not be able to follow a storyline, but what about grasping simple actions and words?

The Video Deficit Phenomenon
A group of toddlers were shown a video of a person performing an act in an experiment. Another group of toddlers watched the same act being performed live by an adult. Thereafter the toddlers were tested on their ability to perform the act. The result? The children who watched the act being performed live were able to imitate it quicker than those who watched the video. The toddlers who watched the video eventually could perform the act, but after repeated screenings.

Marina Krcmar, an associate professor at Wake Forest University, explains this concept called the video deficit, which is “the tendency for infants and toddlers to learn significantly more effectively from live information than they do when identical information is presented on a screen” (2009). This phenomenon has been found in word learning experiments. Even if the video is created to make it feel as though the person is present with the baby in the room, children learn better, particularly language, when they are being spoken to live.

In an experiment to investigate whether babies as young as 9 months could distinguish the phonemes of Mandarin, one group of babies listened to an adult reading to them in Mandarin whilst the other group watched the same stories on a video. The first group were successful in being able to recognise Mandarin phonemes within two months whilst the latter couldn’t recognise any at all.

In another study, Krcmar and her colleagues used the Teletubbies to test if children aged 16-24 months could learn a new word from the program. The results indicated that children up until the age of 22 months could not learn a new word from the program despite their ability to learn the same word quite readily from an adult person live (Krcmar, 2009).

But what do the results of these studies mean for us as parents?

The Harvard Study
Over a period of three years, researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School analysed data of more than 800 children, charting their exposure to TV from the time they were born up until the age of two. The result? TV viewing before the age of two does not improve their language and visual motor skills (ScienceDaily, 2009). So if you place your baby in front of the TV hoping that s/he is going to improve their language and visual motor skills, think again. They are better off interacting directly with their mother/caregiver and learn better by using their senses as mentioned in Piaget’s theory. However, researchers also found that there was no detriment to the child although they are quick to encourage the No-TV-Under-Two policy as recommended by the AAP.

But there is another reason why babies shouldn’t be exposed to too much of TV. Elizabeth Vandewater, a researcher from the University of Texas, found two main concerns emerging from children watching TV: they spent less time with parents doing other activities and they spent less time engaged in creative play. An hour a day of television viewing among 0-2 year olds was linked to a 9 percent reduction in creative play during the week and 11 percent reduction on the weekend (Guernsey, 2007). For any parent, this should be a clear warning.

Whether your son decides to become a doctor for the day and makes his teddy bears his patients, or whether your daughter decides to play dress up and wears your jewellery, your child is gaining new skills by pretending. Children learn how to solve problems and make choices when they pretend play and this is a vital part of their development and no amount of TV can be a substitute for this.

So does this mean that your child shouldn’t ever be exposed to children’s programs?

The Three C’s
Lisa Guernsey, author of Into the Minds of Babes (Basic Books, 2007), an education and technology journalist and mother herself, travelled countrywide, attending child development conferences, visiting infant-perception labs and interviewing specialists, in an attempt to discover the impact of TV on kids. She believes there is no straightforward response to answering the question Is TV bad for my kids?

Not all kids react the same towards TV. Some may be glued to it the minute it’s switched on whilst others’ attention will be diverted within seconds. Some may get hyperactive whilst others will fall asleep. Between 24 months and 30 months, something changes within toddlers. According to Daniel Anderson, there is a shift in their understanding. At 30 months a child is able to understand simple stories and thus follow a program with interest, something they couldn’t do just six months before. Toddlers at this age are able to overcome their video deficit and benefit from educational TV. Guernsey names a few top-rated children’s programs like Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Barney, Blue’s Clues, Dragon Tales and Mister Rogers, which have been proven scientifically to help children academically and socially. These programs implement repetition and linear narratives, making it simpler for children to understand. Many children’s programs consult with experts in education and psychology, a fact that parents can be pleased about.

One of the most startling discoveries from Guernsey’s book is the impact of background TV on a child. Do you know how sometimes you may leave the TV on without paying much attention to it and continue with your day’s activities? Studies have shown the negative impact of background TV and how it affects “children’s growth in their youngest years: their ability to engage in pretend play, their interactions with their parents, and their efforts to learn language” (Guernsey, 2007).

