December 27, 2016

INFANT-TODDLER SUCCESS:

LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD

Phone: (909) 347-7313

www.InfantToddlerSuccess.org

info@InfantToddlerSuccess.org

December 27, 2016

THE INFANT-TODDLER SUCCESS PARENT

EDUCATION PROGRAM IS BASED ON CONSISTENT

NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH:

• 0-3 yrs. largely determines later success in

school and in life

• 80-85% of the brain develops by age 3

• during this critical window, the foundations for

thinking, academic success, and social-emotional

competencies are formed

(e.g., Grunewald & Rolnick, 2006; Heckman, 2008, 2010; Suskind, 2015)

December 27, 2016

A CHILD’S EXPERIENCES DURING THIS TIME

DETERMINE THE DEVELOPING BRAIN’S

ARCHITECTURE, NEURAL CONNECTIONS, AND HOW IT

FUNCTIONS…

• Experiences increase and strengthen

neural pathways in the brain

• Unused pathways are pruned away during

early childhood

(Gerhardt, 2015; Suskind, 2015; Nelson, Fox, & Zeanah, 2014)

December 27, 2016

I. TYPES OF PARENTAL NURTURING (0-3 YRS.):

Nurturing is the single most important influence on early brain

development. It sets off neurochemical events that allow the

brain to develop normally.

Positive parenting: Children flourish with parental warmth,

responsiveness, and sensitive attunement (i.e., a “secure

attachment”). Results in optimal brain formation, creating the

foundation for optimal cognitive, language, social, and

emotional development.

December 27, 2016

AUTHORITARIAN PARENTING STRESSES OBEDIENCE

AND CONFORMITY. IT TENDS TO USE HARSH,

TRADITIONAL PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL

PUNISHMENT, WHICH GREATLY INCREASES THE RISK

OF: • less optimal brain development

• weaker social and emotional development

• weaker language skills and cognitive functioning

• poor self-regulation, more behavior problems and attention deficits

• Being less ready to start school and less academically successful

• mental health problems

• lower I.Q.

(e.g., Cassidy & Shaver, 2016; Gerhardt, 2015; Guttmann-Steinmetz & Crowell, 2006; Main & Hesse, 2003; Masterson,

2006; Sroufe et al., 2001, 2006;Teicher, 2001, 2002; Teicher et al., 2003, 2004; Zila & Kiselica, 2001)

December 27, 2016

ABUSIVE, NEGLECTFUL PARENTING RESULTS IN

SEVERELY LIMITED: • brain development and functioning

• social and emotional development

• self-regulation, attention span,

and impulsiveness

• school readiness and overall

academic performance

• self-regulation resulting in

behavior problems

• cognitive functioning, formal

reasoning, problem-solving,

memory, & learning capacity

• I.Q.

• Other negative outcomes

• Increased risk for teen

pregnancy, dropping out of

school, engaging in delinquent

behaviors, substance abuse

• higher risk for mental health

problems/psychopathology

(e.g., Cassidy & Shaver, 2016; Gerhardt, 2015; Guttmann-Steinmetz & Crowell, 2006; Main & Hesse, 2003; Masterson,

2006; Sroufe et al., 2001, 2006;Teicher, 2001, 2002; Teicher et al., 2003, 2004; Zila & Kiselica, 2001)

December 27, 2016

EARLY EXPERIENCES STRENGTHEN NEURAL

PATHWAYS IN THE BRAIN; UNUSED PATHWAYS ARE

PRUNED AWAY DURING THE PRESCHOOL YEARS.

December 27, 2016

BRAIN SCANS OF A HEALTHY CHILD AND ONE WHO

HAS EXPERIENCED SEVERE NEGLECT:

Children who experience

severe neglect, abuse, or

emotional trauma during

early development suffer

from abnormalities in brain

chemistry, brain functioning,

brain structure, and even

brain size

(e.g., Gerhardt, 2015; Perry, 2005; Teicher, 2001, 2002; Nelson, Fox, & Zeanah, 2013).

December 27, 2016

II. EARLY LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT (0-3 YRS.):

Children need lots of “parent talk”

and book reading from infancy on!

A rich, positive language environment is

critical for optimal brain development.

