Baby Talk: Resources to support the people who work with infants and toddlers
Issue No. 16, September 2012
Resources from Other Organizations and Initiatives
The Center for the Study of Social Policy/Strengthening Families recently shared overviews of four programs, each of which has resources to support families with infants and toddlers, as well as the professionals who work with them.
FSU Partners for a Healthy Baby http://cpeip.fsu.edu/PHB/
Help Me Grow http://www.helpmegrownational.org/
Period of Purple Crying http://www.purplecrying.info/
Resources from Recent Publications
The September 2012 issue of Young Children, a journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), is dedicated to developmentally appropriate practice for infants and toddlers. In addition to content-based articles by national authorities, it includes articles on enhancing practice with infants and toddlers from diverse language and cultural backgrounds and inclusion in infant/toddler settings. If you’re a member of NAEYC, this resource should already be in your mailbox. If you’re not, borrow a copy from a colleague who is, or consider joining (http://www.naeyc.org/membership).
Childhood Nutrition Affects Brain Development
A study following 7,000 6-month-old infants longitudinally to age 8 found that those who ate healthy meals during their first two years of life continued to reap the benefits of this, as indicated on IQ measures. Compared to their peers who ate unhealthy foods as infants and toddlers, these children measured one to two points higher on IQ exams. The study underscores how much healthy brain development begins with good maternal and child health and nutrition. http://www.springerlink.com/content/j3086542453r3360/fulltext.pdf
Avoiding Obesity
Parents can have a significant impact in steering young children away from too much time spent in sedentary pursuits. A new study, in the American Journal of Health Promotion, found this effect in Hispanic families, whose children are more likely to be sedentary than non-Hispanic white children. Hispanic children are also especially vulnerable to becoming overweight or obese. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120504171919.htm
Benefits of Supporting Toddler Efforts to Collaborate and Learn
Collaboration in toddlers has been linked to the acquisition of social rules and norms later in childhood. Understanding what contributes to promoting the sense of collaboration can help improve conscience development in children. A recent study explains that “toddlers whose parents have consistently responded positively to their attention-seeking expect interactions to be fulfilling. As a result, they’re eager to collaborate with their parents’ attempts to socialize them.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120319151153.htm
Baby Talk is a free, one-way listserv that is distributed every other week. Each issue features one or more resources, the majority of which are available to download at no cost. To join the listserv, send an emailwith no message to subscribe-babytalk@listserv.unc.edu. To suggest resources, please contact Camille Catlett at camille.catlett@unc.edu or (919) 966-6635.