Born Smart » Emotional Intelligence

Depression And Children – How To Predict

Admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:26:18 +0000

Currently 15% of preschoolers suffer from high levels of depression and anxiety. A recent paper published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found two significant predictors for childhood depression.

The first and top predictor for depression later in life is a difficult temperament at five months of age. “a child being fussy, being irritable, difficult to soothe. And a child that is particularly challenged by novel situations. So a child that is slow to adapt, or is fearful in new situations.” Said Sylvanna Cote from the University of Montreal.

The second big predictor is lifetime maternal depression, “We know from studies that are genetically informative, so twin studies or studies that have measures of the genotype of people, that depression runs in families. But of course genetics is not destiny, even though it’s an important factor. So someone who is at risk because of genetic vulnerability may go on to develop depression or not, depending on the quality of care. And the quality of the family environment. So it’s very important to realize that environment is a major factor and we can change people’s environment.”
Current treatment prescribed is medication and cognitive behavioral therapy and outcomes have been highly successful.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=predictors-of-preschool-depression-09-08-31

The Origins Of Shame

Admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:32:30 +0000

Our shame comes from negative messages , beliefs and rules that we hear as we grow up. It is
the painful feeling that we experience when we realize that a part of us is defective, bad,
inadequate, phony or a failure. The difference between shame and guilt is that we feel guilt for
doing something bad, but we feel shame for being something bad.
Examples of how children can be shamed by parents and others in authority like, teachers and
clergy.
• the parent or caretaker imply that a child is not wanted.
• When a child is humiliated in public.
• When disapproval is aimed towards the child’s entire being and not the specific
behaviour.
• When a child must hide part of his being to be accepted, for example, his needs, joys,
sorrows, hostilities, fears, mistakes, successes.
• When a child’s emotional or physical boundaries are violated as occurs in evident or
hidden abuse.
• When children feel that they have no privacy, e.g. parents go through their personal
belongings or diaries.
• When events or gifts important to the child are treated with indifference.
• When a child feels that parents are in some way different from other powerful figures in
their world, e.g. immigrant parents, racial minority, poverty.
• When a child feels that a parent or member of the family is in some way flawed
compared to other adult figures in his or her world, e.g. where a family member is
alcoholic or has a physical or mental disability, and that difference is never discussed or
the child can’t express feelings about the impact of that difference.
• When trust in important adult figures is damaged or destroyed through inconsistency or
neglect.
• When a child grows up with adults who are ashamed and feel powerless in the world.
• When a child is made to feel flawed, worthless, unlovable, or unwanted in the broader
world or community, e.g. learning disabilities, inappropriate dress compared with peers.
• When a child is consistently held responsible for the actions or emotional state of the
parent or the child cannot live up to the unrealistic expectations of the parent.
• When parents use silent disgust as a way of disciplining, children feel that their entire
being is bad and there is no opportunity to repair the relationship.

Baby learning games – the 3 elements of learning

Admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:00:00 +0000

There is a huge amount of pressure on parents to teach their babies and toddlers, mostly from advertising companies promoting their products. The problem is that by placing such emphasis on educational toys the human or social element of learning is overlooked.

A study published in the July 17 edition of the Journal Science reported that learning is;

social and
“supported by brain circuits that links perception and action that connect people together. (Exactly how real people are connected to another’s learning is not fully understood yet)

The lead author Andrew Meltzoff says, “Social interaction is more important than we previously thought and underpins early learning.”

Co Author Patricia Kuhl studied babies when learning a second language from a real person and when learning the second language from the same person, but viewed on a television. She said, “A person can get more information by looking at another person face to face. [Babies] take in more information by looking at another person face to face than by looking at that person on a big plasma TV screen.”

Happiness genetic – is it really too far out?

Admin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:00:00 +0000

I love the idea that our feelings can influence our children, it’s so beautifully complex but not entirely impossible because of the link between hormones and feelings, and, hormones and genes.
Dr. Alberto Halabe Bucay suggested that the hormones and chemicals that result from our happiness or depression and other mental states, at the time of conception, can affect our eggs and sperm and result in lasting alterations in our children.

We already know that a mother’s stress during the first three months of her pregnancy can result in baby separation anxiety.
Dr Halabe Bucay says “It is well known, of course, that parental behavior affects children, and that the genes that a child gets from its parents help shape that child’s character. My paper suggests a way that the parent’s psychology before conception can actually affect the child’s genes.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090514101937.htm

Why you wife is likely to run away with the music teacher

Admin — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:18:00 +0000

Many a man has uttered the words, “How was I supposed to know, I can’t read her mind” or “I have no idea why she left me, she just walked out”. There is no one that will argue that male and female brains do not work in the same way and according to researchers at Rockefeller University this difference is due to sex hormones active in the brain, estrogen in women and testosterone for men.

But don’t despair ladies, finally researchers found us a man that still think like a man, but are able to pick up on subtle emotional cues. No, it’s not a robot named Chip; a new study found that musical training enhances the ability to recognize emotion in sound. They also found that this ability of the nervous system, to process emotion in sound, increased with the number of years of music training and the earlier music training were started.

