ADHD Study Tells Us To Talk More To Our Babies.

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Have you tried talking to your baby, cooing at it or laughing together, recently?  The reason I ask is that in a recent ADHD study, researchers at the University of Glasgow have found evidence that there may be a link with ADHD and/or other behavioral problems in childhood.

Their conclusions were that there seems to be some truth in the statement the more talk/interaction/vocalizations/sounds that the baby hears from the mother in the very early years will act as a sort of protection against ADHD developing.

Befoe they reached their conclusions, they watched videos involving 180 mothers talking to their one year old babies.  They found that there was a correlation with the amount of talk and interaction and the risk of developing ADHD. The more talk there was, the less the risk. They even calculated that with about 5 vocalizations less for every minute, the chances of a baby having ADHD was raised by 44%.

This is just one study so we should not draw too many conclusions from it and larger and more extensive studies will have to be done before we start chattering to our babies all the time!  Poor babies.

But maybe this would be a good thing anyway!  Just look at the moms you see in the shopping mall and on public transport. They are very often taking to their friends or texting their nearest and dearest and the baby in the buggy rarely gets any attention at all.

What about the number of times we have seen the TV and some screen device being used as a sort of babysitter?  That is a very frequent occurrence now as well.

Reactions to the study have been varied and many parents say that babies should be getting a lot more attention. However, I know of at least one mother with ADHD herself who has six children all with ADHD!

She has rejected that the amount of talk or lack of it is going to have any effect at all on whether the child goes on to develop ADHD.  She is convinced that the genetic factor is the one that determines whether a child has ADHD and she seems to be the living proof. She has stoutly maintained that she gave her children more than enough interaction to keep them going and that she even homeschooled them.  There are many parents who think like that.

In any case, this ADHD study is going to raise a lot of question marks. But before you send that text to your friend, why not put that off and give your baby some attention instead?