Latino toddlers lag white children in cognitive skills

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Hispanic Immigrants’ Children Fall Behind Peers Early, Study Finds
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/us/21latina.html?_r=2
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: October 21, 2009
HOUSTON — The children of Hispanic immigrants tend to be born healthy and start life on an intellectual par with other American children, but by the age of 2 they begin to lag in linguistic and cognitive skills, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, shows.
The study highlights a paradox that has bedeviled educators and Hispanic families for some time. By and large, mothers from Latin American countries take care of their health during their pregnancies and give birth to robust children, but those children fall behind their peers in mental development by the time they reach grade school, and the gap tends to widen as they get older.
The new Berkeley study suggests the shortfall may start even before the children enter preschool, supporting calls in Washington to spend more on programs that coach parents to stimulate their children with books, drills and games earlier in their lives.
“Our results show a very significant gap even at age 3,” said Bruce Fuller, one of the study’s authors and a professor of education at Berkeley. “If we don’t attack this disparity early on, these kids are headed quickly for a pretty dismal future in elementary school.”
Professor Fuller said blacks and poor whites also lagged behind the curve, suggesting that poverty remained a factor in predicting how well a young mind develops. But the drop-off in the cognitive scores of Hispanic toddlers, especially those from Mexican backgrounds, was steeper than for other groups and could not be explained by economic status alone, he said.
One possible explanation is that a high percentage of Mexican and Latin American immigrant mothers have less formal schooling than the average American mother, white or black, the study’s authors said. These mothers also tend to have more children than middle-class American families, which means the toddlers get less one-on-one attention from their parents.
“The reading activities, educational games and performing the ABCs for Grandma — so often witnessed in middle-class homes — are less consistently seen in poor Latino households,” Professor Fuller said.
The study is based on data collected on 8,114 infants born in 2001 and tracked through the first two years of life by the National Center for Education Statistics. The findings will be published this week in Maternal and Child Health Journal, and a companion report will appear this fall in the medical journal Pediatrics.
The analysis showed that at 9 to 15 months, Hispanic and white children performed equally on tests of basic cognitive skills, like understanding their mother’s speech and using words and gestures. But from 24 to 36 months, the Hispanic children fell about six months behind their white peers on measures like word comprehension, more complex speech and working with their mothers on simple tasks.
The study comes as the Obama administration has been pushing for more money to help prepare infants and toddlers for school. In September, the House passed an initiative that would channel $8 billion over eight years to states with plans to improve programs serving young children.
In addition, the economic stimulus package included $3 billion for Head Start preschools and for the Early Head Start program, which helps young parents stimulate their children’s mental development.
Eugene Garcia, an education professor at Arizona State University, said the Berkeley-led study confirmed findings by others that the children of Hispanic immigrants, for reasons that remain unclear, tend to fall behind white students by as much as a grade level by the third grade.
“It seems like what might be the most helpful with Latino kids is early intervention,” Dr. Garcia said.
Carmen Rodriguez, the director of the Columbia University Head Start in New York City, said there was a waiting list of parents, most of them Hispanic, who want to take Early Head Start classes with their children.
Dr. Rodriguez said the study’s findings might reflect a surge in interest in early childhood education on the part of middle-class Americans, rather than any deficiency in the immigrant homes.
“Any low-income toddler is disadvantaged if they don’t get this kind of stimulation,” she said.



Studies find Latino toddlers lag white children in cognitive skills
The findings highlight the necessity of early intervention such as Head Start, researchers say.
By Carla Rivera
October 20, 2009 | 9:46 p.m.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...0,200059.story
Poor immigrant Latinas have healthy babies, but by age 2 or 3, their toddlers begin to lag behind white middle-class children in vocabulary, listening and problem-solving skills, according to two studies released Tuesday.

Researchers call it the "immigrant paradox": Pregnant Latino women smoke and drink less than pregnant white and African American women, Latino newborns have lower infant mortality rates, and the cognitive skill of infants 9 to 15 months are about equal for white and Latino children.

But by the time they are toddlers, Latino children trail their white counterparts by up to six months in understanding words, speaking in more complex sentences and performing such simple tasks as assembling puzzles.

The findings from researchers at UC Berkeley, UCLA and the University of Pittsburgh are based on a nationwide tracking study of more than 8,000 children born in 2001 and are being published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal and the medical journal Pediatrics.

