Monthly Archives: November 2012

Childhood adversity and brain development

Posted on by
Reply

There is a growing literature showing that the early experiences of children shape their brain architecture. Two days ago an article in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience added to that literature.

Kids who come from lower socioeconomic families have a harder time ignoring insignificant environmental information than children who come from higher income families, due to the fact that they learn how to pay attention to things differently . . . (from the press release)

The sample size of the study is very small (28 students), and so one can’t put too much weight on it. However, it does suggest that environmental factors in early childhood affect the way that we process information. Specifically:

“These results indicate that children from lower socioeconomic status have to exercise more cognitive control in order to ignore unimportant information than children of higher socioeconomic status.”

Now the question is whether socioeconomic status is the critical variable. Poor children are four times more likely to live in a father-absent home. Is it possible that certain types of home environments not only correlate with poverty, but in fact perpetuate it by their effect on children’s brain development?

Cultivating resourcefulness

Posted on by
Reply

Over Thanksgiving weekend I witnessed resourcefulness in action.

My younger brother came to visit with his family, and helped me solve all sorts of problems. He helped diagnose and fix a faulty latch on my front door. He tried a simple solution for another door that wouldn’t close without a push. And when my van quit on the side of the road as we set off for a hike, he helped me figure out how to get towed. (My AAA membership had expired and the roadside assistance on my car insurance wasn’t in effect so I thought I’d have to pay for the tow truck as well as the repair. My brother pointed out that we might be able to use my dad’s roadside assistance since the service is provided to the person, not just their personal vehicle. Since my dad was with us, we didn’t have to pay for towing!)

That experience pushed on me the question: How can I teach my children resourcefulness?

I think that there are five important elements:

  1. Model it. My kids are my apprentices. Like it or not, they’re going to imitate me in the way that I approach and solve problems.
  2. Think out loud. Talking about the resources available to solve a problem invites my kids into what is going on inside my head. It is the verbalization of modeling.
  3. Point it out. I need to help my kids see just how competent and clever my brother is at solving problems. He does it in ways that I don’t. When they see both his approaches and mine, they’ll have a bigger toolbox from which to draw.
  4. Support it. I need to walk my kids through the process as I let them do it. Resolving conflict among kids is the “easiest” way to do this in that it is the most frequent – and therefore the best opportunity for repetition, creative thinking and coaching.
  5. Expect it. When I have done the first four, then my kids are ready to do it. They have the tools and the experience. Now I can withdraw support (at least on a case by case basis) to let them dive in, use the available resources and come up with a solution. I’m convinced that doing this across the spectrum – in the kitchen, in the garage, on a hiking trail, using the computer etc. – is precisely what cultivates true resourcefulness. Then they’re not just familiar with one set of tools (say, those of the classroom), but a whole array of tools that can be brought to bear on whatever the challenge.

How do you teach your kids resourcefulness? What notable instances of resourcefulness have you seen them demonstrate?