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Simple gestures help child's development
(by Sue Reid - December 07, 2011)
Simple gestures help child's development
By SUE REID
When it comes to making a connection with one's child, even the simplest gestures -- making silly faces or playing with blocks -- can make a difference.
It is those connections, particularly in the first eight months of life, that lead to learning later on, Dr. Michelle McMillan, a pediatrician at the Solon office of Akron Children's Hospital Pediatrics, said.
"There are billions of brain cells, but stimulation is needed to make the cells connect to each other," Dr. McMillan said. "The more connections there are at an early age, the more those connections can reorganize and the better the child learns as they get older."
In a new Akron Children's Hospital video, Dr. McMillan shares that very message, stressing the importance of an infant's interaction with parents and the environment.
"The big thing is talking to one's child," Dr. McMillan said, as well as touching, holding and having their child look at their smiling face." Those are all ways of stimulating a child's senses, she noted.
"The reason it's important is because the brain makes connections between nerve cells, and those connections are what lead to learning," she said. "Most of those connections are made in the first year of life." As a child gets older, the connections are sort of "reorganized" to form real intellectual thought, she said.
At routine well checks, Dr. McMillan said, she often asks parents, "Is your child understanding you?" She said it is vital to talk to your child.
"Parents get busy and some are depressed and don't talk to their child as much," Dr. McMillan said. "It really does make a big difference.
"Kids who are ignored in the first year of life are really delayed for a long period of time," she said, "because they have never made those connections."
The connections slow down by age 4, Dr. McMillan said.
"You make most of these connections between the nerve cells in the first year and it slows way down," she explained. Some of the other, early connections that are no longer needed, are lost.
"You can't make new ones very easily as you get older," she said. "The more you make at an early age, the better chances to learn things."
As a child ages, there is more structured learning, she said, which includes exposing your child to a zoo or museum, for example.
"The more you can expose your child to as they get older, the better," she said.
There is also the danger of overstimulating your child, Dr. McMillan cautioned.
"Kids need quiet, down time, and time to play by themselves and explore objects on their own," she said. "Studies definitely show that kids who are overstimulated don't do as well."
Too much television is also a danger, Dr. McMillan noted. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for kids under 2 and then as they get older, no more than two hours a day of total screen time.
"A parent or caregiver can do more to educate a child," she said. "When they are with the TV, they are not with a human. They are using that time that could be spent learning new things and making new connections."
Those rules regarding screen time also apply to hand held video games and computer games, Dr. McMillan noted.
Depending on age, a good rule of thumb is no TV in a child's room, Dr. McMillan said, cautioning parents against letting children fall asleep to a TV.
Sleep and a good diet are also vital to a child's development and ability to learn, she said. For example, children in kindergarten to first grade really do need 12 hours of sleep, she said.
Dr. McMillan said that part of her general pediatric practice is making sure children are on track and developing appropriately for their age. If there is a problem, she said, "we identify it early" and take appropriate steps to move things along so the child is the best he or she can be.
"Development is a big part of what we do," she said.
A graduate of Case Western Reserve Medical School, Dr. McMillan completed her residency training at University of Rochester in New York, which is where she began specializing in pediatrics.
"I just really, really like kids," she said of choosing her area of focus. A mother of two, Dr. McMillan has been in practice for 18 and a half years.
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