Why Breastfed Babies are Smarter-it's not the Milk, it's the Mama!

An article in the Deseret News Mormon Times, Family section from March 23rd 2014 discusses a recent study on why Breastfed Babies are statistically more likely to be reading ready by age 4. The study concluded that it had nothing to do with anything in the breast milk itself, but it does have something to do with who it is that chooses to breastfeed. 
 

Daughter in law Sara, a dedicated breastfeeding mom with baby number four

The conclusions were drawn from national data collected between 2001-2007 of 7,000 kids followed from birth to 5 years of age. Interactions between mothers and children were observed and videotaped. What they found was that the mothers choosing breastfeeding were more likely to interact with their children in ways that enhanced their intellectual development. 
 

Daughter Elizabeth, another dedicated breastfeeding mom with her nursing toddler

It turns out that mothers who breastfed 3 months and beyond tended to be better educated and more likely to read to their children daily. It seems that these moms were more likely to research best practices for raising children which convinced them to breastfeed for extended periods and helped them learn good parenting skills. Significantly, less educated breastfeeding moms did not have children with academic advancements.
The better educated breastfeeding mothers observed were more tuned in to their children's emotional cues. The researchers found that "being attentive to a child's emotional cues and reading consistently with the child could make a difference of 2-3 months in brain development in children by age 4 when they are entering preschool."  They also point out that better educated mothers were more informed parents and had fewer obstacles to the type of parenting that produced the positive results. The article didn't discuss at all why better educated non-breastfeeding moms didn't also have children with advanced readiness. I wonder if the breastfeeding moms were with their children for greater amounts of time and had more opportunities to interact effectively with them. It is easier for bottle fed babies to be cared for by others.
 

Sara with her fifth breastfed baby, reads with her oldest-a book he made at school

One expert reviewer of the study said that the children in the study who were breastfed for at least 6 months did better than others because they also "experienced the most optimal parenting practices" That's why they were reading-ready at 4 years she said. 

The connection between reading to children and optimal reading readiness  is not a new discovery. Years ago I read conclusions of research that listed several factors in the home that give children the best start to becoming good readers. I used to promote these factors in my parent newsletters when I taught preschool.

The critical behaviors are:
1. Read daily to children. (Nothing wrong with reading several times daily!)
2. Have lots of books available for children in the home. I love public libraries.

3. Read a lot yourself so children see you reading.

My son and his wife reading at a big family gathering while the children play in the spray and play and others of us visit with each other

In the study the observations of mothers reading to children who turned out to be be developmentally advanced showed that they were following their babies' cues as they read, lingering where the baby/child showed interest and interacting with the child about the book rather than plowing through it just reading out loud. "The responsive, supportive moms reacted to (the child's) gestures and expressions and that turned out to be very important to cognitive development."

The really good news about this is that anyone can read to children and interact responsively in the process. So bottle feeding moms, dads, grandparents, caregivers, even older siblings can do the same thing if they are aware of how to do it and why. Higher education isn't a prerequisite either. Any motivated parent, relative or care-giver can educate themselves from multiple sources and be the same kind of engaged and savvy nurturer as the well educated breastfeeding mothers identified in this study. 

Interestingly, the study indicates this interactive daily reading should start by nine months of age, so don't wait until they are walking and talking to start reading to them every day!

Peaceability-Part 2

In my last post I started a topic from Richard and Linda Eyre's column in the Deseret News supplement, Mormon Times. They define Peaceability further as 'Essentially the opposite of anger, losing one's temper, impatience and irritation.'

There are a lot of ways to be un-peacable, such as the things described in this quote. I would add also, sulking and holding a grudge, put-downs, criticism, and what I've heard called 'stirring the pot' where someone is doing things to get other folks upset about a third person, or to get someone else upset...'Mommy he's LOOKING at me!'

This doesn't mean we have to eliminate negative emotions and go around intoning a mantra with an invisible halo floating over our heads. We will still have negative emotions, but being peacable will mean that we will control those negative emotions and keep them from hurting another person.

How can we accomplish this? First we need to decide that a peaceful, calm atmosphere in our homes is something we value enough to make a priority. That atmosphere won't happen without our committment and effort.  Children feel more secure in a calm atmosphere. A calm home is one that is not puctuated with angry and irritated outbursts. Valuing peace and the control of temper helps us create a home atmosphere of calmness. The foundation of this is love. We love our family (yes, I know, there are times when we could cheerfully pitch those loved ones out the door and lock it, at least for awhile..but underneath we do still love the aggravating little critters-or big ones, if we include our spouse!)

If love is the foundation, understanding is the key (go ahead, unlock the door and let them back in..) You are less likely to lose your temper when you are trying to understand. It makes a difference if we stop to try to find out why someone is causing a problem before we break out into temper mode.

 For example, I once suspected one of my children had stolen some money from a sibling. The money even had a mark on it that his brother recognized. He steadfastly denied doing it and insisted a kid on the bus (whose name he couldn't remember) had given him the five dollar bill. Knowing how much he loved shopping for new toys, I suspected the temptation had been too much for him, so I started talking about how hard it is not to have enough money to buy things with and how we don't like to admit doing something wrong and the like. As I talked and questioned him gently, saying things like, "I can see how you might wish you had more money", he said, "Well, I 90% remember getting it from my friend and I 10% remember taking it from my brother..." He tested my reaction with these statements, and as I continued to express understanding of being tempted to take things and then lie about it, his percentages changed 10 percent at a time until he got to 90% remembering taking it. We then talked about ways he could get money for things he wanted to buy without taking it and what he needed to do to make things right-returning the money with an apology. One nice thing, his math skills were really solid!

This was so much more peacable than the inquisitions and punishments I used at other times when the children wouldn't admit to wrongdoing. A side note to that is that children who feel secure and understood are less likely to lie about wrongdoing.

This applies to all kinds of situations. Be curious before dealing with or reacting to a problem.
Like:
Why did she come home so cranky from school today? (Could something have happened today?)
Why does he always take his shoes off?  (Are they too small or uncomfortable in some way?)
Why is she cranky and not eating anything at dinner? (Could be she's sick)

Usually we will ask the person why, but many times children don't know why and we have to do detective work to figure out the causes and possible solutions for behaviors. One of my daugthers discovered her son was having difficulties with many things because of a sensory integration issue. She was able to be more patient when she knew why he was contrary about so many things. He was suffering discomforts that weren't obvious and that he didn't have the language to express.

The Eyres tell us that 'Calmness and Peacability are values because they help others as well as ourselves to feel better and to function better."  They add that they are also contagious qualities. The more we are able to be calm and peaceful, even under stress, the  more they are 'caught' by others around us, especially our children!