Neuron Mommy

Recently, a friend from high school generously gave me the intro DVD for "Any Baby Can Read". I must confess that I am really excited to see what it is about. And she feels that it was beneficial. But the neuroscientist in me wonders if, well, any baby can, in fact, read? If I haven't already mentioned it, I highly, highly recommend "What's Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life", by Lise Eliot. Even if you aren't well versed in science jargon, this book is really easy, informative and well researched. The book gives a great overview of the stages of brain development of the visual, auditory, motor and language systems, just to name a few. And after reading this book, I realize that there are stages that babies learn, and there is really no way past those stages. For example, although there is an age range for babies to begin crawling, it is really based on how fast that portion of their motor system develops. Nothing you do can really make them crawl faster. So it is interesting that there is a program which claims it can teach a baby to read, well before most kidlets become "readers".

First let me start by explaining what "Any Baby Can Read" contends their product can do:

"A baby’s brain thrives on stimulation and develops at a phenomenal pace…nearly 90% during the first five years of life! The best and easiest time to learn a language is during the infant and toddler years, when the brain is creating thousands of synapses every second – allowing a child to learn both the written word and spoken word simultaneously, and with much more ease.

Dr. Titzer says the current practice of starting to teach reading skills in school is too late and children benefit greatly from getting a much earlier start since a child basically has only one natural window for learning language -- from about birth to about age four. During this period it is easier for a child to learn any type of language including spoken, receptive, foreign and written language. The earlier the child is taught to read the better they will read and the more likely they will enjoy it.

Studies prove that the earlier a child learns to read, the better they perform in school and later in life. Early readers have more self-esteem and are more likely to stay in school. Meanwhile, a national panel of reading specialists and educators determined that most of the nation’s reading problems could be eliminated if children began reading earlier."

Sounds good, eh? But let us take a look at these claims.

They are correct that when a baby is born, he/she has all of the neurons (cells in the central nervous system) in place, however, synapses (parts of the neuron that communicate to other neurons) are overproduced, called synaptogenesis. The reason for synaptogenesis is that experiences drive changes in the brain. An infants/toddlers brain is like a blank canvas (if you will) and is completely open to new experiences (words, colors, sounds, etc). As the infant/toddler experience their world, their language, their environment, the synapses that are not needed prune back. However, there is absolutely no scientific evidence that kids can learn language and reading simultaneoulsy just because synaptogenesis is occurring.

The next claim that "starting to teach reading skills in school is too late and children benefit greatly from getting a much earlier start since a child basically has only one natural window for learning language" really has no basis. It is true that there is a sensitive developmental window for language (not reading) development. If a child is deprived of language during this period, no matter what you do later, that child will never acquire language. But, reading is not like that. There is no "sensitive" window for reading. If there was, illiterate adults would not be able to learn to read, and they clearly can. I understand that they are saying that these kiddos learn best when they pair language and reading, but this argument really doesn't show that.

This claim really gets me going! They claim that "Studies prove that the earlier a child learns to read, the better they perform in school and later in life". Really? And where exactly are your citations for these studies? Most studies don't show findings so clear, cut and dry. There are a lot of variables to consider when it comes to reading and the effects on later school performance. Do these early readers come from smarter, better educated parents? Do they have a more stable, nurturing environment? Have they been read to from very early in infancy? Do their parents read frequently? Genetics? Environment? You get the picture.

In all honesty, I think what gets me a bit worked up about these products is they play into that natural, and ever-present voice we all have as parents. You know, the one that contanstanly makes you wonder if you are doing all that you can for your kidlet. We all want to have the brightest, smartest, etc. kids because that means they will go on to have productive lives and be contributors to society. And if "Any Baby Can Read" doesn't do what it claims, but at the end of the day encourages quality time spent between parent and child, then to me, that is what it is all about. But I think you can do that for free ;)

So all in all I will give it a try. And if Conner does well, that is great. But I also think that the claims they make are lacking scientific proof (at best) and conflates language acquisition with reading.

