Summary
Cognitive development in children has been related to good and appropriate nutrition in children. Postnatal development is a very important aspect in life. It is at the postnatal stage that most development in human beings takes place maximally. Many studies have justified the effects of nutrition in most of the development.
The main organ in the body that has been emphasized in these studies is the brain. For proper development of the cognitive features, it is important that a child eats the right food. The neural system requires certain nutrient that helps in informational transfer hence the cognitive aspect of a human being.
Socio-economic status of a people, community, region or country may contribute to the different cognitive development of children or pre-school kids. Inability to provide the essential needs such as the social status, education, wealth and health may affect the development of kid’s brain. Social factor is essential for a people’s bargaining power. Purchasing of goods and services depends on the socio-economic status.
Another study involved the learning of a second language by children. This was done among the Spanish kids whose first language was Latin while the second was English. Most studies show that kids developed stronger base for one language than the other. For instance, if a child knew more of English, then the kid will have fewer skills for Latin. However, those kids with strong affiliation for both languages were very intelligent. These studies also suggest that learning in English was a prudent step in the development of language in Children.
Supplements have also tremendous effects on kid’s cognitive development. It has been noted form the studies that there are certain components of essential body nutrients that lack in mother’s milk in the period after six months of breast feeding.
Cognitive Development
This form of development is a branch of studies in neural science. It focuses majorly on language learning, perceptual skills, conceptual resources, processing of information and also other forms of development connected to the brain. Most of the studies here have touched on nutrition and supplements. Among the supplements discussed are the iron, folic acid and zinc (Siegel et al., 2011).
The deficiencies of these nutrients have been related to neuro-cognitive defects. Studies were done on children from Nepal. Cluster randomization and controlled placebo trials were done using daily supplementation of 5mg zinc, 25 microgram folic acid and 6.25mg of iron. An alternative study included placebo and folic acid-zinc-iron supplements. The number of infants under study was 367. The indicators under study were:
- Deterioration performance
- Fixation duration
- Accelerated performance
- Preference for novelty
- A not B error
Several weeks at 32 and 52 weeks the results were found and 213 students made a test attempt. The results of the five indicators were modeled on logistic and linear regression. This study did not show much significance effect.
Theoretical studies show that iron and zinc are very important in neurological development. Iron is a cofactor for most transmission in neurons. In the study, it was found that the Nepal infants had iron deficiency anemia which was observed in their serum. On the other hand, zinc which was also deficient in the serum is important in development of brain cells. These deficiencies were the main reason for the study that included the supplements.
Plant related nutrients such as iron and zinc are not absorbed efficiently by children under the age of 2 years. Therefore, the studies included supplementation of the micronutrients. Cognitive development depends on the sufficiency of the named micronutrients. Other studies have indicated that poor performance in cognition is depicted by children with iron deficiency.
Nutrition is central to determining every aspect of development of the body of a human being. Cognitive development and nutrition are two inseparable aspects (Fransisco, Steven and Reznick, 2009). Genetic makeup is also associated with nutrition. However, the amount of nutrient that can affect a certain behavior change in human beings has not been studied yet. Therefore, studies are still projected on the importance of other micronutrients and nutrition as a whole.
Social Status, Socio-economic status and Cognitive and behavior Development
Social status and economic status are interrelated. The economic status can describe the bargaining power of people in any community or place. Most of the studies in nutrition and cognition are related with socio-economic status. Most children that lack basic nutrition come from developing countries.
Having some of the basic components of balanced nutrition is a challenge to these children. Therefore, these countries acted as perfect site for the studies on the relationship between nutrition, behavior and cognitive factors (Wong et al., 2010). Economic status means the standard of wealth and hence financial status too for obtaining the basic nutritional needs.
The studies were done in Hong Kong and the basic lines of study included poverty, social class and government intervention. The studies show that the government has had little effect into solving needs as expected by the public. Although, effects on the welfare of the old and healthcare have improved, they are quite minimal
Language Development
This study was done for students with specific language impairment needs. It therefore factored the issue of clinical implications. There are different rates of growth in language development across nations. This has been pointed out to depend on the languages learnt (Vera et al., 2012).
It is indicated that those children who had strong affiliation for their mother tongue had difficulty in mastering the second language especially when mother tongue is the language used in learning. However, it is noted that not all children with specific language impairment had these difficulties. Therefore, it is important that clinical matters be considered when defining a child’s affiliation language wise.
Study Methods and Results
In the study of the relationship of cognition and supplementation of micronutrients, it was found that placebo clinical trials that are controlled and randomized trials were good test trials for justifying the study. In addition to these studies was the specific information processing tests which brought strength to the studies. In the past, sensor motor test were done to monitor child development. This was not very efficient.
On the other hand, language development studies were also performed using statistical procedures. Growth longitudinal models were used evaluate English vocabulary, English proficiency, and Spanish language skills. SAS Proc models were used in multilevel leveling. This also indicated the efficiency of using information processing systems. These were tested through longitudinal models. However, there was need for conduction of other studies that involved detailed non-instructional and instructional interactions in classrooms.
The studies of nutritional effects of brain and behavior development were not 100% perfect because of the issue of window period. This is the period when the nutrients cannot be noticed since they are not there and need not to be. Therefore, it is important to consider exposure time so as to develop perfect studies and results for the case studies.
Conclusion
A child’s cognitive and behavior development is related with several factors such as nutrition, social aspects and economic aspects. Though studies have proved these effects, they are only to a smaller degree. It is therefore important to conduct refined studies. On the other hand, language development should be based on clinical aspects especially for those with specific language impairment.
Reference List
Fransisco, J.R., Steven, R. and Steven, H., Z. (2009).Role of Nutrition in Brain and Behavior Development of Toddlers and Preschool Children: Addressing and Identifying Methodological methods. Nutritional Neuroscience, 12(5), 190-200.
Siegel, E., Kataryzna, K., Rebbecca, J., Joanne, K., Subarna, K., Steven, C. and James, M. (2011). Inconsistency: Effects of Micronutrients on Cognitive Development of Infants. Health Population and Nutrition, 29(6), 596-601.
Vera, G., Gabriela, S., and Monica, S. (2012).Second Language Predictors in Latino Children: Specific Language Impairment. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21(1), 64-77.
Wong, T., K., Po-san, W., and Kenneth, W. (2010). Perceptions and the conditions of Welfare Groups in Hong Kong. Social Policy and Administration, 44(5), 620-640.