Nurture in the Early Years

Infants thrive in enriching environments; without contact and responsiveness to their basic needs they will become developmentally delayed.

fig. 1

Developmental Neglect

Infants in places such as orphanages often have little interaction with their caretakers and may experience developmental delays

KEY POINTS

J. McVicker Hunt acknowledged the need for a stimulating environment for children in destitute orphanages and began a program known as the tutored human enrichment program which aimed at teaching adults to interact and play educational games with the children.
Poverty negatively affects cognitive ability (Turkheimer et al., 2003). Factors such as malnutrition and having less qualified teachers can cause lower cognitive scores (Brown & Pollitt, 1996; Tuerk, 2005).
Studies find that improving a child's nutrition has a positive effect on intelligence (Brown & Pollitt, 1996).
All babies need exposure to new sights, sounds and language, but there is no proven method to dramatically increase a child's intelligence (Scarr, 1984).
Recently, research has found that music training can have unexplained cognitive benefits for young children (Schellenberg, 2005, 2006). However, the "Mozart effect" or the thought that listening to classical music somehow increases one's intelligence has been discredited.
Some researchers wonder if one can be trained to be more intelligent by a process called targeted training where there is an emphasis on improving a particular ability (Kossslyn, 2007).

TERMS

cognitive impairment
Compromised ability to think, concentrate, formulate ideas, reason and remember.

Infants thrive in enriching environments, because they need human contact and responsiveness to their basic needs; without these things they will become developmentally delayed. J. McVicker Hunt acknowledged the need for this type of stimulating environment for children in destitute orphanages, and began a program known as the tutored human enrichment program aimed at teaching adults to interact and play educational games with the children. Children in this program showed remarkable gains suggesting that environmental influences play an important role especially early on in development (1982).

Eric Turkheimer and colleagues (2003) found that in impoverished families, 60% of the variance in IQ is accounted for by the shared family environment, and the contribution of genes is close to zero; in affluent families, the result is almost exactly the reverse. They suggest that the role of shared environmental factors may have been underestimated in older studies which often only studied affluent middle class families.

A study of poor French children adopted between the ages of four and six demonstrated the influence of family environment. These children had IQs that initially averaged 77, putting them near retardation. Nine years later after adoption, they retook the I.Q. tests, and all of them did better. The amount they improved was directly related to the adopting family’s status. Children adopted by farmers and laborers had average I.Q. scores of 85.5; those placed with middle-class families had average scores of 92. The average I.Q. scores of youngsters placed in well-to-do homes climbed more than 20 points, to 98. On the other hand, the degree to which these increases persisted into adulthood are not clear from the study.

Proper childhood nutrition also appears critical for cognitive development; malnutrition can lower IQ. Studies find that improving a child's nutrition has a positive effect on intelligence (Brown & Pollitt, 1996). Developed nations have implemented several health policies regarding nutrients and toxins known to influence cognitive function. These include laws requiring fortification of certain food products and laws establishing safe levels of pollutants (e.g. lead, mercury, and organochlorides). Comprehensive policy recommendations targeting reduction of cognitive impairment in children have been proposed.

All babies need exposure to new sights, sounds, and language, but there is no proven method to dramatically increase a child's intelligence (Scarr, 1984). Some researchers wonder if one can be trained to be more intelligent by a process called targeted training, in which there is an emphasis on improving upon a particular ability (Kossslyn, 2007). It is well known that it is possible to increase one's IQ score by training (for example by regularly playing puzzle games, or strategy games like chess). Studies have also shown that training in using one's working memory may increase IQ. Recently, research has found that music training can have unexplained cognitive benefits for young children (Schellenberg, 2005, 2006). However, the "Mozart effect" or the thought that listening to classical music somehow increases one's intelligence has been discredited.

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