I am quite sleepy. My son, who is 5.5 months old, within the last 2 days has shown some cool motor developments. Well, cool if you are a Mommy, or are related to my kidlet. Otherwise, you could probably give a rats’ ass :) For the past two nights my son has shown his new ability…to roll onto his tummy! It is incredibly cute. Just.One.Issue. He gets mad when he rolls onto his tummy, and starts to cry, which means I get up, go to his crib, and roll him back on his back. I must backpeddle and say that prior to 2 nights ago, he slept for most of the night, except for one nighttime feeding. Now, in addition to his nighttime feeding, I get up about 3-4 times to roll him back onto his back. Hence, sleepy Mommy. But in the end, it is still really cute. He has also mastered grabbing his toes. Babies are just downright, effing cute! Grabbing toes has to be one of the cutest things. Based on my reading and research, it appears my kidlet is right in line with his motor development. I would attempt to go into the neurobiology of motor development, after all I study the motor cortex, however, I AM TOO DAMN SLEEPY! But looking at him nap (and the million other things he does) makes it all worth it!

An article just came out in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine which found an interesting correlation between the amount of television watched and a delay in language development. Here is the (over)simplified breakdown of the study. The study consisted of 329 infants/toddlers, ages 2-48 months. Once a month, using a recording device, the verbal interactions of the parent and child would be analyzed. What the researchers found is that for every hour the child watched television, there was a 7% decrease in the number of verbal interactions (words) between the caregiver and child. The researchers contend that this decrease may delay a child's language development. They cite that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against television watching before 2 years of age, and instead encourages more parent/child interaction.

I realize this is a hot-button issue. There are many DVDs out there claiming to improve language skills in babies. There is even a channel devoted entirely to babies! I would like to interject some caveats to this study. Overall the study is well done and here are some of the caveats or disclaimers they introduce. 1) Was the language captured by their recording device intended for the infant? In other words, was this a caregiver/child interaction, or was the caregiver talking to her sister on the phone? 2) The study does not know which television programs were watched by the infants. Furthermore, was the television show actively being watched by the infant, or was it merely background noise?

The study also points out what I kept asking myself while reading the article: what happens if the parent interacts with the infant about the content of the program while the child watches television. If you are watching The Wiggles or Barney would it delay language acquisition and/or development IF you were talking about what was going on in the show? The big answer...YES! I know, surprising. But the article points out that from the infants perspective, the overlapping sounds of the television and the caregivers voice would basically be sensory overload. The researches contend that it is difficult for an infant to attend to 2 sounds simultaneously (Christakis et al., 2009).

One study (Linebarger and Walker, 2005) found a positive relationship between children under 2 and watching television. The average onset for television watching was 9 months. This study found that certain television shows like Dora the Explorer, Arthur, etc were associated with positive language development. However, shows like Teletubbies and even Sesame Street were associated with negative language development.

However, as noted by Anderson and Pempek (2005) most research suggests that children under 2 gain very little, if anything from watching television.

So I guess here is what I keep wondering: how much interaction is optimal? I can't imagine some television viewing is bad, provided you are interacting with your child enough. Why would some shows be beneficial, and others not? And do these DVDs and show geared for children under the age of 2 structure their shows similar to the shows that research has found to be beneficial? Any other thoughts?


Works Cited:

Dimitri A. Christakis; Jill Gilkerson; Jeffrey A. Richards; Frederick J. Zimmerman; Michelle M. Garrison; Dongxin Xu; Sharmistha Gray; Umit Yapanel. Audible Television and Decreased Adult Words, Infant Vocalizations, and Conversational Turns: A Population-Based Study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009;163(6):554-558.


Linebarger, D. L., &Walker, D. (2005). Infants’ and toddlers’ television viewing and language outcomes. American Behavioral Scientist, 48, 624-645.

Daniel R. Anderson and Tiffany A. Pempek. Television and Very Young Children. American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 48, No. 5, 505-522