Past studies have documented disparities between Latino children and their white peers in kindergarten and persistent achievement gaps in later grades. The new findings pinpoint the beginnings of those gaps at an earlier age than previously thought. They also highlight the urgency of early intervention -- children in preschool programs such as Head Start may already be at a disadvantage, researchers said.

"Cognitive skills and language during toddler years are a strong predictor of who will do well in kindergarten and early elementary grades," said study co-author Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley. "These early lags in learning need to be addressed in a sensitive and respectful fashion, but they need to be addressed early on."

Fuller and his colleagues attribute part of the paradox to larger Latino families, which could result in individual children receiving less attention from their parents. A bigger issue, researchers say, is that poor Latino mothers tend to be less educated than women in other groups. Studies have found that undereducated parents read fewer books and share fewer stories with their children, which is fundamental for later literacy skills.

"Maternal education is the best predictor," said Eugene Garcia, a professor of education at Arizona State University, who reviewed the new studies but is not connected with them. "If moms are educated pretty well, their kids are going to be pretty well educated."

Many Latino families don't view themselves as their children's first teachers, assigning that role to schools, said study co-author Alice Kuo, a UCLA assistant professor of pediatrics.

The irony, she said, is that these families are seeking a better education for their children, but pressures to work and assimilate may hinder that goal.

The studies come at a time when early education is an increasing focus of public policy makers. President Obama has moved to provide $2.1 billion in stimulus funds for Head Start and Early Head Start and $8 billion for state early learning grants.

Norma Elizabeth Ochoa, a Whittier mother, said she hopes that such funding can expand programs such as Abriendo Puertas, a parent-training program run by the nonprofit group Families in Schools that she attended earlier this year. The classes helped her and husband, Octavio, with their children, Octavio Jr., 10 and Diego, 3.

Ochoa said she cut her work hours to spend more time with her sons. She has learned to pay more attention to their needs and now has tools to help Diego develop learning skills. The effort has paid off.

"My goal is to give them a good education, encourage them for college and make a difference in their future," she said.

carla.rivera@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

[Ayatollahgondola]

If they are placing some specific weight on the 2 year timetable, I'd say they are foolish. Not all kids mature equally, and that may also hold true for whole demographics. Brain development could be different with them, but not necessarily in a negative way. But in the event it's not some physical thing, it could also easily be cultural.

Oh wait.....then I saw the real problem:

The studies come at a time when early education is an increasing focus of public policy makers. President Obama has moved to provide $2.1 billion in stimulus funds for Head Start and Early Head Start and $8 billion for state early learning grants.

[Jeanfromfillmore]

There is that little thing called 'genes'. Not much anyone can do about them at this time. Maybe they just have a bad gene pool. Many certainly do when it comes to height and flat butts.

[Papoose]

Jeez, what's my excuse then?

Seriously, I can see these children lagging in linquistic skills if they're being completely confused the first 2 years of their lives with 2 languages at home.

[Jeanfromfillmore]

I still think it's the genes. Kids can learn a language at that age very quickly. And learning a language, even more than one, can be done by children with a very low IQ. Just think about it, even retarded children learn a language and learn to talk depending on how retarded they are. I don't know at what level it become not possible, but it's very, very low. There's something else besides environment going on here.

[DerailAmnesty.com]

Poor immigrant Latinas have healthy babies, but by age 2 or 3, their toddlers begin to lag behind white middle-class children in vocabulary, listening and problem-solving skills, according to two studies released Tuesday.

I still think it's the genes. Kids can learn a language at that age very quickly. And learning a language, even more than one, can be done by children with a very low IQ. Just think about it, even retarded children learn a language and learn to talk depending on how retarded they are. I don't know at what level it become not possible, but it's very, very low. There's something else besides environment going on here.

I disagree. It's got to be environment. It makes complete sense that, starting around age 2, Latino children from poor, immigrant families would start to fall behind. Why? Simple. They're hearing a narrower display of language and more limited vocabulary. Further, I'll venture to say that children of any race who have parents with limited education, are largely at a disadvantage to the offspring of better educated mothers and fathers. It's a question of what you're exposed to. At that age, the vast majority of your experience is your immediate family members.