Sticky Mittens May Give Infants A Motor and Social Jump Start

In a study published in the journal Developmental Science, researchers from Kennedy Krieger Institute and Vanderbilt University show that sticky mittens can impact infants' preferences for faces. Sticky mittens have Velcro strips attached to them. Together with toys covered in Velcro, a short swipe of the arm will make the toys stick to the mitten. While wearing sticky mittens, three-month-old infants can experience successful reaching and grasping.

The study investigated the role of motor development, especially self-produced reaching, on development and growth. Findings show that after training with the sticky mittens, infants are more interested in faces, suggesting advanced social development. This study supports a growing body of evidence that early motor development and self-produced motor experience contributes to infants' understanding of the social world around them. Conversely, this implies that when motor skills are delayed or impaired -- as in autism -- future social interactions and development could be negatively impacted.

To learn more, visit http://www.kennedykrieger.org and see the following publications:

Libertus, K., & Needham, A. (2011). Reaching experience increases face preference in 3-month-old infants. Developmental Science.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01084.x/abstract

Libertus, K., & Needham, A. (2010). Teach to reach: the effects of active vs. passive reaching experiences on action and perception. Vision Research, 50(24), 2750-2757.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042698910004359

Needham, A., Barrett, T., & Peterman, K. (2002). A pick-me-up for infants' exploratory skills: Early simulated experiences reaching for objects using 'sticky mittens' enhances young infants' object exploration skills. Infant Behavior & Development, 25(3), 279-295.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163638302000978

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