Child Development News

December 5, 2024

Top Headlines

Perceptions of Parent Cannabis Use Shape Teen Attitudes

Dec. 4, 2024 — Teens who think their parents use cannabis are more likely to hold favorable attitudes toward the drug and to consider trying it themselves, according to a new study. The research also reveals that parental monitoring and the closeness of ...

20th Century Lead Exposure Damaged American Mental Health

Dec. 4, 2024 — Exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood altered the balance of mental health in the U.S. population, making generations of Americans more depressed, anxious and inattentive or hyperactive, according to researchers. They estimate ...

Scientists Discover Shared Genetic Foundations Between Musical Rhythm and Human Language

Nov. 27, 2024 — A study has revealed that genetic variants associated with higher likelihood of rhythm impairments tended to be also associated with higher likelihood of dyslexia. The reverse was also the case: ...

Newer Epilepsy Medications Used During Pregnancy Do Not Affect Neurological Development in Children

Nov. 27, 2024 — Children of mothers who took certain anti-seizure medications while pregnant do not have worse neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 6, according to a long-running ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:32pm EST

Animal Characters Can Boost Young Children's Psychological Development

Nov. 22, 2024 — A study has shown that iconic characters such as Peter Rabbit -- or Toad and Ratty from The Wind in the Willows -- can also play an important role in the development of children's theory of mind ...

Great Apes Visually Track Subject-Object Relationships Like Humans Do, Study Finds

Nov. 26, 2024 — Great apes track events with their eyes in the same way that humans do, according to a new ...

Beyond Screen Time: Complex Factors Shaping Child Development

Nov. 25, 2024 — New research challenges views on screen time, revealing factors such as parental mental health and the type of screen being used may have some impact on child ...

How Human Brain Functional Networks Emerge and Develop During the Birth Transition

Nov. 19, 2024 — Brain-imaging data collected from fetuses and infants has revealed a rapid surge in functional connectivity between brain regions on a global scale ...

Language Used by Mothers Affects Oxytocin Levels of Infants

Nov. 25, 2024 — Infants whose mothers regularly use language to describe what their child is thinking or feeling, have higher levels of the hormone oxytocin, finds a new ...

Your Child, the Sophisticated Language Learner

Nov. 21, 2024 — Sentences contain subtle hints in their grammar that tell young children about the meaning of new words, according to new ...

Snoring Linked to Behavioral Problems in Adolescents Without Declines in Cognition

Nov. 21, 2024 — Adolescents who snore frequently were more likely to exhibit behavior problems such as inattention, rule-breaking, and aggression, but they do not ...

Signals of Inflammation During Pregnancy Linked to Aging and Memory Changes 50 Years Later

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study analyzed data from participants who have been followed for over 50 years, starting before their births. Researchers found that maternal ...

Tantrums in Young Children Could Be Linked to ADHD, Study Finds

Nov. 21, 2024 — Preschool children who struggle to control their emotions and behaviour have more symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- known as ADHD -- at age seven, a study suggests. Children ...

Researchers Use Artificial Intelligence to Diagnose Depression

Nov. 20, 2024 — Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses. As many as 280 million people worldwide are affected by this disease, which is why researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) ...

Preschool Education: A Key to Supporting Allophone Children

Nov. 28, 2024 — A Canadian study reveals that allophone children often face learning and communication difficulties in kindergarten, which can negatively impact their educational ...

Need a Landing Pad for Helicopter Parenting? Frame Tasks as Learning

Nov. 22, 2024 — Parents are much less likely to intervene when their young children are getting dressed or performing other simple chores if those tasks are framed as learning opportunities, according to a new ...

R Sounds Are Rough, and L Sounds Are Smooth, According to Cross-Cultural Study

Nov. 20, 2024 — People around the world associate a trilled R sound with a rough texture and a jagged shape, and an L sound with smooth texture and a flat shape, according to the findings of a new study. Researchers ...

Brain-Based Visual Impairment in Children

Nov. 19, 2024 — Experts have identified five elements of a brain-based condition that has emerged as a leading cause of vision impairment starting in childhood in the United States and other industrialized nations. ...