Guernsey tells parents to remember the three C’s – content, context and your child when deciding whether to allow your child to watch TV. Is the content of the program age-appropriate? Does it include too many cuts and flashes? Will my child be over-stimulated by it? The key, Guernsey says, is moderation. While the parent-child interaction is the highest form of enrichment for babies, it is not always possible for mothers to be interacting with their children at all times. So the next time I switch on The Teletubbies for Zayd while I scramble to prepare lunch, I won’t be feeling guilty.

This article was published in Living and Loving (October 2010).

Shopping With Toddlers

Tips for Mums to Shop Efficiently When Small Kids Come Along

Sep 13, 2009 Wei Yin Wong

Food shopping with toddlers is a stressful task. The young kids often have a mind of their own, wandering off when Mum is not looking. Some also have a penchant to cause a scene in the supermarket.
So how can busy stay-at-home mums make the most of their time when shopping with toddlers? Check out the following tips to help mums shop efficiently when small kids come along.

Keep Toddlers on Reins When Shopping
Unlike babies, toddlers love running around, even in unfamiliar places. To make sure they don’t get lost in the crowd, bring along a safety harness or a pair of reins and put them on the child. That way, he has some freedom to move about but won’t roam too far away or become separated from Mum. Some harnesses also serve as a backpack to put kids’ toys and snacks, making them very useful when going out with toddlers.
If food shopping in the supermarket, make use of the supermarket trolley or cart. Most kids enjoy the ride and will be entertained as Mum points out interesting items while wheeling the trolley along the aisle. Do make sure the child is secured with a safety harness on the cart.

Leave Family Contact Details in the Child’s Clothes
Sometimes, even with precautions taken, a young child may still get separated from his mum. To ensure a reunion with the family if that happens, leave a label with the child’s name, home number and street address inside a pocket. This will help the store’s customer service personnel to contact the lost child’s parents. Toddlers who have started talking should be taught their names, parents’ names, phone number and home address.

Involve Toddlers in Food Shopping Activities
Small kids have very short attention spans and become restless and bored if they have nothing to do. Some parents bring along their kids’ favorite toys, books and snacks on shopping trips to keep them occupied. However, sometimes, even these are not enough to hold their attention.
The solution is to involve the toddlers while shopping. Give the child some tasks and make him feel useful. This will also encourage him to be involved in household chores later on. Mum can show him wrappers or boxes of things that need to be purchased and ask him to help look for these items. When these items are found, let him take them down and put them in the cart. Giving a toddler some practical choices (like asking him whether he wants green or red grapes or if he prefers cheese sticks to cheese slices) is likely to make shopping easier too.

Get Help From a Friend
An extra pair of hands is always useful for a mum who has to keep her small child or (children) amused while trying to push a trolley loaded with groceries. If possible, ask a friend to come along and help with the shopping. One adult can concentrate on filling up the shopping cart while the other keeps the child occupied. And when all the shopping is done, there’s someone to help carry the bags. This will certainly make shopping experiences with toddlers much less stressful.
Mums who dread shopping with toddlers can learn a few tricks to minimize the stress. To shop efficiently when the kids come along, keep them on reins; leave contact details in their clothes or teach them their names, phone number and home address; give them tasks in the supermarket to keep them amused and ask a friend to come along to help.

Reference:
Dr. Stoppard, Miriam. First-time Parents. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2009.

http://stayathomeparents.suite101.com/article.cfm/shopping_with_toddlers

Great ideas for nutritious meals

MENU PLANNING
For most toddlers, one good meal (usually breakfast), two smaller meals, and two or three nutritious snacks each day is fine. Need suggestions for that “good” meal? Here are two examples:
Breakfast:
• 1 cup of fortified cereal
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1/2 banana
• 1 slice of wholemeal toast with margarine
Dinner:
• 1 cup of pasta with Parmesan cheese and small amount of pasta sauce – too much sauce could upset your baby’s stomach
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white chicken meat, cut up
• 1/2 cup of whole green beans, cooked
• 1 cup of whole milk

Courtesy of Pampers SA

Fussy eaters

If your family dinner table has become a battleground, take heart – Specialist Dietician, Katherine Megaw gives guidelines on how to take the stress out of mealtimes with your toddler and child, end the arguments over food, and feed your fussy eaters.

