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Boosting Brains
July 3, 2023
With love and patience, nothing is impossible.
-Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese philosopher
-Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese philosopher
“The research is clear: Childrens’ developing brains are permanently altered by the corrosive effects of poverty,” proclaims an article in The Hechinger Report.
But there’s some good news. The article’s author, Ariel Gilreath, writes that a “groundbreaking study published last year showed improved cognitive activity in babies whose families received monthly cash support for a year…Researchers from several universities placed 1,000 low-income mothers from across the country into two groups: One group received $333 monthly payments and the other received $20 each month. In both groups, the money came with no strings attached. After a year, babies whose mothers received the $333 payments showed more high-frequency brain activity.
‘We’ve got mounting evidence suggesting that children from disadvantaged backgrounds often have differences in a variety of developmental and health outcomes, but here we’re showing that if we change family income, it can lead to changes in those outcomes,’ said Kimberly Noble, an author of the study and a professor of neuroscience with Teachers College, Columbia University.”
In other brain-related information, Kirsten Haugen, in the Out of the Box Training, "Brain-Based Approach to Behavior,” describes how brains react to conflict, including when children are in conflict with each other or with teachers. “These perceived threats are processed in the same way as physical threats, and the amygdala responds in the same way to focus our minds and bodies to react rather than to reflect…Learning will not occur while the brain is flooded with cortisol. Accept this and move on to some very helpful things you can do during an unteachable moment."
Haugen suggests:
- "Keep your focus on calming things down, starting with yourself.
- Avoid trying to teach a lesson or make a point. It won’t be heard and it will likely prolong the conflict by keeping the child in a neurochemically-charged state.
- Recognize that the best time to confront the issue is later on, when all brains involved have returned to a receptive, reflective state.
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Comments (4)
Displaying All 4 CommentsEugene, OR, United States
Susan, yes! Thank you for honoring young children's desire to do well and participate in problem-solving! I think we're saying the same thing. For me, that means looking for - and supporting - that return to an integrated brain. I love Dan Siegel's hand model of the brain for that reason - it helps us see why we have to wait - at least a little bit - for a return to calm, proactive and receptive states. But later doesn't mean so long afterwards that the original provocation is no longer relevant or retrievable. Safety and connection first, then deepening the connection through shared problem-solving and conflict resolution.
Eugene, OR, United States
Susan Hopkins replied, "In response to what Haugen suggests here:
"Keep your focus on calming things down, starting with yourself.
Avoid trying to teach a lesson or make a point. It won’t be heard and it will likely prolong the conflict by keeping the child in a neurochemically-charged state.
Recognize that the best time to confront the issue is later on, when all brains involved have returned to a receptive, reflective state."
Having been taught by four year olds for many years, that they do appreciate taking "calm down time," but then they wish to move into the "problem solving framework" that had been previously presented, practiced, and refined in classroom work. We did not wait until later, but worked on the issue when everyone could think more clearly."
Eugene, OR, United States
Really good points, Francis. Yes, we can't conflate poverty itself with poor parenting, or other negative outcomes. Correlation is not causation nor determinism, but I think we can agree that there's a powerful correlation between economic hardship/lack of access to basic needs/services and poor outcomes. I think a major mediator is stress - whether that stress comes from lack of access to basic needs and services or lack of agency or lack of connection, all of which may or may not be associated with poverty. Certainly many rural poor communities have an abundance of agency and connection even when basic material needs are lacking. I think one interesting thing here is the simplicity and trust involved in an effective intervention.
University of Phoenix/ Red Rocks Community College
Denver, Colorado, 80222, Colorado, United States
I have real problems with this study! (No, I don't support poverty). I lived in the Highlands of Guatemala for a white, and the Mayas I lived with were extremely poor. They had no running water or drinking water, no bathrooms, ragged clothes for their children, bare feet (also adults), no health care and poor diets. But the children engaged in a variety of activities that enhance brain development, including infants riding on the backs of their mothers that constantly stimulated the brain, family meals with lively conversations (and NO technology!), community activities where children interacted with all community members, children working beside their parents learning a variety of skills, and lots of individual and group play and games. Poverty is not the issue; the issue is the kinds of behaviors we allow in poor communities. (I am also concerned that this study perpetuates the powerful stereotypes of poor children and poor families - including among some in the ECE community).
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