May 31, 2025
by Elizabeth Pratt
Warmth and affection from parents in early childhood can have lifelong physical and mental health benefits.
Research published in JAMA Psychiatry found that children who experience greater maternal warmth at the age of three have better positive perceptions of social safety by the age of 14 which the leads to better physical and mental health outcomes at age 16.
[More]
May 27, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new review looked at play and children’s health. “This was a scoping review exploring peer reviewed literature from the past 10 years in order to examine what it can tell us about the connection between play and children’s health in healthcare settings,” review author Kelsey Grabor told us. We hoped to better understand recent and relevant evidence that might demonstrate why we should utilize and support the integration of play into a more holistic view of children’s healthcare.”
[More]
May 13, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Child Development looked at predictors of young adults’ primal world beliefs in eight countries. “This study is about beliefs about the world held by young adults in eight countries,” study author Dr. Jennifer Lansford told us. “We were hoping to discover what experiences during childhood and adolescence predict beliefs about the world in early adulthood.”
[More]
April 29, 2025
by Elizabeth Pratt
Children who are exposed to paternal depression at the time they enter kindergarten are more likely to have teacher-reported behavioral issues as well as poor social skill at the age of nine.
Research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that is the paternal depression remained undiagnosed or unaddressed, there can be negative behavioral and social impacts on children for years.
[More]
March 25, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Child Development looked at Indigenous perspectives on the child–caregiver bond from a northwest tribal community. “Our study is about uplifting the experiences, perspectives and knowledges regarding parenting young children that are held by members of a Northwest tribal community,” Sara F. Waters told us. “In particular, we wanted to center Indigenous knowledge of and approaches to the child-caregiver bond.”
[More]
March 18, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Child Development looked at the determinants of socioemotional and behavioral well-being among First Nations children living off-reserve in Canada. “Our study focused on positive health outcomes among young First Nations children,” study author Sawayra Owais told us. “Specifically, we examined Indigenous and non-Indigenous-specific determinants associated with positive well-being among First Nations children living off-reserve in Canada.”
[More]
March 11, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Child Development looked at mother–child collaboration in an Indigenous community. “Changes in family life related to globalization may include reduction in the collaborativeness observed in many Indigenous American communities,” study author Barbara Rogoff told us. “The present study examined longitudinal changes and continuities in collaboration in a Guatemalan Maya community experiencing rapid globalization.”
[More]
March 14, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Child Development looked at how caregiver speech can predict the emergence of children’s emotion vocabulary. “We were interested in understanding how children learn words like ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ that label emotional experiences,” study author Mira L. Nencheva told us. “We were curious if the words that surround emotion labels might help children learn their meaning.”
[More]
October 11, 2022
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in Child Development looked at whether older children verify adult claims because they are skeptical of those claims. “When children between four and seven years old are told something surprising, for example that a smaller object is heavier than a much larger object, they will frequently pick up those objects,” study author Samuel Ronfard, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto at Mississauga told us. “Older children engage in such exploratory behavior more frequently than younger children.”
[More]
August 31, 2022
by Elizabeth Pratt
Having a partner was more beneficial at avoiding loneliness during the first wave of COVID-19 than having children.
Research published in the European Journal of Ageing found that whilst those without children and those without a partner were more likely to be lonely, those without a partner underwent a notable shift in their loneliness in the early stages of the pandemic.
[More]