, Real Simple, has written a fascinating article about the importance of quiet time for children entitled, “The One Thing Your Kid Needs—and Isn’t Getting.” Lindley begins her piece with an interview of Arline Bronzaft, PhD, noted noise activist and co-founder of The Quiet Coalition, whose landmark research “found that the reading scores of elementary students in classrooms located next to train tracks lagged a full year behind their peers in quieter classrooms on the other side of the building.” Dr. Bronzaft states that not only does noise interfere with learning, it causes a great deal of stress that leads to learned helplessness, “the feeling that you just have to sit there and take it,” which then causes still more stress.
But noise doesn’t just interfere with formal education, as Lindley tells us that “even moderate background noise can interfere with the ability of babies to learn new words.”
So what can you do to protect your children? Lindley offers specific advice for young children and teens, but both sets of advice basically distill down to two important elements: reducing background noise and distracting devices and learning to embrace quiet time.
Lindley’s article is an interesting read and well worth your time. Click the link above to read it in full.
Originally posted at Silencity.
