Brains In The Family

Teens, Sunlight and Sleep

by John M. Grohol, PsyD

Two new studies out this week demonstrate the importance of teens getting enough sunlight and sleep. Staying up all night — and not worrying about sleep until later — can come back to haunt you for numerous reasons. Fatigue leads to poor school performance and general crankiness (above and beyond your normal crankiness). Lack of sleep may also shrink your brain as well as your memory. And sleep problems in children have been linked to ADHD.

Researchers have studied this behavior and now believe insufficient daily morning light exposure contributes to teenagers not getting enough sleep:

“These morning-light-deprived teenagers are going to bed later, getting less sleep and possibly under-performing on standardized tests. We are starting to call this the teenage night owl syndrome.”

What Do Girls with ADHD Look Like As Adults?

 by John M Grohol, PsyD

We’ve long heard about the negative impact of attention deficit disorder (ADHD) on children and teens. We know ADHD can lead to academic problems, problems with friends and socializing, significant sleep problems, and serious concerns in other areas of a child’s or teen’s life, such as increased criminality for those with ADHD.

But what does the future hold for them? Do these children grow up to be well-adjusted adults?

We know from previous research (e.g., Biederman et al., 2006; Faraone et al., 2006) that by young adulthood, most people who were diagnosed with ADHD as a child or teen continue to suffer from attention deficit disorder symptoms. Previous studies have also shown that boys with ADHD have a significantly greater lifetime risk for antisocial, mood and anxiety disorders compared to those who were not diagnosed with ADHD.

But what about girls? Little has been known about their lifetime risks if diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Are they the same, better or worse than boys’?

Best Toddler Classes: Storytelling Class

The following is the final part of a blog series about the best classes for your toddler's development.

Activity: Storytelling Groups

Where to find it: Check with your local library or bookstore for regular storytelling times.

What They'll Learn: Attend a regular storytelling group to teach your child a love of reading at an early age. Storytelling professionals are trained to engage children with voices and sound effects, and to encourage them to interact with the book and each other. Further encourage a love of reading by allowing your child to choose a few books to take home after each reading group. She'll look forward story time and soon be reading on her own!

Best Toddler Classes: Music Classes

The following is the fifth of a six-part series of blog posts about the best classes for your toddler's development.

Activity: Music Lessons and Classes

Where to find it: Gymboree locations offer group sessions, or check your local listings for certified music instructors for one-on-one attention.

What She'll Learn: Help your child develop a love of music and sounds early by enrolling in a toddler music class. Whether your little one attends alone or with a family member, she's sure to pick up the rhythm soon and continue her exploration of music in the future.  Learning music and playing instruments is great for kids' cognitive development, and children exposed to a multi-year music program have been shown to display higher cognitive performance in reading and language skills. You may wish to move your child into private lessons down the road (which aid in intellectual development and help develop patience and discipline), and group music classes are a great starting point.

Source: Parents

Focus On Fun Gets Teens Active

Emphasizing the emotional benefits of exercise is more effective at increasing levels of physical activity than highlighting traditional health benefits. This is the finding of research published online today, 17th February 2010, in the British Journal of Health Psychology. 

The study was carried out by Reema Sirriyeh and colleagues from the University of Leeds. Reema said: "There is evidence that people who believe that physical activity is enjoyable and fun are more likely to engage in sport and exercise. We investigated whether highlighting the emotional benefits of sport and exercise to young people increased their levels of physical activity, more than highlighting the physical health benefits." 

Best Toddler Classes: Art Classes

The following is the fourth of a six-part series of blog posts about the best classes for your toddlers' development.

Activity: Art Classes

Where to find it: Gymboree locations, or check with your local art center or museum.

What He'll Learn: Take an art class with your child -- or let him explore his creative side on his own. Either way, your child won't even realize he's learning while he paints, draws, and sculpts his creative side into shape. Who knows -- you may even find you're raising an art prodigy!

