ParentTech Roundup | 5 March

A weekly collection of the most interesting news about child development and new products for tech-savvy parents. Missed last week’s roundup? Read it here.

🧠 Forget flashcards, play with sticks. An expert explains how children learn (WEF)

According to Casey Lew-Williams , co-Director of the Princeton Baby Lab, the education process of a child begins on the first day of their life and relies on two factors: the ability to detect and remember patterns, and interest in other people.

As a parent, it is critical that you understand the interaction between these two factors, as this is what defines the early learning experience.

Specifically the “interest in other people” means that almost everything you do around your baby, like moving your mouth, hands, speaking — stimulates their attention and fires off new neural connections as they try to comprehend the dynamic world around them.

Parents don’t need to own lots of toys or buy lots of things. If a child has access to some sticks and some rocks and an adult to play with, great things can be achieved. The cognitive processes required for imaginary play on the playground are more demanding than sitting there looking at flashcards.

And although researchers consistently find that socio-economic status significantly impacts the level of stimulation that parents give to the child, the findings about how critical play is, proves that regardless of circumstances, every family can use simpe and low-cost activities that will help the child thrive.

Technology is critical in this process — in the world where smartphone ownership is on the rise even in the poorest of communities, it was never easier (and cheaper!) for researchers and educators to reach families with actionable tips and DIY play ideas — like pretend-play or imaginary storytelling.

📈 A child psychologist translates what those cognitive development stages in your kids really mean (Perfection Pending)

How many times have you caught yourself reading parenting books and felling overwhelmed with terms like “sensorimotor” or “preoperational” that are supposed to represent developmental stages to decide if your baby is on the right track?

What if we told you that what those actually mean in terms of behaviour are things like:

• crying when the ball disappears behind the couch because they don’t understand it is not gone forever
• clinging onto your leg when new people approach them
• developing “character” and throwing temper tantrums?

Fortunately, we still have child psychologists like Nadene, the author of this article, who take the best we know from science and translate it into simple facts and actionable tips so that its easy to know what you can do to support your baby’s development. Check Nadene’s website on http://unshakeablecalm.com

🤰🏻Immune system activation in pregnant women can shape brain development in their babies (Medical Press)

This news just came out last week in the Journal of Neuroscience — researchers from the Developing Mind in the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angele found that changes in the mother’s immune system during the 3rd trimester have impact on child’s short- and long-term brain functions.

Peterson’s study is the first to link maternal inflammation directly to disruptions in the salience network in infants.

Similarly, another study from another USC-led team found that babies born to mothers whose immune systems had to grapple with a viral assault — even a mild one — have increased risk of brain and central nervous system abnormalities.

These studies provide evidence about just how important it is for expecting mothers to pay attention to self-care, healthy diet and general cleanliness at home. Looking for tips? Check out this list from La Cooperativa.

🚀 ParentTech of the week: See Beneath

Led by individuals with a background in autism intervention and research from UCSD, See Beneath provides mobile tools for parents of children with early development disorders.

Designed with Aiko&Egor as leading characters, the app uses evidence-based, simple tips and ideas of how parents can provide the child with quality engagement and promote social communication skills.

You can download See Beneath is on iOS and Android.

Note: This is not a sponsored mention. We love KidTech with impact and are personally picking projects we love every week :)

ABOUT US

ParentTech Roundup is prepared by the creators of Oto (previously called Wordle) — the first device and a platform that enables parents to monitor and improve their child’s brain development right from home!

Find our more on our website and join our mailing list for more tips on: www.oyalabs.com