The Early Learning Project UNSW

28/10/2020

This project from our UNSW colleagues in Engineering is collecting speech samples to help improve automatic speech recognition systems for children. If you have a child aged 4-13 and might be keen to help them out, check out their site at www.auskidtalk.edu.au

06/07/2020

2 year olds can tell difference between a leader and a bully

Research has found that at a very young age, children begin to understand more complex social cues. A new study has found that these complex social cues include the ability to identify differences between types of leadership. Children aged 20-24 months old were found to be able to distinguish legitimate power from tyranny, understanding not only who is in charge but also why.

This finding provides a good foundation for further research on how young children respond to bullying behaviours to help teach them effective and appropriate ways to tackle these behaviours!

By Alex Fradera. Toddlers recognise that the iron fist holds the most tenuous grip on power.

05/07/2020

Bilingual babies develop advantages in attention

6-month-old babies who grow up exposed to more than one language show advantages in early development of attention.

Exposure to bilingual environments is considered a significant factor in the early development of attention in infancy and could set the stage for lifelong cognitive benefits. In bilingual households, infants attend to complex environments and simultaneously process and contrast two languages, which is likely why they have greater attentional control than those raised in monolingual environments.

Some parents worry that teaching young infants a second language will cause them confusion and will slow down their language development. Instead, this research suggests the opposite - we should be promoting a bilingual upbringing!

In the study, infants who are exposed to more than one language show better attentional control than infants who are exposed to only one language. This means that exposure to bilingual environments should be considered a significant factor in the early development of attention in infancy, the resear...

04/07/2020

Keep talking to your baby!

Conversation runs out quickly when talking to a newborn. However, research suggests talking to your children has huge benefits to their later language development, which is in turn a good predictor of their later academic, cognitive and social well-being.

These findings swayed the USA and UK governments to focus on raising awareness and encouraging more conversation with new-borns. This is particularly helpful in helping to close the ‘word gap’ between high- and low-income families -- where higher income families have been found to speak more words to their infants.

Research like this can have wide-reaching impacts in the real world!

There could be a simple way to help young children’s brains improve for the better, with long-lasting benefits.

03/07/2020

Many mothers experience sleepless nights especially with a new-born child...

This is because infants' circadian rhythms have not yet developed or settled. Their stomachs are also so small that they require frequent feeding to keep up with their growth.

As taxing as caring for a newborn can be, it's helpful to remember that your baby isn't manipulating you with their "needy" behaviour (despite what you may hear); they are simply doing what they are meant to be doing in order to ensure their survival!

OPINION: They are simply doing what they are meant to be doing in order to ensure their survival.

01/07/2020

Should you be worried if your 3-month-old doesn't reach all the expected developmental milestones?

Well no but...it depends. This article supports the idea that all children develop at their own pace. Guidelines are not a list of necessary, restrictive milestones which are to be reached by all children in this age group, but more of a direction for parents to look out for and notice as to make sure their infant is developing normally. However, especially in a psychological perspective, the earlier an abnormality or a delay in development is noticed, the eaiser the diagnosis and possible treatment and so it is important to undergo research and obserations in order to help create accurate and informative guidelines for parents of very young children.

There are fewer milestones to hit than you might think.

01/07/2020

Speaking to you baby boosts brain development?

Conversation is an important source of language for infants.
A growing body of research suggests that talking with your children, particularly from birth until 3, is crucial for their later education and cognitive development. However, as new data suggests, children born into families with poor socio-economic statuses hear about 30 million less words by the age of 3 in comparison to children born into richer families. Therefore, researchers are developing different strategies to teach young parents on how to talk with their new-born and why it is so crucial for their later academic and cognitive development. This is why, LENA: a non-profit technology developer has manufactured talk pedometers which monitor and give feedback on adult word count, conversational turns and child vocalisations.

This technology is used by researchers in universities such as Harvard and Stanford Universities. LENA gives a self-reflective opportunity for parents and the power to increase their baby’s brain development.

"We’re not making time for as much human interaction as we used to,” said Barb Lito, coordinator of Virginia Beach’s GrowSmart, which leads the state’s only such initiative.

08/06/2018

Do you have a baby aged between 5 and 7 months?

Or a toddler aged between 17 and 19 months?

Our lab is currently looking for mothers of a baby or toddler to participate in a study about individual differences in mothers’ characteristics and perceptions.

If you are interested in participating, please email Heidi Chng at [email protected] or sign up at earlylearningsydney.com

HREAP number: 2760

08/06/2018

24/04/2018

A new study at the Early Learning Project!
Sign up here: http://www.earlylearningsydney.com/join-our-scientists.html