{"id":11992,"date":"2019-11-06T20:19:54","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T20:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/?p=11992"},"modified":"2024-05-11T22:33:27","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T21:33:27","slug":"mothering-cognitive-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/mothering-cognitive-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Stimulating-responsive mothering in first three years is vital for child cognitive development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Cognitive development at adolescence predicted by early mother-child and caregiver-child interactions.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Our recent study of more than 1,300 families in the United States makes a compelling cognitive development case for investments to help mothers and other caregivers provide stimulating and responsive care of infants and toddlers.<\/p>\n<p>We found that mothers\u2019 stimulating and responsive care of children in the first three years predicts improved cognitive development \u2013 specifically, better maths and vocabulary skills \u2013 through childhood and into adolescence. Similar good practice from nonfamilial caregivers was also linked to better math performance, though not as strongly as interactions with mothers. The study, by us and Sara Schmitt, appears in the journal <em>Developmental Psychology.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>By stimulating and responsive care, we mean behaviors such as regularly talking to infants and toddlers in ways that are attuned to their interests. In our observational tests, which involved playing with toys, researchers looked for adult behaviors that engaged with the young children\u2019s play, where the adults stayed sensitively involved, neither ignoring the child nor taking over the play.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #121c4e;color:#121c4e\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #121c4e;color:#121c4e\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/mothering-cognitive-development\/#Boosted_cognitive_development\" >Boosted cognitive development<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/mothering-cognitive-development\/#Deprivation_particularly_impacts_on_cognitive_development\" >Deprivation particularly impacts on cognitive development<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/mothering-cognitive-development\/#Implications_for_early_childhood_development_policy\" >Implications for early childhood development policy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/mothering-cognitive-development\/#Understanding_fathers_role_in_first_three_years\" >Understanding fathers\u2019 role in first three years<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/mothering-cognitive-development\/#Conclusions_for_early_child_cognitive_development\" >Conclusions for early child cognitive development<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Boosted_cognitive_development\"><\/span>Boosted cognitive development<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is perhaps less surprising that mothers\u2019 conversations and interactions during the first three years are associated with children\u2019s later vocabulary. But it is particularly interesting that this is also linked to another key indicator of cognitive development \u2013 improved mathematics performance later in life.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cBy stimulating and responsive care, we mean talking and reacting to young children in ways that are sensitive to their interests.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>We found that the boost in cognitive development predicted by good adult caring in the first three years was most apparent when the children were four and a half years old, just before they began formal schooling. The impact then fell away a little, but the influence of good care delivered in infancy and toddlerhood subsequently stabilised and remained substantial and detectable throughout childhood until at least age 15. We are following the sample to see whether the cognitive development impacts are still detectable at age 26.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Deprivation_particularly_impacts_on_cognitive_development\"><\/span>Deprivation particularly impacts on cognitive development<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Our findings particularly highlight that it is critically important to identify and support deprived infants and toddlers who are not receiving stimulating and responsive care \u2013either from their mother or from a caregiver. We found that such a \u201cdual care gap\u201d not only combined the losses one might expect in cognitive development, it amplified them. These children experienced roughly twice what we anticipated would be the combined impact.<\/p>\n<p>Our findings confirm that mothers\u2019 and caregivers\u2019 stimulating and responsive care in the later preschool period, at four and a half years, predicted additional increases in cognitive development. This evidence helps justify current interventions to support better care for this older preschool age group. However, the benefits for cognitive development from stimulating-responsive care at four and a half years were less pronounced than the influence of stimulating-responsive caring practice during the first three years.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12116\" style=\"width: 953px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12116\" class=\"wp-image-12116\" src=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/16616135450_7ffd945605_k-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"943\" height=\"629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/16616135450_7ffd945605_k-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/16616135450_7ffd945605_k-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/16616135450_7ffd945605_k-356x238.jpg 356w, https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/16616135450_7ffd945605_k-50x33.jpg 50w, https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/16616135450_7ffd945605_k-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/16616135450_7ffd945605_k.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 943px) 100vw, 943px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12116\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hthg1983\/16616135450\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Giang H\u1ed3 Th\u1ecb Ho\u00e0ng<\/a>. Creative Commons. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Implications_for_early_childhood_development_policy\"><\/span>Implications for early childhood development policy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Our findings would therefore justify additional support for children under three, especially given the evidence from other studies that document wide variations in the caregiving that young children receive during the first three years. For example, other studies have found that about only about half of US children are receiving stimulating and responsive care from their caregivers.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cOur findings justify additional support for children under 3, given the wide variations in caregiving that young children receive during the first three years.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This picture can be changed. Research by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Mary-Dozier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Professor Mary Dozier at the University of Delaware<\/a> and others shows that interventions during the first three years are effective at improving both parental and caregiver practices.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Understanding_fathers_role_in_first_three_years\"><\/span>Understanding fathers\u2019 role in first three years<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Our study used data from an archived data set covering a total of 1,364 families. It focussed on observations of mother-child interactions and carer-child interactions at six, 15, 24 and 36 months and again at 54 months (four and a half years). A father or father figure was present in two-thirds of this sample and were subject to the same observational tests as the mothers. This data set therefore provides a similar opportunity to ascertain how fathers\u2019 stimulating and responsive care in the first three years might contribute to children\u2019s cognitive development through childhood and beyond.\u00a0 We would expect to find positive links, since other literature demonstrates that the quality of later father-child interactions also influences educational achievement.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusions_for_early_child_cognitive_development\"><\/span>Conclusions for early child cognitive development<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This unusually large and lengthy study of child cognitive development suggests that policymakers and practitioners should take a long, hard look at how they provide resources to support children, parents, and caregivers during the first three years.<\/p>\n<p>Our findings show that it is important to focus on this period, not to the detriment of four- and five-year-olds but in addition to the help already provided for them. Our research backs up findings from neuroscience that considerable damage can be done to cognitive development during the first three years that will be hard to make good later on, despite much effort.<\/p>\n<p>Thus every effort must be made to avoid damage in the first place, with a real emphasis required to improve the situation of those children under three, who may find themselves in deprived, unstimulating, unresponsive conditions, where lack of skilled caregiving means that there is insufficient compensation for inadequate parenting. The amplified legacy of this neglect \u2013 through childhood, into adolescence and probably beyond \u2013 is all too obvious from our study. The case for interventions of proven efficacy is compelling; they should not be delayed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"retrofit-references\">\n<h4>References<\/h4>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 1.8em;\"><em>\u00a0Duncan RJ, Schmitt SA &amp; Vandell DL (2019), <a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fdev0000824\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Additive and synergistic relations of early mother- and caregiver-child interactions for predicting later achievement<\/a>, Developmental Psychology<\/em><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cognitive development at adolescence predicted by early mother-child and caregiver-child interactions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":11993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5770,435],"tags":[35,2,451,36,267],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11992"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11992"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21082,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11992\/revisions\/21082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}