If you’re looking for a man that can pick up on emotional cues find a musician or if you’re already married you can always send your construction worker husband for some piano lessons.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303161427.htm

Separation anxiety, what is going on inside baby?

Admin — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:00:00 +0000

My son suffered from severe separation anxiety during his first year and I have always contributed this to the fact that I was very stressed at work during the first 3 months of my pregnancy. An article in Scientific American now confirmed that the stress hormone corticosterone is involved in separation anxiety. A variation in the gene DRD2 has been linked to babies who are unable to deal with stressful situations as efficiently as their counterparts.

If you have a baby like mine and you’re now stressing about what to do, consider this. Studies have shown that sensitive parenting can help a baby overcome his fears and help him to deal with stressful situations. How does this work? DNA Metyhylation is an epigenetic factor that can change the expression of a gene, (for example, switching the gene from on to off or vice versa). Studies on rodents have shown that the frequent licking of a mother rat can alter methylation levels in the hippocampus of the baby. And if you’re still not convinced, researchers have found epigenetic changes in genes of suicide victims, believed to be due to childhood abuse.

I can also offer my own experience as testimonial to these studies. I practiced an attachment style of parenting, always responding to my baby’s cries, extended breast feeding, used baby carriers not strollers in the early months and generally kept baby close as much as possible. Today there is no sign of anxiety in my four year old son. In fact he engages anyone and everyone around him in conversation wherever he goes.

A Parenting style that makes your baby happier and smarter

Admin — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:28:00 +0000

One of the most unusual things that struck me soon after the birth of my first baby was how much information were available on pregnancy and birth, with little attention paid to parenting style. Deciding on a parenting style before your baby arrive will make you a more confident parent when everyone, including the dog, offer their opinion on how often you should pick your crying baby up, frequency of feeding and how long baby should be sleeping. In fact once a baby arrives there is so much advice out there on how to make things easier for a new mum, few people consider how baby might feel about all this.

An interesting study conducted on orphaned chimpanzees found when these chimpanzees were given “special mothering” they were more advanced than the average child of 9 months. Humans would play, groom, feed and interact with the infant chimpanzees 20 hours a week, the focus on emotional and physical development. They were found to be happier; more advanced and better adjusted than chimpanzees that did not receive this care.

Professor Kim Bard of the Centre for the Study of Emotion at the University of Portsmouth said, “The attachment system of infant chimpanzees appears surprisingly similar to that found in human infants. Early experiences, either of warm, responsive care-giving or of extreme deprivation, have a dramatic impact on emotional and cognitive outcomes in both chimpanzees and humans. Parental sensitivity is an important factor in human development, contributing to emotionally and cognitively strong children and it would seem the same is true for great apes, as well.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202140437.htm

Will your child be constantly bullied? How to predict.

Admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Even though we still have a long way to go, more are being done than ever before to stamp out bullying. There are some children that always tend to be victimized by their peers and in October last year, a study found 3 early predictors for children that become chronically abused.

Children who are aggressive in infancy
Children from families with harsh parenting styles
Children from families with insufficient income

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006180658.htm

Bullying no fun when onlookers taught to empathize

Admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:41:00 +0000

Many parents of children that are bullied often blame others in addition to the bully, (the school, teachers, other students, the bully’s parents) causing the rest of us to roll our eyes, but they may have a point.

A new study focused not on the bully or victim but on the role bystanders play in continuing the bully -victim relationship. Bystanders often do not take responsibility and make an unspoken decision not to think about what the bully or victim is experiencing, behavior that helps maintain the bully-victim relationship.

In an attempt to change the outlook of the school social system on bullying, teachers were given one day of self defense group training and students nine sessions. The teachers were also discouraged from disciplinary action like sending pupils to the principal’s office, unless absolutely necessary and no explicit rules were set against bullying. Instead classes were asked to reflect on the day’s activities at the end of every day for the last 15 minutes. Poster campaigns, stickers and badges were used to help label feelings and acknowledge distress.

A structured format was used to help the students reflect on bully-victim-bystander relationships and students would then reach a conclusion on their own whether they were able to be reflective and compassionate. Children were found to be much tougher when judging themselves.

In its first year the study found less bullying, more positive bystander behavior, greater empathy towards victims and less favorable attitudes towards bullying. In addition, bullies initially complained about the program until they were gradually recruited into more helpful roles.

Bullying can destroy lives, I think it’s important to acknowledge this. Helping a child to understand other’s emotions also helps him increase his own emotional intelligence, a critical factor for success later in life.

What to do if your child suffers from anxiety.

Admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:53:00 +0000

Many adults suffering from anxiety also suffer from balance problems and while not all children that suffer anxiety have balance problems, all children with balance problems have issues with anxiety. Researchers in Tel Aviv have now used this link between anxiety and balance to treat anxiety in young children.

Dr. Orit Bart 12 week sensory motor intervention study on 5 to 7 year olds found improved balance skills as well as reduced anxiety levels, resulting in increased self-esteem. She said, “You can’t treat children with anxiety in a cognitive way because of their immaturity and lack of operational thinking. Working with the body may be the answer. Young children who have anxiety should first be assessed for balance issues to see if that is the source of the problem.”

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/136495.php