Effect of block play on language acquisition and attention in toddlers: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

@article{Christakis2007EffectOB,
  title={Effect of block play on language acquisition and attention in toddlers: a pilot randomized controlled trial.},
  author={Dimitri A. Christakis and Frederick J. Zimmerman and Michelle M. Garrison},
  journal={Archives of pediatrics \& adolescent medicine},
  year={2007},
  volume={161 10},
  pages={
          967-71
        }
}
OBJECTIVE To test the hypotheses that block play improves language acquisition and attention. [] Key MethodDESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING Pediatric clinic. PARTICIPANTS Children aged 1(1/2) to 2(1/2) years. INTERVENTION Distribution of 2 sets of building blocks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Scores on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, television viewing based on diary data, and the hyperactivity domain of the Child Behavior Checklist.
View on PubMed
jamanetwork.com
80 Citations
Background Citations
7

Tables from this paper

80 Citations

Using block play to enhance preschool children’s mathematics and executive functioning: A randomized controlled trial
Theme-Based Block Play Intervention Facilitates Chinese Preschoolers’ Language Development: A Quasi-Experiment
This study investigated the role of theme-based blocks play in enhancing Chinese children’s language capacity with a quasi-experiment. Altogether 61 young children were assigned to the experiment…
Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluating Active versus Passive Waiting for Speech-Language Pathology
TLDR
Comparing children’s speech, intelligibility, language, and literacy outcomes, and caregivers’ satisfaction and empowerment in active versus passive waiting conditions found no statistically significant differences between groups.
Association of the Type of Toy Used During Play With the Quantity and Quality of Parent-Infant Communication.
  • A. Sosa
  • Psychology
    JAMA pediatrics
  • 2016
TLDR
Play with electronic toys is associated with decreased quantity and quality of language input compared with play with books or traditional toys, and play with traditional toys should be discouraged.
Second Language Acquisition at the Early Childhood Level: A 5-Year Longitudinal Case Study of Pre-Kindergarten through First-Grade Students.
This 5-year longitudinal study investigated the English language acquisition and development of students in pre-Kindergarten through Grade 1 at a U.S.-accredited international school. Of the 1,509…
The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children
TLDR
This clinical report provides pediatric providers with the information they need to promote the benefits of play and to write a prescription for play at well visits to complement reach out and read.
Encouraging Parenting Behaviors That Promote Early Childhood Development Among Caregivers From Low-Income Urban Communities: A Randomized Static Group Comparison Trial of a Primary Care-Based Parenting Program
TLDR
Results appear promising for an accessible, low-intensity program delivered in the primary care setting and an interaction between time and condition emerged that favored SDP on play behaviors.
Infant video viewing and salivary cortisol responses: a randomized experiment.
Contingent Reinforcement Modeled Consequences
Children with autism who have deficits in social and communication skills are often limited in their capacity to learn play skills. Video modeling has been used to teach scripted play skills to…
The impact of pretend play on children's development: a review of the evidence.
Pretend play has been claimed to be crucial to children's healthy development. Here we examine evidence for this position versus 2 alternatives: Pretend play is 1 of many routes to positive…
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 30 REFERENCES
Associations between media viewing and language development in children under age 2 years.
More evidence for reach out and read: a home-based study.
TLDR
A modest literacy intervention, such as ROR, can have a significant impact on a child's home literacy environment and Hierarchical linear regression demonstrated that increasing frequency of ROR encounters contributed a small but significant portion of the variance explaining a Child Home Literacy Index.
Infants’ and Toddlers’ Television Viewing and Language Outcomes
Viewing data were reported every 3 months beginning at 6 months of age by the parents of 51 infants and toddlers. Viewing logs were coded for program, content, and intended audience. Using…
Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children
  • S. Suter
  • Psychology
    European Journal of Pediatrics
  • 2005
This book, written by two developmental psychologists, summarizes their work on the language acquisition skills of one to three-year-old children in American families. In their very thoroughly…
Concurrent and predictive validity of parent reports of child language at ages 2 and 3 years.
TLDR
The findings suggest that satisfactory vocabulary scores at age 2 are likely to predict normal language skills at age 3, although some children with limited skills atAge 3 will have had satisfactory scores atage 2, and many children with poor vocabulary scoresat 2 will have normal skills at 3.
Television, video, and computer game usage in children under 11 years of age.
Variability in early communicative development.
TLDR
Data from parent reports are used to describe the typical course and the extent of variability in major features of communicative development between 8 and 30 months of age, and unusually detailed information is offered on the course of development of individual lexical, gestural, and grammatical items and features.
Children's television viewing and cognitive outcomes: a longitudinal analysis of national data.
TLDR
There are modest adverse effects of television viewing before age 3 years on the subsequent cognitive development of children, and greater adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that children younger than 2 years not watch television is warranted.
Prevalence and assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in primary care settings.
TLDR
The utility of using both parent- and teacher-completed rating scales that specifically assess symptoms of ADHD in the diagnostic process was supported and recommendations were made regarding the assessment of children with suspected ADHD inThe pediatric primary care setting.
The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds
Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage…
...
...