Latest Research Showing Long Term Benefits of Early Learning

[KL]

Here's some very recent research results showing the long term benefits of early learning, reported by The Guardian newspaper (UK):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/oct/14/childhood-stimulation-key-brain-development

Some quotes:

Farah's results showed that the development of the cortex in late teens was closely correlated with a child's cognitive stimulation at the age of four. All other factors including parental nurturance at all ages and cognitive stimulation at age eight – had no effect. Farah said her results were evidence for the existence of a sensitive period, early in a person's life, that determined the optimal development of the cortex. "It really does support the idea that those early years are especially influential."

and

Andrea Danese, a clinical lecturer in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, said ... that this kind of research highlighted the "tremendous role" that parents and carers had to play in enabling children to develop their cognitive, social, and emotional skills by providing safe, predictable, stimulating, and responsive personal interactions with children.

Pity the study only started on the children when they were 4!

Do we need to wait for another 20 years for science to prove what we all know - that early learning for babies and toddlers will also have a long term beneficial impact?

KL

[intrigued]

Hello everyone,

This research is very interesting. I am currently embarking on the dissertation for my final masters module. As a mother of a 21 month old who is doing Little Reader at the moment I am fascinated by early learning and the potential it optmizes. I would like to research more for my dissertation. I was wondering whether there were some parents out there who would be keen to share their experiences with me in the form of an informal interview (it would be auido or video-taped only so that I had recall to the points later) and perhaps a demonstration of them working with their child on the activities. If you are keen I would love to talk with you.

Natalie

[Mandabplus3]

Great article. It raised a few questions for me but overall I think it says volumes for EL. Interestingly it made me feel like superwoman! I have 42x 4 year olds a week, basically by giving them a solid "education" I am helping them make choices like stay away from drugs as teens. COOL 
Interesting how they determined a good EL environment. The number of books in a house in NO WAY shows the number of books the child has read to them. But I guess a few assumptions need to be made somewhere. I doubt my kids had many toys that taught them their colours but they all learnt them before 2 reguardless.
Thanks for sharing. I love reading about the brain scans that actually back up all the stuff we already do!

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