Solving a complex problem at work, finally achieving a personal goal is nothing compared to your child finishing a whole plate of food. Isn’t it amazing that no matter how big your accomplishments in your day, NOTHING, absolutely nothing compares to the satisfaction you get watching your toddler successfully finish a meal. You can sleep peacefully knowing your baby has eaten ‘well’!

Having a fussy eater is more common than you may think. While some babies eat almost anything they can get their little hands on, other babies are a lot pickier. Some fussy eaters are simply trying to express their independence with a say in what, when, where and how they eat. Others just need some coaxing, distraction and gentle encouragement. There is nothing like a food battle to cause stress and anxiety in parents – take heart and remember fussy eating isn’t just common, it’s normal!

Understanding your child
A classic time for problems to arise is when your baby is 12 months old. As a child is more aware of the world his natural instincts make him more suspicious of new foods. This is nature’s way of protecting us from eating food that is potentially harmful. If you’re one of the lucky parents that sailed through weaning, another common time for problems to arise is during the challenging 2’s. Having lulled you into a false sense of security, your toddler could wake one morning with dietary requirements that even a top chef would struggle to meet.

Children’s appetites are affected by growth cycles and they have different taste preferences to adults. You will encourage her appetite to work properly if you give her more when she’s hungry and let her eat less when she’s not interested. Growth slows down and appetites fluctuate between one and five years of age. Studies have shown that most children get plenty to eat even if it seems like they are barely eating at all.
Try looking at mealtimes from a child’s perspective. Toddlers have a different agenda: from their point of view, eating is a waste of their playing time, and if we make mealtimes boring by nagging, it’s even worse.

Some practical tips
Here are some tips to help your little fussy eater learn to eat better, while giving you some peace of mind.

1. Put your mind at rest:
• If you are concerned about the health of your child, take her for a check up at the doctor to rule out any potential health problems.
• Keep a food diary for 2 weeks and record EVERYTHING that she eats and drinks (include quantities). You can then get this assessed by a health professional to assess adequate nutritional intake.
• Give an appropriate vitamin & mineral supplement during the fussy eating phase.
•

2. Stay off the battle field:
Remember picky eating can also be a child’s way of asserting his independence and may have less to do with the actual food than his need to push the limits of your authority and assert some control over his life. This is why pressurizing a child to eat often backfires and you become a ‘casualty of war’.

3. Wean at the appropriate age
Weaning late has shown some link to fussing eating. Parents who delay introducing their babies to chewy food and a variety of tastes could find their babies grow up developing food fads.
A recent study showed that babies should be introduced to a more varied diet between the ages of 6 to 9 months to decrease the risk of becoming fussy eaters.
Babies learning to eat will spit food out, and this is more than likely due to a ‘tongue-reflex’ action than a sign that your baby doesn’t like the food. Keep trying with that food and soon he will get used to it and swallow.

4. Fun food presentation
Sandwiches cut into moon shapes, a cracker with a smiley face, carrot sticks as soldiers and apple boats can make food presentation more enticing.
Presenting meals as a smorgasbord from which they can pick and choose from a variety of colours, shapes and textures.
Toddlers and young children prefer foods that are identifiable and not one big mush. Using a compartmentalized plate that prevents different foods from touching is a great help.

5. Make mealtimes fun and relaxed
Use it as an extension of playtime and time when you and your baby can bond uninterrupted (no cell phone calls or text messages!!!). Do puzzles, read a book, tell a story.

6. Educate
Talk about the food and its value in simple terms. E.g. this piece of chicken will help your muscles grow strong like daddy (or superman!!) and this carrot will give you beautiful eyes like Cinderella!

7. Involve your child in food preparation
By involving your child they will be likely to eat what THEY have made and may eat a bit while preparing their meal.

8. Empower your child in decision making
Allow your toddler to choose between two food options. Children are more likely to eat food they have chosen for themselves.

9. Serve simple, easy to prepare meals.
There is nothing more demoralizing than spending ages cooking a gourmet meal for your baby, who after the first spoonful turns her head away. Prepare easy meals that you know your child likes and should they refuse the food, offer one alternative that is a sure win e.g. Yogurt.