The number of words infants and

toddlers hear during the first 3 years

of life is directly related to:

• learning to speak

• understanding the meaning of words

• size of vocabulary

• more neural connections in the brain

• Faster brain processing speed

• Improved self-regulation

• later reading and math ability

• school readiness and school success

• I.Q. at age 3 and beyond

(e.g., Hart & Risley , 1995, 2003; Suskind, 2015; Trelease, 2013)

December 27, 2016

CHILDREN WHO COME TO SCHOOL WITH THE

MOST WORDS HEARD DO BETTER IN SCHOOL

December 27, 2016

THE PROBLEM:

Parents with less education tend to:

• Have less knowledge of positive parenting strategies

• Focus on obedience & conformity

• Be less attuned to child’s signals & needs; and therefore

child(ren) are less attached to them

• Use authoritarian parenting approaches including harsher,

punitive parenting methods

• Be less likely to talk or read to their children

December 27, 2016

December 27, 2016

With less child-directed supportive parent talk:

Slower in understanding language at 18 mos.

Slower vocabulary growth by age 2

Lower scores on language and cognitive assessments

in kindergarten and elementary school

STANFORD UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INDICATES THAT LOW-INCOME 5

YEAR OLDS SCORE ALMOST TWO YEARS BEHIND ON LANGUAGE

DEVELOPMENT TESTS WHEN THEY BEGIN SCHOOL.

(Fernald, Marchman, & Weisleder, 2013)

December 27, 2016

URGENCY

OF TIMING

December 27, 2016

DEMOGRAPHIC URGENCY – SAN BERNARDINO

COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH PROFILES 2015 (CA DPH)

Approx. 33,000 live births annually in SBCo

• Single mothers (2013): 46.1% (SBCo) - 45.5% (RivCo)

• Family socio -economic status at birth (2013):

• 52.6% in poverty or near poverty

• Birthrate by income

• highest rates in families earning $0 - $10,000 annually

• Second highest rates in families earning $10,000 - $20,000

annually

December 27, 2016

December 27, 2016

SOCIAL COSTS OF INEFFECTIVE PARENTING

For every dollar spent on the prevention of child abuse and early intervention,

$7-10 is saved down the road on social costs of crime, delinquency, school

dropouts, etc.

Illustrative annual costs resulting from ineffective parenting:

• Criminal behavior, drug use, and dropping out of school for single youth: $1.7 - $2.3 million

(Becker, 2001)

• High school dropouts: over the next decade, 12 million students will drop out, costing taxpayers

about $3 trillion, e.g., welfare, not paying taxes, incarceration costs (APA, 2012)

• Child abuse/neglect in 2008: $124 billion (CDC)

• Mental health disorders in children: $247 billion (Stroul et al., 2014)

• cost of incarceration in California alone: $11.2 billion - - more than the total spent on all levels

of education (VERA Institute of Justice, 2012)

• cost of teen childbearing: $9.2 billion (e.g., www.thinkprogress.org)

e.g., Fanton & McFarland, 2003; Heckman, 2008, 2011; Grunewald & Rolnick, 2005

December 27, 2016

AN EXCERPT FROM THE INFANT-TODDLER SUCCESS PARENTING MANUAL

The Story of the Ham

December 27, 2016

INFANT-TODDLER SUCCESS GOALS AND DISTINCTIVENESS

ITS GOALS ARE TO GIVE CHILDREN THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THEIR POTENTIAL – IN

HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND OVERALL SUCCESS – BY SHARING WITH PARENTS THE

FINDINGS OF NEUROSCIENCE AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH ON STRATEGIES

THAT PROMOTE INFANT AND TODDLER COGNITIVE AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL

DEVELOPMENT.

