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Poverty Slows Development
October 14, 2008
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
-Aristotle
-Aristotle
"The brain doesn't just form; it forms over time," said Margaret Arbuckle, executive director of the nonprofit Guilford Education Alliance. "Environmental factors impact the development of the synapses and the architecture of the brain, so that as the brain is constructed, if there's not appropriate nutrition and there (are) stress and other health factors, that can impact the way the child's brain actually grows and develops."
"The results," Arbuckle said, "can be seen in children's complex thinking and reasoning skills, impulse control, and their ability to create relationships and discern social cues."
"When parents are living in poverty and super stressed ... through their emotional interaction with their children they send off signals to the baby," she said. Also, "poor parents don't have time to have that continual interaction of stimulus and response from the adult" that is essential to proper brain development. Such children are "likely to develop stress-related illnesses and mental health problems like depression and anxiety, which can then lead to risky behavior later in life," she said.
Exchange Resources on Brain Development
For an in-depth look at brain research and its applications in early learning settings, check out these two Exchange books:
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Comments (3)
Displaying All 3 Commentsearly childhood education
columbia, United States
I liked the acticle it gave me a more understanding of how poverty can have a large role in the development of children.
The Montessori Children\'s Academy
Madison, New Jersey, United States
While it would be foolish for anyone to suggest that the corolaries of poverty, i.e. poor nutrition, stress, etc. would not damage, if not permanently mar, the development of young children, I would be very careful not to make that seem like a foregone conclusion. With all due respect to the latest brain research (of which I am quite a follower), history is replete with times of poverty and stress - and countless remarkable individuals who navigated their way to happy, successful and productive lives despite those circumstances. The resilience and adaptability of the human being and his brain is nothing less than remarkable, and I would caution that, while much work needs to be done to address poverty and its effects, as much needs to be done to empower those affected by it to not give up on who they can become and what they can accomplish. As educators, that is our job.
United States
I think the issue is more the lack of interaction with young babies and children than the amount of money a family earns. Not talking with, singing to, and engaging little ones in meaningful interaction happens whenever parents and care givers do not realize the importance of these simple acts for the future of the children they care for.
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