10. Milk intake
By the age of one, babies need drink only 500ml of milk daily. Most babies can go onto cow’s milk from one year of age unless health reasons dictate otherwise. Do not substitute milk for meals.

11. Social eating
People are social beings as are our children. Nothing makes a toddler want his food more than having another toddler after his food. Invite a friend over who has a good appetite and watch how your child eats. Children generally eat better at school than at home. Often a toddler will eat more food off daddy’s plate than his own plate of food.

12. Some final tips
• Serve small portions in a fresh and attractive way
• Limit drinking before and during meals
• Offer new foods when you know your child is hungry and more receptive to new tastes
• If your child is playing with his food, quietly remove his plate with no fuss.
And finally relax, you are doing a great job and statistics have shown that children do not wilfully starve themselves!!!

Source: BabySense

Toddler breakfast recipes

Breakfast is the most important meal – make it tasty and wholesome for your toddler.

Serve your Toddler healthy and nutritious breakfast foods!  You don’t have to rely on cold cereals for a Toddler’s breakfast; try these easy to prepare breakfast foods that toddlers will love!

Most of these breakfast recipes may be made ahead and frozen for later breakfasts!  Feel free to substitute any ingredients you feel may be inappropriate for your Toddler!

Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

3 eggs

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup milk

dash of pepper and/or garlic powder (optional)

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl until frothy then pour in a warmed frying pan. Stir as the egg mix is cooking. Eggs are done when firm and not runny.

Add veggies or even crumbled turkey sausage to this recipe if desired.

Wrap Those Eggs

1 flour tortilla
shredded cheese

1 egg
chopped cooked veggies (optional)
Warm the tortilla and scramble the egg in a frying pan.

On the tortilla, spread out the scrambled egg and veggies (if using veggies)

then cover with shredded cheese. Wrap or roll up the tortilla and serve when cheese has melted.

You can cut the wrap in "pinwheels" too.

Pancakes & Waffles

Applesauce Pancakes
1 cup flour –
1/4 teaspoon salt –
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon melted butter –
1/2 cup milk –
1 beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla –
1 1/4 cups applesauce

Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl. Combine butter, milk and egg. Stir into dry ingredients. Add vanilla and applesauce; beat well. Spoon batter into a hot, well greased griddle, enough batter to applesauce pancakes about 4 inches in diameter.  **Freezes Well**

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 C whole wheat pastry flour – 3/4 C unbleached white flour
1 Tbs baking powder – 1/2 tsp salt (I omitted)
2 tsp cinnamon -1/2 tsp ground ginger -1/4 tsp allspice – 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 C pureed pumpkin or winter squash
1 tsp vanilla
2 C milk
3 Tbs canola oil

Stir (and sift) together all the dry ingredients in a med. size
bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs with the pumpkin & vanilla.
Beat in the milk & oil until smooth. Add to flour mixture. Cook as usual! These smelled *wonderful* while cooking….like Christmas! SOURCE: "Beyond the
Moon" cookbook by Ginny Callan  **Freezes Well**

Cornmeal Pancakes

1 1/8 cups cornmeal
1/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/8 cups low fat buttermilk
shake of cinnamon, nutmeg (optional)

Mix together the cornmeal, flour and baking soda.
Add the egg, buttermilk, vanilla and cinnamon (optional); stir until just mixed.
Pour by 1/4 cup into a hot pan.
Cook the pancakes until bubbles appear, flip.

Extraordinary – Not Ordinary – Breakfast Recipes

Apple Breakfast Bars
1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups raw apples, shredded

Combine all ingredients. Let stand 10 minutes. Press mixture into 8" x 8" baking dish.  Bake at 375? until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Loosen with spatula, and cut into bars while warm. Serve hot for breakfast or snack **Freezes Well**

Breakfast Soup with Toast Fingers
8 oz vanilla yogurt
1 tsp honey**
1/2 Cup cubed banana
1/2 Cup peaches, peeled
1/4 cup wheat germ

Blend together and top with additional wheat germ. Serve with avocado blended with cream cheese on whole grain toast.
Please note that Honey is appropriate only for those who have reached the age of 1 year old and older!

 

 

Source: www.wholesometoddlerfood.com