• THE INFANT-TODDLER SUCCESS PROGRAM, FORUMLATED BY UNIVERSITY FACULTY

WHO TEACH AND ENGAGE IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, IS DISTINCTIVE IN ITS

OVERALL APPROACH. ITS CLASSES ARE:

• BASED ON THE MOST RECENT NEUROSCIENCE AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, WITH

RIGOROUS ASSESSMENT AT EACH STEP OF THE PROGRAM;

• OFFERED BY CHILD DEVELOPMENT MASTERS GRADUATES AND/OR ADVANCED GRADUATE

STUDENTS;

December 27, 2016

INFANT-TODDLER SUCCESS GOALS AND DISTINCTIVENESS - 2

• CONCENTRATED ON PARENTS OF CHILDREN UP TO 3 YEARS OLD, WHEN 80-85

PERCENT OF THE BRAIN IS FORMED;

• FOCUSED ON TREATING NEGLECT, ABUSE AND HEALTH ISSUES AS WELL AS

COGNITIVE AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AIMED AT ELIMINATING

THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP;

• TAUGHT IN EITHER SPANISH OR ENGLISH BASED ON THE PARENTS’ BEST

UNDERSTOOD LANGUAGE;

• ACCOMPANIED BY A MEAL, CHILDCARE BY ADVANCED CHILD DEVELOPMENT

STUDENTS, AND AFTER EACH CLASS A CHILDREN’S BOOK TO READ;

December 27, 2016

INFANT-TODDLER SUCCESS GOALS AND DISTINCTIVENESS - 3

• SUPPLEMENTED WITH A HELPLINE FOR PARENTS TO HAVE QUESTIONS

ANSWERED UNTIL THE CHILD ENTERS KINDERGARTEN;

• FOLLOWED BY REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS WHO HAVE TAKEN

THE CLASSES;

• RECONVENED EVERY FOUR MONTHS – TO ANSWER QUESTIONS,

CONTINUOUSLY ASSESS THE PROGRAM, AND ASSURE SCHOOL READINESS –

UNTIL THE CHILD ENTERS KINDERGARTEN; AND

• OFFERED AT A FRACTION OF THE COST OF HOME VISIT PROGRAMS.

December 27, 2016

CLASSES FOR PARENTS, & CAREGIVERS OF

CHILDREN AGES 0-36 MONTHS

• 8 two-hour classes 2x a week for four weeks

• In Spanish or English

• Childcare, meals, children’s books & Helpline

• Quarterly follow -ups until kindergarten to

answer questions, assess effectiveness, &

ensure school readiness

• Prevent child abuse and neglect

December 27, 2016

providing parenting education throughout the IE since 2000

• significant improvement in parenting knowledge and skills

• Significant improvement in child behavior

• 95% or more felt that classes improved their parenting efficacy

and confidence

The Parenting Center

Institute of Child Development and Family Relations

California State University, San Bernardino

(Kamptner et al., submitted for publication; Lakes et al., 2008; Lakes et al. 2009)

December 27, 2016

CURRICULUM TOPICS:

• Essential need for secure attachment

• Parental time with children

• Positive child guidance methods (instead of punishments)

• talking with and reading aloud to very young children

• Understanding and responding to children’s needs

• Enriching activities for infants and toddlers

• Differential Neurochemical and psychological effects of positive

parenting, authoritarian parenting, abuse and neglect, and its impact on

physical and emotional health

December 27, 2016

PARENT SUCCESS STORIES:

• Mom makes scrapbook of parenting manual to

pass on to her daughter

• Other Success Stories….

December 27, 2016

PARENTS ARE A CHILD’S FIRST AND MOST

IMPORTANT TEACHER

• Teachers spend fewer than 1000 hours

with children during kindergarten

• Primary caregivers spend more than

50,000 hours with their children by age 6

(Trelease, 2013)

December 27, 2016

THE HOME-TEAM ADVANTAGE

Supporting children & families

through collaboration

December 27, 2016

ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY TO REACH FAMILIES

• To reach parents, grandparents and

caregivers, we work with following:

• Education

• Healthcare

• Faith-Based

• Media

• City and County Offices

December 27, 2016

PARTNERS:

• SBCUSD – funding for 20 classes

• Making Hope Happen Foundation of SBCUSD – one of three priorities

• The Community Foundation – fiscal agent

• Parenting Center at CSUSB’s Institute of Child Development and Family

Relations – curriculum and Instruction

• Diocese of San Bernardino and Other Churches – spreading the Word

• Dignity Hospitals – facilities and community outreach

• The California Endowment, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and

Individuals – donations

• IE Children’s Book Project & Molina Foundation – books

December 27, 2016

QUESTIONS?

(909) 347-7313