Source: Parenting
 

Simple Test To Judge If Athletes Sustained A Concussion

Over the years, student-athletes have come to my office with similar complaints about "not feeling like themselves."  They felt like they were in a fog at times, dealing with mood swings more pronounced than in the past, and/or their sports and academic performance was less consistent.  As a Therapeutic Learning Specialist and Applied Performance Counselor, I help students and athletes understand why they are experiencing certain mental challenges and determine ways to adjust. 

These athletes, however, had one thing in common. They all experienced multiple head contact during play over the last few years that had concussion-like symptoms.  They all returned to play immediately or soon after each incident in sports that have high probabilities of head contact.  

One problem coaches, athletic trainers, and parents experience in helping athletes is the availability of a simple test to determine whether athletes have sustained a concussion in order to manage care.  Well, there may be such a test now available.

Best Toddler Classes: Water Aerobics

The following is the third of a six-part series of blog posts about the best classes for your toddler's development.

Activity: Water Aerobics

Where to find it: YMCA locations, or check with your local fitness center or public pool.

What She'll Learn: Whether you try this water-based fitness routine as a parent-child duo, or let your child strike out on her own under the careful supervision of a trained adult, your little one is sure to learn a love of water and exercise. Through organized movement routines and swimming exercises, she'll get her heart pumping and her limbs moving. Some organizations include a play time at the end of the session so your child can splash around with the other children just for fun.

Source: Parents

Why girls drop math: Beliefs about Math

Girls Treat Math Like a Talent, Boys Like a Skill

By Art Markman, Ph.D, Psychology Today

In the last week, marching band practice started, and there have been orientations at my kids' schools, so it must be time for them to go back. That got me thinking about a big problem in math and science education. In elementary school, boys and girls are about even in their performance in math and science. By middle school, girls start to lag behind, and few women go on to pursue math in college. What is going on?

One factor that leads girls to drop math is that boys and girls seem to differ in their beliefs about math. Psychologist Carol Dweck argues that people can have two different stances toward academic topics. Entity theorists treat academic topics as if they were talents. You either have them or you don't. So, you could be good at math or bad at math. If you're good at math, then you'll learn it. If you're bad at math, then at some point, you'll reach a type of math that goes beyond your abilities.

Incremental theorists treat math as a skill to be acquired. Stick with math, and eventually you'll get even the really hard stuff.

Dweck and her colleagues find that people who treat math (or any other academic subject) as a skill will stick with it longer and try harder when it gets difficult than when they treat it as a talent.

The way this affects boys and girls is that Dweck has collected evidence that boys and girls get different feedback about math from early on in their schooling. Eventually, everyone hits a topic in math that they struggle with. When talking to girls, teachers are likely to emphasize that math is hard. Talking about math as being difficult makes it sound like something that either you can do or you can't.

Boys tend to get feedback that treats math as a skill to be acquired. When they hit a hard topic, they are told to try harder and they'll eventually get it.

Because girls are more likely than boys to get feedback that treats math as a talent, they are more likely to end up with an entity theory of math. The truly hard stuff in math comes in middle school, when kids are first exposed to algebra and geometry and later trigonometry and calculus. Eventually, one of these topics is going to derail everyone, at least for a while. Because of their beliefs about math, then, girls are more likely than boys to conclude that they have reached the limits of their talent and give up.

Best Toddler Classes: Tumbling class

The following is the second of a six-part series of blog posts about the best classes for your toddler's development.

Activity: Tumbling Classes

Where to find it: Most YMCA locations offer tumbling classes for kids, or check with your local fitness center.

What She'll Learn: Toddler tumbling classes are a great way to help your child develop strength and flexibility, as well as concentration skills. Your little one will jump, run, roll, crawl, swing, and have a great time! She'll also learn to overcome fear and try things that may seem a little scary at first. Tumbling and gymnastics is also a very social sport, and your child is likely to make new friends along the way. She'll also develop positive associations with exercise.

Source: Parents