In 1981 a new book called The Hurried Child warned us that children were being pushed too far, too fast. Dr. David Elkind's book became an instant classic. Today it seems the process has only intensified. There are pre-natal stimulation kits to induce fetal learning. Baby Einstein toys. There is also much discussion of how to smart-wire baby's brain to expand cognitive powers, foster language abilities and improve sleep patterns. IDEAS producer Mary O'Connell explores this new terrain of Super Babies.
From the earliest moments of their newborn's life, parents have always
wanted the best for baby. And then of course there have always been
parents who wanted their baby to be best. Over the years, a few books
reflected this desire: Give Your Child a Superior Mind or, How
to Raise a Brighter Child. Twenty years ago, there were just a few
products on the market that claimed to raise baby's IQ. Until parents
learned of something called the Mozart Effect.
The Mozart Effect was the culmination of one study of college
students who listened to Mozart before taking a test. It appeared that
these students scored slightly higher marks after listening to Mozart.
The message? Mozart, and indeed any classical music will stimulate the
brain. Science says it's so. Soon, other brain enrichment practices were
encouraged. Parents were told to set up black and white squares around
baby's crib, this will enhance visual development. A multi-textured
blanket will provide sensory stimulation.
Part of what's fuelling the billion dollar baby is brain science.
Studies over the decades claim that baby's brain is a vast resource that
can be enriched through stimulation. So a young child can learn
colours, count and even read earlier than ever before. The explosive
growth of baby learning products has sent parents scrambling to ensure
their baby is as bright as bright can be. So, are the scientific studies
behind this social force real or exaggerated? In this series, IDEAS
producer Mary O'Connell explores what some are calling a
brave new age of infant determinism.
Part 2
Today, parents and their young children are being
tossed about in the perfect storm: Brain science claims, economic anxiety, and a billion
dollar toy industry that's pressuring parents to expose their young
children to early academics. Especially when it comes to reading. In
the second hour of The Hurried Infant, IDEAS producer Mary
O'Connell sat down to discuss what some are calling the
re-invention of childhood itself with two leading child advocates and
researchers, neuroscientist Maryanne Wolfe and
psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek.
Resources
Books
The Hurried Child, by David Elkind, Da Capo Press. 1981.
The Hurried Child, by David Elkind, 2008, Da Capo Press. 25th anniversary edition.
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, by Maryanne Wolf, HarperCollins Publishers, 2007.
Einstein Never Used Flash Cards, by Kathy
Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff,
Holtzbrinck Publishers, 2003.
The Sandbox Investment: the pre-school movement
and kids-first politics, by David Kirp, Harvard
University Press, 2007.
The Brain that Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge, Viking USA, 2007.
The Myth of the First Three Years, A New Understanding of Early Brain Development and Lifelong Learning, by John Bruer, Free Press, 1999.
Worried All the Time: Overparenting in an Age of Anxiety", by David Anderegg, Simon and Schuster, 2003.
Smart-Wiring Your Baby's Brain: What You Can Do to Stimulate Your Child in the First Three Years, by Winifred Conkling, Harper Paperbacks, 2001.
Websites
A Conversation with John Bruer, author of The Myth of the First Three Years, A New Understanding of Early Brain Development and Lifelong Learning.
The Hurried Child by David Elkind on Google Books