Changing the Definition of Cerebral Palsy

Nov. 19, 2024 — Defining cerebral palsy only as a childhood condition fails to acknowledge the many adults living with the ...

How Children Learned for 99% of Human History

Nov. 19, 2024 — Unlike kids in the United States, hunter-gatherer children in the Congo Basin have often learned how to hunt, identify edible plants and care for babies by the tender age of six or seven. This rapid ...

AI Needs to Work on Its Conversation Game

Nov. 19, 2024 — Linguistics and computer science researchers have discovered some of the root causes of why AI large language models perform poorly in human-like ...

Ouch! Commonalties Found in Pain Vocalizations and Interjections Across Cultures

Nov. 19, 2024 — An interdisciplinary team explored possible regularities in vocal emotional expressions by comparing expressive interjections, such as 'wow,' to nonlinguistic vocalizations, such as screams ...

National Poll: Some Parents Need Support Managing Children's Anger

Nov. 18, 2024 — Some parents may find it challenging to help their kids manage intense emotions. One in seven think their child gets angrier than peers of the same age and four in 10 say their child has experienced ...

Traditional Mayan Practices Have Long Promoted Unique Levels of Family Harmony: But What Effect Is Globalization Having?

Nov. 16, 2024 — A new study shows that the past 30 years of globalization have brought fundamental shifts in some aspects of family interaction among Indigenous people in Guatemala. But families have still ...

Children Exposed to Antiseizure Meds During Pregnancy Face Neurodevelopmental Risks, Study Finds

Nov. 15, 2024 — Children born to mothers who take antiseizure medications to manage seizures and psychiatric conditions during pregnancy may face increased risks of neurodevelopmental conditions, according to new ...

Time in Nature Benefits Children With Mental Health Difficulties

Nov. 15, 2024 — Researchers found that spending two hours a week of class time in a natural environment can reduce emotional distress among 10- to 12-year-olds who had the most significant mental health problems ...

Standardized Autism Screening During Pediatric Well Visits Identified More, Younger Children With High Likelihood for Autism Diagnosis

Nov. 14, 2024 — New research found that the use of standardized autism screening during pediatric well-child visits identifies more children with high autism likelihood at a younger age, including those presenting ...

New Study Sheds Light on Language Development in Children With Hearing Loss

Nov. 14, 2024 — Researchers find a link between early vocabulary composition and later language development in children with cochlear ...

The Secrets of Fossil Teeth Revealed by the Synchrotron: A Long Childhood Is the Prelude to the Evolution of a Large Brain

Nov. 14, 2024 — Could social bonds be the key to human big brains? A study of the fossil teeth of early Homo from Georgia dating back 1.77 million years reveals a prolonged childhood despite a small brain and an ...

Huntington's Disease Gene Also Enhances Early Brain Development and Intelligence, Study Finds

Nov. 13, 2024 — The Huntington's disease (HD) mutation eventually causes a fatal brain disease in adulthood, but a new study finds that early in life, children with the HD mutation have bigger brains and higher ...

Debunked: Children Aren't Quicker at Picking Up New Motor Skills Than Adults

Nov. 12, 2024 — Contrary to popular belief, children aren't better at learning new skills than adults. Indeed, young adults seem to learn faster than kids -- but also tend to forget more quickly. Here, better ...

Consistent Bedtime Linked With Better Child Emotion and Behavior Regulation

Nov. 11, 2024 — A consistent bedtime may be more important to a child's ability to control their emotions and behavior than the duration or quality of their sleep, according to a new ...

Asthma May Place Children at Risk of Memory Difficulties

Nov. 11, 2024 — Asthma is associated with memory difficulties in children, and early onset of asthma may exacerbate memory deficits, according to a new ...

School Suspensions and Expulsions Can Lead to a Lifetime of Depression, Study Finds

Nov. 7, 2024 — A new study shows that children who are suspended or expelled from school report higher rates of depression in adolescence and into ...