14 DAY TRIAL // According to scientists at the University of Iowa, young children who play a lot with their food are likely to learn more in the process than their peers who eat without making a mess. The research group says that making a mess on the high chair should be cause for celebration with parents.
The investigation was carried out on children at the age of 16 months. The team determined that the test subjects were far more capable of learning new words for non-solid objects while on the high chair than in any other setting. Previously, scientists thought that the names of solid objects were simpler for children to learn.
The theory went that these objects are easy to remember because they have constant shapes and sizes. The new research shows that, while this may indeed be the case, children can still learn new words for non-solid, squishy objects with great speed, but only if they are in a setting they know well.
“And, if you expose them to these things when they're in a highchair, they do better. They're familiar with the setting and that helps them remember and use what they already know about nonsolids,” says UI Associate Professor of Psychology Larissa Samuelson, quoted by e! Science News.