It is hard for toddlers to learn words in noisy rooms. Dah!

Philip Copitch, Ph.D. - Author of Basic Parenting 101: The Manual Your Child Should Have Been Born With

Today I read in the journal Child Development that toddlers have a hard time learning new words when the room is noisy.  My first response was, “Well, of course!” All kidding aside, the researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, did a good job with this study.

Most research of toddlers and learning is done in carefully organized laboratory conditions. This makes sense, the goal of the research is to test for one controlled change at a time. But, what Brianna McMillan (doctoral student) and her colleagues did, was test for learning in a more realistic environment. They pointed out:

Both younger (22- to 24-month-olds; n = 40) and older (28- to 30-month-olds; n = 40) toddlers successfully learned novel label–object pairings when target speech was 10 dB louder than background speech but not when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was 5 dB.

Most toddlers live and learn in the noisy, real world. The TV is on in the background, big sister is listening to music upstairs, or the radio is on in the car as mom and dad talk. Toddlers have the opportunity to learn words throughout their day.

Turn off the TV?

The findings show that it is best to teach toddlers new words in a calm environment. I am sure most parents know this. The implication of the study brings up that when a quiet space is not available, it may be detrimental to language growth. 

I have been a family therapist for 35 years. It is amazing to me how often parents fight me on “quiet time” in the house. I often suggest that during homework time, bath time, and bedtime, TV and radios should be turned off, allowing for easier communication between family members, and for personal thought time. I often hear, “We don’t really watch that much TV, we just keep it on for background noise.”

I suggest that limiting background noise is a good thing. 

Please let me know what you think by clicking the “comments” below.

Laundry Pods Still Dangerous for Children

Philip Copitch, Ph.D. - Author of Basic Parenting 101: The Manual Your Child Should Have Been Born With

Back in October 2012 I reported in this blog that colorful laundry detergent pods get the attention of young children. The pods do resemble candy to my adult eye, so I assume toddlers and young children might also see them as sweet treats.

Hospitalization 4 times more common

Hospitalization was 4 times more likely with detergent pods than liquid or powder detergent contact, according to a study in Injury Prevention.

The researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, reviewed 36,000 cases of children being treated in U.S. emergency rooms for exposure to laundry detergent during the years 2012 to 2014. 

The records showed that 26,000 children had contact with liquid or powdered detergent and almost 10,000 additional children were hurt by laundry pods.  Most of the children were treated for contact dermatitis (irritation, redness, itchy skin, burning of skin or eyes). But of note, children were much more likely to be poisoned if they got hold of the laundry pods.

The authors stated:

Poisoning (71.3%) was the most common diagnosis for pod detergent while contact dermatitis (72.2%) was most common for non-pod detergent. Hospitalization occurred in 12.5% of pod detergent cases and just 3.0% of non-pod cases. Compared with non-pod detergent, those exposed to pod detergent were 4 times as likely to be hospitalized.

Laundry detergent is dangerous

The warning here is clear. Laundry detergent is dangerous for the little ones and laundry pods are by far the most dangerous. 

In case of emergency call 911.

For more information on the dangers of laundry products please read: Laundry Product Poison and Prevention Info at poison.org. They advise:

Prevent poisonings by storing laundry products out of sight and reach of children. Also, keep products in their original containers. Countless children (and adults!) have swallowed bleach from a cup, thinking it was water. Pouring bleach into a cup, then leaving it on the counter or washing machine, is an invitation to poisoning.

If a child gets into a laundry product, here's what to do:

• If the product is in the eyes or on the skin, flush with running water for at least 15 minutes, then call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. The poison specialist will ask a few questions about what happened and if there are any symptoms. Then, the specialist will tell you exactly what to do. Most of the time, the incident can be managed at home if you call Poison Control right away.
• If the product is swallowed, give a small amount of water or milk. Then use the webPOISONCONTROL® online tool for guidance or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Both resources can help with common scenarios like:
• My child drank bleach (like Clorox). What should I do? Is it poisonous?My child bit a laundry pod (such as TidePods, all® mighty pacs®, Purex UltraPacks, Gain flings). Is it dangerous? Should I take him to the emergency room?

• My child ate a fabric softener sheet or a dryer sheet (such as Bounce or Snuggle).
• My child drank a fabric softener (such as Downy, Snuggle, Gain, Final Touch, Purex).
• My child swallowed laundry detergent (for example, All, Tide, Purex, Arm & Hammer, Wisk, Sun, Oxi, Persil, Xtra, Cheer).

Pets too

FYI: It is a good idea to keep laundry supplies away from our pets too!

Please let me know what you think by clicking the “comments” below.

Nutritional supplements: a difficult conversation to have with patients

Philip Copitch, Ph.D. - Author of Change: How to bring real change to your life: The psychology and secrets of highly effective people

Food as medicine

Almost daily patients tell me about nutritional supplements and how they have heard…  

Often parents tell me about how removing something from their child’s diet, or adding something to their child’s diet is supposed to change their child’s behaviors.

Adults tell me how they recently started to add something to their daily diet and how they have already started to notice a positive change. 

These anecdotal stories are interesting but not scientifically based. We humans can easily and inadvertently fool ourselves. 

To make this subject more confusing is the fact that there is an industry that is trying to sell nutritional supplements to solve all sorts of problems. This industry is not allowed to say they cure anything, but they can cleverly allude to “curing things”. 

Examples of “cures” without actually making a medical claim:

• Boosts energy
• Heart friendly
• Calming and restful
• Promotes a good night’s sleep
• Supports memory and learning
• Used by millions of active people around the world

This industry spends a lot of money promoting their pills and powders.

If you want to learn more, may I suggest you read the Federal Trade Commission’s Dietary Supplements: An Advertising Guide for Industry.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/dietary-supplements-advertising-guide-industry

Should I discuss nutritional supplements with patients?

I often wrestle with the benefits of discussing nutritional supplements with patients. I want to help educate, but teaching the complexities of science based medicine is time consuming and daunting. Often if I even slightly bring up the subject, patients will stiffen and perceive me as being judgmental of them. 

So, as long as the food supplement is inert and not getting in the way of sound treatment protocol, I smile and say. “I’ve noticed that people that eat a well balanced diet, sleep enough, and walk a bunch everyday report that they feel better. I guess my mom was right. She was big on veggies, walking, and getting enough sleep.”

Nutritional supplements and cognitive decline

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported:

NIH STUDY SHOWS NO BENEFIT OF OMEGA-3 OR OTHER NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR COGNITIVE DECLINE

While some research suggests that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids can protect brain health, a large clinical trial by researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that omega-3 supplements did not slow cognitive decline in older persons. With 4,000 patients followed over a five-year period, the study is one of the largest and longest of its kind.

https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=nihpress;e6a9cb7.1508

This was a well structured study. Sorry I can’t report that we have found the magic pill, but it is better to have sound clinical evidence than simple anecdotal stories and hopeful speculation.

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Copitch, Inc. is back to normal after the fire

Philip Copitch, Ph.D.
Author of Basic Parenting 101: The Manual Your Child Should Have Been Born With

Out of the phoenix

After my office was accidentally burned down, I found that I had to stop doing some activities that I enjoyed, but couldn’t allot any time towards. One guilty pleasure was writing this blog.

Now that the fire is behind us, I look forward to penning some science based articles and answering your questions.

So, feel free to send me general psychology questions. Remember, I am a therapist, but I am not your therapist. Thus, I am not offering any personal clinical help here.

Have questions about, marriage, family, or your neighbor's child--I look forward to reading them. Want some psychology term explained in plain English, I’ll try my best.